5teve
14th September 2010, 11:57 AM
Hi Guys
Thought i would give a bit of feedback regarding the recent changes i have made to the 2002 defender 110 extreme recently....
The vehicle had covered 120,000ks and was still on original shocks and springs. The front springs had sagged quite a bit and i was showing around 50mm between bumpstops at the front. I have an ally bar (27kg) and a steering guard (probably around 20kg) but no winch.
The first job i did was the shocks (yes i know backwards... ) I replaced the original shocks with the Terrafirma big bore expedition shocks (+2"), Dullbird did a nice write up on these and it can be found here http://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/102897-terrafirma-big-bore-expedition-shocks.html
It was a fairly easy job about 10 minutes per side at the rear, and about 30mins per side at the front. I removed the plastic covers above the towers and dragged the shocks out through the engine bay. i didnt need to remove springs that way! The old ones were well attached at the front and i had to use plumbers grips to hold the body through the spring.. the other issue was that the bottom bushes on the front shocks needed the corners chamfering to get them to sit right.. easily done with a file.
Anyway all replaced and these things look HUGE, ride wise they are firm but a massive improvement over the originals (as they were well past it) nicely damped and as DB noticed the more you load it the better.. and as mine is fairly unloaded at the moment.. thats why they are firm... marked improvement when towing also.
Finally it was time for me to replace the springs lots of dilemma and reading on here before finally thinking sod it! i'll go kings as i can get them at a good price, same day, down the road from where i work. as i'm unloaded at the front and will only be mildly loaded at the rear i went for the KRFR-03 at the front and the KLRR-05 at the rear. They are classed as a raised spring and give nominally 30-40mm lift. They are also handed at the front with the RH (drivers side) spring being 10mm longer than the LH
I Fitted them in an evening with minimal tools. I used the LR jack to lift the deefer high enough to get both the front wheels off (and swore alot about the locking nuts) and to place the axle stands under the chassis (they were under the chassis as i took the wheels off just in case) undid the shocks at the bottom while supporting the axle either side with jacks and compressed the shocks up.. i then undid the shock towers to give a bit more movement on the shock and then released the jack from under the axle.. causing it to droop.
WIth a lot of heaving and shoving the spring came out and just fitted past the shock... there really didnt seem like enough droop to get the springs out easily... but they came out..
As recommended by TIMNZ i replaced the turret rings with the disco rubberised rings RBC100111 and reversed the prodedure heaving the kings in.. they arent much longer than the originals so took a bit of effort to get in but went in..
both sides done i turned my attention to the rear.. by lifting the rear a bit and undoing the bottom seats / retainers while the wheel is in contact with the ground then lifting higher until the spring unseats itself (at almost full height on the jack) the spring can be got out without taking the wheel off.. but remember the axle stands and you will need tall ones for this!
the rears were easily done with the longest process being jacking the deefer up!
The main issue i had is that when ARB had put the towbar on they moved the rear step to the side.. right over the jacking point! Genius! even better the tube they welded to the x member had a hole in the top so filled with water rusting the bolt hard in! took me longer to get the one bolt off than it did to change the springs!
Total all up - 3 hours which isnt bad with minimal tools and having never done the job before.
Verdict? well i gained height at the front and rear. I'm not convinced that the front is up to spec +30-40mm but thats mainly due to the weight up front i would of thought.. i also havent hit bumpstops yet.. where i was easily before.
The ride is very similar although a bit more 'sprung' if that makes any sense? definitly softer at the front as the fronts were that compressed they were hard as.. it feels more controlled round corners too..
Now the good bit... the rubberised turret rings have REDUCED in cab noise from the road / drive train by a noticeable amount! a very worthy and inexpensive upgrade.. how long they will last is another matter tho :)
I havent towed the boat or loaded it up yet which is when i think it will shine.. that will be next weekend.. plus a play in the dunes..
Definitly worth the dollars, all 4 corners for a considerable amount under the $1000 mark and a fairly easy DIY fit too....
the main thing is that i am happy... i just want to try it out on some corrugations now.. as the last time we did some with the original setup it about shook our eyes out of our heads...
