Lifting mu suspension

[sidcoon]

hi there i have a 1993 Isuzu mu 2.8td and am wanting to lift it up abit.I have already done bull joint flip,and am no wanting to know how far i can wind up front torsion bars and how much extra length would i have to have on rear leaf shackles to get a 2inch lift.any other info on doing this kind of stuff on the mu would be great to.
Thanks

[adam]

Shackles would need to be 4" longer to get 2" lift.

Not legal afaik. Shackles of that length would stick out like dogs balls when put over the pits.

[geeves]

Front torrsions wind up 2 inches no problem but you might have to move them round one spline to do so. This would depend on where they sit now. Nothing major to do.
You dont realy want shackles 8 inches long Not only are they questionable legal wise but thats a huge strain on the rear mount and you would catch the shackles on everything. Std duty Rodeo springs from your local spring shop with 50mm lift is the way to go

[sidcoon]

Hi there thanks for that,any idea on cost of buying the springs for 50 mm lift,im only new to this.
Thanks

[HiMuZuLux]

Extended shackles will cost you around $150, and 50mm lifted springs will cost around $350... assuming you are in NZ... Not sure on prices over the ditch in West Island

While you're doing the springs do the bushes as well... also look at longer travel shocks...

Cheers

Steve

[sidcoon]

Thanks for that steve,yes im from Nz-nelson
Where abouts could i get those things from?
Cheers Mark

[agin]

Have some body done diff drop mod? I have a lokka in the front and going to put some Swamper SSR tyres – 32x11,5 R15. And now after reading all the posts of CV breaking wit slight angles I am thinking of lowering front differential. I have a longer rear shackles that gave me around 1,5 -2 inch lift, and front torsion bars with ball joint relocation. Is it worth effort to drop front by 15-20mm? Can I just use 4 spacers on the diff mounting bolts to the frame?

[geeves]

4 spacers is all it takes but I think the limit is 10mm before the axles start hitting the A arm at full drop. Try a little bit at a time with thick washers rather than spacers

[agin]

I thought that 20 mm is usual becouse there was some DOR diff drop brackets about 1 inch. I think the lenth of these four bolts will define the thicknes of the spacers.

Thanks for the answer

[muvit madness]

also be mindful of the tie rod arm drag link coz from memory theres not much space to drop the diff down without hitting the idler arm set up. if something could be done with the drag link in lowering it a inch would definately ease the stress on the tie rods themselves especially when you start running tyres 33s & over. then you could lower the diff down considerably which in turn lessens CV angle. but then you start loosing ground clearance to the diff centre gees it never ends...
cheers
muvit

[agin]

Ouch, that’s a lot of work to do. All I want is slight, reliable lift to match my tires and rise transfer case and gear box higher (mostly I hang on them, and stock skid plate is near it’s death). I see a 2” lift of the gear box on your signature. Never heard about that! It is really interesting solution. Maybe it is the way to go for me? Is it only possible together with body lift? Mine is 2,8t auto mu

[muvit madness]

yeah mines auto as well, in regards to the auto lift it can be lifted 1" without the body lift. all is required is RHS 75x 25 or there abouts. heres were it gets interesting if you want more than this (like i did) i.e 2" then expect to get tailshaft vibrations due to the flange angles being wrong to combat this i raised the engine up by adding RHS between the engine mounts & body (can take pics if you want to see how i did it. also gotta keep a eye on how close your fan gets to the radiator coz the more you lift the box the engine rocks closer to the radiator. also body lift is required for 2" but then theres no need for the skid plate as that just hangs too low anyway infact i even dont run the other plate either. just the crossmember now. btw where you from?
cheers
muvit

[agin]

Wow, it will be great if you can take some pictures for me (or post it right here for other beginners as well). 1" or even 20 mm lift of tranny is enough for me, as I do not want a lot of complicated work you described. I do not know what is "RHS 75x 25". I have a lot of questions but I think one picture would explain a lot.
I am from Kazakhstan (guess you have to look in the map to find where is it .

Thanks for your educating answers!!! Appreciate it very much!

[muvit madness]

hi there is another way if your handy with a mig or stick welder you can take your cross member off & weld
a piece of 25x25x5mm angle-line with the bolt holes redrilled in it instead of the rhs (rectangle box section steel)
this is what i have now it makes it less fiddly to get a spanner in as apposed to the RHS did.
i'll post a photo when the camera is charged.
cheers
muvit

[muvit madness]

ok heres what i used for months to achieve the 2" lift i replicated my own crossmember out of 150x100(approx)x15mm thick plate steel re drilled the holes as per the standard crossmember then welded the transfer case gaurd onto it but recently removed it & replaced it with the stock one due to the commencement of my SAS (solid axle swap) project which will not require as much lift if any for that matter.

this is for sale to by the way if your local & will suit 2.8auto.

[muvit madness]

this is what i've done to achieve the lift i have now 2pieces of angle line & a piece of flat steel with the holes for the gearbox to poke thru. note its easily accessed by a spanner.
see if these give you a idea or 2
cheers
muvit

[beau]

i have a 1990 rodeo double cab. i ve lifted it 4 inches by dropping the diff, cutting off the plates where the diff rests against the leaf springs and welding them back ontop of the diff.
pretty much inverting the u bolts and plates that the shocks bolt to...

the front was ralativley easy but more time consuming as i had to slot the ball joint mounts on the upper whish bones so to adjust the camber as the shim plates couldnt provide enough adjustment.
then i trimmed the rubber stoppers and wound up the torsion on the bars.

this is ok for the average sunday tag along however the only down fall is the sharper angle on the front lower cv joints, the cv boots do stretch however i wouldnt want to do anymore as they wouldnt take anymore of a lift with tearing.

i would have left it standard how ever being a long wheel base my offroading down fall was ground clearance, the only reason i was getting stuck was from bellying out or the rear bars getting hooked up on rocks or tree roots.

one more thing. i had to have a 30ml spacer made up to extend the driveshaft as the suspension lift made the distance between the diff and the gearbox longer(by 30ml)[/img]

[muvit madness]

hi beaumackenzie
hows the clearance around your drag link & steering set up is there enough room to perhaps do a diff drop to lessen CV angle even by 10mm will make a differance by the way of metal spacers each side or you could buy the calmini kit although pricey for what it is (my 2c). unlike the mu the tie rod drag link needs modifying to get any sort of drop down in the diff. but what size tires are you runnin?.
cheers
muvit

[mudlark]

I just went to wind up my torsion bar and i see that one is all the way up and the other is just showing the thred how do i fix this. ???

[geeves]

First disconect one side of the sway bar This will allow any diffences in the setting to be measured. You might be lucky and find them way out from what they should be. Adjust them to the desired hight setting but if you run out of adjustment jack that side up and completly loosen that side. Disconect the 2 bolts that hold the spline to the bottom arm and turn the spline round a notch or 2 and try again. It will pay to give both adjusters a good spray of crc or similar the night before. It doesnt matter were the addjuster sits if the hight is right but the swaybar will transfer some adjustment to the other side giveing a false reading and strange handleing