Having a SHOCKING time trying to source parts.

Submitted: Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 11:01
ThreadID: 105666 Views:3964 Replies:4 FollowUps:12
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Hello all,
Seems nothing is easy. I'm after replacement rear shocks for my 1999 Mitsubishi Pajero "io" that runs raised 2" King Springs. Other than the fact that most stockist don't even know my model, even less actually stock a listing for the shocks. Enter Google.

So I've established that my rear shocks are the same as those on a Nissan Terrano, Holden Rodeo TF, Toyota Hilux LN36-46 and a Mitsi Delica 89-2004. Plenty to choose from.

So now the question remains. Are foam cell shocks worth the extra $$$? Most people I spoke to reckon they are but then the guy at ARB said they're fine for a while then the foam collapses and they are throw aways.

Then, which shocks (brand name) do you recommend? Choices (based on availability of Nitro-Charged and Foam Cell of the same brand) are Pedders, Iron Man, Tough Dog, and Old Man Emu. My budget is $350-$400 for the pair.

Any feedback or real life experiences are very much appreciated.Mine experiences are with the OEM KYB shocks that faded on me within 15 minutes of slow going from Mt. Dare to Dalhousie last year. The shocks are designed for road/slight off-road driving with 26" tyres. I'm running 31's and much wider so my unsprung mass has increased considerably and I'm running close to my maximum GVM when I'm out touring.

Cheers....and thanks in advance.
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Reply By: The Bantam - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 12:44

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 12:44
Just some thaughts.

KYB are a long standing a reputable manufacturer of shock absorbers.....however the stuff they provide as OEM product for the likes of toyota & mitsubishi is not their best work.
AND if they are 10 years old they are probably well buggered any way.

That said I have not see the up market KYB product on the Australian market for many years....perhaps some of their stuff comes in with other brands stamped on it.

As you have found, shock absorbesr are more generic tham many people would like you to believe.....I had hilux shockies in the rear of my Mitsubishi L300.....they where bigger beefier and cheaper than the same branded product listed for the L300....but my crusty local parts man new his books.


On the matter of brands......well how much of this is about the sticker...how many of these "brands" are no longer in the hands of those who earned the reputation.
There are also plenty of upstarts importing shockies from who knows where and sticking a hard earned brand ( thay paid lots on money in advertising & sponsorship for the reputation) on them.

Personally I prefeer to buy suspension parts from a suspenion company and one with some sort of track record.....not a high margin retailer that can see a slab of extra margin selling its own brand that it gets made who knows where.

SO.
Koni, Billstine and the likes have a known history and a solid reputation and do one thing, make shockies and have done for decades.

If you are looikng for something a little less expensive EFS are a suspension company that have a pretty good reputation and the facilities to at least design, specify and test suspension components, even if some of their items may not be made here.

For my money EFS.

cheers





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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 12:52

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 12:52
I note that your model is listed in their listings.

I also note that of the several different groups of shocks they sell, none of them claim foam cell.

As for the lift...this 50mm lift...how many mm is that actually?

What you realy want to know is open and closed length of the shockies.

cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:29

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:29
Hello Bantam and thanks for your reply.
The standard OEM KYB's were less than 12 months old at the time of the trip. In fact, to put a mileage to them, they had probably only done around 3000-5000 kms.
I take on board your comments regarding sticker engineering and the companies who specialize in shockers.
I was suggested an Aussie mob called Oztec and I'll check out what EFS have to offer too.
The 50mm lift was exactly that....50mm.The springs were quoted as something else in inches, but when I fitted them and compared my before and after measurements (centre of the wheel to eyebrow of the guard) it came to 50mm.
The open and closed length of the shockies is obviously important as is the correlation between the compressed length and the point at which the bump stops contact. The last thing you need is coil springs falling out (although this can be overcome) or worse off, the shockers bottoming out before the bump stops do.
Thanks again.....Fab. :)
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Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:39

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:39
"I note that your model is listed in their listings." .....

