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Suspension

Springs and shocks (mostly shocks) get pretty beat up after 17 years or so. There are loads of suspension options for the Disco.
I'm opting to go with Terrafirma shocks and springs to give the Disco a couple inches of lift over stock. The new gear will firm up the ride a bit. I'm not worried about amazing ground clearance. I am interested in good road handling - I live up a winding mountain canyon.

I've opted for a Terrafirma 2" Medium load lift. It's a good fit for my usage. I personally like 31" tires. With 2 inches and 31s, I should be able to tackle my local trails and the drive to work.

Install

Installation is pretty easy with these trucks. Jack up the front of the truck, put the frame on jack stands. Spray the usual suspects with PB blaster or a similar penetrating lube. Remove the upper shock nuts. You'll need a 19mm wrench. For the lower nuts, I ended up using a sawzall to cut the shocks at the studs just above the lower spring pad. This works very well. Be careful not to puncture the shock body. They are pressuriized! Use a small jack to expand the gap between the axle and the frame to allow removal of the shocks and springs.

Once the old set is removed, place the new shock inside the new spring. Insert the pair and align the upper post so that you can install the bushing and upper nut. Go ahead and tighten it down.
Installing the lower will require some fiddling. I ended up using a jack to push the axle towards the body in order to allow the nut to thread onto the post.

Rear Suspension

The rear is mostly easier than the front... until you break a shock mount.
Once again I simply sawzall'd the lower shock mount, this take only a minute and does the job.
My upper mounts both snapped off at the stud when I torqued the nuts loose. The threads corroded too much. It's possible a good cleaning would have saved them.

Broken mount solutions

Since I managed to snap the threaded stud on both of my upper rear shock mounts, I had to examping options.
The TF202 suspension kit that I used includes TF117 rear shocks.
Surprisingly, those shocks are designed for use with 0-2" of lift.
So, for my specific lift kit, we can use either stock upper mounts OR 2" drop mounts without risk of bottoming out the shock.
Stock mounts run around $30-$40 each. Several companies make drop mounts.
Terrafirma happens to make a 2" drop mount that's readily avaialable and cost virtually that same as a pair of stock mounts.

Back to the rear

Soak the nuts and bolts on the spring retainer plate with PB Blaster. Then remove them with a 17mm socket and a wrench.
Save those and be sure to collect the pair of washers unter the retainer plate at each bolt.
Place a small jack between the axle and the frame and use it to widen the gap to allow for spring removal.
Clean up everything and reverse the process to install the new springs. I suggest inserting the retainer plate, washers, bolts and nuts before letting the pressure off the jack.
After that, re-install the retainer plate. Shocks install as usual, unless you have to go pull the old mounts first...





Last Modified 01/25/15 09:26