shocks for gq

[fatassgq]

Hey there all,
Well to cut a long story short I found out on the weekend (what I had suspected) that my rancho's are fucked! surprise (not!) The ride has definitely not been as good as it should.

I think at this stage cause I have the in cab kit I will leave the back ones on but will look for two for the front first.

Can anyone recommend a good shock for a heavy bitch of a gq. I was thinking of something at a reasonable price as $ are low at the moment.

Ome, procomp??? Never getting ranchos again thanks.

[Daisy]

Get long travel OME's... think bogged or bazzle was sayin something about them being excellent etc.

TOM

[turps]

If you got the toughdog adjustibles are they able to be adjusted with your rancho incab kit.
Other than that the OME Long series are supposed to be good Rolly and Bazzle think there a good buy. Not suitable for lifts over 4" though (but not 100%) but they probably are the cheaper of the opions.

[bazzle]

Yup
I run the OME N19 L's on the front, N29 L's on the rear.
Done some challenging stuff on them. Ride corrugations well and follow ruts excellent.
If you need even longer fronts you can fit 80 series front and tower spacers.

Bazzle

[Area54]

go and eyeball the new tough dogs at opposite lock, they are adjustable also and by the looks of them they will integrate with the incab setup.

[bundyrum4x4]

I'm running OME 80series in the front with tower spacers and have found them excelent. You can get them in soft of hard depending on the style of driving you do. I had the soft setting but have just put the harder ones in as I like to poke along without swaybars fitted. Excelent value for your $

[fatassgq]

Yep definitely will have to look into the tough dog ones as the incab kit is great and seeing as though I already have it with holes cut in the dash pod it would be good to keep it.

The tough dogs where my main interest as they seem long and big cell to cope with weight and coil springs.


Cheers
Brian

[Wendle]

OME N33L works well on the front, they are a comp shock for an XJ Cherokee, just shy of 13" travel. you will have to play around with the mounts though.

[MYTTUF]

I use and recommend Koni on my 80 Series. We also had them on the GQ Shorty comp truck a few seasons ago without fail, even if the truck was only on the road a few months, but the same shockers have been put on a GQ wagon and are still fautless. They may be dearer but I reckon they're worth it.

[5upaMav]

Well to cut a long story short I found out on the weekend (what I had suspected) that my rancho's are *****! surprise (not!) The ride has definitely not been as good as it should.

So how did they fail? Are they leaking or something? How much of a hard time have they had to date?

I've got a set and considering the absolute bagging they cop around the traps, I'm getting a bit paranoid. I only do about 5000km a year in my truck (weekender only), but am planning on going to the Cape in the near future. Better take a spare set!

[Butt Craic]

am planning on going to the Cape in the near future.

I've got Ranchos in my GU ute at the moment and they are the first thing that I'd rip out if I was doing a long trip over the corrugations. IMO they are not up to the weight of a GQ/GU in the front.

I've got about 7" of spring lift and 2" tower spacers and am currently looking at options that will give me enough travel.

For my 4" springs I've got a set of Konis and if the cost of getting some custom Konis made for the taller kit wasn't such a killer I'd definitely go down the same route again.

I'm leaning towards an OME shock . . . just a matter of sorting out the right model.

[ozy1]

i have the RS9000 in my GQ LWB, and have had oil leaking from the front left one i think, they have been in there a bit over 12months, i wouldnt say they cop a complete bvashing, but they do get worked a bit,

i just cant afford to replace them, so at the moment, they are "Rancho Spring Retainers" Limited Edition

[bagsy]

Im running the tough dog adjustables, and find them to be excellent. Ive got the rear sway bar off and am soon to take off the front aswell. They re just ssoooo bloody expensive , hope they last !!. shane......

[ozy1]

did you fit the TOugh Dog adjustables your self? if so, how did you find fitting them in the front as i believe they sit very close to the hold for the shock, i believe the rub a little if you dont make the opening larger?

[bagsy]

yeah they rub a little , nothing major though. Might think about opening the towers up a bit

[ozy1]

yeah they rub a little , nothing major though. Might think about opening the towers up a bit

it wouldnt hurt

[Area54]

Well to cut a long story short I found out on the weekend (what I had suspected) that my rancho's are *****! surprise (not!) The ride has definitely not been as good as it should.

So how did they fail? Are they leaking or something? How much of a hard time have they had to date?

I've got a set and considering the absolute bagging they cop around the traps, I'm getting a bit paranoid. I only do about 5000km a year in my truck (weekender only), but am planning on going to the Cape in the near future. Better take a spare set!

I would not get paranoid about it, Ranchos do come in a variety of ratings, for light and heavy vehicles. Some of the longer travel models are for the lighter vehicles and do not have the beef in the valving to stand up to a heavyweight rig with a lot of mods/accessories. I have a set on my wagon (correct valving for the vehicle), had them on for four years and they still work as good as the day I bought them.

A lot of people can sometimes unknowingly fit the incorrect valved shock for their rig, if they buy them from a supplier who asks no questions or offers no advice (or honestly doesn't know). This premature failure can give any product a bad name, quite often not always due to product failure, but due to incorrect product application.

[fatassgq]

As Area54 has said above I did not put these shocks on the truck so yeah they could have been an unsuitably valved.

To be honest I have not had good experiences with the rancho's though.

I took the shock off the gq because it lost the top nut then bent the top pin then the bottom pin . Once I had it out it was obvious that the shock would be doing sfa as it had points within the stroke that had no resistance at all. Sloppy rancho!!!

With a lot of weight and higher speeds (road etc) I think there are better suited shocks around, especially for a coil sprung car.
Even auto aliance recommends the bigger tough dogs over the rancho's for a heavy truck like mine (winch side bars two batteries diesel etc.) Maybe cause they are more expensive also!!! lol

A shock does so much more work in a coil sprung car than it does in a leaf sprung car it is not funny. Best to get the most suited I think. JMO but in my case now, rancho are not the best suited!!!!

Brian

[5upaMav]

Thanks heaps for the comments AREA54 and FATASSGQ. That makes sense . . . I've got the right Ranchos for my (modest) 2-inch lift and have a petty with no winch or second battery. The guy I got them off bought a complete spare set to go to the Cape with and never needed them (that says something I guess!), so I got them still in the box unused. He had a petrol GQ coil-cab.

I have actually found them to be great and really like the adjustability . . . and considering I got all four brand-new and a set of 2-inch-lift springs for six hunge, I figured it was worth a try.

[viperguy]

hey all.. i have fitted tuff dog ralphs.. those big suckers.. to my 91 mav swb.. i have what is supposed to be 4 inch springs from kings but due to the fact i have a petrol swb they are actually about 5 1/2...i have dual lpg tanks in the back (200l all up) and and a arb deluxe bar and warn 9000pounder in the front. the shocks are awsum..i run around with no sway bars and i swear it handles better than standard. u have to do a bit of grinding to make them fit.. the rear passenger side bump stop plate on the bottom and trim a bit of the reinforcing strip along the front shock towers.. the valving is a bit firm, but simon at tuff dog blacktown will revalve for no charge.. i highly recommend them to any one that is after shocks for their fourby.. cheers

[Daisy]

my setup is basically rancho rear and koni front - Will be replacin the rears wtih a different setup eventually.

Guess best thing bout konis - rebuildable - so its a worthwhile investment rather than spendin on a pair of shocks which arent goin to last.

TOM