Have my Old Man Emu Shocks failed ??

[Jorgo RX Pajero]

It may sound like a stupid question.....but....Have my front strut shocks failed?
After a recent trip to Gnarloo station in WA's north for a fishing trip I think I may have failed the front strut shocks!
I currently have Old Man Emu 2inch lift with 140,000ks on them, fitted by the dealer when purchased new in 2011. I have done mainly coastal beach tracks with some gravel road and corrugations, about 60/40 black top and off-road mix and always drive to conditions with deflated tyres. However on the recent trip north - towing a boat and considerably loaded vehicle and trailer had to travel down the Quobba - Gnarloo access road and encounted the worst corrugations I have ever seen (measured 5 -7inches deep - deep enough to trip over them when walking) and throw in some exposed limestone cap rock as well.
I lowered my tyres on the vehicle and trailer to 25psi and took the rear airbags down to 5psi. Travelled about 70ks of this track to the homestead at around the 50k -70k/hr and whilst doing so noticed the vibration and the harshness of the ride considerably worse than ever. As soon as I stopped I felt the front strut shocks and the where warm to touch - noticeably hotter than my mates Hilux that had OE suspension.
Over the course of the next 7 days travelled some 300ks over the same track and terrain with and with out the boat behind, loaded up and completely empty. Each time I noticed the harsh ride came in quicker. Are my front strut shocks suffering from shocky fade? - Since returning back home have experienced the front end is a little skittish to drive with a distinct extra bounce when driving. The ride height is seems to have remained consistent. Measuring from the centre of the hub straight up to the guard - Front 530mm and the Rear:550mm.
Is there somewhere that will do a shake test and measure the shock performance? - Is 140,000ks about life for Old Man Emu shocks?. In preparation for possibly changing out the suspension I am steering towards the Bilstien B6 Shocks and Kings HD front and Rear springs - I have a steel ARB bar - Dual Batteries - 4mm steel bash plates and Rear draws and 40ltr Engle Fridge always in vehicle.
Any advice welcome......

[Seigried]

At 140k km most shocks and struts will be getting near the end (if not past) their useful life. Its quite possible that the bad conditions you descibe have pushed them over the edge. Have you noticed any oil on the shocks? Also the ride height wont change with shocks as the springs do the lifting.

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[Dicko1]

Yep...on the way out. Hotter they get the worse they perform. 8 years old ...nothing lasts forever.

[Jorgo RX Pajero]

Yes - have resigned to the fact that I will be up for new Suspension for the Pajero as many are saying the same - 140,000 is about life. So now the process begins to select the replacement stuff. While I am at it, I will be re-bushing the front and rear where required with Nolathane.
I will try something different other than Old Man Emu - although have served well. I have heard good things about the Lovel Springs / King Springs and Bilstien B6 shocks.
Feed back on these would be most welcome.

[mrbitchi]

While I am at it, I will be re-bushing the front and rear where required with Nolathane.

Don't do it. Stick with the original rubber bushes for a MUCH better ride and NVH performance.

[Dicko1]

Don't do it. Stick with the original rubber bushes for a MUCH better ride and NVH performance.

Most people agree. Stay with the rubber. I have the Kings /Bilstein set up (4 1/2 years now). Very happy with the ride and towing capabilities.

[Jorgo RX Pajero]

Interesting comments about staying with OEM rubber and not Nolathane bushes. This is why this forum is my "Go to place" for info and first hand feedback - was about to push the button on Monday for a full re-bush kit from Nolathane - and it wasn't cheap!! - So where does one get these rubber bushes other than the OEM dealer ? - is there other brands available in rubber?

[Keithyv]

Agree about the nolathane.
Just be aware, I bought was was supposed to be genuine Febest bushes (rear lower trailing arm) for my Terracan and they gave great improvement at first. Less than year later my trusted tyre/ suspension place said the rear lower trailing arm bushes were shot again! I must admit I thought they had deteriorated but I thought I was imagining things as I knew they were new.

Moral of the story maybe OEM is the go...

[pb4x2]

Why replace the whole suspension when shock absorbers only have failed?

