The back end sits low and bottoms out

Owners on a long-running overland forum treat age-related sag on these trucks as simply given: a thread asking for a stock ride-height figure gets the answer that after this many years of settling and adjustment no such measurement is useful any more, and another member assumes their own high-mileage truck has sagged without needing to check. Read that for what it is: a remark about the whole truck settling, made in a thread that was really about front torsion-bar adjustment, not a measurement of these rear springs. Specialist suppliers sell rear coil springs for these trucks graded by how much constant added weight they are meant to carry, with raised options above that, which tells you the same thing from the other direction: the standard spring was chosen for an unladen truck, and a great many of these have spent their working life with a load in the back. Nothing here is a factory figure — there is no published stock height in this entry precisely because the people who own these trucks could not produce one. This is the thinnest evidence base in this set: one owners’ thread and one supplier’s catalogue. Everything below is a measurement you take on your own truck for that reason, rather than a specification you check it against. What sag actually costs you is not comfort. A truck sitting low at the rear has less travel left before the axle meets its stops, so every dip becomes a hit; its headlamps point higher than they should at exactly the moment the back is loaded and the road is dark; and the rear tyres sit closer to the arch than the designer intended. None of that makes the truck undrivable, and none of it arrives suddenly — which is why it is worth measuring rather than eyeballing, because a truck that settles a little each year never looks wrong to the person who drives it every day.

Gen 2Gen 2.51991–1999Works worseCommunity consensusSafety-critical

Drive gently — repair soonManeje con cuidado — repare pronto

Safety notice — Suspension.

This affects a safety-critical system. Reference material only: for safety-critical work, consult a qualified mechanic.

Esto afecta un sistema crítico para la seguridad. Material de referencia únicamente: en trabajos críticos para la seguridad, consulte a un mecánico calificado.

Community consensus. This entry is not backed by factory documentation — treat its values and steps as a starting point, not as if they came from the factory manual.

Consenso de la comunidad. Esta entrada no se apoya en documentación de fábrica — tome los valores y los pasos como punto de partida, no como si vinieran del manual de fábrica.

Symptoms

The back of the truck sits visibly lower than the front, even empty
The rear hits its stops over dips and speed bumps when there is weight in the back
Oncoming drivers flash you at night when the truck is loaded
A rear tyre touches the arch over bumps with people or luggage aboard
The back end wallows and takes a moment to settle on an uneven road

Likely causes

Rear coil springs settled from age and load
Worn-out rear shock absorbers
Bump stops crumbled or missing
Weight permanently carried in the back

Diagnostic steps

On level ground, measure from the ground to the same point on the arch at all four corners and write the numbers downPoints toRear coil springs settled from age and load · Weight permanently carried in the backRules outWorn-out rear shock absorbers
Take everything out of the back, including the things that live there, and measure the rear againPoints toWeight permanently carried in the backRules outRear coil springs settled from age and load
Push each rear corner down hard, let go, and count how many times it moves before it settlesPoints toWorn-out rear shock absorbersRules outBump stops crumbled or missing
Look at the rubber stops above the axle and at the axle itself for bright, polished marks where the two have been meetingPoints toBump stops crumbled or missingRules outWeight permanently carried in the back

Fix paths

Replace the rear springs, matched to how the truck is used

$$Difficulty 3/5

Springs are replaced in pairs. Choose the rate for the load the truck actually carries, not for the load it might carry once a year: a spring rated for permanent weight in an empty truck rides hard and puts the wear somewhere else. Raising the truck changes headlamp aim, driveshaft angles and how it behaves in a corner, so a lift is a decision, not a side effect.

Replace the rear shock absorbers and the bump stops

$–$$Difficulty 2/5

Dampers are replaced in pairs and the bump stops go on with them — a stop that has crumbled away lets the axle hit steel on steel, and the marks that leaves on the axle tube are the record of every dip the truck has taken since.

Take the permanent load out and measure again

$Difficulty 1/5

The cheapest test on this site. A tool box, a spare wheel carrier and a full water can are weight the spring never stops carrying, and the truck settles around them.