Suspension Upgrades for 78 Series Troopy,

Hi Leigh,
Thanks, that is the sort of thing I wanted to know.

Out of curiosity what brand of replacement springs and shocks did you settle on?

Thanks,

Geoff

Hi Geoff. I went for OME through ARB Dandenong. Cheers

Hi Wayne,
Thanks for that, much appreciated.

By bellows do you mean air bags such as the Firestone one's Leigh talks about above?

Geoff

Hi Wayne,
I think I just answered my own question by looking at the TJM website!

You'd have Poly Air Bellows is my guess!

Geoff

Geoff,

It was a good thing that the Troopie is still on jack stands.

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Wayne

Wayne

Just had the bellows fitted to mine and I am very happy. Thanks for your advice.

Michael A

Hi Dick,
Thanks for that information.

I was going to drop in and see Grant this afternoon.

With very little effort TJM can be made to be on the way home for me.

Sounds like yours has a little more weight in it than mine.

Geoff

Hi Dick,
I dropped into TJM this afternoon on the way home and looked at their suspension gear, got some prices and ideas etc. They sure know how to charge!

Shockies at $160 each, leaf springs at $350 a pop! Coils at $230 a pair, shackles and pins at $160! Then add $55 for u-bolts plus another $160 for urethane bushes.

Then add another $716 for the bellows and it's up to $2,658 without fitting!

I also priced a bullbar as I'm in the market for a steel winch compatible unit. At the moment it'll be an ARB commercial as they are $300 cheaper than the best TJM could do. (Both supply only)

Interesting exercise when the guy patently hasn't got a clue what the bullbar looks like without a picture let alone what fixtures it has. Easy to see the hilift attachment points in the picture but I still don't know for certain if it has "D" shackle attachment points. I'm pretty certain it has 2 driving light tabs and 1 aerial tab.

Anyway, after asking about Grant and getting the avoidance strategy it turns out he sold the business at the end of the last financial year (30th June) and has moved back to Bundaberg to run his other TJM store.

For me at the moment TJM gear looks the goods but I'm not overly sure about the local product knowledge anymore!

Geoff

Geoff

I should have mentioned that Grant has sold the business. He stayed on until end of Aug to let Ken get settled in and a couple of weeks ago when Alan (my son) called up he was in the shop again. He still has a house and a boat in Newcastle. The place he has in Bundaberg is an ARB shop.

There are some very knowledgeable staff in TJM but it sounds like you did not get them today. Ring my son and ask him who is the best to talk to there. I think you probably need Darrel.

My Troopy has a TJM Type 13 Steel Bar on the front with a Hyd Winch in it so you can have a look at it if you want to. We had to weld an additional Antenna mount on this bar as originally it was on my 79 Series and we had the HF Antenna on the bar. Now it is mounted on the rear bar.

As to prices, they are not cheap but as a package you can probably get some discount. I carry spare shocks, bushes and U Bolts so I have a hell of a lot invested in the suspension.

TJM and ARB are both convenient sources but if you want to shop around I am sure you can get springs from Lovells on a better deal. We went the TJM route on the springs as we wanted their approved package to increase the GVM.

My son Alan has organised all the work on my vehicles so give him a call anytime. He trades from home so is always there including most weekends if that suits you better.

Hi Dick,
Thanks again for your help.

Your take on what Grant is up too is interesting, I'd assume you got your information straight from the man himself! The bloke I was talking to today told me Grant had gone to Bundaberg to get his shop there up to TJM Megastore standard, no mention of ARB!

I'll certainly ring Alan for a look at your Troopy. You've got the exact setup I'm looking to eventually create right down to the Ox hydraulic winch.

Good gear is seldom cheap. I've been thinking after I posted the earlier prices, this gear really hasn't gone up in price in nearly 20 years!

Dad's mate and I both had 1980's vintage Troopy's at the same time.
Mine was the first of the current shape complete with the venerable 2H diesel.
Bob, dad's mate got an Ultimate Suspension kit fitted to his and it was $2,100. That was 4 leaf springs, 4 shocks, steering damper, bushes and shackles including the fitting!

