Thread: Front springs on a Deffie

once he replaces them he will notice the difference

Just been talking to him on the phone. He has been told that the compression of the springs at the front is to allow stretching the other way when it goes in a ditch or something and they all have different properties front and back left and right to balance drivers weight etc. He has also been told to upgrade the shockies and he will certainly notice the difference then (as you say, Hiline).

He is looking at Monro gas struts and I am about to do a search on this site to find out more about them. I have read that Bilstein and Koni are the popular ones here but he is a man who needs to be convinced to spend the extra. Farmer, of the old school.

what shocks are you running?

if you have bilsteins just take him for a drive....

the only way to really tell if they have taken a set (sagged) is pull them out and measure their free length and compare them to new. Specs are in the manual or here

You can also measure the height between the bump stops, and if you ask very nicely, Andrew Richmond may be able to tell you if it is close to OK or not.

A wild arse guess would be that anything under about 70mm would be shot.

If he doesn't do long high speed distances, and it really is only a farm paddock basher, Monroes will be fine.

I'm running Bilsteins (oil stains suggest I have problems with rhs rear which I am getting seen to - perhaps rebuilt). He has a trayback. I think he is prepared to take on board that new shocks are the way to go. He remains unconvinced about the extra cost of Bilsteins.

Another mate has told him that Monroe gas on his Def are doing well and they are as good as any of the more expensive brands. Don't know what to tell him. I'm happy with the Bilsteins (well I'm a bit PO'd that one has gone) and he knows someone else who is happy with the Monroes. His choice.

My search on this site has revealed one person muttering about their Monroes but nothing here agaisnt them I can find. People here seem very keen on their Bilsteins though.

I'll endorse the Bilstein view but with a caveat.

Apologies for the detour.

The lower rear bushes and washers don't stand up to hard work. I replaced the standard gear with original Land Rover. The washers supplied were half the guage. On repeated extension they can't hack it.

You can get Desert Fox for $99 Each...

I don't subscribe to the view that the Monroe is as good as Koni or Bilstein, but it comes back to cost/benefit.

If you drive like I do, with the loads and distances, I start at Koni/Bilstein (I've been known to strip and revalve/rebuild the odd Koni, and when I get financial again, I plan to say hello to some Fox Shox :wink: ) but if your mate is only using it on the farm and to drive into town.....well, you get my drift.