Rear Shock Guards

[flying.kiwis Member Find all posts View Profile Close flying.kiwis]

I was wondering what (if any) others use as stone guards for the rear shocks, either brought or home made. I tried a search and did not come up with much at all.
Living in North-West Queensland alot of roads traveled are stoney unsealed type.

Climbing around under my truck (just general checks) I noticed my Ironman shocks are dented and paint missing.

Aswell as shock, the retaining washer for the lower bush has been hit aswell.

My mate runs Tough Dog shocks in his Hilux and also has similar marks.


When I do replace the shocks for my trip up the cape later this year I would like to protect them from new.

I did find these guards
http://www.suspensionstuff.com.au/sh...oducts_id=3718
but dont like the idea of a hose clamp holding it on and it doesnt protect the bolt and bush etc.

Do many other people have this issue? or like above, what have you solved this probelm with?

Cheers
Aaron

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

OME have stone guards for their shocks. Try ARB.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Yeah MDS is correct as I had them on both my 90 series..Regards Steve

[QUICKY Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close QUICKY]

My cruiser has got OME and is fitted with guards on the rear shocks Give ARB a call and see what they have

[flying.kiwis Member Find all posts View Profile Close flying.kiwis]

Thanks everyone, Just got to ask questions in the right place to get anwsers. I will go to ARB tomorrow to see if they will fit my set up.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

The genuine ones have a gaurd on the important one, that gets hammere, but aftermarket????? Upgrade or downgrade????
When I asked my supplier, the response was something like , they're 3mm thick steel you won't have a problem......

[D4Dforme Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4Dforme]

You could make some out of 50mm nylon hose........either remove the shock and slip it on or split the hose and silicon/cable tie it in place.......i'll be doing mine in the next few weeks.

Dan

[flying.kiwis Member Find all posts View Profile Close flying.kiwis]

You're right ####, It seems not everything aftermarket is an upgrade. It wasnt an issue I had considered until now seeing dents.
They say make every mistake once.

How does the OME stone guards affect the heat dissipation?? The extra steel will heat up slower but hold heat longer or is there not enough change to be a problem?

The nylon or rubber hose I cant see being a problem with extra heat, but being constantly hit by stones, would just have to watch how often it would need to be replaced (if at all) to keep protecting the shock.

Thanks for the ideas and help

Cheers

[Guest Close Guest]

I don't think you should cover up the shock with insulative material as it would slow down heat dissipation.

My Bilstein 5160 series is upside down with the shock body at the top and the piston at the bottom. The piston is protected by a rubber boot like the CV boot. It absorbs the impact from rocks and spits it back out.

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

From memory the OME guards step off the shock leaving a gap of a few mm between the guard and shock body. I can't remember how they attach without looking at the car but it is at home and I am at work.

[wastegate Member Find all posts View Profile Close wastegate]

You might find that the OME stone guards won't fit other shocks as I found out going from OME to Tough Dog adjustables. No other manufacturer had these so time to improvise.

Being more concerned about the plastic adjustment knobs at the bottom of the shocks than stone chips on the tube, I purchased a rubber mat (approx. 3 to 5mm thick) and cut it down to 30cm x 30cm and then again into 2 x isosceles trapezoid shapes (fan shape sounds better). Secured the smaller edge (approx 10cm length) with a worm screw (radiator) clamp about 10cm up from the bottom of the shock so that the larger side (approx. 15cm length) of the fan hangs down and covers any vital bits. Don't make it too big so that the lower edge touches the tyre/rim etc. Being rubber, it is flexible and absorbs stone hits so not only does it protect what's behind it, it doesn't rebound the stones to do further damage.

Clark rubber should have something similar to use.

I used any left over bits trimmed to size and wrapped around the rear of the 4 reverse sensors and held in place with cable ties. Previously lost 2 sensors through stone damage on the Birdsville Trk.

[flying.kiwis Member Find all posts View Profile Close flying.kiwis]

Went into ARB today. $45.15 OME for rear shock guards (OME661). Bloke said OME rear shocks were around 46mm OD so guess these guards would fit any shocks around that.

Found a link that shows what they look like.
http://trdparts4u.toyotaofdallas.com...dproduct=-8703

For less than $50 I think I will buy and fit these providing they fit.

Cheers

[wastegate Member Find all posts View Profile Close wastegate]

Hmmm .... my old OME rears were 55mm OD and the stone guard obviously around the same ID but they could possibly be screwed in a tad further. 46mm OD though sounds kinda on the skinny side for a rear shock!

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

I cut a piece of 50mm (or maybe it was 60mm) pvc plumbing pipe in half (lengthways down the middle) and then sandwiched the two pieces together with a piece of rubber mudflap between them, and used a radiator clamp to secure the entire piece onto the leading edge of the Bilsteins. Did Cape York and Kimberleys and Simpson Desert, and only after this have I had to throw the remains of the outer layer of PVC pipe away. The inner layer was intact, and there was absolutely no damage to the shock body.

There were no issues with heat - at no stage in either of our trips was there fading of the shocks...

Cost : $0.00 - I had bits and pieces under the house already.

[Heath74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heath74]

My bilstiens came with a guard very similar to those pictured in kiwis link.