I will try to give you the best tech info I can as it comes to me. If you
have a tip you would like to share please E-mail it to me.
Like I said in my budget baja page, suspension is the key to any good off-
road car. Suspension is only as good as the amount of money you put in to it.
In this section I will start with the simple and work my way up so, you can
get a better idea of how far you want to go.
(SECT-6.1) SHOCKS
There are many kinds of shocks you can buy. The cheapest are what I call $30
coil-overs. They are 3 way adj. and raise your car about 2". Next and highly
recomended are KYB GAS-A-JUST. Unlike the $30 coil-overs they come in many
differrent sizes, handles a lot better under hard off-road conditions and last
a lot longer then 3 years. These shocks are great for the weekend off-roader.
Also we have Bilsteins. Bilsteins are just a little better than KYB. Last on
my list and probably the best are Fox. Fox shocks or coil-overs are for
racing and for about $400 not alot of us will have the privlege. If you plan
on getting your car off the ground at all you will probabily need rebound
straps. Rebound straps simply limit the rebound of your suspension so that
you don't over-extend your shocks. Mount them on the upper and lower shock
mount. They should stop the shock 1/2" short of their extened length. (Note
if you have replaced the stock seat bealts will harnesses you can ues the
seat bealts as rebound straps. Save $50)
(SECT-6.2) STRENGTHING THE FRONT SUSPENSION
off-road abuse will result in damage to the front end. Before I get in to
how to strengthen the front end I would like to say that some places make
front end beef-up kits that increasae suspension travel and strengthens the
front end. Also if you have the money, for about $250 you can buy a new front
end that is made out of a singal piece of chrome moly and already has the
torsion bars turned. If not here is what you can do. Since the shock towers
are just spot wealded together run a weld alon the seam. As far as making
plates to brace the towers I have not done that yet. Another thing to
strengthen the torsion tubes are front end supports but, the stock gas tank
must be removed for them to fit.
(SECT-6.3) MAKING THE FRONT SUSPENSION STIFFER
To stiffen the front end you could buy stiffer leaves or rotate the torsion
bars. To do this job right you should takt the front suspension apart first.
When you take the leaves out remember whitch side faces up. Before cutting
draw a line across as a reference. After you take the middle setscrwe out you
can beging cutting. The best thing to ues would be a good set of pipe cutters.
Cut 1-1/2" away from each side of the locking nut. After you cut rotate
1/8-1/4" upward. 1/8" will make it a lot stiffer and 1/4" might make it too
stiff for every day street use. To put back on simpily tack-weald. If you
have trouble getting the leaves back in as a group wrap the leaves with a
heavy rubber band.
(SECT-6.4)STRENGTHING THE FRONT END
While you have the front end off you should also make some more changes.
TIE RODS- Tie rods are hollow tubes that can bend easily. An easy way to
reinforce them is to cut out a metal rod and put inside them. The length
should be something around 5 and 20" for the small and large tie rod.
(NOTE when taking the tie rods off count the number of times they turn
and put them on the same way so the alignment stays the same.) To take them
off you might need a tie rod end puller. With the tie rods reinforced the
force that would bend the tie rods will now damage the steering box so you
should find a way to clamp it down better.
While you have the front end off you should also make some more changes.
TIE RODS- Tie rods are hollow tubes that can bend easily. An easy way to
reinforce them is to cut out a metal rod and put inside them. The length
should be something around 5 and 20" for the small and large tie rod.
(NOTE when taking the tie rods off count the number of times they turn
and put them on the same way so the alignment stays the same.) To take them
off you might need a tie rod end puller. With the tie rods reinforced the
force that would bend the tie rods will now damage the steering box so you
should find a way to clamp it down better.