Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Well I suppose I can't complain too much after it's done 6 years of service, but I can't help feeling a little disapointed.

I'm not that impressed with the construction of the toughdog big bore adjustable. My 89 model leaf-sprung landcruiser has a 2" lift but hasn't seen that much bush bashing. Mostly road usage.

Here is the picture



What do you guys reckon?

My oppinion is they are a low cost shock that is way overpriced and over rated but I really wouldn't complain about that failure

Weld a loop on and keep going....

[quote] My oppinion is they are a low cost shock that is way overpriced and over rated but I really wouldn't complain about that failure [/quote]

x2 on both the quality of TD shocks and the can't complain

SCANAS wrote:

My oppinion is they are a low cost shock that is way overpriced and over rated but I really wouldn't complain about that failure

x2 on both the quality of TD shocks and the can't complain

My mechanic is of the same opinion (cheap stuff made in china).

He recons it would be a BAD IDEA to weld it given that the shock is preasurised, He says ya might get away with it, and/or it might explode and cut ya in half. The ajustable thingo is also just under where the weld would be.

Moving right along... Any ideas on what is not a cheaply made overpriced shock that I can replace it with?

I have Lovells in mine would be 5 years old at a guess. They are past their used by date now but aren't leaking yet. I will probably get them again.

Tezza wrote:

SCANAS wrote:

My oppinion is they are a low cost shock that is way overpriced and over rated but I really wouldn't complain about that failure

x2 on both the quality of TD shocks and the can't complain

My mechanic is of the same opinion (cheap stuff made in china).

He recons it would be a BAD IDEA to weld it given that the shock is preasurised...?

True enough, I wouldn't recommend welding the shock body while the shock is assembled i.e. under pressure

Having said that, I have had great service out of the same shocks on my 80, 5 years and 50,000km, no problems and all adjusters still giving 9/9 available positions.

They are not really presurised, they will have a bit of presure fully closed and essentialy zero pressure when fully extended. I would be happy to weld a new loop on if it were me, although I would say with 5 years service just buy a set of Gabriel's from the local auto spares shop

Mine lasted 30,000km so you havnt faired too bad. Will never again buy td

I can't help thinking that a well-made shock absorber will lose all resistance before failing like that.

I stuck OMEs in my Paj not long after I got it, and the fronts still seem to be working well about 100k km later. They've never been real flash on road, but I'm (still) very happy with them off road.

-Scott- wrote:I can't help thinking that a well-made shock absorber will lose all resistance before failing like that.

Good point. That's a fair guess I'd say. I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on the brand. 6 years bolted to heavy duty springs I suppose. It probably seized up hence the failure. Probably designed em so the bottom ring let go first. Can you imagine the shit that would cause if the top end let go.

Well I guess I got a few brands to choose from with all the suggestions.

Cheers folks.

Weld the ring back on... these shocks are low pressure nitrogen ... which is and enert gas, wont blow you in half .. If you do put a hole in it when welding it will just hissss for a few seconds and then leak oil... For a mechanic to say a low pressure adjustable shock will cut you in half if welded.. he dont know shit... in my appoin and id be looking for a new mechanic..

They have always been over priced and over rated to start with.

5 years is a long time but sort of kms did you say they had done? Even so a fault like that i would not be overly excited by. As said if the internals had failed over time maybe but not a hoop like that. Makes one think that if had been doing some heavy work on big trips earlier in their life an early failure (maybe warranty) may have happened in the middle of oz etc....

Am an EFS Man these days.

macarthur 4x4 wrote:For a mechanic to say a low pressure adjustable shock will cut you in half if welded.. he dont know shit... in my appoin and id be looking for a new mechanic...

Or he's just saying don't because if he says do he's liable for any possible injury...

SCANAS wrote:I have Lovells in mine would be 5 years old at a guess. They are past their used by date now but aren't leaking yet. I will probably get them again.

you cant go too wrong with Lovells i reckon.

It's the rubbers that fail first causing the ring to fail. I've done 3 in 12 months in the front of a hilux and when they fail in a hilux they destroy the front CV aswell. $1000 repair bill each time.

$1000 for a cv haha what a rip off!!

I had to weld new eyes on brand new bilsteins because they were too small for the mount.

Wrap a wet rag around the shock when your welding it,weld one side at a time letting it cool in between.
Its not going to 'cut you in half',worst thing that would happen is it will explode and scare the shit out of you,just like when you chuck a deoderant can on a fire,the can just tears open it doesnt shoot metal everywhere.

Rubbish shocks though anyway

georgey wrote:$1000 for a cv haha what a rip off!!


Rubbish shocks though anyway

That was for entire genuine cv shaft fitted.

How does a shock falling off cause a CV failure, seems a little unlikely to me :s

Shock breaks, shock goes through boot, CV fills with dirt/ mud, CV fails. Hard to believe but they don't make a noise when there broken on a hilux ( macpherson strut )

SIMMO84 wrote:Shock breaks, shock goes through boot, CV fills with dirt/ mud, CV fails. Hard to believe but they don't make a noise when there broken on a hilux ( macpherson strut )

If you break a MacPherson strut, somehow I think the lack of wheel location would be a bit of a giveaway

You notice nothing. Was still holding front up like normal. It was picked up during routine servicing.

SIMMO84 wrote:You notice nothing. Was still holding front up like normal. It was picked up during routine servicing.

But if a macpherson strut breaks, how does the wheel stay oriented in the correct direction?

The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.

(Yes, I do like being a smartass )

Meh, coilover same shit. Shows how much notice I take. Maybe that's why Toyota picks it up before I do.

there have been a large number of tough dog shock failures in current model hilux's......so much that a mate that used to stock them has said some retailers are taking them to court to recoup costs that Tough Dog wont pay the stores for warranty claims made by customers.

Pretty Tight if true.

Yeah the earlier ones had a smaller shaft which was upgraded. I still broke the newer ones. The company I work for doesn't use them any more. They tried a set of dobbinsons shocks and they lasted 2 weeks before they lost resistance. I think it has lovells fitted now and have probably 20000kms on them. By far the best yet.

Ive always had good results with TD's, and from my time working in a 4WD store, we only had one return. The new TD's have a piece of tube welded to the shock rather than the piece of steel bent into position, so that failure wouldnt occur now. But I'm not really the best judge of shocks to be honest, the old lux doesnt do any long trips, just to work and off road

SIMMO84 wrote:Yeah the earlier ones had a smaller shaft which was upgraded. I still broke the newer ones. The company I work for doesn't use them any more. They tried a set of dobbinsons shocks and they lasted 2 weeks before they lost resistance. I think it has lovells fitted now and have probably 20000kms on them. By far the best yet.

The lower mount bush fails then the strut leg bends and snaps. It is definitely noticeable when it happens, the vehicle sits lower on the side that is broken and the handling will be crook. I'm sure Dobinsons would have warranted those shocks, every now and then shock companies get a bad batch of shocks it's just the way it is. I have fitted heaps of different brands of shocks to the current shape Hiluxes and I reckon the Bilsteins work the best.

Nope. Didn't bend. Just broke the end off like the OP's. It's worth noting these shocks are fitted to a ute that does ~500kms a week on a mine site as a pit ute ( not that its a good excuse but it it a good testing ground) but also the same on the highway. It has ALOT of weight in the rear and it's suspected that there topping out causing the problems. If it broke on the highway maybe I would have noticed, onsite no chance.

Being a site vehicle makes more sence, no excuse for TD though, they are supposed to be a heavy duty replacement. Seems like 5 CV failures is down to poor precheck procedures, would think after the 2nd one it should be part of daily prechecks??