Tough Dog Rust? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 9, 2019
Threads
36
Messages
170
Location
Salt Lake City
Hi, kind of an inauspicious first post, but I'm a very recent addition to 100 Series world and about to pull the trigger on new suspension. My plan was to run 860s, Slee TBs and drop, SPC UCAs, and tough dog shocks w/adjustable rears. My first post might have been to ask what people thought of combo that before I committed, so feel free to chime in on that. (truck will have no additional constant load at first, although that will no doubt change down the road).

But then I came across this post this morning on a Facebook page and it concerned me..any tough dog owners out there seeing this? I'm in salt lake so thinking they won't stand a chance even oiled. What do you think, problem?
Screenshot_20190415-075410_Chrome.jpg
 
Everything looks rusted in that pic

Yeah for sure, but he's saying the shocks went on in December, 500 miles ago. Seems very extreme, even for a salted road car, really has me wondering.
 
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My ToughDog 45mm Adjustable rears look the same after a little over a year. I'm in Texas and experience no road salt or anything else that should rust the shock. What appears to have happened to mine is that they are getting "blasted" by the gravel kicked up from the front tires. The finish on the shocks doesn't appear to be terribly thick....quite thin actually. I think that leads to the rust issue. Very curious if anyone else has experienced this.
 
It’s the Midwest. You want no rust? Store your truck. LOL at making this look like it’s a Tough Dog issue. Everybody and their momma would be returning all their cars here come spring time because everything rusts here. Warranty would never cover undercarriage rust I don’t care if it’s a Honda or a Bentley.
 
My ToughDog 45mm Adjustable rears look the same after a little over a year. I'm in Texas and experience no road salt or anything else that should rust the shock. What appears to have happened to mine is that they are getting "blasted" by the gravel kicked up from the front tires. The finish on the shocks doesn't appear to be terribly thick....quite thin actually. I think that leads to the rust issue. Very curious if anyone else has experienced this.
Can you post pics of yours? would be interesting to see ones not from the midwest for comparison.
 
If his shocks are pitted from driving on dirt roads, that’s just part of going off road. Every truck that sees gravel and any kind of fast speed driving on dirt will have pitted and lightly rusted spots on the undercarriage in all the high wear areas (sliders, behind front and rear wheels, rear shocks, rear LCA, etc.
 
I don't know, I've lived in Salt Lake for over 30 years and I doubt the Midwest gets more salt and sand on the roads than we do. I've never seen a shock do that so quickly. I actually question if they're really only four months old, something is up there. The adjuster knob is pretty beat up too - the more I look at it the more inclined I am to call BS on the "only 500 miles" claim. So, i think I"ll stick with my original plan 👍.
 
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My shocks look EXACTLY the same, and I live in California. I have driven probably 250 miles+ of trails in the 1 year I owned it. I don't think it a huge problem since my dampering knob still works as it was designed.
 
My shocks look EXACTLY the same, and I live in California. I have driven probably 250 miles+ of trails in the 1 year I owned it. I don't think it a huge problem since my dampering knob still works as it was designed.


That's good to read - and as said it'll eventually happen to anything, just surprising to see it so soon. Maybe a little silver POR 15 on the ends and call it good.

Is it bad form to ask you in this thread about the rest of your setup? Mine won't have any armor initially and I want to keep as much of the original ride as I can while still getting a 2.5 or so lift. I've read countless threads and can't quite figure out how the complete medium (0-300kg load) tough dog system rides. In some threads i've read it looks like guys are getting a little too much lift in the rear and finding the whole ride a little stiff in a lightly loaded 100, others seem to love it. I'm a little confused, so i just keep reading!
 
If youre really concerned you can place a small patch of clear protective vinyl- (rocker panel protectant) and that will protect the front of the shock from sand blasting/road debris.

Ive used this stuff on several vehicles:its really thick and tough.

TrimBrite Vinyl protectant
Amazon product ASIN B000HNFCHQ
 
That's good to read - and as said it'll eventually happen to anything, just surprising to see it so soon. Maybe a little silver POR 15 on the ends and call it good.