Who's that sorry Bantam? I had a look at EFS and there is no listing for a Pajero io in their catalouge.

Did you mean Koni, KYB or Bilstein?
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Follow Up By: Ross M - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:49

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:49
Fab72
All shocks seem to be listed and sold with only number references instead of including the Open & Compressed/Closed dimensions.

I agree with Bantam and also suggest you contact a suspension crowd who will have those dimensions as their application info over just a number.

I think the 3000km to 5000km out of OE KYB is pretty good but they are just fitted for sales and test drive purposes only.

Earlier Dmax fronts are the same, total non dampening at 5000km. Look good though.


If you jack up the body until the coil begins to have little extension left, that eye/fixing distance would still hold/capture the spring in and also not have the spring hammer the shock OPEN when you are frequently airborne. haha.

I had a 60 series and there is a lot of nitrogen in the atmosphere from a number of sets of ARB shocks I had on it. They usually expired before 30,000km with very easy lives too. No ARB for me

Although expensive, cheaper if imported, the Bilsteins and Konis will end up costing you less. Some require a shield from stones though due to single wall ie better performance.

Cheers
Ross M
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Follow Up By: Member - Frank P (NSW) - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:51

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 13:51
I have had great results from these guys. They did a 45mm lift on my 120 Prado and installed their own adjustable shocks all round. Have done about 60k km, at least 40k touring on dirt, corries, etc plus a bit of firetrail and track work. They are still going strong and I'm very happy.

Their upper range shocks are re-buildable, not throw-aways. If you buy non-adjustable they can valve them to suit your application.

Worth a phone call I reckon.

Ususal "no personal interest or benefit" disclaimer.

Cheers
FrankP

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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 15:06

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 15:06
One thing to remember is....NEVER trust the web site...I don't know how many times I've been told "its all on the web site"...well it never is.

I'm not mutch into pajeros...but there is a listing for 4 different pageros in your year model on the EFS web site...surely one if them fits yours.

cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - Frank P (NSW) - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 17:22

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 17:22
I said
"Have done about 60k km, at least 40k touring on dirt, corries, etc plus a bit of firetrail and track work."

Oops, looked up the wrong record in my file. The shocks that I was talking about (in the car now) have only done 30k, half on dirt, etc.

I'm still happy with them. Sorry about the bum steer.
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Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 18:05

Friday, Jan 03, 2014 at 18:05
Hello Bantam,
Out of all the Pajero's listed on the EFS website, none of them are the same model as mine.Mine does not start with a "N" prefix for the model code, rather it starts with a "Q" eg: QA.


Hence the mistake made by many spare parts interpreters despite me repeating the model code to them several times.


For all intents and purposes, I'm searching for the shocks by the other more well known applications eg: Rodeo, Hilux and Terrano.
Cheers....Fab.
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Reply By: Member - Kevin S (QLD) - Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 12:40

Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 12:40
Hi Fab. I have just woken up to the subtlety of the use of capitals in your thread title. Very droll! But I have read the thread with interest as, with plans to cross The Cape off our bucket list this year, the 126,000 km old shocks on the PA Challenger will probably require attention. I had Ironman shocks on the Jackaroo and was always happy with them but never got to give them the punishment I had intended when I fitted them.

Good luck with your search. Does new shockers indicate another adventure?

Cheers, Kevin
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Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 19:40

Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 19:40
G'Day Kevin,
I always try to add a bit of bite to my thread titles....it draws the crowd in and with the crowd comes a wealth of knowledge.

As per my original question, I was after feedback on the different manufacturers I listed and also any feedback regarding the all new wizz bang foam cell technology.

What I've ascertained so far is that it really is a bit hit and miss with no one shocker being the bees knees for every make and model. Also, the only people that advised AGAINST foam cell shocks were ARB who incidentally don't have foam cell shocks in their product range.

