New Bilsteins good rubber and proper Tire Pressure... still somewhat jarring ride.

[edpdx]

My M1009 is starting to give a rougher ride- things rattling on highway, let alone off road. Feels like I have 50 lbs of air in the tires.

I'm not a suspension guy beyond shocks and sway bar bushings. What can I do to restore my suspension? Some of the post I've read here say NO to re-arched leaf springs, and even new aftermarket leafs. I have seen new leaf sets- are these going to be any better?

What about helpers for the rear pack like the (Roadmaster Active Suspension kit). It looks like it smooths out several bumps in the road.

What can be done to the front suspension to get a better ride?

Lastly, are new bushing all around best left to a suspension shop- I'm working on my back if I tackle them?

Thanks

 

[Ilikemtb999]

I know there are factory replacement springs out there that will restore factory ride height. A set of quality shocks should help as well as restoring bushings (unless the springs themselves are shot which is likely at the age of these vehicles).

If you opt for new springs then that only leaves you with the rear front spring mounts and the rear spring shackle mounts. Both are not difficult and you can even buy replacement shackles if you were so inclined. Those plus some bilsteins should give you quite a nice ride.

I have tuff country springs and shocks along with 35psi in my tires (35”) and it rides softer than my 07 2500hd.

 

[cucvrus]

It's a CUCV not a Cadillac. It's supposed to ride rough. Now if you were to put a Cadillac grille and some fancy trim on it. You could call it an Escalade. Worked for GM the past 20 years. HA. I have been putting new stock height springs on CUCV's makes for a firmer rattle free ride but nothing compared to a new Silverado pick up. Good Luck. Cheap lift kit springs will not make for a better ride.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

There’s a difference between a firm ride and a rough/jarring ride.

 

[edpdx]

CUCVRUS: I know it's not a Cadillac, and I'm not about to dress it up as such- do what you want with yours. I've owned this Blazer enough years to know the ride has changed significantly. Ive owned a chevy truck since 1974, so I know they don't have to ride as poorly as mine is running now. I did not ask about lift kits or for it to ride like a luxury sedan, I just wanted some suggestions to make it better than it is now.

Don't you think 33 years of technology could give us better suspension products. I like mine to be stock, but I don't think anyone here would scoff at better springs, mounts or bushings when it is time to replace them.

It's a CUCV not a Cadillac. It's supposed to ride rough. Now if you were to put a Cadillac grille and some fancy trim on it. You could call it an Escalade. Worked for GM the past 20 years. HA. I have been putting new stock height springs on CUCV's makes for a firmer rattle free ride but nothing compared to a new Silverado pick up. Good Luck. Cheap lift kit springs will not make for a better ride.

 

[rsh4364]

I also recently installed 4 bilstein yellow and blues on my 1009, they were very stiff for about 300-400 miles. They are much better now. I plan on replacing springs with factory rates front and rear this summer, also going with ord greaseable bushings on everything. And 1" zero rates front and rear.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Helper springs are a band-aid. Bushings (including body bushings), springs, and shocks. If they are shot, replace them. That's about it.

 

[KamikazeKunze]

Any of you have the part number for the Bilsteins? Need some new shocks for the old M1010.
thanks a bunch

 

[blueblaze]

If you think the yellow and blue bilsteins are good, the Bilstein 5100's are even better. I just installed a set of those on my M1008. Worth every penny. They're literally the best shock I've ever had on a production vehicle. World of difference on a 30 yr old 1 ton 4WD.

 

[cucvrus]

best shock I've ever had on a production vehicle.

Excuse me. May I ask is there a NON Production vehicle? Had to ask. Be a little hard to get shock absorbers for a vehicle that was never produced. Or producing shocks for something that don't exist. Oh WTH I am all confused. I build vehicles and they are all produced at some point in time or they don't exist. Am I missing something? Shocks are shocks. Put new ones on anything it is going to make a huge difference. I say take the blind fold ride test. With your eyes covered ears plugged tell me the brand of shocks and which ones ride the best. I double dog dare you. You will never know the difference. Have a great day. I am going out to build an ark and put 2 parts from every CUCV inside it and only 2 models. An M1009 and an M1028 and I will see which one uses the most parts when I hit dry land.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

An M1009 and an M1028 and I will see which one uses the most parts when I hit dry land.

Would the offspring be a HumVee?

Or would it be more like a Yugo?

 

[simp5782]

Would the offspring be a HumVee?

Or would it be more like a Yugo?

Weld 2 Yugo's together and call it a "WeGo".



Replace the cab bushings. It will make things alot better.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

best shock I've ever had on a production vehicle.

