Bump Stop is Hitting.....

[Cormac]

hi all

i have an nh 3.0 lwb - relatively new to me - and no experiance with the older Gen's at all

I have added the GQ rear springs and wound the bars up.
The left bar wound all the way and back one twist, the right bar is all the way up, with no where left to go- the front is a little saggy.
Now this the issue. The ride became firm at the front - really firm - hard even, so i read the forum and found
". if the front suspension has gone hard it normally means the bumpstop ids hitting, raising the ride height with the torsion bar should not significantly stiffen the ride."

So i put it on a hoist and lo and behold - its resting on the bump stops - absolutely no gap between control arm etc.
I have read on here to trim them, but i cant see this making a HUGE differance - am i mising something?

To add to it, i have fitted 16x8x32 Bighorns, and while the ride is fine, under a little flex they rub right up inside the guard.

I am committed to removing the guards - as much as possible - and adding flares for the extra play room - but has any one got any other advice/experiance regarding the front end of the old girl?

any feedback greatly apprecaited..im sure this has been covered a million and one times on ere, but ...

Cheers

[Pauly Faulkner]

Trimming the rubber makes a huge difference. When the rubber is resting on the bumpstop at stationary height it will make the ride very uncomfortable, just a tiny gap alone improves the ride feel dramatically.

You should at the least have a gap big enough to fit your finger in there (around 15-20mm) to allow some sway when cornering.

[Cormac]

cheers pauly, ive read that on the forums as well - but after looking at them couldnt see it making a huge diff

my concern is, and i dont know if this can happen, but upward wheel travel with no space means i run the risk of breaking a torsioni bar (does that sound right??)

[schnitzel]

you will damage the chassis rail and mount before you break the bar, either way you need clearance on the bumpstop for the suspension to work at the moment all your downard spring rebound is in the bumpstop the, spring has no room for movement, apart from making the ride harsh it is dangerous and potential for damage is high.

trimming bumpstops is easy, 2 bolts per side, take the bumpstop out and trim it along the moulding mark is normally sufficient.

By the sounds of it you also need new bars, these are not as expensive as you think ( as long as you dont by from a dealer )

I can supply HD dobinsons if you need some.

cheers

Greg

[dazza33]

There are 2 bump stops a side though front and rear of the upper control arm. Trimming them to 5mm or so above the head of the bolts that do them up is how i went and yes even a little gap does make a difference. I ended up with about 15mm gap, great ride and no scrubbing and i have 33x12.5x15. Did wind mine all the way up and soon realised the ride was to hard and figured there would eventually be some structural issues going forward. Also run GQ coils with 4 Runner shocks and yes the rear is much higher than the front, doesn't look to bad with a dip toward the front, a bit old school. But it is what it is, they just can't go any higher without engineering the mounts to the chassis but hey what about the pressure on the CV's, another problem with over winding the bars.