Front Shocks - Trying Something New

[Ctgriffi]

I should mention up front: this is not a "recommended" or "approved" approach—it is purely experimental at this stage, although I will probably report back later with more conclusive results, especially if they're positive.

 

So I've complained for a long time about the regular bumps and bangs up front, especially when taking the Warrior on extended trips. I would set the torsion bars to spec, with proper ground clearance up front, and then do some test drives—all felt good. However, once we were loaded with all the humans/dogs/gear on a real excursion, the suspension travel would virtually disappear and we'd all take a beating on rough roads. (Basically, like some of you have probably already realized, our torsion bars were not up to the job anymore and couldn't really handle the weight of the fully-loaded rig. And, by the way, lifting the rear-end higher by increasing pressure in the air bags, only exacerbates this kind of front-end problem.)

 

So, the only replacement option out there these days for a '90 chassis, far as I know, is the always-backordered, $300+ Sway-A-Way bars. Which I probably should go head and do, yes. Goshdarnit. But, instead I did a bit of research and measuring and then came across a set of these Gabriel #34073 Front Load Carrier shocks at a discount price of $72 for the set. The extended/compressed dimensions are correct, the mounts are pretty close (more about that in a sec), and they're typically used on big hoopties from the 70s-80s, along with Suburbans and a few GM cargo vans, etc. The biggest reason to use these, of course, is that they add a few hundred pounds of lift to the front-end, which should be enough to maintain some decent suspension travel on an overloaded Toyota pickup, in tandem with the existing t-bars.

 

Installation was not very difficult: the shocks slide in just fine from below and the upper mounts bolt up per usual with nut + locknut. The only real hurdle was that the lower mounts have a slot that needs to be opened up (basically to match the lower mounts on, for example, the KYB KG5458 shocks that I installed about 6 years ago). Modifying the lower mounts took less than 5 minutes with a hacksaw, and I made sure all that was very securely bolted to the control arms by using thick fender washers on the bottom, Grade 10.9 M8 flange bolts, with locknuts on the top side.

 

It's too soon to say if this is "a real fix," but the initial driving that I've done has felt good, with less swaying/rocking in turns and more general smoothness. We'll continue to test with some actual, fully-loaded-camping around southern MO this Fall. That's all for now...!

 

 

 

[Ctgriffi]

Just reporting back on the Gabriel 34073 Front Load Carrier shocks after a few trips behind us: I like them, quite a bit! Hard to say how they'll hold up over the long haul, although we don't really put that many miles on this rig anyway. For now, these shocks are definitely helping to keep the front end up where it should be, even when fully loaded for camping. There is far much less "bottoming-out" and jarring of the front end over rough pavement, versus the KYBs that we were running. On the other hand, when the rig is completely unloaded and I'm just running around locally, there is a slight floating sensation up front, but it's nothing crazy and not unexpected, given the add'l spring action.

 

Overall, I'm really happy with the change, and I think it's a pretty good, inexpensive approach to weak torsion bars.

 

For fun: just completed a long weekend at a new-ish state park, Echo Bluff. (Full hookups here, which is not the norm in MO and was much appreciated! Also another first: wild horses can be spotted roaming the park!)
 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Ctgriffi