Rough ride in the rear?

[truekoa]

Hey Guys,

I have a '84 C10 with the 5.7/700r4, completely stock suspension except for new replacement shocks in the front and back.

The truck rides much more smoothly with the new shocks but the rear has more than the usual suspension travel when going over speed bumps or dips in the road. What is there in the rear suspension that needs to be looked at, its just shocks and leaf springs right? Do leaf springs go bad? Do I need seals or bushings etc? I did have this rough ride prior to replacing the shocks as well, just in case that is a concern.

Thanks in advance!

 

[marks86]

how thick is your leaf spring pack?

 

[smoothandlow84]

Most of the time, the leaf packs maintain their spring rate just fine unless abused (excessive weight) too frequently. Under normal use, the leaf pack should last for years. The hanger bushings that mount the leaf packs to the rear part of the frame need lubricated or replaced if oem rubber. Replacement hanger and polyurethane bushings make a huge difference. Polyurethane outlasts oem rubber. If your new rear shocks are gas charged versus oil, then it will also make the ride a bit stiffer. Trucks in general ride stiff as they are built to haul loads.

 

[truekoa]

how thick is your leaf spring pack?

not sure how thick, but I got five leafs on each side.

 

[truekoa]

Most of the time, the leaf packs maintain their spring rate just fine unless abused (excessive weight) too frequently. Under normal use, the leaf pack should last for years. The hanger bushings that mount the leaf packs to the rear part of the frame need lubricated or replaced if oem rubber. Replacement hanger and polyurethane bushings make a huge difference. Polyurethane outlasts oem rubber. If your new rear shocks are gas charged versus oil, then it will also make the ride a bit stiffer. Trucks in general ride stiff as they are built to haul loads.

I was putting some different wheels on the truck today and looked at the hangers, they were pretty rusted, not through but definitely old and worn. I'm going to go ahead and get new bushings and hangers and see how it improves and go from there. My new shocks are indeed gas charged!

Thanks for the hint.

 

[truekoa]

looking at some hangers/shackle kits on ebay and some other sites, I see they have dropped ones that will lower the truck about 4 inches, total. Do you guys recommend lowering the truck this way? I'll get something up front to match the rear drop.

Would I need a drop shock in the rear as well to accommodate the hangers/shackles?

 

[smoothandlow84]

My truck is dropped with a rear flip kit, drop hangers and in the front, coils and spindles. Hangers are a good and easy way to lower the back. You can either use shocks specifically for lowered trucks or install rear shock relocation brackets. The relocation brackets allow you to keep the oem shocks.

 

[truekoa]

My truck is dropped with a rear flip kit, drop hangers and in the front, coils and spindles. Hangers are a good and easy way to lower the back. You can either use shocks specifically for lowered trucks or install rear shock relocation brackets. The relocation brackets allow you to keep the oem shocks.

what brand and how low are you front/back?

Right now, i'm on 295/50/15s all around and I don't want to drop it just yet, I feel like I might have clearance issues?

I really just want to replace the hangers with new ones along with bushings to get a smoother ride if possible until I switch up my tire combo. But looks like every vendor only sells drop hangers.