Patrol suspension

Submitted: Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 16:20

ThreadID: 10057 Views:2431 Replies:3 FollowUps:4

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Roachie

G'day, Has anybody had any experience with quick disconnects for sway bars or with Tough Dog Ralph's shockers?
With the quick disconnects, has anybody tried only fitting one at each end. What I mean is can you leave one side of the sway bar connected to the chassis with the existing "arm" and have a disconnect on the other side? They cost about $200- a pair and I was thinking of just getting one pair of front-type ones and using one of those at the back. The back sway bar connects on the GU have one the same length as the 2 front ones and the other one is about twice as long. I would leave the long back one in place and put a "quicky" on the other side and do the same at the front.
On the Tough Dog "Ralphs", has anybody used them? They are bloody huge compared to other brands (in diameter) and I like the idea that the company is prepared to give a 5 year warranty while most other companies are limited to a 2 year warranty. My Patrol is pretty heavy @ just over 3 tonne before I load the gear, camper trailer and family up for a trip and my Koni's have done 115,000 and look very tired.
Thanks in advance for any tips or experiences.
Roachie

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Reply By: Mark - Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 16:50

Reply By: Member - Raymond - Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 18:56

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 18:56

Hi Roachie
The Koni's are rebuilderable, and also they may just need adjusting up, 115,000 is about 1/3 of the life I got out of them on a ford Bronco. I have a set on the Nissan and they are great. You can even get them altered if you change your lift
Raywanderin' in retirement. victor 2010

AnswerID: 44512

Follow Up By: Member - AndrewPatrol - Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 20:55

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 20:55

Raymond,
How much does it cost for rebuild of Koni's vs. new?? Saw the Tough Dog Ralphs the other day, they are huge , Must be a good amount of oil in there to resist fade but who's gonna be brave enough to spend $260 ea to give us an idea on their longevity. The other question is how long is that knob gonna last on the side with water and s@$t getting in there, the rancho's have had a bad go with this problem.

FollowupID: 306706

Follow Up By: Member - AndrewPatrol - Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 21:04

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 21:04

Roachie, I've heard that it's a bitch to get the disconnects lined up again to re-insert the pin. On the weekend i experimented with removing one of the arm on the front sway and it feels like you're driving with half flat tyres and also it leans over to sit on the spring, when going into a corner, but nothing that you wouldn't get used to. In my spare dreaming time I'm trying to dream an easier method of making a disconnect. Help me out. I'm also keen on the idea of only disconnecting one side, 'cos if you disconnect both what stops the bar from hangig down and getting caught on something???

FollowupID: 306709

Follow Up By: Roachie - Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 22:49

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2004 at 22:49

Andrew,
With regard to the Tough Dogs, I think you might be getting the new adjustable ones (similar to Rancho 9000's) confused with the "Ralph"s.
The Ralphs have a 53mm bore and are 70mm outside diameter. The others (ie: heavy duty adjustables) are a bit smaller @ only 45mm bore size. I think both have the same size piston rod @ 22mm. A "normal" shock (eg: Koni, OME, Nitro shocker etc) generally have a 35mm bore and a 18 or 19mm piston shaft.
The Ralphs and the Heavy Duty Adjustables cost the same @ $260- each. The adjustables only have a 2 year warranty and they reckon there is an in-cab adjuster kit to come. I notice that the Rancho ad in 4wd Monthly now shows that they are selling the Ralphs too, so I wonder if they have formed some alliance (ie: Rancho & Tough Dog) and if so, Tough Dog will probably use the Rancho in-cab kit for it adjustable range. I'm a bit of a gadget freak, but I think for the same money outlay, I might opt for the Ralphs with their larger oil capacity and longer warranty.
Thanks for your feedback,
Cheers,
Roachie

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