A 7.30am start on the suspension upgrade and after two hours I had reached the point where the first of the front suspension struts was almost ready to be removed. I was also considering whether I should continue with the upgrade or reinstall what I’d done. We need the vehicle for Monday and this “alleged” four hour job was likely to take me a week given the current state of my back. It was also apparent I’ve lost 80% of my physical fitness in the last eight years. I’m physically getting old and my brain needs to realise that.
Fortunately ‘young’ Ken arrived to help. OK Ken is only several years younger than me…. But he’s still in better shape physically, which made all the difference.
I’d only just started on the first strut when this photo was taken. Why take the photo? I wanted a record in order the reinstall everything correctly.
Ken arrived in time to remove the top three nuts from the strut when then enabled us (him working me supervising) to install the larger Outback Armour strut.
Once everything was installed we went around checking all the nuts and tightening them where necessary. The original struts look quite puny compared to the new Outback Armour replacements.
By now it was 1.30pm and I’d been working on the vehicle for six hours. So much for it being a four hour job!
We stopped for an hour to have lunch before replacing the rear coil springs and shock absorbers. As you can see in the photo I continued to supervise!
No… Ken is not working under the raised vehicle with just the small bottle jack holding it up. The 4WD was sitting on three jack stands not shown in the photo. The rear proved to be slightly easier than the front and the task was completed by 4.30pm.
It was time for a test drive. Ken and I have the same model vehicle which enabled us to provide comparison thoughts on whether the change in suspension was noticeable. The ride was certainly ‘firmer’. That’s probably not surprising as the manufacturer would have designed the vehicle suspension to have soft ride for the average owner driving around town or on bitumen. When turning a corner the outside front part of the vehicle used to dip or roll. The new suspension has stopped that. It will be interesting to see what the ride is like when I next take it off road.
What it now requires is a wheel alignment. The camper trailer also needs a wheel alignment, which means they will probably be done together.
Thank you for all your assistance Ken
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