stone guard for shock absorber
Submitted: Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 13:01
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21955
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figtree
hi there,
We just put an OME
suspension on our newly acquired 61 series landcruiser and went to Sturt NP. Soon after we hit the roads there, I realized that the stones thrown by the front wheel made a dent on the rear shock absorber-luckily it is still functioning. On return, I asked ARB to install shock protectors without seeing what they look like.
Well, they put on stainless steel tubes that cover bottom few centimetres of the shockies...(I was expecting steel plates mounted 1 foot from the shock absorbers)
My concern is, these tubes do not cover the whole length of the absorber that got pelted by the stones, implying it could still be damaged on stony roads. The maximum axle travel would allow to cover extra 10cm of the shock absorber without limiting its travel.
Reading the threads, someone installed
home-made stone guards that were 6" long, but a concern was raised with the overheating of the absorber (there is still some air between the body of the shock absorber and the stone guard, therefore the cooling will be less efficients with the guard mounted).
I wonder would anyone have experiences like this? Would extended stone guards really diminish the cooling of the shockies to a significant extent? Were we supposed to drive slower on such road to limit the damage (we were making 80km/h)?
It is a bit disappointing to buy a truck that is supposed to be tougher than oour earlier 4WD (Pajero Io), and realize that it is prone to more damage than the lighter vechicle-Io was driven on roads like this without any damage....
All the best,
Joseph
Reply By: Member - Banjo (SA) - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 13:17
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 13:17
Hm........ maybe a deflector of some sort forward of the actual shocks. That would allow the breeze to buffet in and around the shocks while mobile.... I have in mind some
conveyor belt rubber - will have to see where I can put it on my Jack for the new shocks in 3 months time. I must say that the originals have done quite a lot of stony track travel and don't hane any dings yet. Hm...... must be a good reason for that.
AnswerID:
106137
Reply By: Moose - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 13:27
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 13:27
Joseph - I have yet to see any after market shocks with the extra protection that the Toyota originals come with. However I do not recall any shocks on my Cruisers failing due to stones actually piercing them. They've had heaps of dings but they do not appear to affect the working ability of the shocks. I haven't worried about extra protection, but if anyone has a simple, cheap working solution I'll consider it.
AnswerID:
106140
Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 14:29
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 14:29
Protection?
Don't do it.....works for me:-))
FollowupID:
363202
Follow Up By: figtree - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 14:32
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 14:32
Moose, I am concerned that the dent may prevent the piston travelling downward. Also, there is a kind of a valve at the bottom of OME shock absorber, according to their web-site, whose function I assume may get impaired by the dent. I got quite a dent at the very bottom of the absorber and the connecting bolt/washer got bent so that the washer is actually touching the axle attachment point, by-passing the polyurethane inset....
joseph
FollowupID:
363203
Reply By: Leroy - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 14:45
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 14:45
I wouldn't be too concerned. They are a twin tube/wall so the damage is probably only on the outer tube.
But it would appear that the damage you've incurred is not as a result of stones being flicked up by the front tyres as you have bent the connecting bolt and washer. I would say you have hit something.
You cruiser is way more capable than your ol' little paj. It's just a bit of bad luck that this has happened.
Leroy
AnswerID:
106154
Follow Up By: figtree - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 15:05
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 15:05
Thanks, Leroy, I didn't realize that there are two tubes in the lower part of the absorber.
As about hitting something, I doubt it-the roads were all in very good condition , nu ruts or bumps worth mentioning at all.... ANyway, this makes me feel easier-we are going to the
Kimberley in June and wouldn't like to get stuck there.
Joseph
FollowupID:
363206
Reply By: Peter 2 - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 20:15
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 20:15
I used to hang a piece of
conveyor belt off the diff housing with cable ties to slow the rocks down, worked ok but would slow down the air cooling of the shock somewhat.
AnswerID:
106225
Reply By: Croozer - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 22:58
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 22:58
Joseph,
I have a 100 series cruiser which as with all cruisers has the shocks in front if the axle in prime position to get hammered by stones from the front wheels, as they have been. Before my next big trip I plan to make up some deeper & wider reinforced rubber flaps about 30cm behind the front wheels (make up a bracket attached to the side step mounts) which should help deflect most of the stones.
Cheers,
Stu
AnswerID:
106261
Reply By: muzzgit (WA) - Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 23:50
Monday, Apr 11, 2005 at 23:50
That's what I was going to say. Bigger mud flaps, or another set of mud flaps about 18 inches behind the existing ones. Rally cars have these fitted for this reason.
AnswerID:
106273
Reply By: johnsy1 - Tuesday, Apr 12, 2005 at 00:25
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2005 at 00:25
just cut a rubber mat and use a quality hose clamp to secure it on the front of the tube :leave to rear and sides open to dissapate heat
AnswerID:
106280
Reply By: Member - Howard- Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 at 22:16
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 at 22:16
Joseph,
I have had several rear shockers on my 80 series stuffed from stone damage and consider it a weakpoint on the vehicle.
someone earlier mentioned the standard toyota shock has great protection , that piece of 2 mm steel welded to bottom of shock.never had a problem with std shocks . unfortunately std shocks dont have eneough travel so you use something else.
what I have done is use the top section of a stuffed shocky, cut it in half longways, hammered the bottom inch flat , drill a hole in it and mount in front of shock absorber using bottom mounting bolt,
have used this for a while and have not damaged further shocks , unfortunately head of mounting bolt still gets cut to pieces and can be hard to remove at times.
because it only sits in front still gets plenty oof airflow around shocky.
regards
Howard
AnswerID:
106609
Follow Up By: figtree - Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 at 09:01
Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 at 09:01
Thanks, Howard,
DOes this mean that the guard is actually not in contact with the body of the shockie, except where it is bolted?
Another solution would be using the hose-clamps to atach the stone guard and cover the bolt, as
well as the body-this is how the current ARB stone guards work, the only problem is, they are too short (see my original post).
If your guards are close to the body of the shocks, this idea could be implemented without fear of overheating-you apparently didn't have any problems with it.
Joseph
FollowupID:
363652