Comment: Suspension

You could also try the Pajero forum.
http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/index.php

...apologies, hit the "Followup" button instead of the "Reply". :)

maybe your account will disable. try to register again.

I have fitted several kits to the gen 3/4 Pajeros. There are rubber spring seats from the factory front and rear. They tend to chew out fairly easily, particularly in vehicles that have been in sand and mud as the grit gets between the spring and seat and eats them. I have seen them near stuffed on factory coils at 25,000km. Having said that, the loss of them does not tend to cause noise as you describe. I have heard of a few of the cheaper shocks making a noise though and some of the big bore ones can rub on the upper control arm if not shimmed over a bit during install. Have also heard of problems if the springs aren't oriented correctly but that is only the rear - the front can only go one way as they are tapered. Another one is cheap lower bushes used in aftermarket front shocks. These two rubber bushes take the entire weight of the front of the vehicle, and if it's a diesel (heavier than the V6) with steel bar and maybe a winch they work very hard and the bad ones chew out in no time flat. You can get these bushes replaced if that is the issue.

Generally I fit Bilstein shocks and Lovells springs and am yet to have an issue with any of them. They come highly regarded from owners on the Pajero club forums. Last set of Billies I swapped in mine had 200,000km on them and I only changed due to age, not serviceability issues.

Pat

Pat

I took my Pajero to TJM....they fitted XGS shocks & then couldn't work out why the vehicle was squeeking in the front shocks!!! So loud you couldn't drive it.....told them to take their stuff off & fit Koni adjustables......never a problem!!!

The lesson here folks is to buy shocks and springs from a company that is a long standing, suspension manufacturer of some repute, not a a high margin marketing company who sticks a badge on components manufacturerd by...who???..and sells them at a high margin thru franchised dealers.

cheers

Hi Graham

Just some thoughts
On shocks using a stud mount rattles can be caused by incorrect tolerances in a couple of ways.
The shaft is not centered in the mounting hole.
This can occur because;
• The shock is not centered when the nuts are done up.
• The shaped washers that the mount rubbers fit into are the wrong size/shape for the rubbers used and therefore do not hold the shocker shaft centered in the hole.
• The mount rubbers are the wrong ones for the washers and therefore do not hold the shocker shaft centered in the hole.
These faults allow the shaft to hit the side of the mount hole causing noise and eventual damage to the shock shaft and mounting hole.
The mounting shaft is bigger than the original shocks
• All of the above
• The bigger shaft does not have enough clearance in a standard hole to allow for all movement
The use of stiffer shocks (or hitting big bumps with knackered shocks) has bent the mounting bracket containing the mounting hole. The misaligned hole reduces the shaft clearance.
These issues can also arise with eyelet mounts but they seem to cause less problems.
Of course shocks can also have internal knocking usually related to valve problems
It usually pays to have a close look at the way the manufacturer set up the original mounting system. Top quality units like Billies and Koni’s have usually taken all this into account but I have seen many other brands where the the quality of the shock is not reflected in the mounting bits and pieces.
Regards
A