pedders advice "no bull"

pheoninx

New Member
hey trendsetters, just after a bit of advice from the suspension gurus amongst you, bout .......suspension.

went in today to Pedders to get the 28 point saftey check, and its come up with a few things that i wanted to run by you all..

including parts and labour, im up for bout an apparent $3,139.50...

so what it come up with, was the following..

front shocks... fail... leaking, requires replacement x 2
sway bar and bushes... fail... d bushes worn, requires replacement
steering damper "recommended upgrade"
steering gear... fail... leaking requires replacement
wheel bearings and hose assys... fail... excessive movement, requires adjustment
--- hub seal leaking l/h/s

rear shocks... fail... leaking require replacement
springs... fail... badly worn leaves
leaf spring bushes and u bolts... fail... eye bushes worn require replacement

i want to see if any of these are serious??

and yes i am serious, i have no idea.. im the guy that takes my to car to the mechanic and picks it up fixed..

im also looking at lifting the truck soon, and if i need to up the priority of this to fix these problems? and where i should start looking for lift kits, and installers etc? ebay is about as far as i have advanced so far :)

and advice or info would be greatly appreicated

cheers
 

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
Without going into too much details,

The springs shackles bushes shocks and dampener - if you are planning on lifting your rig these can be purchased as a kit.

Wheel bearings and swival hubs probably need doing get you mechanic to do it might be cheaper. As for the rest good chance it needs doing also.

As for levels of importance it depends on how worn the items are. Maybe get a second opioion?
 

Grumpy

Moderator
I would definitely go for a second opinion and as Yobbo said get the items put in order of importance of your safety. Then maybe just do them one at a time, you may not notice the dent in your wallet as much this way.
 

bmurray2250

4x4 Earth Contributer
I agree with Yobbo and Grumpy. My experience is everything is worn or broken when suspension shops check your vehicle and all that was needs was 2 rubbers replaced in the sway bar. I would get suspension kit that is suited to your 4by not peddles
 

BUSHNUT

Well-Known Member
Everyone has said it all . pedders are not known for fourby suspension anyway , most of their stuff is from OS, get a local mechanic to give it the once over, go for local manufacturers in the spring department KINGS or LOVELLS , had both, do the job, and the warranties are good- not that I have had to use them . I have always gone KONI as far as shocks but Tough Dog seem to have a good rap .

If everything is shot as they're implying then your rig would handled like a bucket of S#!T and tyre wear would be very uneven !
 

pheoninx

New Member
thanks guys.. feel like a tool asking such simple questions lol

jarh, the trucks done bout 243k and its an 89 model... i expect things to be worn at this age, but like you said bmurray, everything is going to be worn..

looks like i will take it to a mechanic, get him to give it a look over, and should get a service on it too...

and i will up the priority of the lift kit in it too...

thanks heaps guys
 

bmurray2250

4x4 Earth Contributer
The best thing is for you to get under the 4by and check the rubbers. If you see gaps and torn rubbers they will need replacement. The main wear parts of the rubbers on the shocks and sway bar. The other rubbers are checked by putting a large screw driver or small bar and seeing how much movement you are getting. Small amount is normal but moving 3+ mm (depending the areas) is signs of worn and needing to be replaced
 

BEK

4x4 Earth Contributer
I think it has been already said but if you were considering a lift say 2" why not do it now rather than replacing what's there.

A 2" lift should set you back between 1000 to 1500 but for rear coils not leaf springs so that will be more expensive.

That way you get a lift and you save at least 50% on replacing what's there which can then go on other mods:D
 

daweclan

New Member
Pedders check is good in my book Dont have to be 4X4 expert to diagnose worn suspension parts,For $14 its good to know whats worn or getting there and there's no obligation for them to do it,If youre handy with a spanner,Changing suspension components isn't that hard,Better with 2 people doing springs etc.I went and got the $14 check and got the list of faults,got a quote,told the bloke money's tight and would be doing it myself,He said if you get stuck ring,While doing my springs,shocks and panhard rod bushes they were more than helpfull when i rang when i was finding somethink difficult and told me the easy/best ins and outs to do it. Good luck.:)
 

croozza

Active Member
Pedders check is good in my book Dont have to be 4X4 expert to diagnose worn suspension parts,For $14 its good to know whats worn or getting there and there's no obligation for them to do it,If youre handy with a spanner,Changing suspension components isn't that hard,Better with 2 people doing springs etc.I went and got the $14 check and got the list of faults,got a quote,told the bloke money's tight and would be doing it myself,He said if you get stuck ring,While doing my springs,shocks and panhard rod bushes they were more than helpfull when i rang when i was finding somethink difficult and told me the easy/best ins and outs to do it. Good luck.:)

the thing with pedders is they say it is worn no matter what, I have been told by a few people that they have taken there recently replaced suspension (about 1 year old) for a check up to see if anything else needs replacing, and they have been told that the shocks are worn and the springs are shagged, so they took the vehicle back to the manufacturer for them to look at and replaced under warranty, and they were perfect, so pedders do spin some stories to get some business. So I would take there diagnosis with a grain of salt and get a second opinion.
 

bmurray2250

4x4 Earth Contributer
Had a similar issue with Fulcrums in Brisbane. My rear shocks rubber were worn but I replaced (shockes and all) them only 2 or 3 months earlier.
 

