So let's say I wanted to rebuild and improve the stock suspension...

[AJMBLAZER]

I've discussed this before on here but I'm actually almost to the "start buying things" stage.

My '89 Blazer V1500/K5/whatever.
6.2L diesel, tow package, 202,000 miles and change.
Was used to tow a lot at some point and the high mileage has definitely taken a toll on the springs.
The rear sits with a lean down to the passenger side. It's about an inch lower than the driver's side.
The truck sorta wallows and sways a lot more than I like. Granted it's a 40 year old suspension design and 20 year old parts but sometimes it's as bad as a Wrangler with coils and no sway bar.
Lastly...this spring I met a local with a 60,000 mile '89 Jimmy V1500 and on his stock suspension and 33's his truck looked like it was lifted compared to mine.

So Shady is selling me his '88 half ton Burb's stock springs. Nothing fancy but at 100,000 miles they have half the mileage mine do and his Burb seems to have lead a cream puff life until the guy before him got it...and promptly killed the engine. He says they sat evenly and the rear was actually higher, as it should be.

Which leads me with the rest of my suspension thoughts:
-Thinking poly bushings all around.
-Some good nitrogen monotube shocks. Maybe Bilstein HD's but at least some Rough Country Nitro 9000's.
-Shackles? With greasable bushings?
-U-bolt flip in the rear...work with a stock suspension?
-What else?

What would you upgrade/replace on the stock suspension if you were rebuilding it?



No, I'm not going to lift it at this point. It does everything I want as it sits now while fitting under a standard slightly lower than 7' garage door jam. Not going to put bigger tires on and not going to wheel it hard so I have no use for a lift kit. No, a lift kit is NOT cheaper than a suspension rebuild. Price it out.
MAY do 1" Zero Rates or EZ Inch AAL's after I put the springs in and see how it sits...MAY.

 

[DK5]

I will be watching this as my suspension has the same mileage. Been thinking about this for a while.

I was considering a 2" tuff country lift or smaller Alcans. Although pricey I imagine.
I didn't know that suburban springs were the same as blazers... The only other thing I was considering was having my springs redone (re-arched and power coated).

New body mounts would make a difference in the ride too.

Why rough country nitro's? I don't know much about them

 

[big dan]

arent suburban rear springs 56"? or is that what you are looking for?

have you considered new stock springs?

a good set of monotube shocks and updated bushings would go a long ways for a stock suspension.

for the u-bolt flip are you talking about going from the square type u-bolts that go over the spring to the round u-bolts that go under the axle? if so it should work fine. Ive got three trucks that came factory this way, one is 3/4 ton and the others were 1/2 tons.

another thing you might consider is air bumps. I read in another thread about air bumps that they can make a big difference in ride quality, even on a stock vehicle.

 

[Confedneck]

I would do stock front springs with poly bushings and greaseable bolts, with a zero rate and some nice adjustable nitro shocks.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I will be watching this as my suspension has the same mileage. Been thinking about this for a while.

I was considering a 2" tuff country lift or smaller Alcans. Although pricey I imagine.
I didn't know that suburban springs were the same as blazers... The only other thing I was considering was having my springs redone (re-arched and power coated).

New body mounts would make a difference in the ride too.

Why rough country nitro's? I don't know much about them

I started pricing a Tuff Country 2" system with rear springs and was over $750 REALLY fast. Before I added in the little stuff like ORD or DIY4x shackles, greasable bushings, etc.
Then again I don't really need a lift to do what I do with it. Probably be more work and trouble than a benefit.

Poly body mounts are on the long term list. Along with poly everything.

Rearching springs is hack. Every set I've ever seen that done to just sagged back down. You can't rebend a spring and expect fatigued metal to stay at the original or higher shape.

Rough Country/Heckethorn's Nitro 9000's...despite the reputation of their lifts as a whole...are nitrogen charged monotubes of good quality...that you can buy from JCWhitney for $35 each. Run them on several of my vehicles and loved them. I think of them as 3/4 a Bilstein HD for half the price.

arent suburban rear springs 56"? or is that what you are looking for?

have you considered new stock springs?

a good set of monotube shocks and updated bushings would go a long ways for a stock suspension.

for the u-bolt flip are you talking about going from the square type u-bolts that go over the spring to the round u-bolts that go under the axle? if so it should work fine. Ive got three trucks that came factory this way, one is 3/4 ton and the others were 1/2 tons.

another thing you might consider is air bumps. I read in another thread about air bumps that they can make a big difference in ride quality, even on a stock vehicle.

