New guy with Gen 2.5 suspension question

[curtperry]

Hi all,

I bought a 98 Montero about a month ago and I'm starting to mess with the front suspension a bit. I come from the 4runner world and I have to admit I'm really surprised at how little travel the front IFS has on this rig. So of course I would like to maximize the use of the travel that is available.

Right now I am focusing on improving my downtravel/droop and I've run into a stumbling block. I have removed the anti-sway bar, disconnected my shock, and trimmed 1/2 inch off of the upper bumpstop, only to find that my downtravel has not increased. So then I removed the upper bumpstop altogether and it still won't droop any further. I have about a 3/4 inch gap between the upper control arm and the plate where the bump stop rests. Obviously something else is preventing it from dropping any further. I've done some reading about the Montero IFS and based on that I'm guessing it's the upper ball joint angle, but I'm not sure. As of now the center-of-hub to fender measurement at full droop is 24". Is this really all we can get?

 

[curtperry]

Upon further inspection I found that there are two bumpstops on the upper arm and I had only trimmed (and then removed) one of them. Thanks for your patience folks!

 

[nwoods]

What's your drop now?

 

[curtperry]

Here are my measurements with the upper bump stops removed and the UCA (upper control arm) resting metal to metal against the bumpstop frame supports.

Maximum droop/downtravel (center of hub to fender): 25.0"
Shock length at max droop: 13.38"​

Here are my measurements of the OEM mitsu shock, measured from the center of the lower eye to the bottom of the upper stud. This is on a 98 with winter package and electronic adjustable shocks.

Compressed: 9.19"
Extended: 13.56"​

Based on this I can see that there is no concern about over extending the shock because even at max droop with no bump stops the length of the shock is almost 1/4" from fully extended. This is good suspension design having both compression and extension stops and I consider it an advantage that the Montero has over a 4runner of the same year which has only compression stops and lets the shock top out to stop the extension when wheels hit air.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is how alignments are done up front. The LCA doesn't appear to have any eccentric adjustment nuts at it's bushings so I'm wondering about camber and caster adjustments, not that I think I need any just curious.

 

[plh]

There are alignment shims behind the UCA (or option to insert them), I don't think there are any adjustments for the LCA.