1993 ISUZU BIGHORN SWB, LIFT KIT ADVISE-IDEAS

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

hello guys
i am new in the forum.
i recently bought a 93 bighorn 3.2V6,swb and i just love it.its got tremendous pulling power and acceleration (especially when pushing those hondas type`Rs on traffic lights ) .i drove it a few times offroad and although it never said no to my demands i realized that i need a bit more ground clearance. its factory setup yet, i only put 4 265/70/16s Hankook A/T.i am thinking of buying a lift kit for now(suspension or body or both) but havent decided yet and actually dont know which one is best.what i need is 2-2.5" of clearance and maybe bigger tyres (probably 32s).its something i want to carry out by myself so i dont want anything too advance for right now.you guys have any suggestions or ideas?i live in CYPRUS, so most of the things i will probably get from Ebay.

regards
A newbie

[geeves]

hi lunatic 4isuzu
We would love to see pictures of your 4wding over there as we know nothing about that part of the world.
Thoughts on lifts
Rear Replace springs with 50mm lift springs Check shock length and replace if they are not long enough. Remember the shock has to limit down travel just before the spring becomes loose. Dont be surprised if the car goes up more than 50mm. Not sure what brands are available over there. You may want to experiment with removing sway bar but you might also have the electric swaybar disconnect

front Spray penetrating oil on the torsion bar adjusters and leave overnight. Adjust to match rear. Shocks will be fine. A ball joint flip is recommended for a 50mm lift but necessary above this. This involves taking out the top ball joint then remounting under the top arm. It is still the same way up. Get a wheel alignment done making sure they do camber and caster. Once again experiment with removing the front sway bar.
This will allow up to 33 inch tyres with no issue. Do however check up on your local rules before starting

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

hello geeves and thanks for the quick reply
my isuzu does not have rear lift springs but shocks and springs.does ur suggestion applies to it?as far as for aftermarket things we have the calmini, monroe, rancho, tough dog, old man etc....pretty much all known to you
as far as for pics of our 4wheelings i will find some and post.right now is the best period, lots of rivers crossing and mudding.

regards from this part of the world
alex

untill i find the pix you could search on youtube for cyprus 4x4 or kofa cyprus (if you want of course ) just to get an idea of the place

[geeves]

Sorry a misunderstanding. I meant replacement coil springs with a 50mm lift. All the springs you mention are good so whichever are cheapest. Same with shocks. For the rear it might be worth buying the springs and shocks as a kit but all the front torsion bars on the market are siffer than you need and you are better keeping your current torsion bar unless you have a heavy winch on the front

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

just to clear out something and excuse my ignorance on this subject....when you say 50mm lift i believe you mean coil springs (and shocks) 50mm longer than the original ones right or you mean a 50mm spring spacer (which it will still lift the car) ?
as for the torsion bars, do i have to raise up the front of the car off the ground or can i do it as it sits down?does it matter?
by the way, i have a button on the dashboard that says "STAB ON/OFF" that i think it does softens and stiffs up the rear suspension?is this has something that i have to deal with in the lift procedure?

sincerely sorry for all the question

[geeves]

Only silly questions are the one you wish you had asked. You can use a spacer but Im not a fan of them. Also they might not be legal where you live. Its far easier to adjust the torrsion bars with the front off the ground.
Not sure on the stabi button. It might relate to electricly adjustable rear shocks but my money is on it being an elctrical rear swaybar disconect. For off road this is a good thing

[turnturn]

"Stabi" button is a sway bar (stabiliser bar) connect/disconnect.

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

Thank you guys.i will give it a shot on this thing and let you know.i will post pics b4 and after

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

Guys
does anybody know the factory's rear suspension height (shocks and springs) of the 1993 Bighorns?i searched online for it and didn't find an answer.i am using the car daily and i don't want to put it away to take off the rear suspension, measure it, order the new longer one and wait until i get it in my hands for the exchange.if anybody knows this information would be much appreciated.

alex

[geeves]

Measure from the center of the wheel to the highest part of the wheel arch. This will be around 500mm. Both of my vehicles have 30mm lifts and give 520

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

geeves
you were right about the height...it comes close to 500mm (505 to be exact).how long should the shock absorbers be then?how long should i look for?
by the way i looked everywhere online and in junkyards to find wheel arches (fender flares) for my car and couldnt find any.do you guys know any companies or someone who carries this kind of stuff.i dont mind not being the original or anything....aftermarket whatever etc just not those rubber ones (i talked with bushwacker and said they dont have any).

