Ironman Suspension Arrived!
- Thread starter kbahus
- Start date
kbahus
Adventurer
I went with the Ironman setup for a couple reasons, price being the key. My factory suspension is completely shot and the rear springs are sagging badly, especially with a load. I needed something asap. OME was my first option, but with a set of Radflos costing not that much more I had a hard time justifying the expense. I also looked into Bilsteins and getting some springs from Aus but the shipping was insane and I may as well buy the Radflos at that point. The other factor was my location....in the rust belt. Why spend big bucks when the salt is going to destroy them likely before they wear out. So here I am with the Ironman setup, if it holds up for two years I will be happy as that is what I got out of my OME setup on my 80-series.
I am also going to replace my tie rod ends and a couple ball joints that have failed. It took some effort but I ended up with all 555 parts from Japan which are the best I could find and are well respected in the Land Cruiser community. Note the Beck & Arnley box and the Duralast box, both contain magical 555 parts.
I am also going to replace my tie rod ends and a couple ball joints that have failed. It took some effort but I ended up with all 555 parts from Japan which are the best I could find and are well respected in the Land Cruiser community. Note the Beck & Arnley box and the Duralast box, both contain magical 555 parts.
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kbahus
Adventurer
555 is a Japanese parts manufacturer like Moog is here in the states. The difference being 555 parts are made in Japan and it is a solid assumption that they are the OEM supplier for companies like Toyota and Mitsubishi. Other options for parts like this are Korean or Chinese made and I don't believe are up to the same quality levels as the Japanese made parts.
Nice parts you got there kbahus! Looking forward to hearing about how your car rides after the install.
On a side note guys, be careful of the "555" advertised parts you may see on ebay. Many of them have the stamp, but everything else (ie. balljoint/boot/fitment) might be crappy.
On a side note guys, be careful of the "555" advertised parts you may see on ebay. Many of them have the stamp, but everything else (ie. balljoint/boot/fitment) might be crappy.
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Wow! :Wow1:...I guess the new suspension will blow the old out of the water!
kbahus
Adventurer
I was not able to to get the tie rods done yesterday and ran out of shop time. I did manage to get the lower ball joint and the suspension installed in about 6 hours total having all the tools I could need at hand. It was a lot of work for one person and my suspension was rusty and every bolt put up a fight. Using a ratchet strap and floor jack on the rears was the best method. The ratchet strap helped pull the control arm forward to get it back into place. Some special tools I used were very large (long) 22mm wrenches, big breaker bars, 1/2" impact, and large pry bars to get things lined up.
I drove it home without getting an alignment because I am not done with the tie rods and also wanted the springs to settle a little. The roads I drive on are equivalent to those that would be found in 3rd world countries and the ride was much improved over my blown out stock suspension. I will wait to make more comments on the handling etc until it is all wrapped up and I put some miles on it.
My biggest complaint is the labeling and "instructions" for installing the rear springs that are labeled N/S and D/S for near side and driver side. Here are the instructions that came with the springs:
Please note that springs marked N/S are fitted to the
Near Side (Passengers Side), and springs marked D/S are
fitted to the Drivers Side. Variations to this can occur
between left and right hand drive vehicles, or vehicles with
modified weight distribution. If vehicle leans down to
the N/S after installation, consider swapping coils to the
other side of vehicle.
So being sold as springs for a Pajero and from Australia (RHD) I took a wild guess and put the N/S spring on the left side and the D/S spring on the right side. Why in the heck they didn't label them left and right is beyond me. Their instructions don't really say which way is correct and to simply switch the springs if it is not level, well this is not exactly a 5-minute job on the Montero like it is on other vehicles. Low and behold it sits much higher on the right than the left. So I guess I need to switch the rear springs which makes no sense as the spare, and gas tank are on the right side. I would think that I would want the heavier spring on that side. The only thing I can think of is that they are properly labeled for LHD vehicles but there is no way to know for sure given their poor labeling method. I am a little concerned if I swap springs that it's going to lean in the opposite direction and would hate to have to swap them for a third time.
I drove it home without getting an alignment because I am not done with the tie rods and also wanted the springs to settle a little. The roads I drive on are equivalent to those that would be found in 3rd world countries and the ride was much improved over my blown out stock suspension. I will wait to make more comments on the handling etc until it is all wrapped up and I put some miles on it.
My biggest complaint is the labeling and "instructions" for installing the rear springs that are labeled N/S and D/S for near side and driver side. Here are the instructions that came with the springs:
Please note that springs marked N/S are fitted to the
Near Side (Passengers Side), and springs marked D/S are
fitted to the Drivers Side. Variations to this can occur
between left and right hand drive vehicles, or vehicles with
modified weight distribution. If vehicle leans down to
the N/S after installation, consider swapping coils to the
other side of vehicle.
So being sold as springs for a Pajero and from Australia (RHD) I took a wild guess and put the N/S spring on the left side and the D/S spring on the right side. Why in the heck they didn't label them left and right is beyond me. Their instructions don't really say which way is correct and to simply switch the springs if it is not level, well this is not exactly a 5-minute job on the Montero like it is on other vehicles. Low and behold it sits much higher on the right than the left. So I guess I need to switch the rear springs which makes no sense as the spare, and gas tank are on the right side. I would think that I would want the heavier spring on that side. The only thing I can think of is that they are properly labeled for LHD vehicles but there is no way to know for sure given their poor labeling method. I am a little concerned if I swap springs that it's going to lean in the opposite direction and would hate to have to swap them for a third time.
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kbahus
Adventurer
Went back to the shop today to finish it up, I also ended up pulling the rear springs and inspected things a little closer. I swapped the springs so that the D/S spring (the longer spring) is on the LHD driver side and the N/S spring is on the right which made it sit level. Apparently my rhd/lhd logic did not apply. I also realized that I had the rear springs installed upside down, do not go off of the writing on the springs (which is now upside down) as I did. Drove it home again tonight and will be getting an alignment in the morning. With it sitting properly I am quite pleased.
Here are a few more pics, note sure why they are sideways. You can see the ratchet strap I used to pull the control arm forward to get it to line up with the knuckle. I was able to swap springs in short order now that the bolts were broken free and I have done it once before. I will get better after pics this weekend!
Here are a few more pics, note sure why they are sideways. You can see the ratchet strap I used to pull the control arm forward to get it to line up with the knuckle. I was able to swap springs in short order now that the bolts were broken free and I have done it once before. I will get better after pics this weekend!
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