Is this a strut spacer in the front? What about the rear?

Hi all,

I bought this truck not too long ago and have been doing a lot of work to it since I have had it. Mostly fixing neglected parts and preventative maintenance and some mods here and there.
The ride is really rough so I was thinking that I should go through and replace the shocks/struts.
The guy who I got it from said that I was lifted some amount. He was clueless about most stuff on the truck, so I didnt think much of it.
From what I can tell, I think that there are strut spacers in the front, but I am not sure how it is lifted from the rear. Maybe an AAL? Any guidance you guys can provide would be awesome.
My previous vehicle was a 96 Ford Explorer that I lifted by turning the torsion keys up in the front and then getting bigger leaf shackles in the back. I have no experience with suspension that uses struts so this will be a first for me when I get around to putting new ones on.

If it is a strut spacer, I believe that that would be a large reason as to why my ride is so rough since it effectively increases the compression on the strut assembly to add additional height to the ride (if I understand the application correctly that is). I measured it and its 1.5 inches tall. If I were to get new struts for the front that are designed to originally lift the vehicle, that should make my ride a lot better right?

Appreciate any feedback you can provide me with.

 

Yep. Spacer in front. Single add a leaf in rear. Stock pack is 3+1, you are 4+1

Edit. Just realized this is a first gen.

 

gotcha. Thought so. Thanks for clarifying.

So would I be right in my hunch as to why my ride is so rough?

 

Yeah. Spacers are not great for ride quality.

 

If ya don't wanna down spend much...you could get 5100's and set them at 2.5". Your ride would improve.

 

Yea I just did some searching around online and found some Bilstein/RCD 5100's for the front for $229. I would either use my existing coils on them, or get some new ones. Not sure, but I think thats what I will end up doing. The ride is so rough that I feel like something is gonna break whenever I go over a bump in the road.

 

Better yet, get 5100s and leave them set to zero, get the right length coils to provide the lift you want. Using the 5100s to achieve lift will also be stiff, especially if you set them to 2.5.

OME (Old Man Emu) sells coils for lifts that work with the 5100s. I have the OME 881s with 5100s and got about an inch and a half of lift up front. OME 883s will get you closer to 3". I believe the OME 880s-883s are for first gens and provide different lifts/weight capacities depending on which one you go with.

 

Ya he's right...5100's will be stiff but no where near what you have now. I'm talking experience with a 2nd gen though. I ran them a couple years ago at 2.5 and never minded the ride at all. But I too run an OME lift now.

 

Scratch that, thats definitely the way to go. Thanks for letting me know. For now, I dont need more than 1.5 inches. The spacers in there now are 1.5 inches thick so that should be perfect to match the rear height.

 

If the spacer is 1.5" thick that means it's lifting your truck 3" right now. Keep that in mind.

Maxing out 5100's is going to be a rough ride. If you think it's rough now, you won't like the 5100's maxed out.

 

Check your ubolts. They look uneven and some of the nuts have no thread protrusion. Whoever added the extra leaf in the back should've added some longer ubolts.

 

Just when I thought I had this whole spacer thing figured out, and was going go in that direction,,,,,?

I watched a couple videos and I wonder if all spacers compress the springs any more than normal?

 

How does that work? 1.5 inches = 3 inches?

edit:
If that is true, then i'm assuming that the truck is lifted 3 inches all the way around which means I should get coils and struts that will add up to a 3 inch lift up front. Right?

 

Yea i am looking forward to getting rid of those spacers on there and improving my ride quality and handling

 

Yup. Check out Headstrong's website here for OME coils, they have good prices and are super helpful with questions.

http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p21/Old_Man_Emu_Lift_Coils_-__Various_Lift_Heights_Available_(PAIR).html

OME 882s and 883s will both get you about 3" of lift in the front, the difference being that 883s have a heavier spring rate and are meant for trucks with more weight in the front (like a bumper, winch, steel skid plates, etc.). If you don't have that extra weight and don't intend to, then get the 882s. The 883s will be super stiff otherwise.

 

Of course you'll need shocks to go with those coils, the 5100s are a good option and so are the OME shocks. The 5100s are adjustable if you wanted to add more height in the future. I have the 881s and got about 1.5" of lift, wanted a bit more so I raised the setting on the 5100s up to the first notch and got close to another inch of height.

 

So if I got a 3" lift 882 coil on a 5100 strut, would that be maxing it out? I don't want to spend all that money for new front strut assemblies just top max them out and decrease their life span.

 

I've never heard of that being an issue, lots of people run 5100s on OME coils but your best bet would be to call up Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and see what she says, she may even chime in here

 

Awesome okay. Sounds like Headstrong is the place to go to get my stuff.

 

The 882's can provide more lift which can take away from down travel. It all depends on if you are running additional upfront weight or not. Ideally the 880's or 881's are a better pairing.