Thanks
Steve
Thought i would give a bit of feedback regarding the recent changes i have made to the 2002 defender 110 extreme recently....
The vehicle had covered 120,000ks and was still on original shocks and springs. The front springs had sagged quite a bit and i was showing around 50mm between bumpstops at the front. I have an ally bar (27kg) and a steering guard (probably around 20kg) but no winch.
The first job i did was the shocks (yes i know backwards... ) I replaced the original shocks with the Terrafirma big bore expedition shocks (+2"), Dullbird did a nice write up on these and it can be found here http://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/102897-terrafirma-big-bore-expedition-shocks.html
It was a fairly easy job about 10 minutes per side at the rear, and about 30mins per side at the front. I removed the plastic covers above the towers and dragged the shocks out through the engine bay. i didnt need to remove springs that way! The old ones were well attached at the front and i had to use plumbers grips to hold the body through the spring.. the other issue was that the bottom bushes on the front shocks needed the corners chamfering to get them to sit right.. easily done with a file.
Anyway all replaced and these things look HUGE, ride wise they are firm but a massive improvement over the originals (as they were well past it) nicely damped and as DB noticed the more you load it the better.. and as mine is fairly unloaded at the moment.. thats why they are firm... marked improvement when towing also.
Finally it was time for me to replace the springs lots of dilemma and reading on here before finally thinking sod it! i'll go kings as i can get them at a good price, same day, down the road from where i work. as i'm unloaded at the front and will only be mildly loaded at the rear i went for the KRFR-03 at the front and the KLRR-05 at the rear. They are classed as a raised spring and give nominally 30-40mm lift. They are also handed at the front with the RH (drivers side) spring being 10mm longer than the LH
I Fitted them in an evening with minimal tools. I used the LR jack to lift the deefer high enough to get both the front wheels off (and swore alot about the locking nuts) and to place the axle stands under the chassis (they were under the chassis as i took the wheels off just in case) undid the shocks at the bottom while supporting the axle either side with jacks and compressed the shocks up.. i then undid the shock towers to give a bit more movement on the shock and then released the jack from under the axle.. causing it to droop.
WIth a lot of heaving and shoving the spring came out and just fitted past the shock... there really didnt seem like enough droop to get the springs out easily... but they came out..
As recommended by TIMNZ i replaced the turret rings with the disco rubberised rings RBC100111 and reversed the prodedure heaving the kings in.. they arent much longer than the originals so took a bit of effort to get in but went in..
both sides done i turned my attention to the rear.. by lifting the rear a bit and undoing the bottom seats / retainers while the wheel is in contact with the ground then lifting higher until the spring unseats itself (at almost full height on the jack) the spring can be got out without taking the wheel off.. but remember the axle stands and you will need tall ones for this!
the rears were easily done with the longest process being jacking the deefer up!
The main issue i had is that when ARB had put the towbar on they moved the rear step to the side.. right over the jacking point! Genius! even better the tube they welded to the x member had a hole in the top so filled with water rusting the bolt hard in! took me longer to get the one bolt off than it did to change the springs!
Total all up - 3 hours which isnt bad with minimal tools and having never done the job before.
Verdict? well i gained height at the front and rear. I'm not convinced that the front is up to spec +30-40mm but thats mainly due to the weight up front i would of thought.. i also havent hit bumpstops yet.. where i was easily before.
The ride is very similar although a bit more 'sprung' if that makes any sense? definitly softer at the front as the fronts were that compressed they were hard as.. it feels more controlled round corners too..
Now the good bit... the rubberised turret rings have REDUCED in cab noise from the road / drive train by a noticeable amount! a very worthy and inexpensive upgrade.. how long they will last is another matter tho :)
I havent towed the boat or loaded it up yet which is when i think it will shine.. that will be next weekend.. plus a play in the dunes..
Definitly worth the dollars, all 4 corners for a considerable amount under the $1000 mark and a fairly easy DIY fit too....
the main thing is that i am happy... i just want to try it out on some corrugations now.. as the last time we did some with the original setup it about shook our eyes out of our heads...
Thanks
Steve