Stampy

New Member
After having worked closely with these guys through an allied business, your quote of over $3000 sounds like a typical '"no bull" quote to me. This is their sales technique and they will often quote to replace things that may actually last you for years to come, but they hope they can influence you enough to do everything while you are there in one visit.

I'm not saying oil leaks or slightly sagged springs shouldn't be taken seriously but often they are normally just minor issues that can be addressed as the need arises. Likewise with other steering/suspension bushes - some may need replacing to take a lot of slop out of the steering but others may be fine.

Shop around, get at least three quotes and if necessary use different suppliers for different items. It can work out a lot cheaper in the long run. (Believe me as I've worked in 4WD Aces$ories retail.)

Where is Crimebrook actually? Never heard of it myself :)

I ask because as you get more involved in 4WDing, you will meet more people from your local area, through clubs and forums like this one. Inevitably you will become friends and then these friends can be called upon when you need some help working on your fourby.

As the guys have said above there are a lot of retailers offering complete, and part, suspension packages. Suppliers like ARB and TJM who do their own brand and other aftermarket stores like OL and Suspension Stuff (Brisbane) to name a couple who sell Tough Dog, Dobinsons, and other aftermarket brands etc etc. EFS is a suspension company I forgot - they do some great packages at good prices. And also Ironman who offer a more 'budget' product.

Troopy (Cruiser) leaf packs aren't cheap and you will find you may need to budget up to $1500 alone just for springs from some suppliers. One thing, don't go ahead and get work done without looking at the type of 4wding you will do as you should get springs packs to match the intended use and weight to be carried in the vehicle.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul
 
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pheoninx

New Member
thanks heaps for all your advice guys, much appreicated..

firstly, crimebrook is cranebrook...(western syd) ( known as crimebrook due to some of the locals )

and i can clearly gather that i need more than one opinion to get a rough assessment.. its all just a new thing to me, and i think im taking everyone that i get quotes off as trying to rip me off.. if it were to do with performance cars etc, i would have half a clue, cause thats where ive been in and amongst the last few years... 4wd is just allllll new..

went into arb in penrith today, just to have a look at the toys they have in there, nice stuff, but i dont know bout the pricing for it.. there are a few things i might get from there, and lash out on and get something that has renown quality, but others like has been mentioned, i will find out through meeting you guys and getting to know you all, where are the good places to go and what are the good things to get.

as i put in my intro post, i have a massive list of things i want to do to the troopy, and aside from working out where i am starting, im trying to judge that on what i will be doing...

camping is going to be the big thing im going to be doing, and the occasional mud slinging... be bout the extent of it..

thanks again for all your help guys, im certainly getting a clearer idea as to where im going and what i want to do...
 

Prado98

New Member
I needed new shocks from a quote from my mechanic that my family has been using for years. Around the same time i ran into an old mate who has been a mechanic for 20 years on and off, and also his father is a mechanic.I told him I also wanted a 2' lift. He gave me some numbers and some advice of some people as I don't have money to waiste. I ended up getting pedders lift and suspension for $1600.This was about 18 months ago I think, and for the last 6 months i go for a drive at least 3 out of 4 weekends.I have had no problem with it at all at this stage( touch wood).The colour is red.I only have standard suspension to compare this with. If I ever had to, I would probably buy this again. I hope i haven't confused you too much.
CHEERS:eek::confused::)
 

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
Some pedders gear is pretty good eg bushes and so on. My castor correction bushes were supplied by Pedders.

Who is making Pedders springs anyway? They are just a rebrand and are probably made by kings or someone like that.

I have run kings, Lovells & dobonson springs on the recent 4x4's all good but on the flip side all have had there faults.
 

Big Rig

4x4 Earth Contributer
This is probably a little off topic however I guess if you intend doing a lot of 4 wheeling you could spend a little time with your mechanic and learn the so called "basic ropes". It can be a really expensive past time if you have absolutely no idea about anything mechanical. I'm not being a smart ass but realistic..... There are a lot of rip of merchants out there and at the end of the day if you eventually go bush and i mean remote ... you will need to be able to get yourself out of trouble.
 
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