What I'm leaning towards is the Iron Man Foam Cell shocks part # 24636FE which are listed for a whole heap of other models including Hilux and Rodeo (not Pajero io) BUT I know from part list comparisons that the compression and extended length and mounting sizes are identical. The only unknown is the valving which may give me a too hard or too soft ride. I'm going to have to take a chance with that unless I go and pay $500+ for Koni's with adjustable valving. At $300 for the pair of Iron Man's, I'm willing to take a chance. I've got some play in tyre pressures to soften the ride if need be and they can't be any worse than the "straws" that are the original KYB's.

Another adventure...????? For sure!
Later this year...perhaps around Sept/Oct across to Ceduna, up Googs, thru Coober Pedy, around the back of the breakaways, up the Oodnadatta Track to Mt.Dare, back across the Simpson (at a slower rate this time) then from Birdsville, rather than head back thru Marree, I'm going to head off to Cordillo Downs for some photography and head home thru Silverton, Broken Hill and the Barrier Highway.

The one after that will be to take in some of Len Beadell's "roads". I do a lot of reading of Australian History and Len's books have always fascinated me. You could say he's my hero. I'd like to take in some of the GCR and Gilles weather station too.

After that it will be either Cape York or to possibly be the first "io" to go the full length of the Canning Stock route. (With others of course). I love a challenge and a well planned trip and set up vehicle is capable of going just about anywhere if you take it easy enough....well that's what I think.

Thanks for the feedback and the fact your Iron Man's didn't give you grief is a vote for them. Remembering that even a full loaded io is still lighter than a Challenger.

Fab....io.
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Reply By: Member - Kevin S (QLD) - Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 20:46

Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 20:46
That's a good summary of where you are at. Have you talked to Iron Man? I understand they test their shocks on every vehicle model for which they are marketed. They will have a very good idea on vehicle weight for their product I would think.

Interesting route for your trip. Any chance of the timing allowing you to swing east from Broken Hill to join up with the EO gathering at Trilby Station on the Darling at the end of September?

By the way my ironman shocks were the standard ones not foam filled

Cheers, Kevin
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Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 21:56

Saturday, Jan 04, 2014 at 21:56
G'Day Kevin.... mate, that's a great idea. I'm not sure of the exact dates (depends on work and when they plan to have their 2 week shut down) but I'll do my best to make it. If need be, I'll do the reverse route or a hybrid version of it.

I'll check out the planned meet up now.
Cheers...Fab-io
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Reply By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 17:57

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 17:57
Thank you everyone for your info and replies.
Just to tie up loose ends, this is what I've decided to go with.

I'm going to add 50mm polyurethane spring spacers to my rear King Spings (Spacers are from an 80 series Cruiser front - same ID/OD).
An adjustable pan hard rod from a Commodore SS (again same ID/OD ends and length is within the scope of the adjustment)
Then I'm going to go for the Iron Man Foam Cel shocks from an LN36-46 Hilux with the only change being the ID of the shock bushes is different to I'll have to add some stainless bushes inside the rubber ones. The Iron Man's having a bigger bore will need the top sleeves modified and I'll run rubber boots over them otherwise I reckon they'll foul my body pan hard rod mount.

And you thought you Landcruiser and Patrol owners had a hard time getting parts...lol :)

Thanks again guys.
Fab-io
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Follow Up By: Member - Kevin S (QLD) - Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 at 18:39

Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 at 18:39
Fab. Talked to my mechanic today about shockers on the Challenger for a Cape York trip. He is a bit of a 4WD guru. He said foam filled every time for corrugations for better heat dissapation and that Iron Man is a good brand.
Cheers, Kevin
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Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 at 19:47

Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 at 19:47
That's awesome news Kevin.
Thanks mate. I'll be fitting my other goodies this weekend then I have to do a final measure up on extension length etc before I order my IronMans.

Fab.
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