luketrash
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Ames, Iowa
My 99 has 147k miles on it and I'm chasing the dream of making it feel like my friend's 99 which has only 90k on it. His handles better than mine without that rockin feeling when you turn a corner, pull into a parking lot, etc..
I'm at stock height running stock tires 225/75/15 (he's also running that size tire and stock height.)
Since I'm new to these, I'm looking to see what sort of parts I need to fix my attention on. Mine has these silver tubed shocks on it that have a red "Reflex" sticker. I assume they are Monroe shocks. They're not terribly rusty, but I have no idea what their age is. I see they actually cost more than Sensatracs do new, but are they worth a crap? I plan on buying four Bilstein shocks for it sometime this summer.
The previous owner didn't pull a trailer or anything, but the back looks low to me. The leaf springs actually sit flat??? Every other vehicle I own with leaf springs including my '54 Ford sedan have a curve to them still.
My front sway bar bushings have enough play to see air through them. The end link bushings are squished and cracked, but look tight still.
Is there anything you guys would recommend to get it handling like its former self? I don't plan on doing any offroading with it. I'll be pulling a trailer, driving through a couple feet of snow, or crossing a cornfield sideways to chase after something, but I'm not planning on lifting it or putting tires bigger than 30x9.5 on it.
So any pointers on where my money is best spent would be appreciated.
Any thoughts on how to accurately measure the front sway bar diameter? I have some crappy calipers, but I'm afraid I woudln't know the difference between 26mm and 24mm with them.
I'm at stock height running stock tires 225/75/15 (he's also running that size tire and stock height.)
Since I'm new to these, I'm looking to see what sort of parts I need to fix my attention on. Mine has these silver tubed shocks on it that have a red "Reflex" sticker. I assume they are Monroe shocks. They're not terribly rusty, but I have no idea what their age is. I see they actually cost more than Sensatracs do new, but are they worth a crap? I plan on buying four Bilstein shocks for it sometime this summer.
The previous owner didn't pull a trailer or anything, but the back looks low to me. The leaf springs actually sit flat??? Every other vehicle I own with leaf springs including my '54 Ford sedan have a curve to them still.
My front sway bar bushings have enough play to see air through them. The end link bushings are squished and cracked, but look tight still.
Is there anything you guys would recommend to get it handling like its former self? I don't plan on doing any offroading with it. I'll be pulling a trailer, driving through a couple feet of snow, or crossing a cornfield sideways to chase after something, but I'm not planning on lifting it or putting tires bigger than 30x9.5 on it.
So any pointers on where my money is best spent would be appreciated.
Any thoughts on how to accurately measure the front sway bar diameter? I have some crappy calipers, but I'm afraid I woudln't know the difference between 26mm and 24mm with them.