Rough ride, lowered ex sport- bump stop issue?

[ornithology]

So I finally managed to lower the ex with a torsion key flip. However, the ride is pretty rough when I ride over some bumpy roads. I feel that the front hits the bump stops really hard. I read this thread http://www.silveradoss.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26296 and had the idea to do the same to my bump stops. I'm thinking about drilling holes around my square shaped bump stops. What do you guys think? I cut 1/3rd of the bump stop off, but I want a slightly smoother ride. Advice? Please don't tell me to lift it, cuz good god it took forever to get the keys flipped haha...

 

[MakingBoost]

It is easy to trim the stops and well worth what you get out of it, but if you are going to that extent its so much better to use a better quality bump stop...

Energy suspension has some low profile bump stops that are great! It might take a little hole enlarging with a drill but well worth the small amount of work!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ener...027QQitemZ400036953953QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

Depending on how low you are in the front you might consider cutting the bumpstop mount off and welding it just a bit higher....

 

[robertoa1a]

Factory shocks dont have a whole lot of travel. How low did ya go? You might want to take a new shock to a weld shop and shorten the shaft on it. Now you are kind of rollin' with the modified Ex folks.

 

[MakingBoost]

No doubt, luckily the shocks on the front have that nice long bar section....

Just right for trimming, sleaving, and rewelding!

 

[ornithology]

I don't think i want to do the welding thing...

I'll consider the energy bump stops. However....if you read my other post...the friggin screw broke and now I have half a screw jammed tight into the bump stop screw hole. Once i get that out I'll consider it.

 

[ornithology]

Wow...so since my screw broke and I cannot install the bumpstop back in, i just removed both bump stops temporarily. I took it for a ride and all I can say is WOW...so much smoother...I'm tempted to just leave them off.

 

[corkey]

they are actually there for a reason, if they are gone it allows the lower arm to flex way to much , and hit the solid part of the frame stop,, which could cause the arm to bend,, and thus needing replacement at a substantial cost, or maybe bending the frame, causing all kinds of woes,,

you did look at the wheels to see if they were tilted and you needed an alignment after the key flip ,??
do they look like this \-----/,, or this /---\ ??

 

[ornithology]

they are actually there for a reason, if they are gone it allows the lower arm to flex way to much , and hit the solid part of the frame stop,, which could cause the arm to bend,, and thus needing replacement at a substantial cost, or maybe bending the frame, causing all kinds of woes,,

you did look at the wheels to see if they were tilted and you needed an alignment after the key flip ,??
do they look like this \-----/,, or this /---\ ??

I'm just curious, if the arms were hitting the frame would I hear/feel anything? How I determined that the ride was smoother was that I drove through the same rough patch the day before I had my bump stops in. I felt the car hit the bump stop through every nick and cranny. I drove through the same route again tonight just to test how it would feel and if I would get any improvements since I have read of experiences from other lowered explorers that removing the bump stop will help. I ran through the same rough patch and it felt as if I have never lowered my explorer.

I do plan on having the bump stops replaced, however, I think if I just put one in for now it may flex the driver side more than the other, would this be a bad idea or should I put that one bump stop back in? I'm planning on trimming it down 50% from original though. I'm also thinking about getting those lower profile ones from energy suspension.

As for alignment, I just did a torsion key flip. So regardless I'll have to get the alignment done. I tried to look for excessive camber on the truck, but with the untrained eye I really cannot tell if it's excessively negative or positive camber. Would this have anything to do with the bump stops though?

 

[MakingBoost]

The alignment has nothing to do with bumpstop clearance....

You may only hear one sound without a bumptop....Once single thud, as the mount bends up, or dents the control arm... And then nothing...

Bumpstops are important, do not run bumpstopless....
The front stocks are not ideal for trimming, once the bulk is removed the bolt is exposed and makes contact with the control arm.

Every degree of clearance you can make for the control arm to the bumpstop makes huge improvements in ride quality. The bumptop mount sits very close to the control arm to begin with...

Same goes for the shocks, if you decrease the travel and run a stock length shock you are going to bottom out the shock long before the suspension....

Shorten the shocks, run low profile bumps... Makes a world of difference...

 

[ornithology]

so what low profile bump stops do you recmmend? How would you go about shortening the shocks? The welding process described above?

 

[ornithology]

Update: I cut a little more than 1/3rd off my bump stops and drilled six holes into the top part before it becomes metal. I reinstalled them both and voila! Perfectly smooth ride. I managed to dremel out the old screw and I put in some new stainless nuts and bolts and loctite the things together. Works like a charm. For those looking to utilize the stock bumps, but wanting a smoother ride I really suggest reading over the link I posted up top. Will update if anything changes. Thanks for your input guys!

 

[silversport 03]

so did ya go with the energy suspension ones? im hitting both of my bump stops.. im lowered 2'' up front and 4'' out back..

 

[Robman]

If he bends the a-arm with no bump stop, it will lower it even more.. so it's a win win for him! Won't drilling holes make them fall apart quite a bit quicker, especially being used a lot?

 

[silversport 03]

i ended up trimming my bumpstops..