[geeves]

Im guessing you dont want conveyer belt or plastic garden edging flairs. Cheap as but not exactly pretty.

[Captcol]

Larger tires are also an option, this is the only way to get clearance under your rear diff.

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

captcol
but in order to get bigger tires i have to do the suspension lift otherwise they will hit the fenders....

geeves (or anybody else )
if i permanently disconnect the sway bars will i get more offroad articulation?what will happen?is it ok to leave it like that?
i am going to today to the shop to see what i can find....i was actually thinking of finding some coil springs from the NISSASN PATROL and some longer new rear shock absorbers...(but how long should i look for?or the longer the better? i know too long there is chance of breaking something when pressed too much...)

[geeves]

better to find springs designed for your car. Nissan patrol is much heavier so could give a stiff ride.
Sway bars do restrict travel by making both wheels go the same way. There is a huge improvement off road by disconnecting them but also you get more body roll on road. Its up to you if you can live with this or not. I have mine disconnected except when its due its 6 monthly safety inspection. For me its fine but I drive in the knowledge of how it will react in a corner Others might find it a little scary

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

geeves...
i understand the plus and negatives of disconnecting the sway bars, and by this i guess you referring to the front sway bars right?at the rear they are electronically controlled by that ^stabi^ button i told you earlier...if that button still works that is...

[geeves]

correct

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

hey guys

yesterday i received and installed the OME 919 rear lift kit on my Isuzu. for a first timer i think i did an OK time to install it. 3hrs by myself . anyways, it gave me a good 2" (50mm) rear lift. i didn't replace the shocks due to unavailability at the shop but will do next week. now for the front part i got somehow stuck.i took the torsion bars as far as they could go. it gave me another 15mm front lift. Nnow i have a difference of 25mm from front to back.
1)Is that ok or will i have to do the ball joint flip?any ideas/suggestions?
2)As far as the front sway bars, do you you guys take them completely off or just unbolt them?wouldnt they get in the way then?
3)Rear sway bars on my car are electronically controlled.Not sure if that thing still works though (i did some efforts to check it while the wheels were up in the air yesterday, didn't see any change to the height....not sure if what i did was correct... ) anyhow, can i disconnect the rear sway bars also?will that be ok or no? (as far as the driving attitude i saw what GEEVES told me and keep that in mind for now) other than that?

cheers

[geeves]

Torrsion bars. This becomes a nasty job if what I think has happened has. You need to undo the swaybar at the 2 bolts that hold it to the lower arm. You will see that this is a splined attachment Move the spline round a few notches and reassemble. Remember all weight of the front and that this is a spring. If there is any tension still on it it will try and kill you. Not a hard job but has a few traps.

Ball joint flip This is to restore down travel after a lift and improve wheel alignment issues. With a 50mm lift you can get away without it but its better to do it.
Remember you will need a wheel alignment after the lift

Front sway bar. In New Zealand we have this safety inspection and a modification regime that means that if you remove a sway bar it needs to be inspected by an engineer that wants $400 for his time. If this isnt done the 6 monthly safety test will be failed. As a result every 6 months I have to reconnect my swaybar for a day or so and because of this its just pushed up out of the way. Also have to change the 32 inch tyres for 31s for the test
Rear sway bar. Without disconnecting the bar from the other side I cant think of a way to test it

[LUNATIC4ISUZU]

"it will try and kill you" Geeves you lost me there
do you think its something that a mechanic should do?

i did the wheel alignment already yesterday.
i think i will avoid the front sway bar for now since my truck will go for the MOT (your equivalent certification inspection but we have it every 2 yrs).Geeves do you think the 25mm of height difference between the rear and front is ok to leave like that or do i have to reduce it?

cheers