Best alround 12ht suspension ?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

relaxedcruiser

relaxedcruiser

Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Threads
26
Messages
301
Location
Opotiki,Bay of Plenty New Zealand
Hi all,
have to decide which 2" springs to get after discovered a broken leaf. As known the 12ht is the heaviest of all the enginen and mines equipped with the pto winch on top of it.
looked at Dobinsons and EFS from Australia. OME seems to be very pricey here in New Zealand. Veering towards the Dobinsons but need to rectify the higher cost.
Would be very much appreciated if you could post your experiences alongside some pics and maybe also axle to bump stop measurements.
pics are showing the situation now. Will post my bump stop measurements tonight for comparison.
Tyres are 255/85 Toyo MT on 7" Mangels -13 offset
L1420895.webp
L1420893.webp
 
Here we go - measured the bump stop to axle distances. Just found out that a feeler gauge works quite well for this task if you can get the blades squeezed together nice and tight with that little screw. Just place them there like a "V" to get that distance.
Front is currently at 60mm and the back at 110mm 2.36/4.33 inches accordingly. This seems to be quite levelled out. I equalised the measurements left and right. Interestingly the broken leaf doesn´t show as a big difference in my measurements. Maybe it was not even before and has now levelled out....
Come on you HJ61 with winch owners, throw yourself underneath the truck and check out that distances if you have fitted a 2" spring kit at some stage.
Pics would be good too. The reason I´m asking you to do it is because I can´t get that information from the spring manufacturers and also unfortunately don´t know anybody who owns a HJ61 here, let alone equiped with a pto winch and new 2" springs. The manufacturers are dividing their springs into F / F with accessories and 2 H / 2H with accessories / 12ht - but haven´t an option for 12ht with accessories. at least not for the here common EFS / Dobinson springs
I´m sure that it will actually work out quite well with the heavier front springs. I do want to avoid a stinkbug though....Just good to get some more information before ordering the springs.
Cheers guys
 
I have seem them around- I believe that I do have stock springs too - but without that massive half leaf. But who knows on a 34 year old vehicle. Did you buy new genuine springs ? Your build is truly awesome - did that 26 years ago with an LR 109. Would love to do it again.
 
Do a search for FJ60 and 4BT to see what was run for suspension. Id wager a 4BT is as heavy or heavier than the 12HT.
 
I don't think the 12ht is much heaver than the 2h only real difference in the turbo and x over pipes.
I pulled my pto which off a while ago I don't think the front went up much if at all. It is noticeably differnt to drive though.
Factory springs 32mm front and 80 rear to bumpstops. No pto
Also it seems to average 500mm hub centres to gaurd lip easyer to measure no climbing underneath.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the input Earwigg, you are right but quite some have a bodylift fitted, others have flares....
I actually was after some first hand experience from owners who had fitted EFS or Dobinsons springs fitted to their HJ61s with winch. I wanted to see how much difference is there between the manufacturers and their different springs on the same vehicle.
Anybody with 2" springs from those manufacturers ?
 
I read somewhere here that the 12ht is about 30Kg heavier than the 2h, if I recall it right.
 
Not a 12HT but I’ve added plenty of junk to my truck with OME CS005F and CS 005RA/RB and it’s working well. They are the heaviest springs they make.

A slight rake and the truck takes weight in the rear really nicely.

588DB2DB-784F-4779-BA1D-657159B762FC.webp
 
I put OME CS005's on my HJ-61 (with PTO). When loaded it felt saggy so I added another leaf to the pack, front and rear. Now the stance is good but the ride is (unsurprisingly) firm.

I may pull the rear AAL's and install airbags.
 
