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3/3 install questions / help or advice ??

III

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sup xru, i got a few questions / issues regarding my suspension installation today... any help would be appreciated....

first off the drop was DJM 3" control arms uca/lca fronts, w/ moog ball joints (all brand new), installed these with relative ease, took about 2hrs complete total for one side, 1 hour for the other side. no major issues.

the rears were belltech 3" blocks 2 degree tapered, part# 6202, along with these we put in QA1 shocks 18way adjustable, and energy suspension lowpro bump stops. once again, all brand new.


so heres the issues... the front went ok without a problem till i was driving home after all is said and done... i hear a noise, come to find out its basically tires squealing, namely driver side front from what i can hear. im assuming this is because of a super outta wack toe /canter problem and can be fixed with alignment, is this a safe/correct assumption? (this is my first lowered truck projekt, prior to the xr i had a nissan hardbody that was already lowered, and before that a few acuras and vw's, cars)

continuing with this, the steering wheel is of course crooked as fk while driving, and handling turns was quite a challenge even at not so high speeds. but once again, other than low on air in the tire(s), which has nothing to do with lowering the fronts, im assuming this is an alignment issue. but im open to suggestions on what else it may/could be?? :hmmmm2::stupid:


moving on to the rears and this is where im more confused, basically what i was looking for in the beginning was to get as low as possible WITHOUT having to notch. this led me to the DJM 3/3 kit. yes i know many on here say to notch, and while i agree with this for clearance issues, im also worried about state law / insurance issues. (in Hawaii we have some pretty ridiculous rules for this kinda stuff). so i went with 3" blocks for the rear, the belltechs, put em in and all alongside new qa1's and short bumpstops, put it all back together and lower it back down, only to find out the clearance between axle and bumpstop is like .25" ... is this correct ?! ive asked several people on here who have done the 3/3 without notch and they say its fine with qa1 and they dont bottom out etc.... but how can this be with less than a fingers worth of clearance??

so thanks for reading, these are my main issues/questions. my next thought is to try a 2.5" block... other options we've considered was smaller shackles ?? orrr.... ?? im open to ideas.

the thing that gets me is that through all my research regarding this, i've never come across anyone else with the same problem. so did i miss/mess something here, or is it just that everyone who says this is possible without notch has the same very minimal clearance as me ?? :stupid:

thanks again peeps, heeellllppppppppp lol
 

AbunaiXR

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Dont expect much clearance with your rear set up. It sounds about right. Youll just have to crank up the QA1's a bit more to prevent bottoming out. Others have tried to take off the bump stop bracket completely and attach the bump stop directly to the frame. This may give some clearance but not much as the bump stop will now hit your ubolt instead of the axle. There really isnt a way to have comfort and stance without notching.
 

III

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^thanks bro das kinda da conclusion me and my cousin was coming to... cause i asked dis time and time again and finally our answer was that HI peeps was most likely to be like "ah fack it" lol. fkkk guess ill look into da best way to recon and den possibly notch.

any other help would still be appreciated tho peeps !

^AbunaiXR forgot to mention yeah i also heard about the removal of the whole bump stop bracket thing and bolting the stop right into da frame... but also heard a bunch of negative about doing this.
 
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JiNsEiGaNaI

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Honestly in my opinion, I bottom out every once in a while when Im SS/XII perf. Anything more then the 2" drop you should really notch, or just eat the horrible ride! I mean at least your getting tapered blocks, but ya cars/trucks is always GIVE n TAKE, if u gain something, you'll lose in another area! So with all that said, pick you battles! As far as comfort, nothing will beat stock!

Plus sorry I couldnt help you more Trav!
 

justin13703

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Yeah anything more than 2 inches in the back and you will bottom out a lot. Other than notching it the best thing you can do is remove that bump stop bracket and put the bump stop right on the frame. Cranking the qa1's up so high that you don't bottom out with a quarter inch clearance will make it ride so shitty it'll be the same thing as bottoming out. So it kind of defeats the purpose.

As for the front, definitely take it for an alignment asap. That's probably what is causing your issues
 

*IrunnIt*

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Do you have the factory bumpstop bracket removed?
 

III

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^factory bumpstop bracket is still there. i know about removing that, but its a 50-50 on whether that's a good idea or not from what ive read /understand. im debating possibly trying a 2.5" block as well, just for a little bit of piece of mind with clearance but hopefully still keeping the rear relatively low.
 

AbunaiXR

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I ran 3/2.5, the rake on the truck didn't looks so great. Thats why i opted to go lower and suffer with the ride quality.
 

*IrunnIt*

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^factory bumpstop bracket is still there. i know about removing that, but its a 50-50 on whether that's a good idea or not from what ive read /understand. im debating possibly trying a 2.5" block as well, just for a little bit of piece of mind with clearance but hopefully still keeping the rear relatively low.[/QUOTE

Why cant you remove it?
 

JiNsEiGaNaI

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Ya Trav, I know we would like best of both worlds, but understanding having 100% of both is sadly never goina happen! U can keep dreaming! So understand u can have both looks and comfort, but its goina be, ah its a mild drop, and its pretty comfortable! So ya basically what everyone else been saying! Thats why I dont know how u guys go DJM, but thats just me!
 

