I try not to start new threads but you don't get much information when you poke around for shock absorbers for FJ55s. Even OME doesn't list one for our pigs. Given that a 2" lift is a fairly common height and given that I selfishly chose that height given that's what I have, I thought this information might be helpful to others as well. So maybe I can start with a disclaimer, I have never taken measurements and tried to find a shock absorber in my life until recently. Therefore I have no idea if I even have the fundamentals correct so maybe that's a good place to start.
My 55 has the 70 series OME springs and shocks as sold by Cruiser Outfitters which, again, is supposed to result in around a 2" lift over stock. I currently have the springs and axles attached to the frame with all new bushings and hardware. The front shocks are an S1/E1 mount, top and bottom respectively. The rears are E1/E1. E1 is an eye ring with a 5/8" ID rubber bushing. S1 is a Standard 3/8″ / 10mm OD stem (bayonet) mount. The actual hole in the front top shock mount is around 15-16mm diameter so one could argue that the front shock upper mount should be S1(xxx) with xxx being something different but I assume the rubber bushings top and bottom take care of that. FWIW the OME shocks that I took off are 10mm bayonet. Here is how KYB says you should measure shocks compressed and extended from a) center of eye ring to shoulder of stud (S1/E1 mounts), or b) center of eye ring to center of eye ring (E1/E1 mounts), or shoulder of stud to shoulder of stud (S1/S1). They do not tell you how to measure a vehicle for shocks by the way, only how to measure shocks.
So in an attempt to measure my 55 for shocks, I first assumed that I was in a full droop situation. The frame is sitting on the lift and the axles are attached to the springs and hanging. I stood on the front and rear axles and the axle didn't move lower so I assume adding tires, PTO shafts, etc will not result in more droop. But that's just my assumption. Given that assumption I measured center to center of the mount studs (or bottom of the upper front shock mount hole) and also measured from the bottom of the bump stops to the top of the axle. Here are the measurements.
Front: 22 1/4" and just under 8" from bump stop to axle (~14 1/4" when fully stuffed on the bump stop)
Rear: 24 3/8" and just over 9" from bump stop to axle (~15 3/8" when fully stuffed)
So in an ideal world, speaking dimensionally only, I assume I am looking for shocks with just over those lengths fully extended and those lengths minus the distance to the bump stops fully compressed? Obviously there's a lot more to shocks than just their dimensions but it seems like the place to start.
FWIW, the OME shocks that I removed (that came with the springs) are as follows:
Front: 23" fully extended and 14" fully compressed
Rear: 23 3/8" fully extended and 14 1/4" fully compressed
So it looks like they are pretty well matched. My shocks are really beat up and corroded but I was able to read the front model number: 60009. It looks like this is recommended for a 60 series with 50mm (2") lift. I can't read either rear model number. The rear 60 series shock that matches the front one in the OME catelogue is 60032. That shock has a fully extended length of 23.3" and fully compressed of 14.3" so that's probably it.
In the Dobinson FJ55 suspension thread, they are advertising a 1.75" lift with the following shocks:
Front: GS15-639S; 19.4" fully extended and 11.9" fully compressed
Rear: GS59-649; 23.2" fully extended and 14.3" fully compressed
Rear HD: GS59-651; same as above
So the front might be a little short? Or maybe it's something about the bayonet mount in the front?
Per @J Mack 's suggestion, I have perused the KYB shock dimension table and then cross checked potential candidates with their OEM replacement vehicle information and came up with a couple of candidates for the rear shocks but nothing for the front. So far I have limited my search to the KYB Excel-G line because I was looking for an all black shock to mimic the Toyota OEM shocks. Of course buying a yellow or silver shock and painting it black is always an option.
KYB 343403: 25.11 fully extended and 14.96 fully compressed. This is an OEM replacement for certain T100 truck models
KYB 344090: 22.95 fully extended and 14.09 fully compressed. This is an OEM replacement for earlier T100 models and some 60 series models
The only KYB Excel-G shock I could get close to working dimensionally and application wise for the front was an OEM replacement RAV4 rear shock. Guessing it's too light duty for a pig front but here's the information anyway:
KYB 343272: 24.25" fully extended and 14.21" fully compressed
I will end this post here but I have also looked a bit at steering stabilizers which I will post later.
