Td5 2003 defender 90 steering damper

[Blade74]

Just wondering what people recommend for aTD5 defender 90 as a replacement steering damper?
My car is standard height with BFG all terrain Tyres and I'm about to fit new Koni Shocks.
The damper is 10 years old and a tired looking and the rubber bushes look a little perished.
Is a RTC damper any good?

[Benny_IIA]

Just wondering what people recommend for aTD5 defender 90 as a replacement steering damper?
My car is standard height with BFG all terrain Tyres and I'm about to fit new Koni Shocks.
The damper is 10 years old and a tired looking and the rubber bushes look a little perished.
Is a RTC damper any good?


I have a rtc on my 90 only because it was on there when i got it...

Some people say they make the power steering box work too hard, but i have no idea...

Not sure if koni make them but bilstein do and i dont think you could go wrong with either one of them.

[Yorkshire_Jon]

I've used the Tough Dog RTC for many years. They are good.

Jon

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[Blade74]

Do the RTC dampers put any extra strain on your steering or wear anything out quicker?

[Yorkshire_Jon]

Certainly not that I've noticed on my or customer' vehicles.

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[Blade74]

So I might give the tough dog a go and if it craps out under warranty ill get it replaced and if it craps out after two years I can decide on whether I like it that much to get another one.
Does anyone know of good places in sydney (preferably south) to get all my steering aligned, geometry checked etc?
Will make sure it's all good before fitting.

[Loubrey]

The OME steering damper is pretty much good enough for everything other than Rally Raid...

I would imagine it pretty much boils down to what you want to spend, but IMO most aftermarket steering dampers are serious overkill.

Cheers,

Lou

[Blade74]

Was a little bit of a bugger to install the Tough Dog RTC as the steering end wasn't easy to get into the groove where the bolt goes through and was too tight.
The alignment wasn't quite as easy as expected and one of the bolts that holds the alloy clamp for the spring on the damper to align it stripped out way too easy.
I was only using the tiny Alan key that comes in the pack which doesn't have too much leverage.
Cheap ****ty alloy collar.
Had to put a longer bolt and nut through the clamp to lock it down.
So far the Damper seems like pretty cheap quality which is a bit of a let down for $165.
Lets see how it holds up and how well it works.