After finally decided on a set of Dobinsons springs I rang the supplier - credit card ready....only to hear that they are out of stock and will be for some time.
Due to covid people are not venturing overseas and instead pimpimg up trucks or houses or both.... The other brands supplier said the same.
I then felt very lucky to secure a set of OME's. For some reasons I thought that they will be overly expensive here on the island - they were´nt.
But my concern about the extra heavy combination of 12ht and pto winch was affirmed.
The truck sits realy nice now but at the front there is nothing to give - if the front springs settle, what I think is normal - they will be to low.
I took CS005F and CS004R.
What is your experience with those springs ? How much bump stop gap do you got ? My front one is about 75 mm ~ 3"
If you discount the 50 mm ~ 2 inch lift the stock gap would be only 25mm ~ 1" ...to me this sounds not enough - does anybody know how bump stop gap a stock 60 would have had ? OK OME says that you should not exceed 100 mm / 4" of gap to maintain your shackle angle. That's fine but I was hoping to get at around 85 or 90 mm and let them settle to the current 75 mm.
Hmm time will tell I guess.
L1420917.JPG


L1420916.JPG

That's from earlier today - you have to count in that those toyo m/t are quite tall at 33.5"
Butt still I would love to see the front a bit higher - bearing in mind that I fitted those springs earlier this week.
@HemiAlex what size tires are you running ? You used to have the same 255's ..but yours are looking as being BFG AT's

By the way - I have to mention that the ride is somewhat better ! Can't wait to check them out offroad - trip is already planned ...
 
Last edited:
relaxedcruiser said:
After finally decided on a set of Dobinsons springs I rang the supplier - credit card ready....only to hear that they are out of stock and will be for some time.
Due to covid people are not venturing overseas and instead pimpimg up trucks or houses or both.... The other brands supplier said the same.
I then felt very lucky to secure a set of OME's. For some reasons I thought that they will be overly expensive here on the island - they were´nt.
But my concern about the extra heavy combination of 12ht and pto winch was affirmed.
The truck sits realy nice now but at the front there is nothing to give - if the front springs settle, what I think is normal - they will be to low.
I took CS005F and CS004R.
What is your experience with those springs ? How much bump stop gap do you got ? My front one is about 75 mm ~ 3"
If you discount the 50 mm ~ 2 inch lift the stock gap would be only 25mm ~ 1" ...to me this sounds not enough - does anybody know how bump stop gap a stock 60 would have had ? OK OME says that you should not exceed 100 mm / 4" of gap to maintain your shackle angle. That's fine but I was hoping to get at around 85 or 90 mm and let them settle to the current 75 mm.
Hmm time will tell I guess.
View attachment 2445614

View attachment 2445611
That's from earlier today - you have to count in that those toyo m/t are quite tall at 33.5"
Butt still I would love to see the front a bit higher - bearing in mind that I fitted those springs earlier this week.
@HemiAlex what size tires are you running ? You used to have the same 255's ..but yours are looking as being BFG AT's

By the way - I have to mention that the ride is somewhat better ! Can't wait to check them out offroad - trip is already planned ...
Click to expand...


That’s a loaner set I had for a while. I’m on 255/85-16 KM3 now with 70 series Steelies.

496ADB56-9A8A-4C51-921E-B490AFC6F269.webp
 
Check out BOSS airbags. There is a long thread on here about airbags. They are a very solid
upgrade to keeping your OME springs working as they should. I run the tall 3 bubble set, at
4-12 psi depending on load. That little bit of extra really helps with the load, but allows the springs to
act as they should especially off road in heavy bumps.
 
Keen to hear about the 75 series leafs. Mine have settled over the years and fronts are tired.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Trubo Dislel
REBUILT 12ht break in procedure?
Replies
10
Views
887
Trubo Dislel
Trubo Dislel
Trubo Dislel
Should I replace camshaft in the 12HT
Replies
8
Views
852
AussieHJCruza
AussieHJCruza
PVCsnorkel
OME Rear Suspension Woes (Again)
Replies
4
Views
669
PVCsnorkel
PVCsnorkel
M
12HT no start after injector replacement
Replies
16
Views
2K
marshcat
M

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom