Rancho 9000 shocks

Hi Truckster were the ones you had the 9000 or the 5000 what i am thinking about is 9000 on the front and 9000xl on the rear the rear have 70mm tube and the front 56mm.
We are quite a bit bigger than a Patrol, we also have Firestone bags already on, and out springs have been added to so the shock are just to firm up the ride a little. Bilstens for this truck seem better suited to the black top from what i have read and would not last on our corrugated roads, it a real hard choice as the truck is really running well as it is but i just know that once i hit say the central road or any other track like it the stock ones are just going to fade.
Regards

I had 2x sets of 9000's.... then the had no more 9000's so they replaced them wth 9x's... WHICH I HAD TO PAY THE bleep IN DIFFERENCE!

there are much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much better gear out there I reckon.
Give Ironman a call, they are really doing good bleep now, also Koni, or OME LTR's... Not cheap, but they work and dont fail.

Hi gmd the truck is already level or i should say at the right ride height, we have the torsion bars on the front and they are extra large due to the fact that the truck was built for a snow plow from new, we have added Firestone bags and have had added an extra leaf to the rear springs and had then adjusted to suit the ride height so at the moment the trucks ride well and we are happy with our suspension its just the stock shocks we know will not last on our road they we just heat up an fade, i have used OME for years on the Patrol and just love them but with the truck our choice is limited the Rancho 9000 & 9000XL fit the truck well and as explaed above the rear one are 70mm tube and are only new out. In the states they use the 5000 & 9000 but it is mostly black top stuff
Regards

what you are saying is that your torsion bars are cranked up .. thats why you use the cognito leveling kit .. the kit does not increase height it only brings back all the other components to proper height once your torsion bars are cranked. it is a different control arm with a lower shock mount to give you more travel after the torsion bars are cranked. you can get a dual hoop which fits nicely on the new upper control arm and that will solve all shock problems ..
but as I said .. each to his/her own ..
by the way in the US there is not all black top .. only at dieselplace where you read the majority is black stuff only .. nevertheless I consider the Bilsteins to be better shocks ..

good luck
gmd

We have only turned the torson bars a little to raise about 20mm so not much at all, at the moment i have 600 centre of eye to centre of eye of the rear shocks which i think is stock. Can you buy these cognito leveling kits hear in Australia, and do i need one if i am back at stock height or just about.
By the way did you get the pitman arm brace for you truck yet and if so how it is going.
Regards

If you have only reaised by 20mm then the front is still lower than the rear unless you lowered the rear which you probably didn't .. removing the helper spring does not lower the truck when unloaded.

When you go back to stock height you don't need the leveling kit.
Don't know if you can buy it in OZ .. try Eagle Parts or other US parts places .. they might be willing to import it for you ...

My support braces and tie rod sleeves are still in transit ...

regards
gmd

What we did on the rear was to add an extra leaf and ret set the helper and it is great, by the way i have just read a few of you posts looks like we have been going down the same road, we now have installed the in car compter with 10.4 touch screen & also has MT Fi-II on the truck at 265x75x16 we did have BFG the same size but put them on the van as you know the NT are rated 123 which is what is called for on the truck, the snorkal is being made next week let me know if you want info, send email and i will give you my contact numbers.
Regards

I have 255/85/16 on my 6.5 stock rim .. remember I have a dually :)) .. so the rear is a bit harder to change ..

yes the PC runs fine .. I have a PAC OEM and a PAC-2 which gives me AUX input into the headunit for direct MP3 input and an amp output for more base from the Bose amplifier .. I am about to install a couple of 15" subs. I am taking my rear seats out for all kinds of storage and gadgets so I have space for the subs .. I have also installed NextG USB modem and Copilot as well as OziExplorer on the car pc. runs very well ..

yes I am interested in pics from the snorkel ..
hard to imagine a good looking one .. all the Safari stuff looks so ugly on the wagons .. can't imagine my truck with one of these apart from the fact that they are way to small for our engines ..
I am really curious ...

Currently I have rocker panel covers done in diamond plate by a local shop .. there is nothing in the US in diamond plate .. only stainless..

ALso I have currently some swingarms with stub axles done in Brisbane for a custom boat trailer with my GM rims ..

A local shop lost a clip from the ABS sensor line and it rubbed through on the rim before I realised .. idiots .. now I have to fix the cable .. Also my truck has a tiny leak at the end seal (transmission where the driveshaft comes out) .. seems common .. it's only a tiny amount of tranny fluid but still will have to fix it .. is yours completly dry ? or do you also have a tiny leak ..

regards
gmd

Yeah,
we had the leak from new, when we picked up the truck it was leaking, ask Corrvete to fix and they had no seals so left it up to them to get them when we got home at the endo of may they had just got them in got it done then and so far it is OK, in my case i think that when they fitted the large tank they had to drop the drive shaft and they replace the same seal instead of a new one, did you have the large 210 tank fited by them have now fitted another 155 tank in the canopy so have 355 all up. The snorkal is to be made with a 6" truck inlet we have it coulour coded so it looks a little better.
Regards