Restricted articulation

[JamesW]

Hello all.

I just put some extended shocks into my gen2 SWB over the weekend,and removed the rear anti roll bar in the hunt for more articulation. But i've noticed that the shock won't fully extend on the side that should be extending. I've removed the anti roll bar,and its not the flexy pipe for the brake on the rear axle.

So any suggestions will be welcome

 

[Justice R]

You've probably reached the limits of the trailing arm bushings and are binding. Try removing the front trailing arm bolt from the bushing (where it mounts to the axle) and getting a removable pin that you can insert and remove when off road. Do this at your own risk. Only need to do it on one side.

 

[JamesW]

Thats quite smart actually,but would it not be putting a lot of stress on the eye that is connected? I saw a pic online of one where it actually cracked the eye :Wow1:

I'm not getting any crazy articulation,I should maybe try disconnect the shock and see what the limits of the suspension is,and see is it being restricted by the shock or the arms.

this is the down travel i'm getting

And this is the shock that i have,however it is only extending as far as where my hand is

Thanks for the help

 

[off-roader]

What Justice said. What I've found personally with the gen I is when you go beyond the limits of the suspension, things start to break like the trailing arms so take care how far you elect to go with this.

Of course, having a locked rear end does help with the amount of available articulation.

 

[Justice R]

Here's what I could get on my old 95. This is with no anti-sway bar. No bolts removed from the trailing arms.

 

[JamesW]

Here's what I could get on my old 95. This is with no anti-sway bar. No bolts removed from the trailing arms.

Hmm maybe it isn't the arms restricting the movement. I'll have a peek under it at some point again and see is there anything binding.

The picture above is the kind of travel i'm expecting. I must just check is my spaced out bumpstop spaced far enough out before i go doing any mad testing.

I have the LSD that came with some of the Japanese models in mine,but I find that it's not much good,so as much articulation as can be got is always good.

 

[Justice R]

Yea that pic is with the stock Mitsu 3 way shocks too.

 

[JamesW]

Have you lifted the body?

So it still could be the arms causing my problem. I was thinking If it is the arms restricting my travel i could replace the nut and bolt with a bar and a pin,and yank it out whenever I want the extra flex

 

[Justice R]

No body lift on that one. Yes, thats what I meant Pin one of the mounting bolts and remove when you want to flex. It relieves the stress caused by the binding. Also a wider outboard offset rim will give you more travel at the outter Wheel when articulating (effectively lengthening the plane of your axle).

"Of course, having a locked rear end does help with the amount of available articulation."

Off roader, Please explain this one..I'm all ears

 

[JamesW]

I think he means you don't need as much articulation if you have a locker which would compensate for the wheel lifting into the air.

I've been told by 2 people since yesterday that taking the bolt out of the radius arm is a little dangerous,which after a bit of thinking makes sense,but if only used without the bolt offroad it may still work.

What i've found out is that it's the shock catching on the radius arm causing it not to drop all the way,so some relocation brackets like these may do the trick
http://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/vitara-/-x90/shock-repositioners-/-spacers/prod_173.html

 

[Justice R]

If you really want serious flex then you will need to adress the trailing arms at some point. The Bronco and rover guys "wrist" their arms for more travel.

Rover arm (very similtar to montero)

 

[JamesW]

:Wow1: They look fairly mad! It's something i would consider if i wanted to get properly mad flex. What i was really after was to get the most from the shocks that i put in.

Has anyone on here a video of the LSD in their truck being effective? Mine is absolutely rubbish,it only ever seems to work when i don't want it to,ie. on ice. And i'd like to see is mine particularly bad or do they all act the same

 

[Justice R]

The LSD in my old 90 was pretty good. The problem with LSD's is that they require some wheel spin to engage and sometime by the time you spin a tire its too late and your already stuck. If wheel is in the air it usually will not engage. Try tugging lightly on your emergency brake if you spinning a tire, that will usually get it to kick in just enough to get you over your obstacle. You can also take it apart and intall a more aggressive clutch pack into the LSD. If you want aggressive and have an LSD additive in your diff fluid, drain and refill without the additive, which smoothes the LSD out for the road, but sacrifices some aggressivness

 

[JamesW]

That makes sense to me now actually,its meant more for traction on slippery surfaces than in a cross axled situation. I put fresh LSD oil into the diff during the summer,the old stuff came out looking like Guinness which makes me think that it had never been changed,so that could explain why its not as good as it could be. Another flush soon,and I may stick a bit of friction additive into her too just to see does it make much of a difference,or is my LSD past it.

 

[off-roader]

Off roader, Please explain this one..I'm all ears

James figured it out. Surprised you didn't figure that out Justice.