New springs and shocks for TJ Wagon

[kosh100]

Hi,

My wagon has done around 250000. Sometimes it bottoms out with a loud bang when entering driveways etc. The bump stops are completely disintergrated so could this be a possible cause?

Anyway I thinking of replacing the bump stops, strut mount berarings and fitting Sachs shockers. I just have a few questions:

• Should I fit new springs as well (perhaps Kings or Lovells)
• Should I consider fitting raised springs or just stick with standard height ?
• If I did fit raised springs, are there any disadvanteges to doing so?

any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated,
many thanks,
Paul.

[DCSVRX]

Hi, we have fitted new springs and struts and it made a huge difference. We put in the Dobinson’s I think. Mal from mitsfix did the work for us.

[leadfoot6]

Hi,

My wagon has done around 250000. Sometimes it bottoms out with a loud bang when entering driveways etc. The bump stops are completely disintergrated so could this be a possible cause?

Anyway I thinking of replacing the bump stops, strut mount berarings and fitting Sachs shockers. I just have a few questions:

• Should I fit new springs as well (perhaps Kings or Lovells)
• Should I consider fitting raised springs or just stick with standard height ?
• If I did fit raised springs, are there any disadvanteges to doing so?

any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated,
many thanks,
Paul.

To replace everything that tends to wear on my TL AWD sedan, which I have done, be prepared for up to $2000 fitted.

New everything as follows(plus postage):

Strut top mounts - Mckay $150

Bump stop kit - Monroe via Amazon USA $30IIRC

Dobinsons springs(lowered) front and rear $320

On an earlier car I owned I had previous bad experience with Kings Springs(sagging badly), and on it's replacement car - both R31 Skylines, I had good experience with Lovells.

Dobinson's/Lovell's first.....Kings last.

There was actually nothing wrong with the original springs in my car, but I wanted to lower it.

If you are happy with the current ride height - understanding that the bottoming out issue that you have is probably worn shocks and failed bump stops - keep the original springs and save +$300.

Sachs shocks front and rear $550

Sachs shocks should be quite OK on standard height springs.

My TL is lowered and I am not 100% happy with the Sachs with this setup - I miss the Bilsteins I had custom installed on my last R31 Skyline which were a huge improvement on the KYB's they replaced, - but as I just mentioned with standard ride height on a Magna wagon Sachs should be OK.

Front lower control arms from aussiemagna.com forum sponsor Mits-fix $195 now(I got them when they were on special a few years ago when they were a bit less.)

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lower-Co...item2f1734d75e

Front Superpro/Nolathane polyurethane stabiliser bar bushes $30 - make sure you do this - best "bang for the buck" handling improvement.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NOLATHAN...QAAOSw6-xa2YM0

Rear larger stabiliser bar & polyurethane bushes $250 - not necessary on the wagon.

Labour including front & rear wheel alignment $450(which includes the extra labour for fitting the lower control arms)

If you delete the rear stabiliser bar(as most probably would unless you are an "enthusiast" like me and chasing the very best handling available), it is a bit less than $2000 although replacing the rear SB bushes would be useful - about $80 max. inc. labour.

A wagon will need only the front wheels aligned so save $50.

But - don't skimp on the smaller things like bump stop kit/strut top mounts/stabiliser bar bushes.

If you intend keeping your car for a while, find the extra $200 for the front lower control arms.

@250,000km your car will most certainly need them.

Replacing the front lower control arms as a complete unit will save lots of mucking around.

I just spent $870 on second hand TL/TW VRX 17" wheels($150) and 4 brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres($716)

Whilst not being exactly like a brand new car, it is still very, very good for a 14 year old car.

It is now one of the most capable, comfortable and safe cars I have ever driven - which numbers in the thousands(mostly retail stock available for sale on short term test drives but also a lot of medium/long term company cars off the sales lot) because I used to sell new and used cars for 15 years so I have some yardsticks to judge the Magna by.

The TL/TW Magnas well maintained are one of the best value for money used cars available.

That's why I purchased one.

The AWD version which I have can be beaten only by much newer cars which will cost far far more than what my Magna owes me even after 3 years of ownership with now 185,000km traveled.

What's more - it's white, so no clear coat issues.

Love that car.

Any further questions.....just ask.

[kosh100]

thanks for the feedback - much appreciated.

[kosh100]

thanks for the feedback and detailed information - much appreciated.

I hadn't considered the stabalizer bar and lower control arms etc - the prices are quite reasonable so I'll go ahead and replace them at the same time. I'll be doing the fitting myself so that will save some of the cost.

thanks again,
Paul

[mateodo]

There's no need to replace the springs unless they are massively rusted.

[leadfoot6]

There's no need to replace the springs unless they are massively rusted.

.....or sagged.

But hopefully original factory springs should be fine, but I did experience sagging shortly after installing Kings springs on my earlier R31 Skyline.

The drivers side ended up being significantly lower(about 1") than the passenger side within a few months of me fitting them.

I know I am overweight, but Kings sagged whereas later Lovells or Dobinsons did not sag.

[kosh100]

Hi,

sorry I've left it so long but I thought I would report back on how things went in case others have a similar problem.

I replaced everything suggested including Sachs shockers, balljoints, strut top mounts, stabalizer bars etc. . Also put lovell springs in the front and Dobinson springs in the rear.

The results were amazing! All problems in the front end are now gone and the front bumper height increased by 50mm (which I was very pleased with). We recently had a trip to Broken Hill and it was like driving a new car.

thanks again for all the advice,
Paul.

[cooperplace]

What's more - it's white, so no clear coat issues.
.

vital

[cooperplace]

"Front Superpro/Nolathane polyurethane stabiliser bar bushes $30 - make sure you do this - best "bang for the buck" handling improvement.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NOLATHAN...QAAOSw6-xa2YM0"

how much should it be to just install these?