Well guys, this has been an enlightening series of posts. In the last few weeks I have been reading up on suspensions. Back in the ‘70’s, we took our springs off, brought them to a spring place where they changed the arc and we added four Downey Toyota shackles. Frankly as a 24 year old FJ40 guy I’d never realized anything bad about that work.
Here it is 47 years later: I was looking at some suspension mods for my ‘75 and looked at the Dobinson system. Every other re-build I ve seen has them mentioned as though these are the Rolls Royce of suspensions. I priced out a set front an rear and at over $2400, I hesitate until I figure out more… I just figured out that I ain’t goin’ Dobinson. I’m an older guy who loves the ride of my sedan-like Silverado and the contrast between the 40 and the crew cab is VERY BIG.
Something about the 40 that just commands me to enjoy driving it and as mentioned by @OlYellr , much of my driving is not the off-road stuff we use to do beyond my dirt driveway. I would love to improve the road comfort as much as I can…( I know it’s a 40 and that’s a pipe dream ) with quality springs and shocks. Regardless of where I wind up, I seriously appreciated this insight to all of your experiences.
Now, I’m lost….i could surely benefit from some re-direction
I get it - I got these cuz I wanted a softer ride just like you. I had heavy OME on - stout, stiff ride.
And the Dobinsons are way smoother for sure. I was all smiles when first started to drive around on them - it was and is a different rig post OME. I still smile too - they are softer ride today still. Like you said, as the Rolls Royce of suspensions... I too was able to jump rail-road tracks. - had I not done SAS - I would not make these comments.
I commented so people like you ready to dole out $2400 or so, do it with eyes open. And your milage will vary for sure. Like just about everything, it's about the trade-offs - softer ride (medium) and ok on trail or heavy (maybe more stiff ride) and better on trail. Can't have both. My point, I thought these were end-all be all too - and the difference (here we go Ian, math!) in my mind between having bought into the hype vs reality = disappointment. And disappointment is not the right word... it is more knocked down a few rungs. What Ian is experiencing is disappointing, and that is being generous to Dobinson.
Maybe re-greasing the bushings etc will make some or all of the noise go away. I don't know yet.
Maybe Ian and I got a bad batch - If true, then IMO they need to tighten up their a) Quality Control and b) their Customer Service. They would rather eat a bag of richards, than help based on Ian trying to get things resolved (sell them on Facebook and buy new).
I'm not saying don't buy, it is a softer ride and that was my primary goal (and these rigs make a lot of noise, so what is one more log on that fire?) - Going straight down a road, fine, no noise post SAS and soft ride. Just when springs used, way more vocal than before.
when I look at what I did/purchased, the springs were some of the cheapest parts - the IMS shocks in the front alone were almost the price of front & back springs combined. Maybe it would have been better to get heavy in back and if too stiff etc, remove a leaf.
There is more to this story, and I will post my thoughts/experience as it evolves.
I’ve been dreaming.