74 Dart - Very stiff ride - Help

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74desertduster

74desertduster

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Have a 74 Dart Sport 360 with KYB Gas-Adjust shocks and it rides very hard to me. Feels like a race car...which on nice flat roads is good. But the roads here are crap and it's beating me and the car to death.

Previous owner redid the front end with all new components and tubular control arms. I don't know what all he used other than the control arms and KYB's.

What can I do to soften it up a bit? The front end looks fairly high as far as the torsion bars go.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Brian
 
"very stiff" is subjective. Most of us have the opposite issue...but...

What size torsion bars are in the car? You can look at the end of the bars where they mount to find the identification numbers or measure the diameter. I know that you can make the suspension like a rock if you pre-load the springs too much.....you can back them off a little to see if it changes the feel, but remember that when you loosen them it will change the ride height and it will need an alignment.
>/flashback> When I was 16 and changing the brakes on my 75 duster I found a bolt that appeared to be loose in the front suspension on each side...so I tightened them, only to find that when I let the car off of the jack stands it was so tight that the front end wouldn't move even if 2 people were standing on the front bumper</flashback>
Man, I must have tightened the crap out of those things :lol: oh well, live and learn ( no FABO back then )
 
No on the low profile tires....I will measure the torsion bars and get a pic as well....thanks!
 
Front high and stiff; lower bars; leave at least 1" between lower control arm spacer and frame.
both sides need to be the same; now a new alighment is needed.
 
Torsion bars are around .900...couldn't find my caliper to measure.

KYB shocks...front does seem higher than my previous Duster....

control.jpg
 
Check for free movement on your upper A-arms. I had the tubular Mag.Force A-arms with the solid bushings on My last car .The front suspension always felt like it was locked up with very little suspension movement . Just something to consider .
 
maybe you have poly bushings. I recently redid the front end on my dart with all new rubber bushings, torsion bars and KYB gas-a-just shocks or are they struts up front? anyway my car does not ride rough. oh and im running 225/60/14s so there is not a whole lot of sidewall to take up any bumps.

I also recently did rear end bushings in my toyota. yeah i know not mopar. anyway i put poly bushings in the stock 4 link setup and panhard bar and it rides pretty rough. handles great though!

anyway i think the bushings are the issue.
 
Hello, I installed the Monroe Sensa-tracs on my 74 swinger. Great riding shock...=D> Good looking shock also for show. You can just make them out in the photo. Well made, with that old school touch.

IMG_1785.jpg
 
Couple of things you did not mention:

1. Did you check your tire pressures, and what type of tires (brand, design, age) do you have?

2. How does it hold the road? A very bad alignment can also cause a bad ride

3. How much does the car move if you put your weight on the front and rear bumpers or fenders and push down?
 
Holds the road very well....alignment seems good.....tires are BF Goodrich 225/60/15....not a lot of movement when I push down....that's why I am wondering if the torsion bars up front are cranked up all the way.

I will post a better photo later today...all the front end appears new, bushings etc.
 
Certainly sounds like they are cranked up, buuuuuuuuut:

1. You didn't mention about tire pressure;
2. You didn't mention about the stiffness of the rear suspension.
 
All are on the right track. If the previous owner installed tubular control arms
he probably installed poly bushings which will firm up the ride. The gas shocks also will give you a firmer ride than the old hydraulic shocks. We will see when you post a photo of the car whether the torsion bars are cranked up too high. That would be my guess. Mike
 
Also, If the lower control arm shaft nuts were tightened with no weight on the front end ( on a lift or stands ) it puts too much pre-load on the lower control arm bushings and could cause it to be a little stiff.
 
if the bars were cranked too far, the front end would be too high. i am going to bet there are poly strut rod bushings. the really seem to bind front end movememnt. on my 69 dart i put them in just because i didnt feel like having rubber ones crack in no time, i only had slant six bars with a big block and i couldnt bounce the front more than 3/4" now on my 67 dart i had the same pair of slant six bars with a big block, but rubber bushings and like expected you could really get it bouncing with just your wieght, which is what i wanted for wieght trasnfer. the washers could be backwards on the strut rod bushings too, also making them too tight. i really doubt its the size of torsion bars making it too stiff, especially if they are under 1"
 
OK...here are some pics...If I push down on the front I can get a couple inches travel. It's real stiff.

Tire pressures are 32psi.

Thanks for all the inputs!

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4.jpg
 
looks too high to me, id definitely drop it down. go out there with a 3/4" socket and drop each side the same amount of turns.
 
Probably be a bit easier to adjust if you take the weight off of the front end first. Careful, take it slow. A friend of mine had one of the adjuster bolts break off one time. Fortunately they're not made of unobtanium.
 
Looks like it's launching in the carport :)

Definitely take the weight off the suspension when you mess with the adjusters. The weight of the car will bind the threads and make them lock up.
You might also want to loosen the LCA stud nut as well if you are dropping it that far, then tighten it back up when you have the ride height set and the car back on the ground.
 
Will do it...what would you suggest for starters? How many bolt turns?

Also, started noticing today that when the front end gets wet (it rained today) the bushings or something squeaks in the front suspension when I go over larger bumps, like speed bumps etc. Only when they get wet.
 
Looks way to high to me and those tubular arms have no gusseting - I'd get rid of them and put stock ones back in. Don't forget that you want the front and back ends to basically match in stiffness (for a street car; see above comments concerning weight transfer on a drag car)
 
Ok...turned the torsion bolts all the way in then backed them both out 5 turns. Have yet to road test but it is lower in front. Will drive it and adjust as needed.

One of the bolt heads is sticking out much farther from the control arm even tho I turned them both out 5 turns. I am thinking somebody just installed a longer bolt on that side?

Thanks

Brian
 
Measure from lower ball joint to floor, and torsion bar housing on lca to floor; subtract. make sure both sides have the same difference.
 
why did you turn them all the way in? you should just have backed them out equal amount of turns from where it was. you will also want to find a really flat parking lot to make adjustments and take measurements. look at your front and rear bumpers for being level to the ground. if you get a lean in the back, you can lower the opposit front side. dont be fooled thinking you have a bad leaf spring, when you might not.
 
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