New shocks

[michaelgreeny]

Hey guys,

Looking at replacing shock absorbers as they have upwards of 140k on them by now and we are heading to Gibb River Road from Adelaide doing all the corrugations including mitchell falls and kalumburu and then coming back via the Tanami. So would rather not have to deal with busted shocks in the middle of nowhere.

I've got a 2 inch lift on an '09 GU. Running Dobinson springs with Dobinson rear shocks and lovell front shocks.

Wondering if anyone has first hand recommendations of what to replace with without spending my entire lifes savings, maybe even replace springs (necessary or not?)

Also if putting new shocks in would you bother taking a spare shock on the trip or not? Taking a camper trailer so space not too much of a problem.

Appreciate the thoughts.

[threedogs]

Id fit some EFS shocks if they fail their warranty should cover it
also take a spare front and rear as well

You can buy Pin to eye adaptors for shockers that way you'll only need to take one spare

[TimE]

My Patrol has been pounded over many ks, replace shocks every 40 to 50,000 ks. Best lot so far have been OMEs

[jay see]

I do believe the OMG are good for the conditions that you'll be traveling on and yes take spares.

[threedogs]

a remote reservoir shock would be ideal but they cost an arm and a leg
What area are you in I have some spare shocks here for you if nearby

[jay see]

My Patrol has been pounded over many ks, replace shocks every 40 to 50,000 ks. Best lot so far have been OMEs
Ha. 1 minute, you must type quicker.

[Plasnart]

I have 90 series konies. Huge shocks and yes cost a bit but after pounding all day, day after day they never lost dampening and never got hot. Fully loaded huge corrugations all day. Never regretted the outlay. Can feel them pull everything back down on "woopee-doos". One of the best mods I've done (for a tourer).

[MB]

Same Plassy, got the 90's on the ute and happy so far! Their diameters 'just' fit ! Not the cheapest things ever bought but I too hate doing things twice :-)

[Plasnart]

Same Plassy, got the 90's on the ute and happy so far! Their diameters 'just' fit ! Not the cheapest things ever bought but I too hate doing things twice :-)

Yes they only just fit in a small vehicle like a patrol. Usually installed in coaches, but fully adjustable and rebuildable too.

[MB]

Bloody great long term investment I'm hoping;-)

[Cuppa]

When I got my Lovells GVM upgrade I was obliged to have Lovells shocks fitted. No complaints, but haven’t tested them on long distance corrugations yet. At the time I asked if I could substitute them with Konis, but understandably the answer was no. When the Lovells need replacing it’ll definitely be Konis though. Have had them on motorcycles, on both ends of our bus & on the Tvan. They might not look as ‘macho’ as some, but they do the job, do it well & keep on doing it, & when they do eventually get past it they can be rebuilt.

I’m not sure if the double wall construction is common among 4wd shocks, but this is how the Konis are built. One of the shocks on our Tvan has a pretty big ding in it, presumably from a flying rock at speed, which I reckon would have put paid to any single wall shock, but seems to have made no difference at all to the performance of the Koni.

[Ben-e-boy]

I’m not sure if the double wall construction is common among 4wd shocks, but this is how the Konis are built. One of the shocks on our Tvan has a pretty big ding in it, presumably from a flying rock at speed, which I reckon would have put paid to any single wall shock, but seems to have made no difference at all to the performance of the Koni.

Quite common. Also known as a twin tube. You'll find that the majority of the middle - lower end shocks are twin tube with low pressure nitrogen.
Mono tubes without a remote reservior are not very common on the Aus 4x4 market as far as I am aware as they require a floating piston to seperate the generally higher pressure nitrogen, which has to share the same 'tube' as the piston and shaft. This reduces the available travel the shock has for same dimensions the equivalent twin tube has. To get around around that you would use a remote reservior to house the floating piston.

[michaelgreeny]

Cheers guys, never heard of Koni's but after doing some research they seem like a pretty solid choice. Does anyone happen to know off hand what the part numbers are of the shocks I need to replace all 4 on a 2009 CRD 3.0l GU?

[Plasnart]

Cant find my receipts now but i bought mine through Outlaw Speed Shop in Adelaide, sourced from a Vic warehouse. They did a better deal than my local Koni dealer who had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. I have good memories of their service so maybe give them a call.