79 series suspension
Submitted: Saturday, Mar 29, 2008 at 23:42
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56061
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willo82
i'm going to do the
Gibb river rd and want to up grade my
suspension on my 79 series cruiser to a 2" lift. i'm unsure weather to use tough dog or old man emu. also i don't want the ride to be too rough when i come
home and the ute is unloaded but i've got a mesh canopy weighing about 150 to 200kgs on all the time. has any one got a good set up that they can share or any ideas?
Reply By: Member- Tony C - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:21
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:21
Willo,
I went for OME medium grade all round including steering damper with air bags in the rear.The set up worked a very
well and a big improvement over the standard
suspension.Air bags were adjusted to suit the load.
Cheers
Tony
AnswerID:
295523
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:35
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:35
Gday Tony,
I have also fitted air bags - Boss is the brand. Did my first trip with them last weekend and with 5psi in them, found the articulation still suffered a lot. So I took all the air out and it was a bit better. Any comments from your experience to date?
They certainly make the vehicle more stable on the open road and its great to adjust teh height back up when loaded.
FollowupID:
561552
Follow Up By: Fnqt2 - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:50
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:50
Im all so looking at getting rear air bags just unsure of what brand to go for.
I think 4wd gear is slowly going the same way as the fishing lure , thats more designed to catch the fisherman then the fish!
FollowupID:
561558
Follow Up By: Member- Tony C - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 13:50
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 13:50
Hi Phil,
I fitted the air bags a few years before i changed to OME springs.The standard set up with or without the air bags didnt have the articulation of the setup with the OME springs and shocks.Because i had the air bags on before i fitted the OME sus i cant comment on any affect they had on articulation.All i noticed was a big improvement over the standerd setup.
Mine were Ride Rite from Air Bag Man.I had to maintain at least 5 psi or risk damaging them.
Cheers.
Tony
FollowupID:
561603
Reply By: Fnqt2 - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:22
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:22
Gday willo82 , i have old man emu all round includeing LTR's that was fitted to my 05 rv and find them great over the cape's corragated roads , i too told arb that i dident want a rough ride when unladen , i find when im traveling up and down the pdr from
weipa to
cairns and back and get a bit out of shape the
suspension feels precise and controlable. I all so cut a couple of shock guards for the rear shocks from stones made out of thick haul truck hose cut in two halves. Image Could Not Be Found
AnswerID:
295524
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:30
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:30
Nice
water tank Wayn'o!!! I've got the same Goughs tank :-)
Any idea whether the rubber stone guards stop the shocks from cooling down, or maybe that doesn't matter as much with the LTRs???
FollowupID:
561551
Follow Up By: Fnqt2 - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:42
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:42
Gday phil, yeah the guards are just halves for the front of the shock so left the back open only cut enough to cover where the stones were chipping in one spot i dont think it makes any diffterence unless the entire shock was covered , yeah i definitely dont get much fade with the LTR's , that
water tank works a treat some times i just fill it up for weight ballast when i drive to
cairns and back.
FollowupID:
561555
Follow Up By: willo82 - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 01:37
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 01:37
thanks for your imput fellas,by the sounds of it ome is the way to go!!! wayn'o did u change your springs over aswell? and did you put LTR'S on the front as
well?
willo
FollowupID:
561749
Follow Up By: Fnqt2 - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 07:16
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 07:16
The front and rear springs are ome as
well , front spring number is ome 859 , yeah LTR's on the front as
well as ome steering damper.
I just replaced the front springs yesterday with king springs LTFR-74HD , theres a lot of weight over the front so i thought id give these ones a try.
The
suspension has been on the truck when i bought it new in august 05 and its held up to the capes rugged roads and that, the LTR's are all so rebuildable i do beleive. Image Could Not Be Found
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Fnqt2 - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 07:18
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 07:18
*KTFR-74HD* sorry
FollowupID:
561754
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:26
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 08:26
I don't know anything about the toughdog.
But I have the OME (and travel with others with OME on their 78/79 series).
Rear Springs: You can get a selection according to the weight you carry. Can I suggest their 600kg rear springs. A couple of us bought the 400kg and ended up adding an extra leaf so the rear stays level with a fair load for desert travel.
Greasable shackles: are a waste of money IMO. The Toyota rubber spring bushes with the steel sleeves are better than anything else, and are easily trasferred to other leaf springs. I've also repaired a broken greasable shackle (not OME) on another vehicle a long way from anywhere, and its a pain.
Front Springs: I went with the heaviest ones (if you're having a winch) even though I didn't have a winch at the time.
Shocks: The OME shocks are reliable on the 78/79series.
Mine are fine after 60,000k of outback travel. They have 40mm longer travel so improve the articulation considerably over the factory shocks. The factory shocks are very good quality though.
Ride: the 79series has a very long wheelbase and the rear leaf springs are very long. While it won't ride as soft as a 100series, its not bad when its got a few hundred kgs in the tray.
AnswerID:
295525
Reply By: Dunaruna - Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 17:42
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 at 17:42
Nobody has mentioned coil conversion. Is it not popular anymore?
AnswerID:
295617
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 11:46
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 11:46
Not many
places do them. Freds conversions is the only one I know. Costs are similar to the Boss airbags. But the coils are not adjustable for load, and from the look of this photo, the upward
suspension travel would be reduced considerably.
FollowupID:
561786
Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 17:40
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 17:40
The conversion I got back in '86 was brilliant. Great ride, progressive springs handled extra load with ease and I gained
suspension travel. The job was done by outback
suspension in
Melbourne.
62 series coil
FollowupID:
561832