Suspension Advice for kzj78 in Uganda

[Eggpattern]

Hey guys, as post says I'm living in Uganda. For the past 4 years I've been driving a 93 kzj78. Drivetrain is in great shape. Suspension suffers the most here. When I first bought it I had replaced the shock absorbers all around. They still seem like they are in decent shape. I'm wondering about the springs though. The front seems like it's sagging about 2 inches lower than the back. With it loaded down, even just carrying 4 passengers and a driver, it loves the bumpstops front and back. They now all need to be replaced.

Lift options here are few. I know I can get an Ironman 2" lift from a distributor in Kampala. After that, ordering another brand myself and having it shipped in will be difficult with import duties. So I might be stuck there.

Questions:
1 Should I look for OEM replacement springs?

2 Should I try and go with an Ironman setup? How bad is the ride with an 2" Ironman lift? Please be honest.

3 Does anyone know of another lift option? Cheaper the better for me. I know about the 80's front springs fitting in the 78 rear. Where does that leave me for the fronts though? Also, could my shock absorbers be modified for the longer travel?

Whatever I go with needs to be reliable. I travel a lot here deep into villages for days and weeks at a time and would like to avoid any potential breakdown.

Thanks

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

If you are looking for load carrying capability, the OME medium set is excellent. I load my truck with lots of weight, and tow with a heavy hitch weight, probably up to 1500lb total over vehicle curb weight. The OME's never bottom out even with all the weight. The down side is when not loaded, the springs are stiff and the axles do not articulate well. If you wanted soft springs that are tall and good for articulation you could look at the Dobinson setup from Australia.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Do you mean OEM or OME? OEM is factory suspension, I wouldnt recommend that. Dobinsons make good coils for the light duty versions and I think they have achoice of standard and heavy duty.
Ironman seems to have reputation for a harder ride than the others. I dont know just how much harder it is or even if it is true these days.But they sell a lot of suspension in Australia.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Do you mean OEM or OME? OEM is factory suspension, I wouldnt recommend that. Dobinsons make good coils for the light duty versions and I think they have achoice of standard and heavy duty.
Ironman seems to have reputation for a harder ride than the others. I dont know just how much harder it is or even if it is true these days.But they sell a lot of suspension in Australia.

OME = Old Man Emu. Harder ride yes but also larger load carrying capacity.

 

[Eggpattern]

Thanks for the responses. I did mean OEM Toyota springs. Getting things shipped here can be tricky. There is an automatic 18% vat in addition to whatever more they want to tack on. I'd love to get a set of Dobinson springs but as I said, I might not have that option.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I would go with Ironman if its the easist. You could probably get a lot of 1st hand opinions from the Australian landcruiser forums 70scool 80scool and Outer Limits on Ironman suspension.

 

[Eggpattern]

Thanks Rosco. I probably will end up going for the Ironman setup just because it's easiest. I checked lcool forums and others about Ironman suspensions. It's hard to find positive feedback. Unfortunately, I don't realistically see any other option. So I think I will be a customer and we'll see what happens.

Right now the front springs are so bad that I have a little over an inch of travel before it hits the bumpstops. I am just thinking, Ironman had to be a huge improvement from where I'm at now.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Thanks Rosco. I probably will end up going for the Ironman setup just because it's easiest. I checked lcool forums and others about Ironman suspensions. It's hard to find positive feedback. Unfortunately, I don't realistically see any other option. So I think I will be a customer and we'll see what happens.

Right now the front springs are so bad that I have a little over an inch of travel before it hits the bumpstops. I am just thinking, Ironman had to be a huge improvement from where I'm at now.

I expected thats what you would find ,but as Australians are spoilt for choice , they can afford to be picky. They should be reasonably comfy if you are carrying a load. Adjusting the tyre pressure helps if there is no load.

 

[Eggpattern]

I got the 2" Ironman kit installed about a week and a half ago. I'm pretty happy with it so far. There is no comparison to how it was before. My old springs and shocks were shot. Now I have about 6 inches between the front bumpstops and the axle. The rear has even more. Driving at first it felt a little soft in front. Now it seems like the springs are settling down and steering is more predictable than when the lift was first installed. I did end up having to lengthen the breather hoses.

I also found some reasonably priced 32x11.5 Kumho kl78 a/t's. I'll take what I can get here.

I hope to get some miles out of this set up. I've turned my attention to the cooling system now. Blocked egr, new coolant, new thermostat, and will top up the fan clutch as soon as I receive the fluid I had to order from the states. It's got 200,000 kms and I've had it for the last 50,000. No overheating yet and I'm hoping that I never have to deal with those issues.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

I got the 2" Ironman kit installed about a week and a half ago. I'm pretty happy with it so far. There is no comparison to how it was before. My old springs and shocks were shot. Now I have about 6 inches between the front bumpstops and the axle. The rear has even more. Driving at first it felt a little soft in front. Now it seems like the springs are settling down and steering is more predictable than when the lift was first installed. I did end up having to lengthen the breather hoses.

I also found some reasonably priced 32x11.5 Kumho kl78 a/t's. I'll take what I can get here.

I hope to get some miles out of this set up. I've turned my attention to the cooling system now. Blocked egr, new coolant, new thermostat, and will top up the fan clutch as soon as I receive the fluid I had to order from the states. It's got 200,000 kms and I've had it for the last 50,000. No overheating yet and I'm hoping that I never have to deal with those issues.

Nice work! Thanks for the suspension review. I'm glad you're taking time to address the engine cooling too. Will last a long time as long as you take care of it.

 

[Eggpattern]

Might as well add a pic