Ironman Foamcell Pro Group Buy

[Guest Close Guest]

Another tip.
For the 120, there is a supplied spacer for the bottom rear shock mount. The bottom mount is also off centred. Being such a large body shock, the spacer needs to be fitted into the stub on the diff first and then its obvious which way round the bottom shock mount needs to go in order to push the shock body away from the diff.

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Good work and thanks Whitey!

Regarding anti-sieze which is best for an outback car? There is a Locktite marine grade which is good for water and washouts, is that the one to get?

Hey,

Normal anti-sieze nickel or copper based is fine. Out in the bush or on the beach they will all get stuff stuck to them no matter what you do. The alternative is leave everything dry, but then the threads fill with dust and water, and you don't have any anti-sieze in there to adjust the ride height in-situ with the c-spanner.

Best

Mark

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Another tip.
For the 120, there is a supplied spacer for the bottom rear shock mount. The bottom mount is also off centred. Being such a large body shock, the spacer needs to be fitted into the stub on the diff first and then its obvious which way round the bottom shock mount needs to go in order to push the shock body away from the diff.

Hey,

That's not strictly true! The spacers are supplied with FE 80 series spec shocks, and for the FEC Prado and FJ spec, the spacers aren't supplied.

You just happened to get FE shocks because that's all I could get at the time!

The FE and FEC are geometrically identical in every single way, the only difference is in the Ironman valving, which is high compression for the 80, lower for the Prado/FJ.

So Ironman supply FEC without stud spacers for Prados and FJ's.

Even so, I also have FE shocks on my own 120, and I also used the offset spacers when it prolly isn't really necessary!

Best

Mark

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

There is also a WD40 PTFE spray you can get in "dry" and "wet" version. Probably not as good as antisieze but may be a compromise. That said, I'd prefer antisieze for the reason that Mark stated in that it fills the thread voids under the collar. Dirt sticking to the exposed threads is probably more of a cosmetic thing that a wear issue.

[Guest Close Guest]

Hey,

That's not strictly true! The spacers are supplied with FE 80 series spec shocks, and for the FEC Prado and FJ spec, the spacers aren't supplied.

You just happened to get FE shocks because that's all I could get at the time!

The FE and FEC are geometrically identical in every single way, the only difference is in the Ironman valving, which is high compression for the 80, lower for the Prado/FJ.

So Ironman supply FEC without stud spacers for Prados and FJ's.

Even so, I also have FE shocks on my own 120, and I also used the offset spacers when it prolly isn't really necessary!

Best

Mark

Good stuff. I'll leave mine in cause it looks better for clearance.

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

Yay!

Notification received for Whitey's Ironman shocks sent! Awesome.

Has any of the first batch actually fitted their Whitey's Ironman shock set to their Prado yet? No reports apart from the fj dogg15.

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

Fronts fitted today. A bitch of a job but doable. 2nd side took half the time of the first side. The real problem was not being able to get both of the lower control arms to chassis bolts lose - only one on each side . This made it very difficult for the lca to swing down far enough to get the new big strut in. The solution was a small scissor jack between the lca next to the bump stop and a point above it. This gently moved the lca down far enough to get the mega shock in. On the first side I just used a lump of timber to lever it down and sat the wheel on it. The jack is easier ! Other than that AMTS guide works fine again. A short drive told me that the ride is fantastic, roll and pitch are greatly reduced so very promising for when I get the back done- hopefully tomorrow. I will give some accurate measurements when it settles a bit and after the back is done but currently it is at about 805 mm after about 5 km of driving. I think this will come down when the back goes up and a bit of settlement occurs.As you need the sway bar spacers it is easier to take the front bash plate off to give access instead of stuffing around- only 4 bolts. If there is only one of you and no hoist the job will take 5-6 hours for a first timer. A lot of time is taken up getting the car up on jacks, supports etc just to get started. The back should be much quicker.

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Fitted the rears and it corners like a WRX now. Took 3 hours including cutting the adjustable rear swaybar links to length.

For the rear, have the shock fully extended. Slip the bottom mount in with the diff fully lowered and brake line bracket unbolted just left of the diff pumpkin. Then get a 2nd person to jack up the diff as you guide the top pin into the upper mount.