TommyXrunner

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sounds like you did not remove the bump stop bracket. you need to remove the bracket completely. NO bump stops! your going to need an angle grinder to cut off the rivets and a big hammer and punch to pound the rivets out to remove the brackets
 

justin13703

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^factory bumpstop bracket is still there. i know about removing that, but its a 50-50 on whether that's a good idea or not from what ive read /understand. im debating possibly trying a 2.5" block as well, just for a little bit of piece of mind with clearance but hopefully still keeping the rear relatively low.

I've never heard anything negative about removing the bump stop bracket? It really serves no purpose and can be removed for extra clearance. If you go with a smaller drop in the back than the front it won't look right. So I'd either go with 2 the whole way around or take off those brackets.

sounds like you did not remove the bump stop bracket. you need to remove the bracket completely. NO bump stops! your going to need an angle grinder to cut off the rivets and a big hammer and punch to pound the rivets out to remove the brackets

I agree with what you said but definitely do put a bump stop on the frame. The rear axle slamming against bare frame is not a good thing at all. My s10 taught me that lol
 
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III

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I ran 3/2.5, the rake on the truck didn't looks so great. Thats why i opted to go lower and suffer with the ride quality.

so what are u running currently, 3/3 no notch and bump stop bracket removed? do u have recon?? yeah i was figuring the rake may/may not look that bad (i mean it comes with some rake stock but it is more noticable when lowered...)


@ jinseiganai yeah man i know how it goes... but this is my first truck projekt, i mean when slamming cars u dont have this specific issue haha. i think what im sayin is i know theres always a give and take, im jus tryna take as much as i can in the easiest yet safest way lol

I've never heard anything negative about removing the bump stop bracket? It really serves no purpose and can be removed for extra clearance. If you go with a smaller drop in the back than the front it won't look right. So I'd either go with 2 the whole way around or take off those brackets.



I agree with what you said but definitely do put a bump stop on the frame. The rear axle slamming against bare frame is not a good thing at all. My s10 taught me that lol



well i sure dont want 2" all the way around.... thats like a super last resort haha. is there a hole in the frame already there that the bump stop can screw into?? and also, if u take the bracket off, it doesnt look like u can put it back on should u want to, correct?

thanks again guys keep da info coming if u got any :top:

i guess when i read a buncha guys saying they were rockin' 3/3 without notch i didnt stop to think exactly how little clearance there was after the rear 3's... and no one really mentioned how crappy the ride possibly could be haha. ah, live and learn... still learning with this thing.
 
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TommyXrunner

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its simple man. you have to take the bracket out and run NO bumpstops......either that or you just plain and simple have to do the notch. you won't have any problems with 3" blocks with the bracket removed, no bump stops, and your qa1's set just a tad stiffer than the stock shocks. the only time i ever bottomed out was with 300 plus lbs of tools in the back over a really bad pot hole and that was with stock shocks
 

justin13703

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well i sure dont want 2" all the way around.... thats like a super last resort haha. is there a hole in the frame already there that the bump stop can screw into?? and also, if u take the bracket off, it doesnt look like u can put it back on should u want to, correct?

thanks again guys keep da info coming if u got any :top:

Yes there is a hole in the frame that you can put a low profile bumpstop in. And yes once the bracket is off, it won't go back on unless you find some way to reattach it like welding it or something. But there is no reason to ever need it back on. They don't really serve any purpose
 

TommyXrunner

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I've never heard anything negative about removing the bump stop bracket? It really serves no purpose and can be removed for extra clearance. If you go with a smaller drop in the back than the front it won't look right. So I'd either go with 2 the whole way around or take off those brackets.



I agree with what you said but definitely do put a bump stop on the frame. The rear axle slamming against bare frame is not a good thing at all. My s10 taught me that lol

true about you "should" have bump stops but if he dosn't bottom out and dosn't carry a load in the back he'll be fine. and if he does bottom out adding the bump stops will make it bottom out even easier and make for a terrible ride! only other option is to simply do the notch if you want a nice ride.....or go for shorter blocks
 

III

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yeah i got u guys. thanks for the chime in's. the two reasons im trying to avoid notching if possible while doing 3's in the rear is because of a recon law (reconstruction for vehicles) down here in HI, i've heard a lotta yes it passes no it doesnt pass kinda stories but i've yet to call them and make an appointment (they're slow as **** too and now backed up till june). the other thing is because of insurance (frame alterations, salvage titles because of this, etc) ive also yet to inquire about this with progressive though.
 

AbunaiXR

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Im running a 4in block, with the air shocks, which many guys on the island are running. the only down side is that the air shocks raise the truck up, so it actually looks like a 3-2.5in drop depending how much air you put in. The more air, the better the ride, but the higher the rear end.

As for recon, I got recon when i had the 2.5in blocks in the rear and qa1's set to 4 i believe. at 4, the guy said it was barely passing.

http://www.xr-underground.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=55272&page=2

This has some info that may help
 
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babyboi2284

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DJM 3/3, 18 setting QA1's set on 8, NO notch, NO bump stop brackets, low pro bump stops on the frame. It does not ride bad at all. Yes it bottoms out but only at high speeds and on sudden or horrible bumps/holes.
 

III

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DJM 3/3, 18 setting QA1's set on 8, NO notch, NO bump stop brackets, low pro bump stops on the frame. It does not ride bad at all. Yes it bottoms out but only at high speeds and on sudden or horrible bumps/holes.

did your frame already have a hole for the bump stop or did u have to drill one in? i heard two different answers bout this too
 
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