How hard is it to change the front shocks?

[mojo]

Hi all, I recently had my TD5 Defender serviced by M.R Auto, and they've told me the front shocks have worn bushes, and need replacing. I was going to book it back into M.R, but thought maybe it's something I could have a crack at myself.

So, what's the process for changing the front shocks? Do I need any special tools?

Also, what replacement shocks should I be getting?

[PhilipA]

It's not particularly hard .
You have to undo 2 bolts through the spring coils so some spanner options are handy.
You have to undo the turret which is 4X 13mm nuts, and a long extension is handy for that and the top of each shock is held by a large bolt with AFAIR a 17mm or 18 mm top . The clearance is a bit tight on the LH side so a spanner is handy as well as a rachet socket.

The RH process is to move the radiator header tank up and out of the way. It is held by a bolt at the back and just pivots up at the front. You have to undo the small pipe at the LH rear of the header and it has a special clamp that should be undo and done up with a special set of pliers , but you can undo it with a small screwdriver and normal pliers. I tied the pipe up to the bonnet with some twine and lost almost no water.

On the LH side you have to remove the turbo to intercooler pipe to have room to move the turret up and out.

Its just a matter of undoing the bottom bolts and the turret nuts , manouvring the turret out , and you can undo the shock in a vice. You should not fully tighten the top nut until the shock is in position with the car's weight on the wheels, although for the design of these shock mounts it is probably not as important as the rears which do move in shear.

I fitted Monroe shocks that I bought on EBAY which are made in Australia by the makers of OME shocks and relatively inexpensive, but I was totally ignored when I suggested these in another post as the "flavour of the month" seems to be Britpart. I prefer shocks that are branded by the manufacturer rather than shocks that are bought in from an unknown source , but I am sure you will get heaps of suggestions.
Regards Philip A

[djam1]

Phillip its a Defender not a Discovery

[PhilipA]

Yes I just realised so forget everything, but AFAIR the principal is the same except you will have a spike bush at top and bottom. Turrets are the same AFAIK. Dunno about the layout of the underbonnet but its never very hard.
What a waste of effort for not reading one word! LOL

Regards Philip A

[ugu80]

I fitted Monroe shocks that I bought on EBAY which are made in Australia by the makers of OME shocks and relatively inexpensive, but I was totally ignored when I suggested these in another post as the "flavour of the month" seems to be Britpart. I prefer shocks that are branded by the manufacturer rather than shocks that are bought in from an unknown source , but I am sure you will get heaps of suggestions.
Regards Philip A

I thought the 'must have' was Bilsteins.

[djam1]

Whoever told you to use Britpart Shocks needs to be ignored Koni or Bilstein would be the favorites of the discerning

[chezzter]

Ummmm, i use to work for the parent company of Monroes..........without saying anything ....i personally would probably look some where else tbh........same can be said with australian made after market exhaust systems....:wasntme:.

[PhilipA]

Well back many many years ago I had a set of OMEs in Saudi which were very good and took a lot of abuse. They were made by Monroe.

I also had a set in Australia on my RRC and they were good if a little harsh as they had Poly bushes. I took them off for that reason and the fact I had a shimmy which turned out to be some dork on the assembly line not driving the top swivel bearing cup in straight.

I would have bought BIllies again if I had the money, and I was SURE that I could get "comfort" valving from the USA. It is too late when you get the shocks here and find they are not what you want.

I was told a long ago by Graeme Cooper that Bilstien HD valving on an RRC and I presume a D2 is too stiff and causes skipping on corrugations. You can get RRC Defender? rears in australia with comfort valving but not front, and you have to pay another $160 or so per shock. I paid when I was working and was very happy with the shocks, but the rears did eventually get dented and made useless.
I also would have Konis if I had the money , but AFAIK they are very expensive. I had some on a GQ that I had in Thailand and they were great and cut down the GQ "corkscrew".

The Monroes were AFAIR $232 for the front pair and $248 for the rear pair ex ebay for D2 though Kmart tyres tries to charge $388!!! a pair. I am happy with the ride and time will tell their longevity, however they do have a three year warranty.

So if money is no object go for Konis or Bilstien but I am giving the cheapies a try especially since my Billies died after about 30KK of admittedly very harsh usage and lots of rock hits.
Regards Philip A

[tyne]

I recently replaced both the shocks and coils all round on my 94 defender, I'm no guru on the tools but a few beers and a couple times watching the tutorials on YouTube I breezed through it. I purchased OME gear from ARB and got heavy duty rear springs but find them topping out without a load, next time I would consider medium or a heavy medium, if they even make them??. But check out YouTube and judge for yourself if you think the jobs within your pay grade..

[mojo]

Thanks for all the replies guys, very helpful!

I've also had a bit of a read of RAVE and watched some YouTube vids, so I'll probably have a go at it in a couple of weeks.

One question I have - RAVE and one of the YouTube vids seems to suggest taking the whole shock/turret assembly out, which I guess means it has to come out up through the engine bay. But another YouTube vid shows someone leaving the turret in place and just taking the shock out from below. Which method would you suggest?

[Blknight.aus]

ring suspension stuff.

you can beat the price
you can get better quality

you cant do both at the same time.

[Yorkshire_Jon]

Hi all, I recently had my TD5 Defender serviced by M.R Auto, and they've told me the front shocks have worn bushes, and need replacing. I was going to book it back into M.R, but thought maybe it's something I could have a crack at myself.

So, what's the process for changing the front shocks? Do I need any special tools?

Also, what replacement shocks should I be getting?

Everyone is talking about changing the shocks, but your post only says your bushes need replacing.

Not sure if you have dead shocks or just dead buses?

If its just the bushes you need to change then keep your existing shocks and simply swap the bushes for some SuperPro ones. You save LOTS of cash!

R
J

Sent using Forum Runner

[mojo]

Good point. I just assumed MR wanted to replace them because they needed replacing! I'll jump on the bull bar tonight and see how many re-bounds I get.

[85 county]

Jack the front up as high as you can then block it under the chassis, about where the doors are.
I use a trolley jack ( super cheap)
jack up one side until the weight comes off the blocks ( or how ever you blocked it, wheel is already off, i do one side at a time) i use a couple of straps to tie the spring closed ( or get some spring compressors from super cheep) while the weight is on the jack, undo the top bolt of the shock, then the bottom. some times you will need to feed some Polly or vice grips though the spring to stop the shock from turning.

now lower the axle as low as you can. the spring will come you of the top mount.. a couple of 1/2 extensions from the top of the spring undo the retaining bolts for the spring at the bottom. IF you have a retaining plate that is, not all do.

now you or i have about 6" between the spring and the top mount. i just push the shock down compressing it until it can come out the side. easy, 20 mints depending on is the shock wants to spring as you undo the nuts or is there is a retaining plate at the bottom

[Sue]

ring suspension stuff.

you can beat the price
you can get better quality

you cant do both at the same time.

I agree.. 4x4 Suspension stuff had the best prices when I was shopping around..

and just for the record a friend of mine fitted Monroes to his SWB Pajero four weeks ago and they failed (leaking oil) in 12 days (of dirt driving but not doing it crazy but driving to conditions).. just saying..

[carlosbeldia]

It's easier to undo 4 nuts (13mm) of the turret's base and the one in the end of the shock (19mm), just take all the turret out and that's all..... it takes 10 minutes the first time, 5 the next. For the bolt at the end of the shock, you'll need really big pliers or a pipe wrench.

installing them back needs a littler effort in the passenger side (your driver's side) due to the diameter of the turret's base, but nothing extraordinary.