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Bump Stops

Posted: 14 Sep 2017 13:09
by iandvl
Folkses,

Noticed this morning that my front bump stops are done for. The one front one is gone entirely (ie: the little rubber ball thing has broken off), and it is only a matter of time before the other one gives up the ghost.

Will probably be able to source them readily easily (between Dawid and Graham). But I'm very pushed for time at the moment in terms of projects, reports and similar. How seriously do I need to have them replaced ? I recall reading a thread somewhere where someone was saying (I think it was Peter) that running without them could cause significant damage, but cannot seem to find that thread at the moment...

Also: How easy are they to replace ? Do I need to pull the coil springs to get at them ? Or can they be replaced with springs "in-situ" ?

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 14 Sep 2017 14:17
by SJC
I think it can cause strain on the shocks. but normal driving conditions would probably not cause the coils to compress all the way, putting pressure on the shocks? (causing shocks to compress all the way). Maybe more a risk on off road / crossaxle type of conditions... :think: (not sure)
Been driving my bakkie with damaged bumpstops for 2 years now... but would fix them before fitting new shocks just in case.

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 14 Sep 2017 14:43
by iandvl
Thanks Fanus.

Found the other thread - http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.ph ... ops#p58844

Not worried about on-road. Worried about Moegatle. Will hear what PC's comment is on that.

On the other hand, having obvously really peeved a bunch of Toy drivers on the Whatsapp grouo prior to the weekend, perhaps I should skip it in any case.

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 14 Sep 2017 19:58
by Peter Connan
Unless the shocks are the incorrect length, the spring should go coil-bound (IE the coils touch each other and the spring becomes essentially a solid tube of metal) before the shocks run out of stroke.

If this happens, potentially one could bend or tear/crack the spring perch.

However, I think one would have to hit a hard bump at pretty high speed (such as not seeing a high speedbump and hitting it at say 80-100km/h.
Crawling across heavy axle twisters on a rough trail like Moegatle is in my opinion extremely unlikely to cause any damage, but I would not recommend doing a dune trip without them, especially if you drive like Faan.

Shocks will only be damaged if they are actually too long, as happened to Dirk recently. This is best dealt with by extending the bump stops.

Ian, unfortunately there is no way to replace them without removint the coils. If you have access to a two-poster lift, this is fortunately pretty easy: Loosen the bottom nut off the shock and jack the car up until the coil comes free. On top of the spring perch is a little plate held on with two 6mm bolts (10mm spanner). Remove this to un-cover an 8mm nut (12 socket). Once this is loosened, the bump stop falls off the bottom, but this bolt is bonded intothe bump stop and if the top end rusts (which does happen sometimes), then it may need to be ground off.

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 15 Sep 2017 08:17
by iandvl
Peter Connan wrote:Unless the shocks are the incorrect length, the spring should go coil-bound (IE the coils touch each other and the spring becomes essentially a solid tube of metal) before the shocks run out of stroke.

If this happens, potentially one could bend or tear/crack the spring perch.

However, I think one would have to hit a hard bump at pretty high speed (such as not seeing a high speedbump and hitting it at say 80-100km/h.
Crawling across heavy axle twisters on a rough trail like Moegatle is in my opinion extremely unlikely to cause any damage, but I would not recommend doing a dune trip without them, especially if you drive like Faan.

Shocks will only be damaged if they are actually too long, as happened to Dirk recently. This is best dealt with by extending the bump stops.

Ian, unfortunately there is no way to replace them without removint the coils. If you have access to a two-poster lift, this is fortunately pretty easy: Loosen the bottom nut off the shock and jack the car up until the coil comes free. On top of the spring perch is a little plate held on with two 6mm bolts (10mm spanner). Remove this to un-cover an 8mm nut (12 socket). Once this is loosened, the bump stop falls off the bottom, but this bolt is bonded intothe bump stop and if the top end rusts (which does happen sometimes), then it may need to be ground off.
Peter - thanks for the input. I think we're good for Moegatle in that case.

I'm a little worried - I'm not entirely sure when the one on the left broke off, and I've been to a few far away places since. I check the stuff regularly, so I'm pretty sure it has only happened very recently, and the vehicle has never bottomed out, so I doubt there would be any damage. I will crawl around underneath in any case and have a look. Have chatted with Graham. Will get new bump stops fitted shortly. In the meantime, I'll just need to play carefully at Moegatle tomorrow. :rolling: :rolling:

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 17 Jan 2018 10:23
by Unkredible
Hi, Quick follow up. Did you have this done at Graham? If so, what did it cost?

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 17 Jan 2018 10:41
by iandvl
Unkredible wrote: 17 Jan 2018 10:23 Hi, Quick follow up. Did you have this done at Graham? If so, what did it cost?
I bought brand-new bump stops from David. That was quite a while back, so I cannot remember what they cost. It was not exorbitantly expensive though...

I've not had them fitted yet, as I'll get that done when I have the truck serviced. Almost due for service, so this should be relatively soon.

Re: Bump Stops

Posted: 17 Jan 2018 10:46
by Unkredible
:thumbup: