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Suspension headache

TerranoMW

By TerranoMW,
in The Garage

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TerranoMW NPORA Newbie

TerranoMW

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Right, next question: My Terrano lives in Malawi in Africa and I use it to for work in rural areas several days per week. It needs to travel on very rough roads as well as extreme mud in the rainy season, at relative speed with full load of passengers and luggage.

 

I just bought it recently from somebody leaving the country, and I know he was very rough on it. The shocks are trashed. At the moment it's boinging up and down over any bump in the road. I just imported some KYB front struts, will get mechanic to install them tomorrow. Hoping that will decrease the boinging.

 

Will then assess condition of rear shock absorbers. However, attached photo shows state of rear springs and rubber (somebody tell me the name for this thing). Does this need to be replaced, or can I carry on with it? (photo of another forum member for comparison).

 

Also curious: I've seen a bit on this forum about lifting. What is the purpose of lifting, and would it help on my rough roads? I'm afraid that I'll be going through a pair of struts every few months . . .

 

Very grateful.

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post-5768-1220992523_thumb.jpg

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Pezzy NPORA Old-Timer

Pezzy

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Most of us who have lifted our trucks have done so, so we can fit bigger tires, to increase our clearance for offroading.

 

I believe some have upgraded their coils for towing.

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bigboy72383 NPORA Newbie

bigboy72383

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Those rubbers are the bump stops i believe. If i was you and carrying full load of passengers and luggage I would replace those and upgrade the springs to handle the weight and the ride would be better with a full load. Plus, my opinion is if your going to replace the front shocks go ahead and replace the rear because they have been going through the same stuff as the front.

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TerranoMW
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TerranoMW

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I lifted mine for offroad mainly....In africa running bumpy crazy roads...I would do a ac 2in suspension with 31's.

 

Thanks for this. What exactly do you mean by "ac 2in suspension with 31's". Do you mean a 2 inch lift and 31" tires? What's "ac"?

 

Thanks

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TerranoMW
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TerranoMW

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Those rubbers are the bump stops i believe. If i was you and carrying full load of passengers and luggage I would replace those and upgrade the springs to handle the weight and the ride would be better with a full load. Plus, my opinion is if your going to replace the front shocks go ahead and replace the rear because they have been going through the same stuff as the front.

 

This sounds good. I'll have to see if I can get some "bump stops" around here. When you say upgrade the coil springs, what does that mean? What sort of specs or product do I need to look for?

 

Thanks.

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TerranoNZ NPORA Old-Timer

TerranoNZ

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Thanks for this. What exactly do you mean by "ac 2in suspension with 31's". Do you mean a 2 inch lift and 31" tires? What's "ac"?

 

Thanks

Yes a 2" lift with 31x10.5R15 tyres (They just get called 31's for short)

 

"AC" Automotive Customizers

1700 NW 22nd Court #2

Pompano Beach, FL 33069

(Tel.) 954-971-3510

(Fax) 954-971-3770

 

As for "Upgraded coils" More heavy duty one's (Fatter wire). A set of Heavy duty springs carrying a load should handle like Standard springs with no load.

 

BTW I'm sure a lot of us would love to see some pics of your backyard (Scenery, I bet there's some great sights over there) :beer:

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TerranoMW
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TerranoMW

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Yes a 2" lift with 31x10.5R15 tyres (They just get called 31's for short)

 

"AC" Automotive Customizers

1700 NW 22nd Court #2

Pompano Beach, FL 33069

(Tel.) 954-971-3510

(Fax) 954-971-3770

 

As for "Upgraded coils" More heavy duty one's (Fatter wire). A set of Heavy duty springs carrying a load should handle like Standard springs with no load.

 

BTW I'm sure a lot of us would love to see some pics of your backyard (Scenery, I bet there's some great sights over there) :beer:

 

Okay, I'm not sure there's anybody in this country who knows how to do a lift. If I ordered the parts, would an inexperienced mechanic know what to do with them?

 

I will look into heavy duty coils. Any suggested supplier?

 

Scenery - yeah, I have some pics, but I'll need to figure out how to put photos on here - that's more time consuming that sorting out my car (!). We'll see how we go . . .

 

:)

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Pezzy NPORA Old-Timer

Pezzy

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You can look into AC (4x4parts.com) for the coils, there is also a company called Old Man Emu (OME) that makes heavy duty springs for our trucks.

 

When I got my lift springs, I had the dealer put them in.... AFAIK, they go in the same way as the stock coils, so if you know someone who can do those for you, you're set.

 

 

Also, post up a hello in the welcome section, we'll get you set up on how to posts pics there (as opposed to messing up this thread! :))

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TerranoMW
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TerranoMW

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Good news and bad news . . .

  • Got my new struts installed today, I love them. No more boinging.
  • Also resolved the ABS warning light (was related to the bad strut)
  • Downloaded the 1996 service manual. Yay! Now I can see what I'm talking about!

Bad news:

  • The previous struts were so bad that it's damaged the upper mounts and the "lower arm bush" (causing signifcant nooiisse)
  • The brakes are getting worse. I have to push down really hard to stop. I think related to the time when we had to remove a rear brake drum, and it's been wacky ever since. Mechanic will check it out again on Monday, but I've had a couple other people check it, and nobody can find anything . . . :-p

So my new shopping and importing list:

  • upper strut mounts
  • rear shocks
  • stronger coils that bigboy suggested
  • rear bound bumpers (aka bump stops)
  • "lower arm bushes" (front) - do you know what they mean by this? They have different names for things here, and I need to figure out the common technical name to order the parts. The guy showed it to me, it's just behind the transverse link. Maybe he means "transverse link bush"? Maybe I'll post some photos tomorrow (more photos!).
     
    Anybody want to ship me some cheap parts? :-)

Okay, here's some questions for you:

  • Upgraded coils - should I get them for the front, the back, or both? Don't tell me both . . . oh, drat, I guess that would make sense . . .
  • Also I've been wondering, somebody suggested bigger tires - how do bigger tires improve performance on rough roads?
  • I notice in the service manual it also shows "bound bumpers" around the top of the struts, and there's nothing there on *my new struts*. Is that an important part or just to look pretty? :-)

Okay, I think that's enough for today. I'm glad you guys are here, because otherwise I'd have to bore my friends with my car stories!

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Precise1 NPORA Old-Timer

Precise1

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1) Probably both since you specified heavy loads/full truck.

2) Bigger tires will give you more clearance, more traction(assuming same tread type and that they are wider, not just taller). Also if you run the tires 'aired down' ie low pressure, it will help absorb some of the bumps.

3) I'm not familiar with the Nissan strut front end so I'm no help.

 

B

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