I need help with my bounce issue

SEOHPowerstroke

SEOHPowerstroke

Project Developement
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
498
I am at the end of my rope with my truck right now. I've tried everything I can think of to solve my suspension bounce. I've welded stops behind my front shackles, welded in stops for the front, and last week I removed the shock and welded in a solid piece of square tubing to make the front suspension solid.

Last night at my pull it bounced worse than ever, even the rear wheels came off the ground it was bouncing so hard.

Does anyone have any suggestions to my problem, or am I gonna have to switch to coil springs like all the dodge trucks that have no bounce issues.

I'm just out of ideas.

Oh, and the truck is a 99' Super Duty with 35 inch tires and lots of power, I can run a lower gear and there isn't a problem, but when I let the clutch out all the way in 4th gear the bounce is nasty.
 
Are you talking front axle bounce or is the whole truck bouncing?
 
Up until I welded the front solid it was only the front bouncing, now that I welded the front solid the whole truck bounces.
 
I had the same problem with my truck. If you are sitting on stops then the front tires become your suspention and there is no way to stop the flex of the tires so it just gets worse as the tires spin and move forward.
If it was me i would replace the stock shock with a coil over spring shock comboyou can get them in different rates,ie 500, 1000, and so n, alot of time the leaf spring design is made for ride comfort and not what we do with them and i dont believe the spring rate is enough to hold the axle to the track when the front of the truck lifts. you may also try if you have any springs laying around andding a leaf or 2 to stiffin the front up alittle,$.02
 
That was my next though, coil over, which shock would you recomend? and where exactly can I get them, I looked on Jegs, but I couldn't find anything that rated over 3900 lbs.

Thanks for the input.

Its really weird cause I talked to Ben Miller and he said he is running super duty leaf springs and he just welded up the shackle and put stops on. I did that and still have the problem. What gives.
 
What did Ben do to stiffen the frame? My guess would be frame flex. You need to get some videos from different angles to see what it's doing.
 
I think he is talking the typical ford front wheel hop, so to stop that he set the front on stops and now it really bounces
 
SEOHPowerstroke said:
That was my next though, coil over, which shock would you recomend? and where exactly can I get them, I looked on Jegs, but I couldn't find anything that rated over 3900 lbs.

Thanks for the input.

Its really weird cause I talked to Ben Miller and he said he is running super duty leaf springs and he just welded up the shackle and put stops on. I did that and still have the problem. What gives.
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You need to run them along with the leaf springs 3900lbs is probally max what they will carry by themselves. also are you running a front traction bar?
 
What kind of shocks do you have on the front? Gas charged or oil filled? Where are they mounted, i.e. vertically on an angle, front or back of axle? All of this makes a difference.

Like Disturbed said, some good coil overs with the leaf springs would probably help and a set of traction bars.

Are you still running that hitch that is mounted about 3 feet above the frame? That may be part of the problem also.
 
DISTURBED said:
You need to run them along with the leaf springs 3900lbs is probally max what they will carry by themselves. also are you running a front traction bar?
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Yes, I am running front traction bars. Ben just sent me some pictures of his setup to my phone. I was not completely on key with what he was doing. I think I have a better handle on it now guys. Thanks alot. I plan to adjust my spring setup like his is, then add the coil over shock.
 
I don't think there is a need for a coilover since all that a spring does is suspend the weight of the veichle not dampen its movement. But I would get my hands on a good rebuildable shock that you can valve yourself to make it stiffer or softer.
 
black4x4 said:
I don't think there is a need for a coilover since all that a spring does is suspend the weight of the veichle not dampen its movement. But I would get my hands on a good rebuildable shock that you can valve yourself to make it stiffer or softer.
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with a coilover you can usually have much more control, many coilover have adjustable valves on the to change it, I learned this from experince with jeeps and offroad trucks so it may be different on pull truck but i would Thank that it will work the same, $.02
 
looked to me like last night his hitch rund clear up to the back of the cab and its preloading the rear end and sending it into a bounce needs to shorten it back a couple of feet and loosen the suspension up a bit to have some give in it. just my opinion.
 
mech2161 said:
What did Ben do to stiffen the frame? My guess would be frame flex. You need to get some videos from different angles to see what it's doing.
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Here lies the exact problem. It was for me any way. I tried different shock combinations, front axle traction bars, limiting straps, everything.*bdh* Nothing worked.:bang I then added two extra crossmembers, one right behind the back of the cab and the other directly over the rear axle. It took care of my hop issues.:rockwoot:

This is a good video of the front axle hopping;
YouTube - Kyle's 1st place pull

This is now;
YouTube - Zellwood Outlaw 6/20/09 Round 2
 
smokin06 said:
looked to me like last night his hitch rund clear up to the back of the cab and its preloading the rear end and sending it into a bounce needs to shorten it back a couple of feet and loosen the suspension up a bit to have some give in it. just my opinion.
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The closer the hitch is to the front axle, the better...
 
6.0superduty said:
The closer the hitch is to the front axle, the better...
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i disagree 100% for one its not legal in any class rules and secondly you wanna pull down on your rear end and let your traction bars distribute your weight to the front and pull up on the front of the truck and then have the weight on the front do their job, out of all the pulling trucks my buddy has built taking the hitch up that far to the front of the truck has NEVER worked for us, not saying it wont for someone else but i watched it last night and the truck is bouncing like a basketball because its preloading the rear end and everything is too tight need some give. Just my opinion.
 
I had the same thing going on with mine, I am not that high in power but what fixed mine was taking the front add a leaf out, lowering the rear end and welding up a receiver style hitch to the back crossmember. I have zero bounce at all now.
 
shock.jpg

Rancho RS9000. Helped a ton on our gas truck.
BTW I was the one talking to you right before you pulled at london the other night. I would try to lower the rear some. You could always look at Rocky's truck it seems to work well.
 
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