Excuse me. May I ask is there a NON Production vehicle? Had to ask. Be a little hard to get shock absorbers for a vehicle that was never produced. Or producing shocks for something that don't exist. Oh WTH I am all confused. I build vehicles and they are all produced at some point in time or they don't exist. Am I missing something? Shocks are shocks. Put new ones on anything it is going to make a huge difference. I say take the blind fold ride test. With your eyes covered ears plugged tell me the brand of shocks and which ones ride the best. I double dog dare you. You will never know the difference. Have a great day. I am going out to build an ark and put 2 parts from every CUCV inside it and only 2 models. An M1009 and an M1028 and I will see which one uses the most parts when I hit dry land.

You talk like someone who has never experienced good tunable and properly tuned suspension.

 

[cucvrus]

You talk like someone who has never experienced good tunable and properly tuned suspension.​

When its tuned it is loaded to the max and drives like a dream. When in tuned it has been driven hard and put away wet. I drove a CUCV both ways and never mattered if it had Bilsteins/Monroes/Sears/Gabriel or factory shocks. If its a K30 Chevrolet truck or a K10/K5 Blazer it drove like a buck board with buck board axles. Not that I mind the rough ride. But not much you can do with leaf springs at all 4 corners. Make sure it don't rattle with every bump you hit and you pretty much "nailed it". Never heard of a nice riding CUCV. Does one exist? I mean they go over everything and people have said "Nice Ride". I am about to start my build when the rain stops. It just stopped Bye Bye.

 

[Ilikemtb999]

You talk like someone who has never experienced good tunable and properly tuned suspension.​

When its tuned it is loaded to the max and drives like a dream. When in tuned it has been driven hard and put away wet. I drove a CUCV both ways and never mattered if it had Bilsteins/Monroes/Sears/Gabriel or factory shocks. If its a K30 Chevrolet truck or a K10/K5 Blazer it drove like a buck board with buck board axles. Not that I mind the rough ride. But not much you can do with leaf springs at all 4 corners. Make sure it don't rattle with every bump you hit and you pretty much "nailed it". Never heard of a nice riding CUCV. Does one exist? I mean they go over everything and people have said "Nice Ride". I am about to start my build when the rain stops. It just stopped Bye Bye.

And none of those are adjustable.

 

[cucvrus]

No they are not. And neither are the springs or suspension on the CUCV. The only adjustment I know of is to payload them up with good shocks(New) and have decent tires and you will get the best ride it can deliver. This is pre pre runner stuff and just a truck. Unlike newer truck vehicle suspensions that are somewhat adjustable. Putting adjustable shocks on an old 4 leaf sprung CUCV is just wasting time and money. What will you achieve that would justify the added expense? And real data not just "Oh it handles and rides so much better". I am just not convinced after all the vehicle was NOT made or designed to ride nice. It's a truck. A 35 year old 1 ton at that. Or a K5 Blazer with a 3 spring snow plow option up front. I have added quad shock and that took a bit of the bounce out but never made it ride better. This is all in good debate not in argumentative under tones. Facts is what I am looking for. Been building trucks all my life and never seen a set of shocks that improved the over all ride and performance of a medium or heavy duty truck. Maybe a 4 bag air ride suspension. Good Luck with that.

 

[edpdx]

OK, so what I am reading here is that nothing can be done, other than replacing shocks -not even with top rated shocks it seems.

The only remedy for rough-riding CUCVs is to replace all bushings.

Useless ideas:

Helper Springs
New Leafspring
Add-a-Leaf
Air shocks

Seems like the entire suspension parts industry has passed our trucks by. Well it saves us money, I guess. Too bad about all those forums and magazines telling our civilian counterpart owners to improve their ride, when it apparently is just a fallacy. I really feel like a sucker now for blowing my dough on Bilsteins when I could be just as happy with Monroe-Matics or Ranchos... hmmm

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I really feel like a sucker now for blowing my dough on Bilsteins when I could be just as happy with Monroe-Matics or Ranchos... hmmm

It's a system, and it has to work together.

If you don't replace the bushings, even the best shocks won't give you a good ride. If your springs are shot, air shocks won't fix that, but they will mask the real problem, while causing others. If your shocks are shot, good springs will just bounce you higher, and so on.

It's all got to work together.

 

[rsh4364]

When I installed the bilstein shocks on my stock height 86 1009 I also felt jaded, the ride was harsh and jarring.I crawled under truck to check things out. Everything looked normal. Told a buddy about it and he said give the shocks a few hundred miles they will settle down and they actually have. What part # did you install and is your 1009 lifted? At first they were so bad I thought that they were going to jar my truck apart. I paid $336.for the 4 shocks.

 

[Dave Kay]

I might suggest replacing your cab's rubber body mounts. Did this on an my old '77 C20 years ago and I even installed the harder Energy Suspension urethane-type and it made a world of difference in the ride--- read that way better. Of course new shocks, springs & bushings will help to restore that factory ride as well. Hope that helps and good luck.