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Need some suspension help. Is this OEM?

Groz's Burb

Groz's Burb

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Niagara Falls, New York
Hi everybody. I was looking to know if my 90's suspension is OEM or aftermarket; I'm in the process of diagnosing a wobble coming from my front end and am trying to figure out what I'm working with. I'm attaching some pics. The front leaf sits kind of flat and I can't identify the shocks themselves besides "Made in USA".
I noticed my top shock mount bolt was very loose and the bolt was stripped so I'm in the process of replacing that right now.
Thanks in advance for the help!
Tires are 275/70/r18

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Groz's Burb said:
Hi everybody. I was looking to know if my 90's suspension is OEM or aftermarket; I'm in the process of diagnosing a wobble coming from my front end and am trying to figure out what I'm working with. I'm attaching some pics. The front leaf sits kind of flat and I can't identify the shocks themselves besides "Made in USA".
I noticed my top shock mount bolt was very loose and the bolt was stripped so I'm in the process of replacing that right now.
Thanks in advance for the help!
Tires are 275/70/r18

View attachment 372594

View attachment 372595

View attachment 372596
Click to expand...
Those shocks arent stock but the leafs are. I just did the shocks on my 85 and holy hell was that an effort. Ever single bolt was seized and fused to the metal piece that is inside the rubber on the shocks ends. The rear shocks were useless and the upper mounts were barely hanging on. In safe for sure. I did ger them changed and the new ones I made sure were very tight and in their place. The front 4. Well I had to beat the lower bracket into its proper position and angle but the bolts came out with good effort. The driverside lower mount was so badly rusted and fused to the metal it literally took me 2 days to get the bolt to come free. So much pb blaster yet it held on but got it finally. I do intend to make new lower mounts and weld them in but my brother is using my welder si I had to make do. It rides so much better now and has her ass up instead of dragging. I replace my old and yes stock shocks with their second ever new shocks. I went with Monroe's heavy duty oems. Glad I did it to. Oh I also replaced my steering stabilizer shock too. Hell of a difference.
 
OregonSlimMF said:
Those shocks arent stock but the leafs are. I just did the shocks on my 85 and holy hell was that an effort. Ever single bolt was seized and fused to the metal piece that is inside the rubber on the shocks ends. The rear shocks were useless and the upper mounts were barely hanging on. In safe for sure. I did ger them changed and the new ones I made sure were very tight and in their place. The front 4. Well I had to beat the lower bracket into its proper position and angle but the bolts came out with good effort. The driverside lower mount was so badly rusted and fused to the metal it literally took me 2 days to get the bolt to come free. So much pb blaster yet it held on but got it finally. I do intend to make new lower mounts and weld them in but my brother is using my welder si I had to make do. It rides so much better now and has her ass up instead of dragging. I replace my old and yes stock shocks with their second ever new shocks. I went with Monroe's heavy duty oems. Glad I did it to. Oh I also replaced my steering stabilizer shock too. Hell of a difference.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info, I'm gonna go for replacing my shocks all around as well as the stabilizer. I'm hoping that can possibly solve the truck sagging in the rear, as well as ride quality.

A question for you regarding the front-lower shock mount bolt: did you use a lock nut when replacing? I replaced my lower bolt but didn't use a lock nut and am wondering if that is problematic
 
Groz's Burb said:
Thank you for the info, I'm gonna go for replacing my shocks all around as well as the stabilizer. I'm hoping that can possibly solve the truck sagging in the rear, as well as ride quality.

A question for you regarding the front-lower shock mount bolt: did you use a lock nut when replacing? I replaced my lower bolt but didn't use a lock nut and am wondering if that is problematic
Click to expand...
Did you use a lock washer? If so, you should be fine
 
Bent77 said:
Cheap peace of mind for just a few minutes of work
Click to expand...
Sounds good. Just so I'm sure; does the lock washer go on the bolt before sliding the bolt through the bracket and shock? Or can I just remove the nut on the other side and pop the lock washer around the threads?

Thank you very much for your help.
 
I see you are new. Welcome!

the 4x4 burbs sag in the rear stock. The spring hangers are mounted on the frame, causing the truck to sit lower.

My 2x 2500 burb sits as high as I want my 4x to sit. It'll take 4" of lift to get it there.
 
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and use a quality gas charged shock up front so you won't need to use quads.
That was for the old days. Shock quality has improved greatly since our trucks were made.
 
If you are replacing the front shocks, only use a single shock per side, but use the longer auxiliary shock, and omit the shorter standard shock.

Martin
 
Big Ray said:
and use a quality gas charged shock up front so you won't need to use quads.
That was for the old days. Shock quality has improved greatly since our trucks were made.
Click to expand...
82355 said:
If you are replacing the front shocks, only use a single shock per side, but use the longer auxiliary shock, and omit the shorter standard shock.

Martin
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Thank you very much for the information. My front shocks are definitely due for an upgrade; I was able to compress them myself while replacing the bolts. Very good to know about ditching the quad shocks.
Is there a recommended brand or part number I can look for? I normally use RockAuto to save $ but am open to other sources.
For my own understanding, is there a conversion kit of some sort since the lower mount holds both shocks? And which upper mount will it go to?
 
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OregonSlimMF said:
Ever single bolt was seized and fused to the metal piece that is inside the rubber on the shocks ends.
Click to expand...

Thats how all of the leaf spring bolts were on my 89 Suburban Im making my crawler. I had to use a grinder and cut off disk and just get between the leaf spring and the mount and just cut all of the bolts. Had to order new bushings anyways to put into some other leaf springs so picked up all new bolts as well. Was a pain trying to get them out until i just finally got the grinder and cut off wheel out.
 
Big Ray said:
I see you are new. Welcome!

the 4x4 burbs sag in the rear stock. The spring hangers are mounted on the frame, causing the truck to sit lower.

My 2x 2500 burb sits as high as I want my 4x to sit. It'll take 4" of lift to get it there.
Click to expand...
Very interesting about the spring hangers causing it to sit lower!
I'll be sure to read through some other threads; but in your opinion which is the ideal method to lift the rear or level it out to the front? I'm not looking to go crazy high, just a little more clearance. I was told 3" in the rear looks good but I need to scroll through some threads for some pics.
I know there's the classic spacer lifts but I worry about durability.
 
When you go away from a dual shock setup, use the further forward, higher upper auxiliary shock mount, and then just use a different lower bolt, and put the auxiliary shock in the standard lower mount.

To level out the rear, just use a 2” cast iron lift block, and longer u-bolts.

Martin
 
82355 said:
When you go away from a dual shock setup, use the further forward, higher upper auxiliary shock mount, and then just use a different lower bolt, and put the auxiliary shock in the standard lower mount.

To level out the rear, just use a 2” cast iron lift block, and longer u-bolts.

Martin
Click to expand...
Thank you Martin!
 
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