Hello,

I need to get shocks for my new Land Rover. It's a 90 with about 2" Lift.

I was thinking about Fox, King or Bilstein 7100 with remote reservoir (I believe they are all in the same price range)!

I was looking at pictures of all three, and I would like to hear opinions on the eyelets/ rod ends, as Bilstein`s seems to be weaker than King and Fox! Have you had any experiences with that? What about the shafts??

What shocks do you guys use? Any pros / cons. Let me know what you got thanks.


http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9518/shocksd.jpg

Regards,
Joca

Never really heard of too many people busting the ends. I just put the FOX 2.0's on my D1(remote res.). They're plush as shit and 10 times more "supple" than OME's, etc. - but the rod end/heim joints on the front are loud as hell!

I think you'll break other parts before the rod ends. I have used/abused both the Bilstein and Fox 2.0s and was happy with both. I actually broke the shock mount in front when using the Fox not the shock if that says anything for the quality.

I currently run Bilsteins front and Foxes rear in my 04 DII. My 90 is another animal so I can't comment to their use on a 90.

S-P

No comparison. Fox all the way. Bilstiens are a cheap shock that they have marketed as an expensive one. Kings are good quality, but the service is lacking, and they are very difficult to rebuild. Fox's are very good quality, reasonably priced, and very easy to work on.

I'm happy with the new 7100s under the D90.
Perfect ride.

As to the mounts, billet ones are of course better than welded (Bils),
but I cannot see any risk as far as they're oriented the right way.

The 7100s come in the perfect lenght for a Rover and a +2" lift and allow you to recycle stock parts without big hassle, unlike other brands dampers which are too long.

Fox have the better finish though.
:(

Oh well
:flipoff2:

Hi,
I'll second Buckon37's comments and add that the beauty of the Fox damper is that you can tune it to meet your requirements exactly. I've got a set on my 4x4 and have not noticed any noise from the rose-jointed mounts, I was worried that the car would sound like it was being grit blasted but it is as quiet as when it had rubber-bushed DeCarbon dampers fitted.

Go with Fox, you will not be dissapointed, especially if you get a good suspension engineer to tune them once you've driven the car for a while and worked out what needs improving.

Your profile does not mention where you are located. If you plan on driving this truck on the street and if its exposed to any kind of contamination such as mud, muck, water, salt or other crap the rod ends will wear out quick. The bilsteins are cheap but the rubber rod ends are better for that type of use. For crawling only trailered rigs it does not matter.

Never really heard of too many people busting the ends. I just put the FOX 2.0's on my D1(remote res.). They're plush as shit and 10 times more "supple" than OME's, etc. - but the rod end/heim joints on the front are loud as hell!

If your rod ends are loud, they're either worn out or installed wrong. Going on like 40k miles on my Fox rod ends, they're nearly worn out, but still silent.



I'd go for the Foxs, the 7100s have some design flaws, I do like the weld on end for these trucks because it makes the overall length a little shorter, but parts are a bitch to find, the wipers always fall off and rattle around, and the plating on them blows. The King 2.0s cost the same as Fox 2.5s and are built with lower quality seals, and shafts than the Fox 2.0s. The Fox spare parts are the easiest to come by, and cheaper than the other brands and I can tear one down and rebuild it in about 8 minutes, way simple.

I've got 70k on my foxes and I cannot complain about the quality. Still going strong. They say "wax the shock bodies" I've only done this once and they still look damn good. They are due for a rebuild and recharge, but I wouldn't call it absolutely necessary as they still perform well. Blingsteins only have about 30k on em so I can't talk about long term durability there.

I will agree with Buck on the better quality of the Foxes.

S-P

Fox shocks are the nuts! I've been running 2.5 coilovers for 10+ years and only ever had the bodies were out from corrosion due to road salt, etc, so wax may not be a bad idea. For some reason on the 2.0's the rod ends do wear fast, but call e-shocks and get some bushing to go in their place.

Brendon

I run the bilsteins and if I had it to do over I would get the fox instead.

the bilsteins have been great and are a very good shock but the heims wore out in no time what so ever and the shocks were covered in rust in about 3 weeks...yes three weeks!!!:rolleyes: as if there was no coating on them at all.

I upgraded to the poly bushings to quiet them down and that helps alot.

I have rebuilt them and its really not tough but it is a pain to have to do, plus you need to watch the charge in them as they tend to loose the charge after big temp swings or if you drive the truck in below zero weather.

next set will be the fox's for me

My heims wore out on my Bilsteins as well, they are a decent shock, but for the money I would probably go with fox if I did it all over. On my RRC I have Radflo shocks, but I can't say how they last because I have barely driven the truck since the axle swap. A nice feature they have, IMO, is a built in bump stop.

For some reason on the 2.0's the rod ends do wear fast

That's normal with all 2.0 shocks, the rod end in them is tiny compared to the 2.5-4.3" rod ends.

That's normal with all 2.0 shocks, the rod end in them is tiny compared to the 2.5-4.3" rod ends.

Meh, maybe I guess.

I have been on my fronts for 5 years or so and no problems at all. I use them for bumpstops too.

I was expecting everyone to jump on me for the strong fox recommendation. It looks like if given enough time, everyone does start to agree with me! :flipoff2:

Are you going to the tin bender jambo?

Are you going to the tin bender jambo?

Still up in the air on that one, need to put the truck on jackstands for a while and catch up on the little BS I've been putting off, oh and I have some 12x2.5 SAW coil-overs that I've had just sitting in the shop as mock-ups on a buddy's truck for 6 months that I may finally get around to putting on the front.

If I do make it, I'll keep to the easier trails, maybe run Claw, definitely want to run Fissure again soon, that trail was rad.