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hey all,

Good to hear some positive reports coming in, thanks everyone for the feedback!

I just fitted another FJ today, and it is now an official member of my gutter jumping/driving over club, handles like a weapon!

Best

Mark

[spysi Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close spysi]

I have front's and rears in now - thanks to an installer with meticulous attention to detail that went the extra mile to make sure the job was done right.

The setup is truly unreal! I have 30 (odd) k kms on my FJ so the oem suspension should just have been bedded in and in its sweet spot so my comparison is sound. I have also been in a few lifted Prado with various setups.
It is unbelievable how much better she handles. No diving at yellow lights, predictable cornering (and I am still yet to get a wheel alignment!!) and umm, kerbs, speed humps and traffic islands are now just a figment of my imagination. This thing can hit anything with ease and not even shake the beer up in the Waeco in the back. Mark is some type of suspension wizard and I have no regrets with my purchase.

I am off to Nightcap for the weekend to test her out. I installed a winch in time for the trip but something tells me I wont be needing it... Knowing that I have it might give just enough hope to the rest of the group to try and keep up however! I will post some feedback once I return.

The gear is well worth the wait. Mark is doing the job properly with the valving and it does take time, I can vouch for that.

[ziggle Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ziggle]

Don't leave that wheel alignment too long. I helped my son put a 2" lift in his 90 series, and also gave him a good 50%-60% set of BFG AT's I had lying around that don't fit my 120 series (16's). He then drove the 600 km back home up the Hume highway. When he got there he'd worn a noticeable taper onto the front tyres - probably 2-3 mm across the width

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

Few tips for everyone as well;

1. If you are getting adjustable length rear swaybar links, make sure to cut them down to suit a total length that is no more than 30mm longer than the OEM links.

Best

Mark

Planning to do mine on Monday, although swaying towards using an installer. Probably a bit dumb but not entirely sure on this; How do I know the correct length to adjust these to? Thanks

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Planning to do mine on Monday, although swaying towards using an installer. Probably a bit dumb but not entirely sure on this; How do I know the correct length to adjust these to? Thanks

Hey Steve,

You can definitely do it all yourself and save yourself some bucks...it's just a bit time consuming relocating the swaybars. I'm just a phone call away if you need a hand!

For the rear Roadsafe STB882ET adjustable length links, the easiest way to get them correct is to cut 46mm off the threaded section. Screw the heim back on with some loctite on the thread, and you'll be close to 30mm longer than the OEM links!

Best

Mark

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hey all,

Some more fitting tips for everyone;

1. If you are fitting KTFR-101H coils yourself, please keep in mind the pigtail on them can be a very tight squeeze onto the threaded section of the front strut body. The easiest way to get them on is to grease up the pigtail so it slides more easily, and a few healthy taps with a rubber mallet from the top and you'll pop the coil down onto the seat. Don't stress if you pull off some powder coat or bruise the threads, as you'll never be winding the collars up to that height!

2. For STB882ET Roadsafe adjustable length rear swaybar links, the simplest measurement technique to get the length correct is to cut 46mm off the threaded section. Loctite the heim on and you'll have links that are close to 30mm longer than OEM links.

3. For front swaybar relocation blocks, please note on some models there can be interference from protruding chassis weld. The simplest fix for this is to grind the corner down on the block, rather than grind the chassis. Once you've ground enough steel off, give it some touch up paint. Please note also that the chassis threads can sometimes be dirty/crappy, so run a thread cleaner through them if you have the chance. Also, the outside nuts can also be tight into the block, as the painting of the blocks has covered the threads. Just work the bolt in and out to ensure the thread is happy!

Best from my oily garage!

Mark

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

Hey Steve,

You can definitely do it all yourself and save yourself some bucks...it's just a bit time consuming relocating the swaybars. I'm just a phone call away if you need a hand!

For the rear Roadsafe STB882ET adjustable length links, the easiest way to get them correct is to cut 46mm off the threaded section. Screw the heim back on with some loctite on the thread, and you'll be close to 30mm longer than the OEM links!

Best

Mark

Thanks