Replacing shock absorbers; springs at the same time?

[120mm]

My 1996 Series 80 drives quite well, until it hits bumps at speed, and then it porpoises enough to be discomfiting. It's obvious the shocks are gone; The bottom half of all four of them are soaked with escaping fluid.

Other than looking at replacing any suspect bushings, I've heard some people advocate replacing the springs at the same time.

What say you?

Drew

 

[Bat21]

One word, three letters.... EFS

 

[Dave_S]

One word - Pedders.

 

[Towpack]

I replaced my OE shocks with same as they were clearly past their best but springs appeared still OK. If the springs are ok then why change them unless you want stiffer/longer items. Also replaced rear ARB bushes as they were also worn showing obvious movement in the bar. The hardest part of the shock change was getting the top mount bolts out. I went for removing the top mounting plates but some have left these in place and just cut the top shock bolt although access isn't great. JMO

 

[clivehorridge]

It won't be helpful to say just three words, Old Man Emu

Each to their own, and having only replaced the suspension once, I have nothing to compare with the OME set that I fitted.

My original springs were very tired, but the shocks were still good at 112k km.

I went for a 110mm lift with the OME set, and 7 years on the ride is a great as it was when I first fitted them. The only complaint could be the paint peeling off, but it seems that EFS don't suffer so badly from that.

I'd recommend a lift, especially if you intend to offroad the truck. It gives you a lot more scope offroad.

 

[Shayne]

Think i would be tempted to wait until i was in Germany , vosprung dirk tecknic and all that .

 

[120mm]

Think i would be tempted to wait until i was in Germany , vosprung dirk tecknic and all that .

My fear is that once there, parts will be unavailable and/or overly expensive.

I'm really not certain how much I would off-road this truck. I see it as more of a trek type vehicle, mainly based upon my lack of off-roading since 1996 or so. I've just never lived someplace (that wasn't a third world country) where off road was a serious possibility. In Iowa there is ONE place in the entire state to take a car off road, legally and that is privately owned. It doesn't stop literally thousands of truck owners to jack their truck up 8 feet in the air and put monster truck tires on them, though.

Perhaps I will change my mind once I get there.

 

[Shayne]

Bring the parts with you , i was thinking more along the lines of tracking - caster - wheel alignment , precision is what Germany's known for .

 

[Julian T]

Personally I would not be too concerned about the availability of OE parts for the Land Cruiser 80 in Europe, if you can afford Toyota main dealer prices that is.
There are also after market sites like Toyo and Amayama which are useful, and I would say there will be more than a few specialist suppliers for the off road and expedition crowd who can supply or source what you may require.

I have Old Man Emu springs on my 80 series but other than standard springs I cant compare them, I prefer them to standard but mine were tired.

Julian at Overland Cruisers swears by the slinky kit for comfort and articulation.

Each to their own, but bringing parts over from the states is all additional weight in my opinion.

Julian

 

[120mm]

It won't be helpful to say just three words, Old Man Emu

Each to their own, and having only replaced the suspension once, I have nothing to compare the OME set that I fitted.

My original springs were very tired, but the shocks were still good at 112k km.

I went for a 110mm lift with the OME set, and 7 years on the ride is a great as it was when I first fitted them. The only complaint could be the paint peeling off, but it seems that EFS don't suffer so badly from that.

I'd recommend a lift, especially if you intend to offroad the truck. It gives you a lot more scope offroad.

Wow. I had never researched a lift, because I had never considered one. But the OME kits are cheaper than buying OEM parts locally in Iowa, and about the same as buying OEM online.

I am considering the OME 2.5" (63.5mm) lift as a compromise. It's cheaper than OEM and still low enough so my lovely bride can get into the cab without excessive static.

I have a pretty competent suspension shop in town; at the very worst, I also know a German mechanic who can fine tune it if it isn't good enough once it arrives. I've helpfully sprained my back working out with my friend, so I will have to hire it out, unfortunately.

BTW, spraining your back immediately prior to making several back-to-back cross-Atlantic flights is not recommended. Just FYI.

 

[120mm]

Personally I would not be too concerned about the availability of OE parts for the Land Cruiser 80 in Europe, if you can afford Toyota main dealer prices that is.
There are also after market sites like Toyo and Amayama which are useful, and I would say there will be more than a few specialist suppliers for the off road and expedition crowd who can supply or source what you may require.

I have Old Man Emu springs on my 80 series but other than standard springs I cant compare them, I prefer them to standard but mine were tired.

Julian at Overland Cruisers swears by the slinky kit for comfort and articulation.

Each to their own, but bringing parts over from the states is all additional weight in my opinion.

Julian

That makes sense.

The problem being, I need to get the work done soon, and I live in a low cost of living area now, and the parts and work won't get any cheaper going forward. Plus the shocks really are shot, the tires have expired, and I might as well do it now, rather than wait. I simply am not comfortable driving in the Jura everyday the way things are right now with this rig.

My new home will be in the Upper Palatinate, between Nurnberg and Regensburg, which is home to some pretty views and relatively windy roads.

 

[MikesVX80]

If you're going for aftermarket kit it would be worth reading through my recent thread on the subject, here: http://www.landcruiserclub.net/foru...-Ironman-vs-OME-(Old-Man-Emu)-suspension-kits

Originally I was going Ironman or OME, but after lots of research I imported EFS kit from Blown80 on here (Chris @ FNB 4x4 in Australia, in the real world) for a similar price to the OME kit widely available in the UK. I intend to use my truck pretty extensively for overland travel, so ride comfort, handling, reliability and load carrying were all of roughly equal consideration to me, hence I splashed out on some pretty high end stuff (they also do cheaper EFS kits, of course).

If you have no intention of loading the car up too much, or going overlanding or offroading, I would probably go for the Ironman kit from Westcoast 4x4 at around £650 (or around £725 with a steering damper, IIRC), or speak to Chris (Blown80) about what he can sort you out with for your needs

 

[120mm]

Cool! That is good info.