[reciprovac]

Shocks

Yes - have resigned to the fact that I will be up for new Suspension for the Pajero as many are saying the same - 140,000 is about life. So now the process begins to select the replacement stuff. While I am at it, I will be re-bushing the front and rear where required with Nolathane.
I will try something different other than Old Man Emu - although have served well. I have heard good things about the Lovel Springs / King Springs and Bilstien B6 shocks.
Feed back on these would be most welcome.

I found my NW harsh at the front with standard shocks,replaced with tough dog adjustables.
Best thing I have done ,on setting 4 more compliant ride and good road holding result.
Regards.

[old Jack]

It may sound like a stupid question.....but....Have my front strut shocks failed?
After a recent trip to Gnarloo station in WA's north for a fishing trip I think I may have failed the front strut shocks!
I currently have Old Man Emu 2inch lift with 140,000ks on them, fitted by the dealer when purchased new in 2011. I have done mainly coastal beach tracks with some gravel road and corrugations, about 60/40 black top and off-road mix and always drive to conditions with deflated tyres. However on the recent trip north - towing a boat and considerably loaded vehicle and trailer had to travel down the Quobba - Gnarloo access road and encounted the worst corrugations I have ever seen (measured 5 -7inches deep - deep enough to trip over them when walking) and throw in some exposed limestone cap rock as well.
I lowered my tyres on the vehicle and trailer to 25psi and took the rear airbags down to 5psi. Travelled about 70ks of this track to the homestead at around the 50k -70k/hr and whilst doing so noticed the vibration and the harshness of the ride considerably worse than ever. As soon as I stopped I felt the front strut shocks and the where warm to touch - noticeably hotter than my mates Hilux that had OE suspension.
Over the course of the next 7 days travelled some 300ks over the same track and terrain with and with out the boat behind, loaded up and completely empty. Each time I noticed the harsh ride came in quicker. Are my front strut shocks suffering from shocky fade? - Since returning back home have experienced the front end is a little skittish to drive with a distinct extra bounce when driving. The ride height is seems to have remained consistent. Measuring from the centre of the hub straight up to the guard - Front 530mm and the Rear:550mm.
Is there somewhere that will do a shake test and measure the shock performance? - Is 140,000ks about life for Old Man Emu shocks?. In preparation for possibly changing out the suspension I am steering towards the Bilstien B6 Shocks and Kings HD front and Rear springs - I have a steel ARB bar - Dual Batteries - 4mm steel bash plates and Rear draws and 40ltr Engle Fridge always in vehicle.
Any advice welcome......

Great post Jorge, it tells the whole story of the history, what you use the car for and what your ride heights are.

At 530mm front and 550mm rear you are riding 27mm higher on the front and 17mm on the rear, so if you are happy with the way the car carries load and the ride heights then why change the Old Man Emu coils? They are made by King Springs anyway so they a great quality.

Struts and shockers, Bilstein are a performance shocker which are great on road, these are fitted to Pajero 12's NW and it is really nice on the bitumen but I have found them too hard on compression and too soft on rebound when off the bitumen. Also on the Gen 4 they are shorter so they restrict your wheel travel. Pajero 12 has a weepy rear shocker at the moment after about 50,000ish kms. On my Challenger I have had 3 front failures on Bilstein struts in under 90,000km but I put this down the the Lovells coils not being ground flat on the top so the coils put a side load on the strut. I changed the rear Bilsteins after 100,000 kms since I was doing the fronts anyway and they were struggling to control the EHDVR rear coils that I run.

Check with "Twisted 32" he has done a lot of work on strut and shocker length and I seem to recall Ultimate shockers where one of the longest. Last year whist in the Flinders Twisted 32 measure wheel travel on all the 4wds on the trip, from memory it was Dobison MRR that had the most travel but these have been plagued by poor quality seals and poor after sales service, especially for the privacy paid!

I have Dobinson Montubes (no remote reservoir) struts and shocker and thes are definitely softer on compression and firmer on rebound. I have only done 25,000kms on the Dobinson but that has include a 4,000km Oodnadatta Track, Simpson Crossing, Birdsville Track, Strzleki Track and Northern Fliders trip all at GVM +150kg.
will they last 100,000kms? only time will tell!

OJ.