Ditto on the D2 towers. They work great and bolt right up with no modifications. I got mine from a local junkyard for $25 for the set. They were in almost new shape. You do have to either grind away a little bit of metal or bend them to get an external reservoir shock through them though. That’s the one downside I guess.
Replacement Poly Bushing for the heim joints ends.
eShocks: (800) 303-6211
Talk to: Paul - Bilstein rep
Ask for Prothane 19-920 (12mm bolt) or (19-919 1/2″ bolt) - Bilstein 7100 heim joint replacement bushings
You need 4 packages as each package comes with 2 bushings (top and bottom).
Total will be around $45
I bought 19-919 because I bought my 7100s before RTE started selling the step down spacers to use with the factory Land Rover bolt size. If you drilled/tapped your shock mounts for 1/2″ bolts you want the 19-919. If you are running the genuine bolts with the RTE step-down spacers you want 19-920. I believe both part numbers have an extension that describes the color (e.g. 19-919-BL for black).
My Dizko seems alright but the rear shocks are valved quite stiff like 100/400 as compared to the 75/185 I have in the front.. All on RTE 3″ RR4’s and RR1’s..
I am currently running OME 751’s on the front of my truck, without a bumper (a Rockware with winch will in place soon) the resulting lift was about 1.5 over stock when the ARB bumper was on with the winch.
I am running OME 755’s on the rear, a medium duty spring that adds about 3″ unloaded lift to the truck, when I put five of those big BFG MTKM2’s with Wolf wheels in the back it settled down about 1/2″, that’s a 280 pound spring. I suspect it may end up being a little light when the truck is fully loaded
Here’s some #’s that might help.. I’m planning on helping out with the parts for a few trucks in the coming months. The Fox shocks seem to be a nice fit (stolen #’s from Grahams truck)
Defender 110 Overlanding suspension
Application Shocks OME P/N C/L E/L
(Priced in pairs)
Front Heavy Load (110 lbs to 220 lbs.) N115 14.5″ 23.7″
Rear Heavy Load (440 lbs.+) N44 14.5″ 23.0″
Shocks Fox Emulsion
Front 2X5/8 Fit 10″ travel 80/40 16.1 26.1
Rear 2X5/8 Fit 10″ travel 80/40 16.1 26.1
Springs OME Lift
Front Heavy Duty (110 lbs. to 220 lbs.) 751 230 2″
Front Extra Heavy Duty (220 lbs. to 350 lbs.) 766 280 3″
Rear Medium Duty (660 lbs.) 755 280 2″
Rear Heavy Duty (1,100 lbs.) 754 420 3″
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Those heim joints on the 7100s wear out super fast. I went through a bunch of the heims before I replaced them with a poly replacement. They lose a little twist, but the poly sure does ride a lot nicer. If you need the part# let me know and I’ll dig up my notes. I bought them from Paul at eShocks.com
I bought mine from
eShocks: (800) 303-6211
Talk to: Paul - Bilstein rep
Ask for Prothane 19-920 (12mm bolt) or (19-919 1/2″ bolt) - Bilstein 7100 heim joint replacement bushings
You need 4 packages as each package comes with 2 bushings (top and bottom).
Total will be around $45
I bought 19-919 because I bought my 7100s before RTE started selling the step down spacers to use with the factory Land Rover bolt size. If you drilled/tapped your shock mounts for 1/2″ bolts you want the 19-919. If you are running the genuine bolts with the RTE step-down spacers you want 19-920. I believe both part numbers have an extension that describes the color (e.g. 19-919-BL for black).
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For an FYI my spring height unloaded is 13.25″ If I through a winch worth of weight up front I get 13″. Before I got about 11.75″ with the OME 751’s With 764’s I got about 12.5″
From Sill to ground I’m at 24 in the front and 25 in the rear. Measuring the spring in it’s perch I get that 13″ measurment. I’m running the 285/75-16 KM2 MT Goodrich on a 6.5″ wolf rim, its a 33″ tire. I figure once I start adding gear it will sag down an inch to an inch and a half. While the truck will mainly haul people there will things like a cage, invertor, extra battery,cabinetry and a fridge, so it’s still going to gain weight.
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SG told me to put the dead links on the bottom. I put them on top for several reasons: easier to install, and when I had the deads on the bottom they collected a lot of dust and mud which was wearing off the coating and pitting the springs. Keep in mind that SG intended these springs for rockcrawling not overlanding. I consider my change for a good cause!
I realized I wasn’t clear in my post above. Unloaded with the SG springs I am close to 3″ of lift in the front. With the truck loaded for a week out I’m running about 2″ lift all round.
All 90/110 wheels are 33mm, only the latest XD/Wolf type are 20.6mm
ANR4636PM are Standard 5.5F x16 wheels for 90/110 are welded construction in primer finish, the earlier NRC7578 were rivetted construction.
ANR1543PM are 6.5L x 16 heavy duty rivtted construction
ANR5593PM are 6.5J x 16 x 20.6mm XD/Wolf are welded construction, or ANR4583PM rivetted construction
ANR5593PM is the tubed version of the Wolf rim.
