Suspension

[hyrific]

So the stock Suspension is stiff as hell and hunting roads sucks.  Particularly for my rig as I have removed as much weight as possible for the snow tracks.

So I am going to update the suspension and install a kit to put Camso tracks on the machine for the winter.  I am using the sidekick to replace an argo.  The argo was just toooooo bumpy as it had NO suspension at all.

I am going to try and update this thread with progress on installing the following"

ATVTracks.net install kit for Camso tracks on tracker.

Airbagit kit to replace coils with airbag suspension springs with compressor and pump and controls at dash.  This should allow for adjustable ride height and spring rate for different loads and road conditions.

New front radiator.  the radiator in the rig had an aftermarket electric fan that was held in with plastic through radiator mounts.  After this weeks hunt they rubbed a small hole in the radiator.  will replace with brackets for the fan.  Worried that without a shroud the fan will not cool enough but there is no shroud anywhere for an electric fan for this rig and the engine fan and shroud are long gone.

Other things that I will end up having to do to make the above work.  may need to replace front strut or a arms to provide more travel for front suspension as the bags technically could travel more than the stock springs if I want them to.

Let the games begin.

[hyrific]

So its no turning back now. I have ordered the parts and they were not the cheapest.

Parts list as reference:

Adjustable Camber Bolts for front strut to allow for camber adjustment after lifting.15 bucks on ebay.
Monroe 32268 Rear longer shocks. 30 bucks each ebay.
Monroe 71831 longer front struts. 30 bucks each on ebay.
Used Auto locking hubs (i had warn manual on it and want to go to the auto because I am lazy) 80 dollars on ebay.
Alteredego 2 inch rear diff spacer. 25 CAD plus shipping.
Airbagit kit for all springs. Includes one compressor. 2.5 gallon tank 4 valves and dash gauges, lines and fittings. the springs are the Denomentor II air spring. Goes from 2.8 inches to 12 inches. Brackets will go into the current spring cups and I will need to cut them down to the lower and upper heights I want. The goal they say is to put the spring at 65% of full at the ride height you want. So that would be about 7 inches inflated at a 2 inch lift from stock. This would it seems allow for the full travel of the new shocks/struts adding about 3 inches of wheel travel above stock and I could ride lower or higher than the 7 inches depending on pressure in the bags. Lower than stock should be a cushy ride higher stiffer. I could go with a 3 inch lift by adding a small spacer on the longer shocks struts..... I am thinking though the 2/2.5 inches is safest and I don't really need much more height plus I can run pumped up to get a little height if I had to anyway. This was 1100 dollars..... Ouch.

A little worried the bags will have clearance issues I will need to remedy but hoping they pop in and no touching. THe welding will be a trick.

I have purchased used UTV Camso Tracks (3k but hardly used) from a maverick and got the install kit for the anti rotation brackets from ATVTRACKS.net. ( glad this is around as building this from scratch would have been a pain about 500 dollars for the kit) Plus 4 inch spacers for the hubs in the front (250 from custom builder) and 2 inch in the back (180) I have to weld a anti rotation bracket to the frame for that kit also. The welding will be tough as I don't have 240 in the garage so a torch??? Borrow a generator?? I don't know I will have to get that figured out later.

More to come.

[hyrific]

Pulled the driver side suspension apart. Have the spring out and its a OME 960 spring. The strut is likely stock. Thus it appears the rig had a 1.25 inch lift. I am hoping the struts are aftermarket with longer travel so I may be able to return the struts I ordered. Anyone on here want a set of 4 1.25 inch lift springs? I may try and sell them on Ebay. Fascinating though as these springs are according the web the Light load ride improving springs. https://www.morris4x4center.com/old-man-...%20Springs

More to come.

[hyrific]

Well I have the system installed. I will take a lot of pictures and post an update in the coming days. It was a beast of an install. I would not recommend this install to anyone to be truthful but if you want to be able to lower and raise your ride height on the fly it does work. It also is softer than the stock setup the only issue is its hard to get stock shocks that are soft enough to make the ride work right. I am still looking at how to soften up the struts..... They only make the one version that I have that is the stock setting. when you have the car lighted up as much as possible for snow tracks it is too stiff.

If anyone has any ideas on how to soften up the shocks let me know. I am not above opening them up and drilling out the holes or anything I can do.

thanks.

[hyrific]

Well I purchase the rear shocks for a Chevy Cavalier. Hope they do better than the ones I have now that will work for a HD truck.

[hyrific]

Ok some pics for yall.  You can see I had to weld the "cups" onto the axles in the back.  The top is a 5 inch round tube welded onto a plate that mounts to the bags.  Then run airlines into the top to screw into the bag.  

The first pic is of the front with the springs removed. You have to cut off the Bump stop pillar to get room for the upper front bag mount. those pics are coming.

The kit came with the round bar and the plates separate so you have to weld the plates and then I had to weld flat bar on top so the rubber mount on the top would not move around.  Then welded a piece of flat bar to run a bold through to hold the top mount in place.  Welded a bolt on the inside of the round bar to screw the bolt into.  This way you can remove the whole top mount to get access to the screws to mount the bag tot he top if you ever had to replace the bag.  You have to attach the airline before you put it up into the cavity.


Pictures of the front and inside the cap etc will be coming.

[hyrific]

Well looks like I put too much lift on the rear. The drive-line vibrates at 70 MPH on the freeway and surely will burn up the U joints faster. I can air down the bags and the vibration essentially goes away. I may need to cut the 4 " tube lowering the bags down an inch or so. I hope not as that will be a pain. I also have a a shorter third link spacer for the rear axle that is shorter than the one that was on the rig when I purchased it. Its about a 4" now and the one i got is 2" so I suppose I could give that a whirl and see it it makes a difference.

Onward to dial this in.

[hyrific]

Ok got it dialed in. Swapped the longer rear shocks I had that were too stiff with some 1989 cavalier shocks and it made a huge difference. Cut the cups on the back off and removed the rubber spacer at the top to lower the ride 3" and the driveline is now working properly.

[hyrific]

Finished product.  Pictures attached.  The custom air suspension is working good.  you can change ride height on the fly and the ride is less harsh.  Key there was to get the cavalier rear shocks.  The tracks go on well as long as you don't purchase the wheel spacers from ATVtracks.net and just get the install kit only.  the rear spacers for the tracks should be 2 inches instead of 4 and then the kit works great.  If you do the airbag kit use lots of pipe dope and a impact to install the air lines you won't get leaks.

[hyrific]

Installed the air pump under the hood where the stock airbox was along with the air control valve.  Put the gauges and switches in the dash above the stereo.  You have to cut the dash some to get it to fit like so.  Used auto hubs as once you put the tracks on you can't get access to the manual hubs. 

You can see in the pictures where I ran the wires and hoses into the dash for the gauges through the firewall.

Hope this helps someone if they decide to do this.  The airbag kit is a big install.  You can to cut and fabricate the entire install custom.
The instructions they send from ATVTracks.net for the sidekick are not good.  Hope someone finds this post if they are going to do the install.

thanks.