Dobinsons 100 Series Suspension options - full breakdown (5 Viewers)

[jLB]

I ordered my Dobinson's IMS kit from exitoffroad/Mike a while ago and I've managed to put some miles on it. It's been great so far, I'd recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade their suspension. There was great communication throughout the ordering and waiting process. I'm hoping there will be a front adjustable MRR, extended travel shock option for the 100 series in the future.

Here's a little video of my 100 and what the IMS/MRR looks like installed on my 99 100 series land cruiser, and some California climbing:

Out of curiosity, what are your current MRA settings?

 

[bozncsurf]

Thanks for posting those photos haha, much better than mine! Contact is under the a arm, where the red circle is.

And added another wider pic of my install.

View attachment 2847592

View attachment 2847593

What bump stops are these?

 

[robgv]

Out of curiosity, what are your current MRA settings?

If my notes are correct, the last settings I used for the rear shocks are the following:

HSC=1
LSC=2
Rebound=3

 

[OwnerCS]

I ordered my Dobinson's IMS kit from exitoffroad/Mike a while ago and I've managed to put some miles on it. It's been great so far, I'd recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade their suspension. There was great communication throughout the ordering and waiting process. I'm hoping there will be a front adjustable MRR, extended travel shock option for the 100 series in the future.

Here's a little video of my 100 and what the IMS/MRR looks like installed on my 99 100 series land cruiser, and some California climbing:

Great video. I also run the TT extended links on my 470 with IMS extended fronts. The rear is regular IMS purchased before MRR became available. I've been happy with my setup.

 

[Ironsides]

Do we need high angle CV's with the 3" kit?

 

[crikeymike]

Heads up, just got restocked with Dobinsons front torsion bars. Very few left, but for those who may have been waiting and haven't ordered yet, now's the time!!

Dobinsons Land Cruiser 100 Series Torsion Bar Pair for V8 Gas 1998-2007

Dobinsons 100 Series Torsion Bars, heavy duty replacements to add lift and also support added weight from a bumper, winch or 2nd battery

exitoffroad.com

 

[ToyosandHam]

Heads up, just got restocked with Dobinsons front torsion bars. Very few left, but for those who may have been waiting and haven't ordered yet, now's the time!!

Dobinsons Land Cruiser 100 Series Torsion Bar Pair for V8 Gas 1998-2007

Dobinsons 100 Series Torsion Bars, heavy duty replacements to add lift and also support added weight from a bumper, winch or 2nd battery

exitoffroad.com

@crikeymike, good morning. Do you have any 100 series specific documentation on installing the torsion bars? Nothing comes with the package (I know they're just splines and a key mark) but wasn't sure if there was anything else. The Chevy guys helping me are confused.

 

[crikeymike]

@crikeymike, good morning. Do you have any 100 series specific documentation on installing the torsion bars? Nothing comes with the package (I know they're just splines and a key mark) but wasn't sure if there was anything else. The Chevy guys helping me are confused.

This guy explains it pretty well, it's the same process with any brand torsion bars.

 

[ToyosandHam]

This guy explains it pretty well, it's the same process with any brand torsion bars.

Thank you. I figured it wasn't any different but wanted to check.

 

[Mike NXP]

This may not be the best thread to ask tech question on but......here's a quick question for my rear dobinson coil setup.

I was jumping off my rear bumper today and heard a weird metal shifting / sort of popping noise .

Upon closer inspection when I have someone pushing up and down on the rear bumper , I can put my hand on the rear right coil and feel it popping.

If I pull on the coil and put some pressure on it , the symptom goes away. What could cause an issue like this ?

 

[MongooseGA]

Is it seated properly in the perch?

 

[crikeymike]

This may not be the best thread to ask tech question on but......here's a quick question for my rear dobinson coil setup.

I was jumping off my rear bumper today and heard a weird metal shifting / sort of popping noise .

Upon closer inspection when I have someone pushing up and down on the rear bumper , I can put my hand on the rear right coil and feel it popping.

If I pull on the coil and put some pressure on it , the symptom goes away. What could cause an issue like this ?

Is it seated properly in the perch?

I was going to say the same thing. Sounds like it's not seated properly. Perhaps the top isolator wasn't put in or was bad?

 

[Mike NXP]

I was going to say the same thing. Sounds like it's not seated properly. Perhaps the top isolator wasn't put in or was bad?

Thanks for the responses..