3/4 ton Burb springs are 56" just like 3/4 ton trucks. Half ton Burbs have the same 52" springs as half ton K5's and K10's. His was a K10 Burb. I figure if they don't sag under the larger weight of a Burb than they're better than mine. The simple fact that mine sits uneven side to side makes me think these would be a good replacement.

Yeah, I'm a dumb ass. I swear I saw the rear U bolts were pointed down...but mine aren't. Derp. Nevermind.

I dunno about air bumps. Heard great things about them but not sure on the expense. MAYBE some of those Timbren poly load springs though. 76Zimmer has a set on his truck and others have run them. Might do something like that since it is my tow vehicle.

 

[DokWatson]

I need to re-do my suspension as well (Blazinzuk can attest to this, though not as bad as YellowK20's truck)... I'll be paying attention.

 

[Fordum]

When I ordered my 89 3/4 ton pickup, I specified the towing package, which got me the heavy duty rear suspension as well as the supercooling package.

Then, I added the snowplow package. Which must have freaked some folks out since it was going to NW Florida........

When it came in, before I cut it in half and shortened it, the front end stood a little high.
But, after I added a couple hundred pounds of winch and bumper, it was perfect.

After about 150K of hard driving, the front leafs had sagged to the point that my guy could not do an alignment anymore so I started shopping for springs.

I looked at a lift kit, very pricy. I tried factory, even more pricy. Then I stumbled on this outfit.
http://www.springsnthings.com/

I was very leery of doing business with them. Their price for a pair of front springs for my truck was less than half anyone else's price for one!

I called them up with my spring code, and asked if that was for a pair or just one?
They assured me it was for a matched pair. They said that they made most of the springs in house.

For that price, I figured, what the heck?
Ordered them with new bolts and installed bushings.

There was some minor thing wrong, bolts were too long, something like that, but the springs were perfect.
I guess I have put about another 100K or so on them, and I think they are holding up better than stock.

Their new website sucks. Half the tables are wrong, and they don't list the springs like they used to.

But it should not cost anything to drop them an E-mail. If you have the spring code, that would help.
If you do, let me know what you find out. I have mentioned them before a few times, but I hate to keep doing that since it has been so long since I had any dealings with them, and they might have gone bad.

BTW, there is a thread here about a poly bushing. The guy posted a video of it moving like mad when he turned the steering.

I don't think he has pulled it off to see what is going on, and it seems to me that it was going to be a while before he got a chance to.
But I would like to know what is going on there before I put in polys. If nothing else, what brand it is.

 

[Confedneck]

Ford. Poly bushings are stiffer than rubber, so in some cases, I could see that they may wear harder and faster than a rubber bushing, but the performance gains and improved road feel are second to none.

 

[Fordum]

Ford. Poly bushings are stiffer than rubber, so in some cases, I could see that they may wear harder and faster than a rubber bushing, but the performance gains and improved road feel are second to none.

I agree, but this one bushing looks awful. Its practally brand new, I think, and it wobbles like its got 200k on it.
Not saying polys in general are bad, but if he gets a chance to pull this one anytime soon, I would look into what is going on with it before I ordered some.

I'm going to go find that thread. It was not all that long ago.

 

[Confedneck]

Post a link. I'd be willing to bet that it was faulty. New doesn't always mean good.

 

[Fordum]

Found it.
Here is the thread.
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=286718

Check out that second video. I don't think that is normal for a stock bushing, much less a poly.

Like I said, poly is the way to go, but I gotta wonder what the deal is with that one.

BTW, this is not in reply to you, but the comment was made about re-arching springs.
It can be done, and have the result be the same as original. But it has to be done right, and few places do.

The problems occur when someone does it to gain height above what the spring was originally.
The thickness and width of the steel was chosen for that amount of arch and load weight.
Bending it farther will not last.

The second problem occurs when someone tries to restore it to stock height by re-bending it in a press.
Not going to work. The grain and stresses in the steel have realigned themselves over time and that is where they are going to return to fairly quickly.
But, a shop that does it right, can make the spring like new. But, its going to cost as much, if not more, than a new one.

