Ome shocks

Thanks Mark, yes we have loaded up the Prado on previous trips, last trip it was a two seater, we have a gvm upgrade, for when the van is on the back, but are aware of keeping the weight to a minimum, this trip will be tenting it.. I have heard Old Man Emu, don’t do replacement bushes, and to use EFS bushes...? So will see what I can find.. cheers O

I can't imagine any shock lasting to near 280,000km. Although perhaps not leaking they would be ineffective for load control after 100,000km. Just yesterday was in a mate's 100 series and at 221,000kmthe shocks are stuffed. The instant directional control at speed has been lost long ago. It dances on the road requiring constant correction. I had OME yellow on a HJ61 and their good control and bottoming control was gone after 45,000km. Made by Monroe!!!!!!

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RMD, you haven't heard about KONI have you?

RMD

Last year when I did a Simpson crossing I came across 3 cars heading west to East with either front or back shocks stuffed .
I asked two out of the three if they had replaced the shocks recently and both had replaced shocks with quality after market gear and they were not happy .
I must admit it was the worse East West crossing I had ever done , it was badly chew up on both approaches .

Most of the time it how you drive and don’t overload .
The after market companies must love drivers who replace decent gear after only a few thousand Km .
My Vehicle got across no worries with fresh factory suspension .
Cheers

Personally, I would not do that. Poly bushes are longer lasting and better for road handling because they are firm. However, their stiffness transfers all the load to the shockers and springs. The shockers are more likely to heat up and fade and the whole failure cycle is more likely.

Get expert advice, but for example, using poly bushes is definitely not recommended in Tvan suspension by Track for this reason. The rubber flexibility is part of the load handling.

I haven't been on the CSR, but the ABH, east of Emu is like nothing you will have experienced. It puts everything to test. The suspension, the tyres, the quality of aftermarket fittings, any mods, the people and even the paintwork LOL. For hundreds of slow, long kms. You will need all the help you can get to get through the ordeal.

Also buy a thermal IR thermometer and point that at the suspension every few hours. Slow or stop when the suspension gets hot.

I got something like this.

It will have lots of uses right now. You can check your friends when they come over. LOL

Apart from that, it is a quick way to check your suspension, tyres, wheel temps and camper.

Hmm, I might get mine out of the toolbox....

Boobook.
Really?
With a Tvan the end of front trailing arms and the ends of the axle arm are rubber similar/same as on LandRover arms. There for flex ability. Nothing to do with shocks at all and they don't transfer loads to the shock either. Not sure what you are getting at? Only the upper and lower end of shocks are taking control forces. They only take the resistance loading which the shock itself creates. I cannot see how poly or rubber would have any effect on shock or any heating other than what normally would be created by the terrain on that particular shocks resistance to movement.

Good tip on the thermal imager Boobook

One of the group on my CSR trip last year had one and after a few days of use we could get a guide to how the shocks were handling the conditions .

Not sure about checking every few hours though. Half an hour on the infamous corrugations around Well 33 had most shocks in the party too hot to touch. That's time to stop. And they seem to cool fairly quickly.

The only issue we had with shocks in that group was a guy who had replaced the rears on his 200 series before the trip and the fitter made a mistake somehow and the top was somehow damaged. He didn't bring the the old ones as spares but some clever guys managed a fix to keep him moving.

Cheers

Rocco
I don't think Boobook is mentioning a Thermal Imager, only a Laser aimed Infrared digital thermometer. I always carry one or two for same checking. Easy to compare wheel bearings, dragging brakes shoes or seized disc pads etc. Is aimed at bottom of radiator tank immediately you pull up, engine running, you get and idea of what cooling reserve you have or how close to maxxed out of cooling system you are. Good for fridge checking too.

RMD, there seems to be confusion, I am not talking about the trailing arms. I'm talking about the shocker rubber bushes. They should not be Poly is my point.

rocco2010, I'd like to take credit for the IR thermometer idea, but I got it from here. I think it was either Stephen L, The Landy, or Wildmax, maybe even Mick O

Boobook.
On a T van, Shocker bushes don't take load, they only take forces created by their own resistance to movement, beit on annular bushes or compression rings. I agree the poly will be a little harder bush though.

RMD, I carry two thermal testers, one left hand and one right hand with 5 fingers one them, sometimes I even use my foot. They work all the time.

Cheap and reliable and they don't need batteries. To date they haven't had any electronic or mechanical failures and have been used for testing bearings, tyres, drivelines and even exhausts temps on jimmys to check injectors for more years than I care to remember. Even use the same hand method with some spit to heat and install bearings on shafts

Ron N. big, big thumbs down from me on poly bushes.

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Eagle, their proper name is Digital Temperature Indicators. lol

And using your foot is Imperial Fahrenheit measurement units.