Is it bad form to ask you in this thread about the rest of your setup? Mine won't have any armor initially and I want to keep as much of the original ride as I can while still getting a 2.5 or so lift. I've read countless threads and can't quite figure out how the complete medium (0-300kg load) tough dog system rides. In some threads i've read it looks like guys are getting a little too much lift in the rear and finding the whole ride a little stiff in a lightly loaded 100, others seem to love it. I'm a little confused, so i just keep reading!

My lift set-up is consist of a few different brands, because at the time of purchase Trail Trailor did not have everything in stock. The ride is close to stock, very comfortable on road and off road. I took out all my seats and I don't have any draw systems either. So my rig is underweight compared to most rigs here. Regardless it provided me a 2-2.5 front lift, and close to 3 inches since my rear cargo is completely empty. I have my rear set at 2-clicks since the road in Los Angeles is terrible. It does not feel harsh or rough. What I think made a noticeable difference in ride quality was after I installed my Toyo RT, that is when the ride got firmer.

Anyways, my current set up got me to a lot of places comfortably with ZERO complaints, 100% happy with it. I would like to think I wheel my rig fairly hard. I try to hit the trails 1-2 times a month, I love the rutted/rocky trails, and the TD was great. Definitely, recommend it.

But the only issues I have with my current set-up is the vehicle cannot go fast on the "desert whoops". The rigs feel like it bottoms out easily, and very boaty at speed (25+mph). So I am waiting for the ICON's sale, going to get the Stage 3. Overall I want to be able to go faster in the whoops and rough trails. I got the need for speed.





My Lift.

41mm TD Shocks
45mm TD Adjustable
OME T-Bars
Ironman reinforcing T-Bar bracket
Iron Rear Springs (220 to 660lb) Performance
SPC-UCA

My Armor / Wheels

Trail Trailor Creeper skid & trailing arm skid
White Knuckle Sliders DOM
TJM oil pan skid
33" Toyo RT on stock wheels.
 
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FWIW after i lifted my Tundra with Bilsteins, i sprayed the shocks with a coat of fluid film and after a winter, it still looked new after i pressure wash everything off.
 
My Tough Dog shocks look the same...I'm in SLC also. But for what it's worth, the OME shocks on my 80 look pretty similar also. I do think the OME coating lasted longer, but in the end shocks are a "consumable" item. I'm not too worried about it as long as they keep functioning.
 
Plain and simple... You can gold plate the shocks or put the best powder or galvanizing coating on the shocks (everything for that matter) and as soon as you get a rock chip rust will start. The 100 and 200 are prone to rusting rear shocks because the shock is in front of the rear axle so everything that is kicked up hits them.
 
Yeah I hear ya, and definitely true. Just seemed like an awful lot of wear for only four months/500 miles. That's not even two tanks of gas! I suspect the guy who posted it is stretching things a bit and that's more like a year of wear.
 
Yeah I hear ya, and definitely true. Just seemed like an awful lot of wear for only four months/500 miles. That's not even two tanks of gas! I suspect the guy who posted it is stretching things a bit and that's more like a year of wear.

It all depends on the terrain and speed, humidity and dryness. I can take any NEW shock with any coating you choose down an oilfield or Wyoming BLM road that has a crushed rock road base at 50-70mph and then go to the carwash and I'll have surface rust the next morning. I'm talking 24 hours and 20 miles.
 
If anyone is still experiencing pitting and rust issues on their rear shocks, here's what I did to address the issue. I removed my rear shocks, sanded them real good, applied a good layer of self-etching primer and then a layer of paint. After that cured, I applied a section of clear LaminX film over the front of the lower shock tube. That's the film that people put on headlights to protect them. After another nearly 30k miles, I've not experienced anymore of the pitting/rust issues on the rear lower shock tubes. I typically remove the LaminX film and replace it every 10k miles. My shocks looked WAAAAY worse than others I've seen prior to my solution. But, I drive a TON of gravel roads.....often at faster speeds. Here's what mine looked like before I decided to address the issue as outlined above.
1599779230124.png
 
I plan to use my TT rear shock guards to protect the shocks. I ordered more of the trim brite vinyl protectant that @abuck99 for some items that I suspect may need covering. Not necessairly shocks.

1599933499835.png


Nothing going on rust wise at the moment with the old stuff.

1599934131470.png
 

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