simple suspension setup or bound to break??

Discussion in 'Suspension/Chassis' started by joeyota653, Nov 10, 2010.

  1. joeyota653

    joeyota653 Enthusiast

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    i was told that tying a steel pipe to both rear leafs behind the axle will make it act like a sway bar.. thought it might work so i was brainstorming under there and found that if i wedge the steel pipe in between the thick bottom leaf and the middle leaf, it greatly stiffened the ride! i tot this could be a good bolt on for when you need the stiffness...on the other hand, the leafs will bend at an unusual position, since the pipe is inbetween the axle and the rear end of the leaf..i dont think it will create too much stress unless your loading on it or constantly drifting...
    any thoughts??
     
  2. Dgerfan55

    Dgerfan55 Grand Toyotaholic

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    Not to sure but doesnt sound safe to me
     
  3. IronNam

    IronNam Grand Toyotaholic

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    pics please!


    remember.... a sway bar is basically a "torsion bar" between the two sides of a vehicle.as one side dips, it counters to push the rising side, down.
     
  4. joeyota653

    joeyota653 Enthusiast

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    heres the pics!
    [​IMG]
    see the gap between the two lower leaves??
    [​IMG]
    wedged in there gives me alot more stiffness now.. and idk bout the bodyroll benefits..i mean if the leafs remain flat and dont twist then it can work.if you weld it on! but maybe the leafs stay parallel with the axle??
    im thinking this may give alot more stress on the leafs now, since the pipe is in between the axle n rear shackle.
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    That won't help at all for body roll.

    A sway bar is connected to the axle and the frame on both sides, in one continuous piece.

    What you have there is a potential "James Bond" weapon that if released at highway speeds, could kill or maim other motorists or pedestrians.

    The reason the rear feels more stiff, is that effectively you are engaging the overloads all the time. And the added long term stress at that point can cause fatigue and leaf failure prematurely.

    Don't do it.;)
     
  6. joeyota653

    joeyota653 Enthusiast

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    haha k.. just making sure i was right before i break something!
     
  7. IronNam

    IronNam Grand Toyotaholic

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    +1

    That's what I thought once I saw the pipe.
     
  8. Dgerfan55

    Dgerfan55 Grand Toyotaholic

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    Sure u did CIN..............Sure me to. HAHA J/K
     
  9. joeyota653

    joeyota653 Enthusiast

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    so is there a cheap n effective way to stiffen up the rear end??
     
  10. oahu grown

    oahu grown Toyotaholic

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    Add more leafs to the pack.
     
  11. joeyota653

    joeyota653 Enthusiast

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    might as well..since i have a spare set from my 4x..
    how bout bodyroll? any good setups for a rear swaybar?
     
  12. IronNam

    IronNam Grand Toyotaholic

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    ford rangers have sway bars
    4runners have sway bars
    grab it off something. it's easy to do it on a truck since we have so much room to play around with.
     
  13. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    If you have a lot of body roll, the rear will not fix it the way you'd like. I ran the sway away torsion bars and drop spindles with the 23mm sway bar and didn't have to do a thing to make the truck handle. Even my ricer buddies were impressed.

    The stock torsions are soft and if you don't have the larger of the two sway bars on the front, I would start there.
     
  14. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    With urethane swaybar bushings.
     
  15. IronNam

    IronNam Grand Toyotaholic

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    usually it was stiffen the suspension and have a soft sway bar

    or a stiff sway bar and a soft suspension


    we have a soft suspension and soft sway bar, and i guess you stiffened the front.


    but you are right, you can't always just do the rear. if your rear end is extremely softened up, then a sway bar will help.

    i'll be honest, removing the mid leaf softened things up.
     
  16. Raffaelli

    Raffaelli Toyotaholic

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    +1. The bigger factory sway bar, dropped spindles, decent shocks, and sway a ways are cheap ways to make it handle great.

    Ive impressed more than one person with that simple setup.
     
  17. joeyota653

    joeyota653 Enthusiast

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    sounds like a plan!
    my front end is really soft... dead shocks! rear shocks are almost toast too..
    im on the lookout for these parts, but im havin a hard time!
    most toyotas that ive seen that i can scavenge frm are either 2wd or 4wd..
    havent found a flatbed or 1ton for the front swaybar.
     
  18. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Mine came with the larger of the two from the factory. So, you might check other pickups too. Just take a set of calipers with you and measure the diameter near the bushings.

    Also, fresh shocks themselves will help quite a bit.
     
  19. ShortyzKustomz

    ShortyzKustomz Enthusiast

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    coillover setup :)
     
  20. n2bnlow

    n2bnlow Enthusiast

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    You can take the overload leaf off of the bottom of the stack and flip it upside-down, and put it on the top, between the leafs and axl. This will lower the rear about an inch, but will be considerably stiffer. Also, Belltech makes lowered leafs that are nice and stiff. They dont cost much, and handle 10X better than the OEM stack. Want to less gravitational bodyroll? Drop that truck! Especially if the rear is higher than the front. Belltech 2" spindles, crank down the torsions alittle, and install dropped shocks up front. Belltech 3" drop leafs in the rear. Maybe add some performance shocks in the rear. Aftermarket wheels with low-profile tires will also help alot. OEM wheels and tires will roll alot too. Downsize that sidewall, and you will notice the difference. The sporty performance of these trucks was not the focus when Toyota designed them. But with some in-expensive upgrades, they can be real sporty. Partially due to power to weight ratio. Hope this helped a little.:runaway:
     

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