2003 DS rear suspension rides harsh

[R&TBabich]

Originally Posted by mrgolf

That is a home made Lift kit works great

I was thinking the plates would "lift" it a little.
I think the plates were installed at the factory.
Here's a closer pic, the ends of the plates are curved.

[mrgolf]

I used 2, 1 1/2 x 1/4 flat steel to lift enough to run 20" tires. worked great until I went with 4" A arm lift and 22" tires.

IMG_0655.jpg

sorry photo was correct on my PC.

[R&TBabich]

Originally Posted by DaveTM

Somehow I completely missed your pic of the shocks with the bump pads installed.

That's the issue of no travel. Replace those with a regular shock and you should be fine.

Actually, if your shocks are fully extended when the cart just sits there....that's not a "bad" thing. With a proper leaf spring when you hit a bump, the springs and shocks should compress....and when the spring "pushes back" from hitting the bump, the shock slows the "spring back" (dampens) so the cart doesn't leap frog back up.

Replace your shocks. Or I suppose it's possible to simply cut out those silly bumpers that were installed on them. ....

All my shocks look original and seem shot so I'm replacing them.
After replacing the front shocks (the new ones do not have those silly bumpers on the shaft) the front end does have a much better movement to it.

In the rear where the shocks are fully extended just sitting there it would be fine when I hit a bump, the springs and shocks would compress, except for those "silly" snubbers which do not allow any upward movement of the axle in relation to the frame. I'm removing the snubbers anyway since the snubber brackets only fit the single U-bolt setup. I'm installing a 2 U-bolt setup and replacing the 4 leaf pack with a 3 leaf pack while waiting for a PQ Bandit.

What happens if I drive over a gutter and the axle needs to drop away from the frame, but it can't because of the already fully extended shock?
The shock should be sitting near the midpoint of its' travel so it can work in both directions. Once I get it back on the ground with the new rear leafs, decide if I want a little extra lift with steel shackles (instead of aluminum) and install a rear seat I can see what shocks will fit. There are several from Monroe or KYB that look promising.

Some of the harshness in the ride may also be the tire pressures.
I found while cleaning up the tires they are pumped up to 50 psi.

[DaveTM]

50psi...!!! Wow!! That by itself will cause your kidneys to file a lawsuit against you!!!

For my hunting cart my tire pressure is at 12psi. Some say it should be lower....or around 7psi...but from experience, when the tire pressure is that low (7psi) hitting a rock or a hard bump will cause the tire to break from the rim.....and then....oh boy!

[R&TBabich]

Originally Posted by DaveTM

50psi...!!! Wow!! That by itself will cause your kidneys to file a lawsuit against you!!! ....

It came with trailer tires Load range C 940 lbs @ 50 psi.
I like the look of the slightly larger than stock tires.
I probably won't go any larger because of the 10.3:1 gearing it has.
That works out the same as having 22" tires with 12.3:1 gears.
I picked up a spare wheel/tire that is stock and its' max pressure is 22 psi.
I'll try running them at 30 psi and see how it goes.

[R&TBabich]

Removed the axle bump stops, dropped tire pressures to 30 psi, painted wheels, installed 3 leaf rear springs & 4 U-bolt kit, changed gear oil to synthetic, cleaned up tail light & backup light wiring, LED bulbs, added 3/8" spacer under the rear lip of the body to keep it level.
Ready for a test drive - waiting for the motor.
Everything is stock, except for the 2 ga battery cables and 18.5" tires.
It will be interesting to see what the PQ Bandit will do.
While waiting I'll finish installing battery hold down plates which were missing.
There are some odd electrical things I will work on after testing the motor upgrade.
There is an OEM looking resistive 28A voltage reducer in the left frame rail that I'm not sure what it feeds, are there any 12v circuits in a stock DS?
There is a 4 slot fuse block mounted in front of bat3 that feeds the lights, horn, wipers - Pathway stuff.
One odd thing is the OEM looking reducer and 2 circuits have no fuses.
The other is the Pathway add ons are fed from tapping bat5/6.
Those will get fixed, waiting for more parts.

[DaveTM]

Looking good!! Looks like a brandy new cart!!

[R&TBabich]

Update: Got the Bandit installed and been driving around. The rebuilt motor is smooth and quiet. I'm seeing 2mph higher speeds on our "dog run" loop. Taking off from a stop it has more pickup. Can't wait to get the new controller installed. The ride is much better with the new front shocks (no bumpers), 3 vs 4 leaf pack, no axle snubbers and 30psi in the tires. Thinking of trying 25psi. The 3 leaf pack raised the rear about 1/2", but with adding a rear seat and 2 more passengers I'm going to try 1" longer shackles for just a bit more height. I also don't like the OEM aluminum shackle plates. The aluminum plates have notches in the sides from rubbing on the frame and that can only happen if they are flexing when turning. There is adequate clearance when going straight. Once the rear end ride height is set I'll find shocks that will fit.

[Idlehands]

Originally Posted by Winston Ellis

I think you should disconnect the shocks and try it out. It looks like those shocks are fully extended and as tight as can be leaving 0 room for travel. I have a 3 leaf pack on mine with shock extenders and it rides fine .


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What size shackles are those. I'm currently having an issue with my rear end not sitting high enough after installing HD rear springs. I fell like this is probably the easiest way for me to get my carts butt in the air before halloween.

Thanks in advance.

[Spoolx]

FWIW I don’t use shocks and my golf cart rides perfect