ANR1534PM (20.6 Offset) is listed as One Ton rim .They are only suitable for tubed tyre usage.They are an inch wider with that extra inch going on the outside (ie it looks like a wider standard 110 steel wheel) with slightly less offset than the 5.5 inch wheels
272309 is an old 109 wheel. They are 5.5″ wide with a different offset than the anr4636.
(5.5 inch rims have 33mm of offset, the 6.5 inch rims have 20.6mm of offset).
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Tubeless.
ANR4583PM 6.5J x 16 130 and Wolf XD
NTC5193PM 7.0 x 16 Discovery
Tubed.
NRC7578PM 5.5F x 16 (riveted centre) 90 and 110
ANR4636PM 5.5F x 16 (welded centre) 90 and 110
NTC4135PM 6.0J x 16 (riveted centre) 90 only
ANR4635PM 6.0J x 16 (welded centre) 90 only
ANR1534PM 6.5L x 16 HD 110 and 130
ANR5593PM 6.5J x 16 130 and Wolf XD
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Land Rover Wheel Sizes
Model Rim Dia Width Offset Part#
88 ‘59 thru ‘67 16″ 5″ 1″ 231601PM
88 ‘67 thru ‘74 15″ 6″ 1″ NLA
109 ‘59 thru ‘71 16″ 5.5″ 1.75″ 272309
109, 90, 110, 88 16″ 5.5″ 2″ NRC7578PM
130, 110 USA 16″ 6.5″ 2.25″ ANR1534PM
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272309 109, offset from rim centre line 1 13/16″ (1.8125″) Road wheel, well base rim type, 5.5″ x 16″
568966 109, offset from rim centre line 1 5/16″ (1.3125″) Road wheel, well base rim type, 5.5″ x 16″
I have a POE top. So hard in the winter, soft in the summer. I called Steve at Rovertym and he said to go with the 275/78 valved shocks. I told him some guys run the 360/80 and he said since the Rovertym spring is a bit stiffer then i should go with the 275/78 valved shocks. Thanks for the input Anthony.
I’m running 360/80 with 3in RTE springs and 12′in SB’s in the front and 14SB’s in the rear with almost identical suspension setup you yours with minor tweaks. The truck drives great, if anything i wish it was a little softer with the RTE springs. You might check which springs you have from RTE being that they have stiffer springs for Hard tops on d-90’s.
I have that setup almost exactly. I run RTE 2 inch on my hardtop 90. 360/80 in the front (10 inch) and 400/100 in the rear (12 inch). I used to have 275/78 in the front and 360/80 in the back but it was too soft in my opinion. After I revalved them stiffer, the ride on the road improved. I have no sway bars and the stiffer settings provided more stability. If I recall the RTE springs are pretty stiff and when I first put them in and drove around on the trail i remember wishing I had more rebound dampening in the rear. I also remember on the softer setting bottoming out with a heavy load on sandy washes if there was a dip. My truck drives great now. I say go with the 400/100 in the back for sure. If you really think they are stiff then revalving them is a 20 minute job.
Several combinations work well in the 30-40 psi range. Larger tires need less pressure to support an equal load as stock tire. Heavier loads require increased pressure for any size tire. Chalking is good but actually measuring the tread depth (outer, middle , and inner) @ X psi and checking at the next oil change is the best way to monitor tire wear for driving in individual conditions. Having said that I run 30/30 in my stock tire D90, and 25/25 oversize Series III. FYI when acquiring the Series III it had 85psi, 85! because that was max listed on the Load range E side wall. Brought that down to 25 and drives like a different truck.
Why +psi in the rear? For year manufactures have suggested increase pressure in the rear for most all vehicles. Increased pressure provides increased stability, to a point, which makes the rear of the vehicle more stable. MFGs like stable vehicles (just ask Chevy about the corvair)! This pressure offset enhances the understeer charachteristics of the vehicle, again which MFGs and their legal counsel like. Squaring up the pressures (same f/r) usually makes for a better handling vehicle and better tire wear.
The HD’s really aren’t suited for the D90 in the rear unless you carry a lot of weight in the rear like the way Bill Burke does. The rear of an empty D90 is very light and if you fit HD’s in the back, the rear will be much taller than the front.”
“How can I get my truck to sit level?”
“Well, there are several different ways you can do it. One way would be to replace your 762’s in the rear with 764’s. 751/764 is probably the most common set-up for D90’s. That’s the way to do it if you want to maintain the same front height and just lower the rear. Another way would be to fit 764’s in the front of your truck, which would lift your front an additional inch. A lot of guys who want a 3″ lift fit the 764’s up front. A third way to do it is with 766 XHD front springs, which would give you another inch over what you have now up front. A fourth way is to fit rubber isolators on the tops and bottoms of your 751’s, which would give you an additional 20mm of height in the front.”
“What method would you suggest?”
“I would suggest getting rid of the 762’s in the rear, fitting 764’s in the rear, and then fitting rubber isolators on the tops of all four of your springs. I really like the rubber isolators because they attenuate road noise and vibration. That would level out your truck and smooth it out as well.”
Source: D-90
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