Thread: Front shock lower bush - any brands that last

For a lot of the classic LandRovers people often say to use on rubber bushes.

The Disco2 is totally different, and my recommendation is to only run poly-bushes in the shocks both front and rear. Rubber gets destroyed in them very quickly, especially when used off-road as you’ve seen.

I’ve had a huge amount of success with Rancho poly bushes (I’m not in the slightest a fan of Rancho shocks, but their red bushes work exceptionally well) and also the blue Super-pro ones seem to be fine also.

That looks like a standard shock that you’re trying to rebush though which has a different bush to any other aftermarket bush. If thats the case, after 20 years its time to let it go. They probably ride well because they dont work.

Originally Posted by peter51

I was thinking of changing over to D1 shocks by changing the towers and spring base plate - has anyone done this?

Not sure why this would be an advantage. As far as I can ascertain, there were certainly more choices for the D2 over the D1 as far as springs go, especially in the heavier side of things. The shock towers have plenty of aftermarket - Adrenalin 4*4 for one, probably better looking at the UK and US for best prices...

Thanks Slunnie Ill try those.
The reason for changing the shock tower and lower plate is to use the RRC/D1 pin to pin shocks. I have a box full of good ones. There is also more rubber used in the mounts which I believe contributes to the better ride of those two marks over the TD5. I dont need to change springs as I like what I have now.
The bushes in the picture were pressed into the LR shocks only a few years ago - I cant recall the brand and I dont have the receipt anymore. These bushes were only used on secondary dirt roads for about 500km - rest was asphalt.

Originally Posted by peter51

Thanks Slunnie Ill try those.
The reason for changing the shock tower and lower plate is to use the RRC/D1 pin to pin shocks. I have a box full of good ones. There is also more rubber used in the mounts which I believe contributes to the better ride of those two marks over the TD5. I dont need to change springs as I like what I have now.
The bushes in the picture were pressed into the LR shocks only a few years ago - I cant recall the brand and I dont have the receipt anymore. These bushes were only used on secondary dirt roads for about 500km - rest was asphalt.

Is there enough access under the D2 base plate for fitting the rubbers and nut? From memory it's very tight

You could just drill a centre hole through the D2 setup?
*edit, forget I just said that last bit.

Originally Posted by peter51

Thanks Slunnie Ill try those.
The reason for changing the shock tower and lower plate is to use the RRC/D1 pin to pin shocks. I have a box full of good ones. There is also more rubber used in the mounts which I believe contributes to the better ride of those two marks over the TD5. I dont need to change springs as I like what I have now.
The bushes in the picture were pressed into the LR shocks only a few years ago - I cant recall the brand and I dont have the receipt anymore. These bushes were only used on secondary dirt roads for about 500km - rest was asphalt.

I'm not sure that these shock bushes will be suitable for your particular shocks though.

The bushes supplied on my Bilstein shocks have survived the past 10 years just fine.
If you pan to stick with rubber I'd only use genuine Land Rover or OEM brands. No aftermarket third party el cheepo rubbish.
Personally I go with Australian made urethane suspension bushes though - SuperPro, RedRanger Nolathane, Whiteline or Pedders Suspension only - don't fall for the cheep urethane bushes that they offer from the UK. They're a waste of time and money.