Disco 1 shocks - confused

I've just fitted super pro poly bushes to a RR P38. Did it easily in a weekend. Hardest part/ most time consuming part is removing old bushes, unless you've got access to a press.

I also fitted Armstrong dampers & steering damper at same time, This I consider to be a mistake. After a few weeks I replaced them with Bilsteins. The difference is remarkable. Corning & ride in general I would say are what I was expecting a P38 to be like. I'm very happy with it. Much more sure footed & pleasant to drive. Corner speeds have gone up quiet a bit.

I've also got rid of the Armstrong steering damper, this had uneven damping & loose sections in it despite being primed.

I'm still running original worn damper as aftermarket cheap brands aren't as good as a worn OE one!!!

The morale of the story choose your components carefully & steer away from cheaper end of spectrum. A least with disco you should have more choice of quality manufactures.

Hope this helps as I've made some expensive mistakes along the way.

Gerry

Many thanks for that advice Gerry, it is about what I would expect on the assumption that you get what you pay for. One reason I am doing this work myself is that I know what I am getting. Having had my local garage fit the wrong brake pads I suspect they would also fit the cheapest shocks, and charge over the odds for them.

The Bilsteins are pretty expensive (all things being relative) but if the ride is good and they last a few years I shall follow that advice. As far as removing old bushes is concerned, how do you do it? You mention a press? So its not just a nut and bolt then?

Les

Les Hi,

I have found De Carbon shock absorbers to be a very good compromise between low cost and good quality.

I would not recommend KONIs either because they are too hard and they do tend to get easily damaged when stressed (fully compressed while off roading). And they are expensive.

Take care Pantelis

I think the Bilsteins are worth the money, I wouldn't have said that before trying them!

To remove old bush's I did the following Drill out as much rubber as possible, them use hacksaw to cut into outer sleeve without cutting into arm(the tricky bit) Make two cuts about

1cm apart. Chisel (I used a blunt screwdriver to peel away sleeve). Doing this & the bush usually pushes out. Push in poly bush using a decent wide opening vice.

Not difficult but be patient.

If you can find someone with a 20 ton press it's even easier. remove arms & press out old bushes.

Gerry

We've been here several times before ... some of us find it easier to burn out the rubber. It's not easily drilled.

It should only be necessary to make one cut in the outer sleeve, in fact you don't usually even need to cut it all the way through.

I see there is a thing called "Bushwaka", a bit pricy at around £190, has anyone tried this bit of kit to press out the old bushes? If it makes it an easy job I might be tempted, can always flog it on when finished with (thats what I would tell my wife anyway).

Les

It has to be said I can't really fault pro-comp gas shocks. They come in a range of lenghts for on and off road use and are only about £35 per corner.

As for springs you can get away with using standard OEM springs. In past experience customers with this set up have a nice soft smooth ride but with much better handling.

Brian Tonks