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someone 's gotta know. i keep asking when they were manufactured and of course they're all like "2020"
(Assuming they are Japanese made)
Given the others, doesn’t that probably say “13Y020075”? Which would be week 2 of 2013 and still keep our theory plausible.
Sweet! How many do you think I'd need to order up to get a set under $500? Could use a slightly higher pressure for a firmer damping response on heavy rigs - if that's how that works. They don't list the MUV200400 as a current option, but it seems inferred they custom-make them."MUV: spherical accumulator with rubber-resin layered diaphragm." This is from the site ekkeagle.com, which also says "The MUV series incorporates a plastic laminated diaphragm produced by polymer materials..."
EKK Eagle is a Japanese company making such globes.
The -400 corresponds to the capacity of the front globes. The rear ones would then be -500.
The 200 corresponds roughly to the nominal pressure in bars (226 bar for the fronts) but is more likely just the model series.
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Isn't there a Japanese hydraulics engineer on this forum, who could give us some insight
Long ago @PADDO mentioned using Rear 'globes' on the Front as one idea for more capacity due to larger volume and higher pressure. It must have been a tight squeeze on LHS in front of the Height Control Accumulator .....
forum.ih8mud.com
It gets worse
), the EKK catalogue notes that:
…..
It gets worse
Whatever, the point remains that it would be good to know the date of manufacture of ‘globes’ (meaning the date nitrogen was injected). As good as the membranes may be, there will be a ‘shelf life’, the nitrogen eventually will diffuse through the membrane materials albeit very slowly, faster if temperatures are elevated – in a similar but slower way in which carbon dioxide gas in a plastic soft drink bottle eventually diffuses through the plastic material.
The Head Company in the Group thought to manufacture at least some of ‘globes’ a.k.a. Gas Chambers for Toyota/Lexus would appear to be
Overseas Group Companies | Company | NOK CORPORATION - https://www.nok.co.jp/en/company/group.html , sometimes referred to as “NOK”, a large Japanese manufacturer with worldwide relationships and is a known supplier to Toyota/Lexus.
Subsidiaries of NOK include the Eagle Industry Co., Ltd, also known as “EKK”.
EAGLE INDUSTRY CO.,LTD. - https://www.ekkeagle.com/en/
EKK provides a catalogue and some information of interest concerning MUV type accumulators, as identified by @uHu:
https://www.ekkeagle.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/EKK_Accumulators_EN_201510.pdf
Interestingly, (for those who like to get into such details
“Use of NOKʼs polymeric material technology and processing technology has resulted in a resin layered diaphragm that dramatically improves the gas retention of accumulators. This accumulator should be selected if a longer lifespan and maintenance-free operation are desired.
Cannot be refilled with gas. Use at 80 °C or less recommended”.
Different to my replacement ‘globes’ reported earlier in this thread (and which arrived without a date sticker), the original ‘globes’ on my June 2006 LC100 (Model designation HDJ100R-GNAEZQ) have the initials “NOK” engraved or stamped on their top face (under the sticker in one case). Two examples are shown in the pictures below. The date stickers are clear and may refer to the date at which they were supplied to Toyota after nitrogen had been added. The following numbers also appear:
MUV 200 – 400 (on a Front ‘globe’)
6403 - 4359
MUV 200 – 500 (on a Rear ‘globe’)
6412 - 0642
The designation MUV XXX – YYY has been explained by @uHu and refers in particular to the sandwich membrane specified by Toyota/Lexus. While the remaining date stickers are clear, there is no obvious indication of dates in the other numbers which appear to be Serial Numbers.
There are other manufacturers of these kinds of accumulators – for example, Nippon Accumulators -- NIPPON ACCUMULATOR CO., LTD.｜NACOL｜Manufacturing accumulator - https://www.nacol.co.jp/english/index.html and KYB -- KYB Corporation - https://www.kyb.co.jp/english/index.html -- whose brand appears on the Height Control Accumulator for LC100/LX470 and also the slightly different version on LX570.
It may be that Toyota/Lexus used several sources, so other details may emerge. Nowadays most vehicle manufacturers do not themselves manufacture everything but use literally thousands of suppliers of the various parts used in the assembly of their vehicles. Where appropriate, supply is diversified from multiple specialist manufacturers to reduce risks of interruption of supply and to keep competitive pressure on supplier’s prices. Suppliers would be required to include such markings and packaging as specified by Toyota/Lexus. Suppliers, rather than Toyota/Lexus, would be required to hold stocks – keeps inventory and finance costs off the Toyota Balance Sheet – and Suppliers may be allowed to supply directly (such as to Amayama, Partsouq, Megazip, large US outfits, etc) rather than exclusively through Toyota/Lexus, especially for models such as LC100/LX470 which are long out of production (last produced in 2007).
Further insights welcome
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