I've just been quoted basically the same amount today!

Thanks again,

Geoff

Phil I have heard stories of the poly bushes "Binding up" and causing leaf's to break due to lack of movement/flex??

Any thoughts or experience on this note?

Hi Phil,
Thanks for the feedback on the ARB gear. The local Newcastle store is about 300mtrs down the road from work. I'll take a walk at lunchtime tomorrow and see what they can offer.

Intersting comments on the urethane bushes. I've never used them, always the genuine Toyota rubber ones along with the standard pins and shackles.
The Toyota stuff seems to last well and is easy to get hold of.
Goodness, over 25 years ago in Weipa I managed to grab some for my HJ47! Back in those days Cape York Toyota was just a tin shed down near the harbour. The bloke threw a box at me and said, "there should be a few in this box" and he was right!

The Firestone airbags from Trucksprings in the US sound far more economical than the TJM offering.

I'll look into your BOSS units too.

The bags may well be a good starting to point to level the cruiser out whilst I make a decision on the springs and more importantly save some pennies.

Geoff

Gday John,
I hadn't heard of leaf springs breaking because of poly bushes binding. Most leaf springs I've seen break have been old ones on corrugated roads.

Geoff,
I'd guess the ARB guys will have a slightly different opinion to me. I think their OME springs are very good. I think the factory Toyota shocks are the best for outback travel, and less likely to fail or fade than aftermarket shocks. I've taken the OME shocks off and put the Toyota ones back on. I think the Toyota sleeved bushes and shackles are stronger and move better than the greasable shackles and polybushes on the 78/79series.

The Boss bags are OK - I bought them off Ebay for a bit over $500. The quality looks fine to me and equal to the Polyairs. The downside to the airbags are that you will reduce rear articulation - by about 70mm for the uptravel. Really only matters if you are rockhopping.

cheers
Phil

Hi Phil,

Again interesting your comments on Toyota shocks v's the OME units. I might float that one past the ARB crew tomorrow for a laugh!

I had pretty much guessed that airbags would reduce the rear articulation but wasn't sure by how much. Yes, you are 100% correct with the rock hoppers comment!

I did a Google search and came up with this crowd in Brisbane for Boss bags, Boss Airbags

I'll also have a good look on eBay for them and probably the Firestones too.

Geoff

Hi Phil,
I'd guess these bags are something like the ones you have in the rear of your 79, ebay Boss Airbags

Isn't the whole 78-79 Series idea difficult for these 4wd shops to grasp?
Straight forward according to Mr Toyota, you have a 79 Series, I have a 78.
Yours is a cab-chassis, mine is a troopy.

Geoff

Yep, same Ebay seller, same deal as mine.

I know quite a few people with these fitted to their traytops but none on troopies. I'm guessing that traytop owners are more likely to put extra weight in and are also bothered more by the sway from the lack of a rear swaybar. If I were you, I'f just go with better springs and if you find out later that you'd like airbags, then get them later.

Hi Phil,
I've been thinking some more about the idea of putting bags under my troopy before I look at springs and I've pretty much come to the same conclusion as you.

I'm better off saving the dollars at the moment and doing the springs and shockers first. After all my original problem is-was sagged rear springs!

I'm still no closer to a brand choice as my replies are 50-50 spilt between ARB and TJM. Even price doesn't help, ARB want $1,848 supply only and TJM want $1,942 supply only. They are even within $3 of each other for fitting! (If I was a cynic I'd say they've been trained by the oil companies)

I'll give Dick's son a ring after the long weekend and go check out his troopy first. At least I'll get a look at TJM's offering.

Thanks again,

Geoff.

Hi Dave,
Do you use rubber grease in the greasable shackles with the rubber bushes or do you use something else to lube them?

Geoff

Thanks Dave,

Much appreciated!

Geoff