Visually it all looks OK but I am not sure how to inspect to see if it is fully seated. I had it installed by a local land cruiser mechanic about a year ago. There haven't been any issues with the install since I just happened to notice it while jumping around on the rig yesterday. I hear the pop after I push down on the bumper and let it spring back to normal.

I didn't realize there was and isolator up top, maybe it's worn out?

I'm headed out on a week long road trip soon and there will be a few 4x4 sections......should I be concerned?

 

[crikeymike]

Thanks for the responses..

Visually it all looks OK but I am not sure how to inspect to see if it is fully seated. I had it installed by a local land cruiser mechanic about a year ago. There haven't been any issues with the install since I just happened to notice it while jumping around on the rig yesterday. I hear the pop after I push down on the bumper and let it spring back to normal.

I didn't realize there was and isolator up top, maybe it's worn out?

I'm headed out on a week long road trip soon and there will be a few 4x4 sections......should I be concerned?

If it's been that way for a year then it may not be the coil. I would check the shock bushings and mounts to make sure they're in good shape or take it back to the same ship for an inspection

 

[Mike NXP]

If it's been that way for a year then it may not be the coil. I would check the shock bushings and mounts to make sure they're in good shape or take it back to the same ship for an inspection

Shocks and bushings were replaced at the same time with Dobinsons shocks. They are all tight and clean, no concerns there.

Mechanic seems to think it's no concern. Maybe the isolator up top is worn out but it shouldn't leave me stranded. Will get it on the lift tomorrow.

 

[bwell]

Upper shock bushings!

 

[Mike NXP]

Upper shock bushings!

They are ( pretty much ) brand new, torqued down, and aligned properly with the metal line up washer. What else should I check?

* I trust the coil and associated rubber parts are the culprit as I can put my hand on it and watch / listen to the problem. Shock is operating smoothly.

 

[MongooseGA]

They are ( pretty much ) brand new, torqued down, and aligned properly with the metal line up washer. What else should I check?

* I trust the coil and associated rubber parts are the culprit as I can put my hand on it and watch / listen to the problem. Shock is operating smoothly.

Is the truck resting on all 4 corners when this is happening? The rubber isolator is not thick enough that missing one would allow the spring to wiggle in situ. There should be enough load that there's no movement, regardless of the rubber ring on top.

Best way to check that the spring is seated correctly is to look at the bucket and follow where the 'curve' is built in to it. The spring's last few inches should fit nicely into a shape-matched groove in the bucket. You can probably look at it with the tires on the ground.

 

[Mike NXP]

Is the truck resting on all 4 corners when this is happening? The rubber isolator is not thick enough that missing one would allow the spring to wiggle in situ. There should be enough load that there's no movement, regardless of the rubber ring on top.

Best way to check that the spring is seated correctly is to look at the bucket and follow where the 'curve' is built in to it. The spring's last few inches should fit nicely into a shape-matched groove in the bucket. You can probably look at it with the tires on the ground.

OK so the truck is indeed parked with all four tired on the ground. I don't think the isolator is missing, I can kind of see it maybe, but I was suspecting perhaps it's worn or not centered ? ( if that's even an option)
>> In this parked position if I push down on the rear bumper , as it springs back up it makes the pop / shifting noise and I can easily hear and feel it at the coil.n I will try to get video


The symptoms are not noticed while driving and I haven't flexed it hard enough off road in a while ( winter ) so nothing there. Thinking back to my initial install I was trying to check things over and I recall this problem being here since day 1 and I just forgot about it until yesterdays shake down. So good news is I don't think anything is about to go boom.

When you refer to the bucket, that is the top portion where the spring sits?

It all looks good, maybe it should be noted that I can grab the spring and pull on it and it sort of moves ( not much ) just not what I would expect with the weight of the vehicle fully loaded on it would do, but the other side kind of has a similar wiggle so I didn't feel the need to mention it.


>> Sorry for taking up so much space of this thread with troubleshooting

 

[bwell]

They are ( pretty much ) brand new, torqued down, and aligned properly with the metal line up washer. What else should I check?

* I trust the coil and associated rubber parts are the culprit as I can put my hand on it and watch / listen to the problem. Shock is operating smoothly.

Just a thought. I fought this for quite some time. Turned out to be upper shock bushings. They conformed to the mount after awhile, and had to be what I would consider be over tightened and the thunk/knock went away. These were Icon shocks, but thought I would chime in.