No comparison. Fox all the way. Bilstiens are a cheap shock that they have marketed as an expensive one. Kings are good quality, but the service is lacking, and they are very difficult to rebuild. Fox's are very good quality, reasonably priced, and very easy to work on.

I have King coilovers, and King air shocks. I did some research to try to find spare parts....good luck. I also disassembled an air shock to lighten it up. I put flutes in the body, and made titanium shafts. For being "user rebuildable" they were difficult as all hell to get apart. You will damage the anodizing, even with specialized tools. i think the bottom eye must have been on with about 400 ft. lbs. of torque. The threads were also of such a poor quality on the shaft that the aluminum eye was severely galled. it looked like they ran a die over it as opposed to turning them. For a 200.00 dollar air shock you can't complain a whole lot though. They also have gun drilled shafts, and the shaft was completely full of metal turnings and cutting fluid. These are issues that don't affect the performance, but are a pain in the ass to deal with if you need a rebuild. The overall quality of the moving parts is very good however.

Your profile does not mention where you are located. If you plan on driving this truck on the street and if its exposed to any kind of contamination such as mud, muck, water, salt or other crap the rod ends will wear out quick. The bilsteins are cheap but the rubber rod ends are better for that type of use. For crawling only trailered rigs it does not matter.

Open rod ends suck for a daily driver, whether its shocks, suspension links or steering. especially if you drive it in winter. you would have to grease them every day.

That's normal with all 2.0 shocks, the rod end in them is tiny compared to the 2.5-4.3" rod ends.I've gone through a few sets of the small spherical bearings on my Walker Evans Airshocks.
This last time, instead of buying replacements from WE, I found the same size, only in Teflon sealed stainless, from McMaster Carr.
They seem to be far better quality than the ones from WE.
Pricier, at about $20 each, but hopefully these will last.

I am planning on buying airshocks for my XJ but I am concerned with corrosion from road salt, which of the big three (King Fox or SAW) do you guys recomend?

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend air shocks for any full bodied rig.
They are very difficult to set up with a heavy truck.
I'd strongly recommend spending the extra cash to go coilovers.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend air shocks for any.....bodi.

I fixed it for you. :flipoff2:

I've gone through a few sets of the small spherical bearings on my Walker Evans Airshocks.
This last time, instead of buying replacements from WE, I found the same size, only in Teflon sealed stainless, from McMaster Carr.
They seem to be far better quality than the ones from WE.
Pricier, at about $20 each, but hopefully these will last.

That's what the Fox's come with standard, I know they're F-K, not sure on which model line, but they're chromo and teflon lined.

Hi you all,

I'd like to raise a question regard.
The original figure of 90 & 110 shocks (in my case a soft top 110) is both full thread ends at the front suspension and eye bolt combine with full threaded bolt at the rear; So how do you fit the FOX or similar with both sides rod end bearing? Is there an after market connector that fits the original mount which fixed at the front and back axle? or else?

Gali.

Hello,

Bought recently 7100 shocks for my 90. Very please with them but i do have something to say about the rod end.

I already have to change twice the same bearing. That happens because the heim fits in the eyelet loose in the shock body.

Do you guys know any sort of way to shim the bearing in???

It´s very expensive to send the shock to the USA to repair and then again to Portugal and to be honest and dont want to buy a new top cap or rod end because i dont think someone could make properly here.

Regards,
José

Hi you all,

I'd like to raise a question regard.
The original figure of 90 & 110 shocks (in my case a soft top 110) is both full thread ends at the front suspension and eye bolt combine with full threaded bolt at the rear; So how do you fit the FOX or similar with both sides rod end bearing? Is there an after market connector that fits the original mount which fixed at the front and back axle? or else?

Gali.


Hello... Here´s your answer http://www.rovertym.com/mounts.htm

Regards,
José

Hello,

Bought recently 7100 shocks for my 90. Very please with them but i do have something to say about the rod end.

I already have to change twice the same bearing. That happens because the heim fits in the eyelet loose in the shock body.

Do you guys know any sort of way to shim the bearing in???

It´s very expensive to send the shock to the USA to repair and then again to Portugal and to be honest and dont want to buy a new top cap or rod end because i dont think someone could make properly here.

Regards,
José

You must remember to buy the spherical bearings specific to Bilstein. They have a 26mm OD with a 1/2" ID. You could also convert to metric and fit a GE12G bearing.

Radflo makes both stock mount shocks and universal style mount shocks for the Land Rover.

Glenn

You must remember to buy the spherical bearings specific to Bilstein. They have a 26mm OD with a 1/2" ID. You could also convert to metric and fit a GE12G bearing.

Radflo makes both stock mount shocks and universal style mount shocks for the Land Rover.

Glenn

I believe i did... It´s from F.K.bearings part number COM8T-MM
I think the problem is in the eyelet, thats why the the bearing that came with the shock was damage in the first place, and now the second one is also damage...

Shame that only now i hear something about Radflo... It would have been a great option, as i can find a sealer here in Portugal (m-trux)...

I was advice to use some aluminum from a Coke can to make a shim, but that did not work out...any other sugestion??!

Regards,
José

Many thanks José, I though to do so but I wanted to see the common solution.
at the D110 both ends are threaded at the front so i asume i need double for each shock.

Gali

Many thanks José, I though to do so but I wanted to see the common solution.
at the D110 both ends are threaded at the front so i asume i need double for each shock.

Gali

Well...yes. Or you can buy/build/transform new shock turrets

Take a look here:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=773051&page=2

here:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=377956&stc=1&d=1214789671

and here:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78572&highlight=bilstein+7100

Regards,
José