Advice On Suspension Upgrade Needed

Steve C · 07-05-2020, 03:18 PM

Looking for a little advice on suspension upgrade(s) from those of you who've lived through it. I've got a "stock" 2001 E350 RB50 with the Quigley 4x4 conversion. I've had this van for 2 years and have been mostly satisfied with its ride - except that the rear end tends to develop a significant hop at low speeds when it encounters certain types of trail bumps/dips. Seems its rear end starts bouncing and it gets worse until the breaks are applied and the rig is brought down to a near stop. As far as I can tell, the front end doesn't seem to bottom out (ever) on the stops and seems to handle well. In the meantime, the van's rear end has settled some resulting in a "saggy butt" and I just ruined both the rear Rancho 9000 shocks this last week.

I've spent days reading posts on this forum and have learned A LOT, but it also seems like certain suspension "fixes" can add to additional issues which I would like to avoid.

I'm currently leaning towards getting two new rear leaf springs from Weld Tech along with tuned Fox shocks and not messing with the front end (except would probably replace the shocks with Fox's as well). However, I don't want to necessarily upgrade the rear end and not end up happy with the front. Seems that I don't need the upgraded Agile coil springs and that if I went with Agile, I may not solve the rear end hop or sag as their "budget" kit only includes a helper leaf that's added to the rear.

Front weight 4620 lbs and rear 5120 lbs.

I'd appreciate any suggestions I can get from the knowledge members here, THANKS!

Cyrull · 07-05-2020, 03:29 PM

I have a stock 2004 E350 that is also a factory Quigley. The ride comfort is tolerable at best. I honestly think I will pull the trigger on the Agile Kit vs going with a cheaper alternative like BILSTEIN. I just want to do it once and not have to think about it anymore.

REF · 07-05-2020, 05:46 PM

This has been talked about quite a bit on the forum in many different threads, but here goes again....
My .04.....
Oh, and almost anything will be an upgrade to Rancho shocks...sorry, but they really aren’t great, to put it diplomatically.
If you can’t splurge for Deavers, get the helper springs from Agile. If the RIP kit with Fox shocks is out of the budget, at least get Bilsteins with the rear helpers. Oh and if you haven’t already, get the upgraded round upper/lower torque arms from Quigley.
Here’s the ideal setup on Quigley’s
Rear-
Deaver leaf springs to get rid of the blocks and grossly inadequate stock springs with the added weight. These are full leaf springs, built to specs on weight and desired ride height. There are other manufacturers as well, Alcan for one, and you can read about Arctictraveller’s saga with them, hopefully they will sort them out for him.
Front/Rear-
Agile off-road RIP kit with new progressive coils (moog CC880s) and drop bracket spacers for sway bar.
I ended up going a few steps further than the components mentioned above. I moved my axle forward with adjustable torque arms (fixed longer length is also an option), which gave me space to run 315’s and installed a larger sway bar w/disconnects.
Keep an eye on all your wear items-upper/lower ball joints, unit bearings(I replaced with Dynatracs free spin hub kit) and ujoints.
Also, with that much weight in back, do you have a full float(FF) or semi-float(SF) rear axle? Keep an eye on things if you’re running a SF, might want to keep it in the budget down the line sometime to upgrade to a FF.

Fool120 · 07-14-2020, 08:31 AM

On our '97 Quigley E350 we went for the Agile RIP kit, with tuned Fox shocks, steering stabilizer and front springs. It was the best thing we did for the Van, much better handling and ride. Before you'd hit a bump and wow. Later we switched out the rear springs too, as it still was a little bouncy in the back, also from Agile. Thought about the helper kit, yet it looked like we had some spring issues, from the previous owner, so went all new. Again much better on and off the road. On our Quigley, it seemed like they used the stock springs with a 3" block riser, not very much curve, and not a lot of space for movement, whereas with the new springs it's all in the spring curve, they don't use a block. Depending on your skill level, all this can be done on your driveway, if needed, though the Rear springs are heavy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve C

Looking for a little advice on suspension upgrade(s) from those of you who've lived through it. I've got a "stock" 2001 E350 RB50 with the Quigley 4x4 conversion. I've had this van for 2 years and have been mostly satisfied with its ride - except that the rear end tends to develop a significant hop at low speeds when it encounters certain types of trail bumps/dips. Seems its rear end starts bouncing and it gets worse until the breaks are applied and the rig is brought down to a near stop. As far as I can tell, the front end doesn't seem to bottom out (ever) on the stops and seems to handle well. In the meantime, the van's rear end has settled some resulting in a "saggy butt" and I just ruined both the rear Rancho 9000 shocks this last week.

I've spent days reading posts on this forum and have learned A LOT, but it also seems like certain suspension "fixes" can add to additional issues which I would like to avoid.

I'm currently leaning towards getting two new rear leaf springs from Weld Tech along with tuned Fox shocks and not messing with the front end (except would probably replace the shocks with Fox's as well). However, I don't want to necessarily upgrade the rear end and not end up happy with the front. Seems that I don't need the upgraded Agile coil springs and that if I went with Agile, I may not solve the rear end hop or sag as their "budget" kit only includes a helper leaf that's added to the rear.

Front weight 4620 lbs and rear 5120 lbs.

I'd appreciate any suggestions I can get from the knowledge members here, THANKS!

carringb · 07-14-2020, 08:51 AM

That is exactly the definition if "Under-Damped". ANY shock upgrade will reduce that. Take off OEM shocks will probably improve it.

Any of those dampers listed above will be a huge improvement. I'll throw in one more: KYB monomax. They may not be as plush as Fox 2.0's, but they're pretty good, and Les Schwab keeps in stock (assuming your conversion kept the stock shock length).

Steve C · 07-14-2020, 01:35 PM

Thanks everyone for the advice, tips and your patience with dealing with this topic again! As with everything SMB related, upgrades can get complex quickly...

After speaking with Agile, I decided to go with their "stock" RIP. They were pretty adamant that their kit would remedy my major concern(s) and improve the overall quality of the ride. They recommended against replacing the rear leaf springs, so I'll defer to their experience. I tend to drive rather modestly, so hopefully the RIP will be all I need...

shenrie · 07-14-2020, 04:03 PM

What does their stock kit consist of?

Fool120 · 07-14-2020, 04:13 PM

From the Agile Offroad site: "Our “Ride Improvement Package” AKA “RIP” — custom tuned and valved FOX 2.0 Performance Series IFP Shocks, FOX Performance Series ATS Stabilizer and matched coil springs — once installed, doubles the bump travel, increases the overall travel, increases the spring height and spring rate, eliminates binding of the sway bar, provides rear suspension ride stability and controls body roll and sway." https://agileoffroad.com/rip-quote/

Quote:

Originally Posted by shenrie

What does their stock kit consist of?

shenrie · 07-14-2020, 05:09 PM

^^^ Thanks. With the way he put “stock” above I was thinking maybe if differentiated from the kit you linked.

Steve C · 07-14-2020, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shenrie

^^^ Thanks. With the way he put “stock” above I was thinking maybe if differentiated from the kit you linked.

Sorry for the confusion Shenrie. I was trying to signify a complete RIP w/o opting for completely new rear leaf springs, which I believe is another option through Agile.

Cheers!