Thread: Refreshing suspension at 180k

If it were me....

Factory shocks - you know what you are getting, you know they work and you know they last and you know that you are happy with them. The copies are just cheap and you'll get what you pay for... not much and then you'll probably replace them with factory ones anyway. The new shocks will come with new bushes. Pull the steering damper off and also see what it is (or isn't) doing, it'll probably be perfectly fine.

Rear airbags, yes replace them with newies. Do Firestone do higher quality but standard specification ones?

Front springs, they will have dropped as soon as the bar went on. You can get HD standard height springs to cope with the bullbar (which is quite heavy) from the aftermarket such as Lovells or even possibly OEM, but if you are happy with the springs then just keep running them. They will have settled by now and probably wont go too far, especially if they are already on the bumpstops. They wont break.

Bushes, I'd look to replace the ACE chassis bushes at the front and rear. Also check that the down links from the swaybars haven't cracked around the boots - if they have then replace the entire link. I'd also check the radius arm bushes at the axle ends for cracking (F&R) and replace them if they have cracked. Also check the 3 bushes in the watts linkage at the rear.

Hey guss--woof woof!

I have the same, well HAD the same dilemma. I just bought my 04 TD5 disco "classic" with 170km on it ($14000 from a guy in Perth) and wanted to change the suspension over. I looked everywhere from ebay, to landrover specific parts companies and read peoples suggestions, and also ebay UK and USA. I was just about sold on an ironman kit over ebay from Fusion in Perth for $730 that included a 2" lift and shipping. I know your not wanting a lift, but I have to ask why? When I do the Simpson or Birdsville Track or anywhere serious like that, (like the Border Track I;m doing in 3 weeks) I'd definitely want a lifted vehicle, especially considering the weight you will be taking in the truck and that this would make the vehicle lower than even standard springs and shocks. So again...Why?

So....I thought that price of $730 including shipping was good and went to my mechanic and asked for an install price. Being a general mechanic not a LR specific guy, he said it would take him at least a day if not two, and hence $700+ in installation..NO WAY!!!!

So...after my initial email enquiring about prices, I went back to Triumph rover Spares in Adelaide (90min from me) and took the car there and left it for 4 hours and its all done. They used second hand springs and shocks that are 2" lifted originally and did a supply and fit for $760! The springs and shocks arent new but do lift the truck from what it was by at least 2 inches, as I measured it all round before I went there.

I know youre in Victoria, however if you were planning to do a trip over here, it would be worth spending a day here and getting 2nd hand replacement springs and shocks from them even if they aren't lifted ones like I wanted. I also know you have SLS and ACE which I dont, so I am not sure how that affects it all but I am sure the guys at TRS will know what you need.

Well whatever you do, ENJOY! I hope this helps and that it all goes well.

Yep, I'd be lifting it aswell. You'll probably find that most of that harshness is actually from the front end bottoming onto the bumpstops, adding a bullbar exacerbates this as do worn shocks. 2" lift gives the suspension a lot more room to absorb these bumps. BUT, not everybody wants it 2" higher.

Thanks for the replies guys. I do not want to lift it because I dont think I really need to. One of my rellies did the entire canning with a standard 97 disco - only mod was a roof rack. Another friend with a d2 has done the simpson east to west and west to east and doesnt even have a cdl kit! I think standard will be fine for what I need. I am fairly confident that I could replace the shocks and rear air springs myself - not so sure about the bushes that you have described slunnie. Am I better off taking it in to a rover place for the bushes? Or do I just get someone to do the lot? Any recommendations for landy mechanics towards the east of melbourne? Im in Alexandra which is about 1.5 hours from Melbourne - havn't used a rover mechanic in Melbourne as Ive lived in Albury Wodonga for the past ten years and had a good mechanic there.

i am in much the same boat as you,i want to take advantage of good prices on bilsteins but want to keep the soft ride,but cant find anywere\anyone who can tell me what billies i need.

I had the exact same problems about a year ago,my landy specialist gave me all the options but it worked out for me and the amount of 4x4 vs around town work I do that I went with standard land rover shocks all round which were about $100 each I replaced the air bags with stiffer coils(that just suited the budget and possible future problems at the time)and they used uprated range rover coils for the front to cope with the arb bar, spotties and battery and it sits back at factory height.apparently with the bigger v8 and tighter coil they work perfect in the disco.I'm really happy with everything nice soft ride still but that touch stiffer off road.been a year no dramas no sagging.oh and on the same day they put 245 75 16 on to!

I replaced my rear air bags & shocks at 115k km. One of the bags was leaking so, I figured while there, I would do the lot.

A lift for me is totally out of the question. I have so little clearance getting into my garage, that if the car is in off-road height, I dont get thru the door.

The whole job (bags & 4 shocks) will take a little over an hour. So, timewise it isnt a biggie.

Originally Posted by lewy

i am in much the same boat as you,i want to take advantage of good prices on bilsteins but want to keep the soft ride,but cant find anywere\anyone who can tell me what billies i need.

Give MR auto here in Brisbane a ring,they know what to use.They use Bily shocks & king springs on D2's.

Don't have their number on me ATM,but you coud google or do a search on here.

The standard King fronts bring it up well,but standard rears are similar to OEM.If you are gonna carry heavy loads you need the HD rears.