1993 2.8 LWB - OME complete suspension kit & 1" coil spacers

[GISdood]

I know what you mean by the bouncing and clunking... its been getting a little tedious (especially with our $h1tty roads here in Prince George). Having some actual shock absorption capacity again is going to be nearly like getting in a new ride! I'll try to take some before-and-after in-car video along some of the crappy sections of my daily commute for comparison once the suspension work has been completed.

Not sure on the purpose of the difference boots on the front & rear shocks. The accordion-style one is soft and pliable like most common shock or motorcycle fork boots, but the other is actually rigid plastic. I'm assuming its to offer more protection due to its placement and exposure to road debris, etc.

And I hear you on the cost of mods, Pajero... pretty sure I've spent more on modifications than the purchase price of each mine and my wife's motorcycles as well. Its a sickness, I know...


*** edited initial post/title of this thread for more relevance to anyone searching for this kind of info ***

[LeeHammy]

mmmmm, looks tasty! I can't wait to read your performance review! My Paj is bouncing and clunking all over the place, it's quite annoying. If you're review is positive, I may go with OME again as they did wonders to my BJ74 landcruiser two years ago.

Any reason why the boots are different on the shocks?

T

The boots are plastic I think just on the Nitro Sport Shocks because they are newer. No quality reduction I think its better because then the boot wont rust. The older OME shocks have a metal boot.

If your keen on saving some money my OME rear springs are all of 1 year old and I am upgrading to the heavy duty springs due to roof gear and such. So if you wanted some used but still in great shape it will save you some coin.. Let me know. Ill be ordering it all in the spring and then it is yours.

Oh and if your raising your rear you may want to think about camber correction bushings for the rear control arm. I am sourcing them now. The LWB takes a 63mm diam bushing. I will let you know how it turns out.

[Torqueluvr]

PM Sent.

[GISdood]

Spacers finally arrived! Shop time is booked for Saturday for the swap and new tires. Does anyone know if there are already some type of 'seats' where the factory rear springs sit? The reason I ask is that these supposed 1" spacers are nearly 2" tall. (the battery is a AAA, approx 4cm tall)



If nothing else, I suppose they can cut down the spacers... I just don't want to crank up the rear so far that a bunch of brake line work has to be done, or have to index the torsion bars too much putting undue stress on the steering linkage.

I guess I'll find out Saturday!

[GISdood]

<insert huge string of profanity here>

Had to delay the shop work til today as I needed the truck over the weekend... just got a call back from the shop a few minutes ago after dropping it off on my way to work this morning.

Well... it turns out the shop that measured my torsion bars has a faulty tape measure or dyslexia or something. the 1278mm OME torsion bars are too $%#&ing short! Even though the ARB/OME parts lists claims that the 1278mm torsion bars apply to 1991-1994 models (and mine is a '93), it looks like I have to get a set of the 1995-2000 model torsion bars which are 1308mm.

ARRRGH!

On the bright side... it looks like the new 31" tires will fit fine without the small lift the OME kit would have provided, so at least I'll have some decent tread again seeing as we'll be traveling down to Hope after xmas.

Back to waiting for replacement parts for now. *sigh*

Edited to add: Anyone looking for a pair of 1278mm torsion bars? Being that the shop I purchased them from special-ordered the kit out of the states, its highly unlikely that I'll be able to return them.

[Pajero]

That sucks...they should be able to crank up the old torsion bars to level it out with out the spacers in the back thats what they did for mine.

[Torqueluvr]

Sorry to hear that G-brotha. I have a 94 so I don't think they will fit. But, maybe I'll take a measuring tape - a new one at that - to them during the holidays and let you know. Still following this closely so keep posting!

T

[GISdood]

Longer torsion bars are already on the way and should be here in the new year. And just to clarify, the 31x10.5x15 tires DID in fact fit with no rubbing issues whatsoever, which is great as the General Grabber ATs were well beyond done. I'll grab a picture over the weekend when its daylight out - I rarely see the sun outside of work hours up here this time of year... but hey, the days start getting longer again tomorrow! (assuming the world doesn't end tonight, of course)

Anyway, here's wishing all you other RHD Mitsubishi nutbars a merry xmas! Make sure to take the time to enjoy the season with your families and friends. And above all else, be safe!

[pajerry]

If it's a 2.8 you can fit up to 33x10.5 without a lift. You can fit 33x12.5 with minor trim and mud flap removal in the front and a little minor rub in the back at full flex.

I would be interested in your old springs if you're into shipping them? and those bars may fit the swb. Remember reading they're close to lwb but slightly shorter.

[GISdood]

Hey all, hope everyone had a great xmas break!

If it's a 2.8 you can fit up to 33x10.5 without a lift. You can fit 33x12.5 with minor trim and mud flap removal in the front and a little minor rub in the back at full flex.

I would be interested in your old springs if you're into shipping them? and those bars may fit the swb. Remember reading they're close to lwb but slightly shorter.

The old springs are yours for the cost of shipping if you want them... no problem there. I'd be hesitant to make any assumptions on the fit of the bars without a measurement. My guess would be that the same year/engine type would equate to the same length of torsion bars for both SWB and LWB (we are just talking about the front half of the chassis, after all).

If you can verify or still want to take the chance, I'd be more than happy to unload them for a slight discount... let me know and we can certainly figure something out. And if anyone has actually measured the torsion bars on a '94 SWB 2.8, please share the details!

[Torqueluvr]

Any update on the install? I heard something about having to extend the rear brake hose for the new springs? Any before/after pics?

I am about to order my kit from RockyRoad - friend is picking it up so no shipping - and wondering what the results are like with the OME.

T

[Pajero]

I have the OME from rocky road installed (springs and shocks didn't get the torsion bars) and you do not have to touch the brake lines as it does not lift it that much. He may have to due to the 1" coil spring spacers.

The springs are much better than the old ones, they handle a load better and the shocks made a big differance in the handling/cornering.

Joe

[GISdood]

FINALLY... replacement torsion bars arrived on Friday last week and the Pajero is in the shop getting all the suspension parts swapped over today. I'm not having the spacers installed right now, however... just going with the suspension work. The new tires (31") fit just fine as-is, so I didn't feel the spacers were necessary right now.

I'll snap some pics when I pick it up and post them up this evening.

[GISdood]

So yet another wrinkle - everything is installed except the new OME front shocks. The tech said that after installing the new torsion bars and leveling the front end that the OME shocks were completely extended, even a little over-extended.

So for now the factory shocks are still in place up front until I get the short OME thing sorted.



And for comparison... a before shot:



It doesn't look like much of a difference, but with the new tires and new springs/torsion bars, the top of the fender arches now measure 37.5" tall front and back, compared to the previous 35.25" and 35.5" for front and rear, respectively.

[Torqueluvr]

Looks great!

I had the same problem with the OME kit when I put it on my Cruiser. The spring actually had to be compressed in order to the shock eyelet to line up with the mount, the shocks were short about 3/4 inch. Apparently this is common for OME shocks, as lots of ppl in the Cruiser community have run into it. I wonder if when I order I can order a longer OME shock?