This place tells how to do it right.

http://www.eatonsprings.com/rearching.htm

 

[jms]

..
-Thinking poly bushings all around.
-Some good nitrogen monotube shocks. Maybe Bilstein HD's but at least some Rough Country Nitro 9000's.
-Shackles? With greasable bushings?
...

Back then ('99?), this is pretty much what I did: greasable poly bushings; swaybar disco, Bilstein HD (can't remember, 4600?). Skinny BFG ATs, 4.10s and a rear locker. Worked pretty well.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Sounds like a solid plan. So far I've done the following:

Just installed the ORD swaybar discos a week ago.

305/70R16 (33x12ishR16) Load Range D muds on 16x8's.

Factory 3.73's but with the diesel motorvates down the road quite nicely.

30 spline 10 bolt Detroit I got from Thunder via Rene is sitting under my work bench along with a rear axle rebuild kit. Contemplating a fancy cover for the rear axle.

I LOVE Bilsteins but they're pushing my budget, a lot.

 

[KirsL]

I have Bilsteins on mine, just the lift versions, and I can say that they were well worth the money. I got them for a good price too think I paid like $250 with shipping for all four of them. I happened to find them on sale. I'd say if your not in a rush to save up and look for them on sale. Plus if for some reason you never find them for a good price you at least have the cash to buy a different brand.

 

[COCHEV]

I like the idea of aal in the rear and a zero rate up front. New bushings and shocks. I'm thinking of removing my 6" lift on my work truck and going this rout. The aals ride just fine. Course I have a canopy and sh!t load of tools on the back.

Another option in the rear if you don't want an aal, but tow some (don't know if you do) are those hellwig overload spring set ups...

Otherwise...

I think a lot of peeps are doing this- rocking the old iron on a daily basis

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Damn it...now I'm pricing Bilstein shocks...


I figure with the 4 leaf + overload packs I won't need much more carrying capacity. My current springs are just worn out.

 

[4xcrazy]

My suburban sagged in the rear too, I picked up a used set of springs and tore the packs down, installed two extra leaves in each side and it leveled it out and helped with the soggy bouncy feeling alittle as well. I also have Rough Country nitro shocks as well. Rides good, front is alittle stiffer, but they are lift springs.

 

[blazinzuk]

Just an opinion here. First off I think you are on a good track. I do agree with buying the best shocks you can. Bilsteins are hard to go wrong with.

I think I am one of the few that really like RS 9000s with an in cab control. When I had em in my zuk I adjusted them all the time.

Now one suggestion I might make. The stock front shackle still has kind of a crappy angle if I remember. While its a fairly labor intensive deal you may want to move your front upper shackle hanger forward just a bit. I would not shoot for more than about 15 degrees between 10 and 15 would probably work best.

Anyone remember the velvet ride shackles for the rear? I had a buddy with them in a one ton truck and it improved the ride a ton. Still rode crappy just less crappy then before. Just checked and they don't make em anymore sulastic now makes them but they don't list them for squares.

My main goal to improve ride would be to increase the free movement in the springs. Teflon inserts in the springs opened up spring clamps (preferably the kind with bolts in the top) Anything to reduce friction when the spring moves. Maybe even replace the sleeves in the bushings with some sort of graphite impregnated steel.

Next would be to control the movement of the springs.

I wouldn't worry about bumpstops too much.

I would worry about shock mounting though. In the front stock shocks seemed to run out of travel before the bumpstops touched, that is hard on shocks and the ride of the truck.

Treat it exactly like you were doing a lift and trying to get max travel out of it with suspension control in mind and you should have the best riding stock truck out there

 

[yellowK20]

(Blazinzuk can attest to this, though not as bad as YellowK20's truck)

Hey!! my truck still has the front and rear swaybars............ and its a ford

 

[Deuling]

Be sure to post up all the stuff you end up doing/buying as far as the suspension goes, I will most likely be doing the same thing at some point and I would like to know how it turns out for you and what kind of $$$ you spend on it. Ive got the same plans as you except I may throw an ez inch all the way around just because when the engine was out it sat exactly an inch higher in the front and you really could notice the difference and it looked nice.