Would be great to see what Bilsteins and other brands with model numbers you have used with a 2" lift. Also please let me know what assumptions on the "correct shock" I have wrong. I'm sure there's plenty to go at there.
My 55 has the 70 series OME springs and shocks as sold by Cruiser Outfitters which, again, is supposed to result in around a 2" lift over stock. I currently have the springs and axles attached to the frame with all new bushings and hardware. The front shocks are an S1/E1 mount, top and bottom respectively. The rears are E1/E1. E1 is an eye ring with a 5/8" ID rubber bushing. S1 is a Standard 3/8″ / 10mm OD stem (bayonet) mount. The actual hole in the front top shock mount is around 15-16mm diameter so one could argue that the front shock upper mount should be S1(xxx) with xxx being something different but I assume the rubber bushings top and bottom take care of that. FWIW the OME shocks that I took off are 10mm bayonet. Here is how KYB says you should measure shocks compressed and extended from a) center of eye ring to shoulder of stud (S1/E1 mounts), or b) center of eye ring to center of eye ring (E1/E1 mounts), or shoulder of stud to shoulder of stud (S1/S1). They do not tell you how to measure a vehicle for shocks by the way, only how to measure shocks.
So in an attempt to measure my 55 for shocks, I first assumed that I was in a full droop situation. The frame is sitting on the lift and the axles are attached to the springs and hanging. I stood on the front and rear axles and the axle didn't move lower so I assume adding tires, PTO shafts, etc will not result in more droop. But that's just my assumption. Given that assumption I measured center to center of the mount studs (or bottom of the upper front shock mount hole) and also measured from the bottom of the bump stops to the top of the axle. Here are the measurements.
Front: 22 1/4" and just under 8" from bump stop to axle (~14 1/4" when fully stuffed on the bump stop)
Rear: 24 3/8" and just over 9" from bump stop to axle (~15 3/8" when fully stuffed)
So in an ideal world, speaking dimensionally only, I assume I am looking for shocks with just over those lengths fully extended and those lengths minus the distance to the bump stops fully compressed? Obviously there's a lot more to shocks than just their dimensions but it seems like the place to start.
FWIW, the OME shocks that I removed (that came with the springs) are as follows:
Front: 23" fully extended and 14" fully compressed
Rear: 23 3/8" fully extended and 14 1/4" fully compressed
So it looks like they are pretty well matched. My shocks are really beat up and corroded but I was able to read the front model number: 60009. It looks like this is recommended for a 60 series with 50mm (2") lift. I can't read either rear model number. The rear 60 series shock that matches the front one in the OME catelogue is 60032. That shock has a fully extended length of 23.3" and fully compressed of 14.3" so that's probably it.
In the Dobinson FJ55 suspension thread, they are advertising a 1.75" lift with the following shocks:
Front: GS15-639S; 19.4" fully extended and 11.9" fully compressed
Rear: GS59-649; 23.2" fully extended and 14.3" fully compressed
Rear HD: GS59-651; same as above
So the front might be a little short? Or maybe it's something about the bayonet mount in the front?
Per @J Mack 's suggestion, I have perused the KYB shock dimension table and then cross checked potential candidates with their OEM replacement vehicle information and came up with a couple of candidates for the rear shocks but nothing for the front. So far I have limited my search to the KYB Excel-G line because I was looking for an all black shock to mimic the Toyota OEM shocks. Of course buying a yellow or silver shock and painting it black is always an option.
KYB 343403: 25.11 fully extended and 14.96 fully compressed. This is an OEM replacement for certain T100 truck models
KYB 344090: 22.95 fully extended and 14.09 fully compressed. This is an OEM replacement for earlier T100 models and some 60 series models
The only KYB Excel-G shock I could get close to working dimensionally and application wise for the front was an OEM replacement RAV4 rear shock. Guessing it's too light duty for a pig front but here's the information anyway:
KYB 343272: 24.25" fully extended and 14.21" fully compressed
I will end this post here but I have also looked a bit at steering stabilizers which I will post later.
Would be great to see what Bilsteins and other brands with model numbers you have used with a 2" lift. Also please let me know what assumptions on the "correct shock" I have wrong. I'm sure there's plenty to go at there.
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