97 Explorer Sport - shock and lift questions.

[gklb1]

Hi
Around a month ago I fell into a 97 sport 5sp with 68k miles.
The car was always garaged and was a one owner train car that was traded in to a mercedes dealer. Right before I got it the owner put on new tires, brakes and a clutch. Before my kids started craping it up with snacks in the back seat it was as mint as a 97 could be. The gears on the 5spd are so wide that its a pleasure to drive.

Here are my q's

I am putting a class 3 trailer hitch on this week and will be using the hitch with a carrier to carry my dirt bike (around 300 lbs)

The explorer has stock shocks (i dont know if they are original) and rides bouncy over bumps.

Ive spent a few hours combing through the posts as I have been contemplating the following:

1. Doing something (like add a leaf) to keep the but up while the bike is on the hitch

2. Upgrading the shocks

On the add a leaf idea I have been somewhat scared off of some of the posts discussing adjusting the torsion bars in front to lift the front.

Is their a better way to lift the front

Should I skip the add a leaf

On the shocks I have also read varried opinions. I don't mind spending 80-90 a shock instead of 40 a shock if it will improve the ride with and without the bike on the hitch - edlebrook? rancho? - any advise will be appreciated

Gary

 

[bcburlette]

I would suggest that you try doing torsion bars first, as its free and the simplest lift conceivable. They are so simple to adjust once you actually look at how its done that you could put them up in ten mins. and immediately take them back down again in the same amount of time if you don't like it, all that is involved is jacking up the front end and using a ratchet, just don't go over 2 inches if its a 4wd. If not, crank away!!!

and on using an add a leaf: this is a little more complicated, and you really shouldn't need it to hold the weight up,(if you want it for the lift, i suggest shackles, autozone seels some for 17.99 that will pick up the butt a good 1.5 inches) but if you find you do, just make sure you remove the overload spring,(if you have one), first, its the bottom leaf in the pack and is straight and thicker than the others. i in all my wisdom didn't when i first put it on, and canceled out any lift i would have gotten from the AAL

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread to the shocks, suspension, and lift kits section.