[rob45x]

Hey guys. i know this topic has been posted probably a thousand times but i cant find any info on leafy sierra shock swaps. ive heard of a few people putting commodore shocks in vitaras but not much info on sierras. my sierra rides so rough and today ive ripped the shocks out of it and gone for a test drive. i reakon driving it without shocks has fixed the harsh ride by 75%. I have rancho 5000 shocks in atm and they feel shagged. also i have 2 inch lifted leafs. I pushed the shocks all the way in and they dont even come back out or budge and wen you pull them back out by hand they are very notchy.

Wondering if any of you guys has experienced any of this crap with rancho shocks even if they are only 30 - 40,000 km old

cheers for any help and info guys.

[Marko_SJ]

Hi Rob I'll go out and read the part number later on my gabriels.

How many leaves you have in the lift springs?

Why did you get rancho's, dont they have a bad name for being way too stiff for our application?

Edit: Went out and read them and they aren't what others have

733518 on the back
733508 on the front

Couldn't find on the gabriel's site what they are off or anything about them so here's the longer shocks super happy thread.

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=34303&hilit=longer+shocks

[johnmath]

My SJ413 had a terrible ride when I got it (standard springs & bad choice of aftermarket shocks). I tried three different brands of shocks before I was happy with the ride (plus the original aftermarkets on the car when I bought it makes four sets!). I settled on Lovells Gas Legend.

[rob45x]

Well i bought my car with the shocks n springs already in it. The old owner gave me a bunch of receipts withthe car and they are from a company called 4WD1. Springs are 2 inch lift 'rockcrawler' brand and the rancho 5000s but I've hated the rough jagged ride ever since I've owned it

[SierraDan]

Rancho's are rough. I reckon the Commdore/Hiace combo is too rough also. Probably because they're from a heavier car and coil spring valving.

[sideways]

I got a good ride out of the LJ80 with Commodore shocks*, they're a little stiffer than I would like but compared to the originals it feels much more controlled. I put new springs in at the same time though, 2 7.5mm leaves (might have been 7mm, can't remember) in the front spring packs and 2 7.5 a 6mm and the original load leafs in rear packs, all with slipper pads and spring spacers. That's in a LJ which is roughly 200kg lighter than a 1.3l Sierra.

The shocks are much, much stiffer than the originals. Hence my efforts to reduce spring friction. I'l look else where for my next shocks but these did what I want and were very cheap. Summit have a lot of cheap "brand name" shocks.

JrZook is running Koni 80 series shocks under his, he went to a fair bit of effort to get a good ride and he seems really happy with them.

*81340 Gabriels. Normally $49 each IIRC, I got mine for about $35 on special at supercheap. SWB LJ80s use pin-eye shocks back and front where as the Sierras just use them in the front.

[rob45x]

The_Amateur wrote:

Hi Rob I'll go out and read the part number later on my gabriels.

How many leaves you have in the lift springs?

Why did you get rancho's, dont they have a bad name for being way too stiff for our application?

Edit: Went out and read them and they aren't what others have

733518 on the back
733508 on the front

Couldn't find on the gabriel's site what they are off or anything about them so here's the longer shocks super happy thread.

http://auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... ger+shocks

I cross referenced those numbers and the rears are 81147 Gabriel's and the fronts are too long fully compressed

[Marko_SJ]

Not sure what you mean. The numbers in the thread or the ones off mine?

[rob45x]

The_Amateur wrote:

Not sure what you mean. The numbers in the thread or the ones off mine?

Numbers off yours

[Marko_SJ]

2stroker wrote:

I believe that these commodore shockies are a good cheap option however on standard length springs they are not as good as something like a 1971-1978 holden station wagon shock which is 297mm compressed and 497mm extended and is a lot better than a standard sierra shock at 256mm - 415mm.

Go into a super crap and ask for these then. They will be able to work out a part number for ya.

My shocks work fine even if they are too long.

[rob45x]

Sounds like a plan. Super cheap have a sale starting tomorrow. 25% off Gabriel shocks. Not sure if that's only in nsw though

Cheers

[rob45x]

Ok so here goes. This is the combination of shocks I've found that work with my leafy sierra with a 2 inch lift .

For the front Gabriel 81416 and they measure 294mm compressed and 472mm fully extended.

For the rear i used Gabriel 81147 and they measure 314mm compressed and 513mm fully extended.

Got them from supercheap auto and all up they cost me $142.64 on special.
Also note that these shocks are discontinued and may be hard to find so you may need to cross reference them.

Any help feel free to pm. Cheers !

[KEENSY85]

Koni shocks are very good, there only single direction but great cos there adjustable.....In my opinion.

[atari4x4]

what is a single direction shock

don't all shocks have a compression & rebound stroke or am i missing something

[Gwagensteve]

I think Keensy means that Koni's are only adjustable in one direction. (Rebound)

Steve

[atari4x4]

clear as beer in a mud bottle

[KEENSY85]

tried to Google for explaining facts but to much crap came up about 1 direction.
Pretty much when u compress them they dont exstend back out on there own ,aparently rancho adjustable shocks are the same so i hear

[Scrawny]

KEENSY85 wrote:

tried to Google for explaining facts but to much crap came up about 1 direction.

[Gwagensteve]

That doesn't mean anything Keensy, it just means they aren't high pressure gas shocks. Yes, Koni oil and Rancho's are the same in this regard.

HIgher has pressure can be an aid in preventing the shocks fading due to the oil foaming.

There are koni Gas shocks which will self extend, however, I don't recall if they are adjustable or not.

Rancho 9000's adjust both rebound and compression via adjusting the foot valve.
Koni's adjust only rebound.

Koni's are a very high quality shock, but any shock is only as good as its valving - a poorly valved shock will screw the ride and handling of a car up regardless of the quality of its construction.

Steve

[zookute065]

I have a stock '85 Sierra Ute. I drive 60 k's a day over rough, potholed back roads. My 60+ year-old back is killing me. What shocks do you recommend for a soft ride, without too much cost, please?