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Mother superior



Member Since: 05 Aug 2013
Location: Surrey
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 
suspension spring isolators
Learned ones

Thinking of fitting Disco spring isolators to ease the ride a little, question is I cant remember if it's D2 ones on the front and D1 ones on the back or the other way around. So if anybody's done it could you let me know.
Thanks
Wes Oh woe, oh woe
My crusty old landrover,
It will not go.
Post #911559 9th Jul 2021 7:44am
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LandRoverAnorak



Member Since: 17 Jul 2011
Location: Surrey
Posts: 11324

United Kingdom 
Fit D2 ones on the front, which incorporate the top spring clamp plate into the rubber:


Click image to enlarge

If you have a 90, then fit D1 ones to the rear.

If you have a 110 then the rear ones are more complicated as rear 110 springs are bigger than fronts and so normal Discovery isolators won't work. Instead, I used an Old Man Emu part that's intended for a Toyota (part no.OME80PR10), bought from Devon 4x4:


Click image to enlarge

If you're taking the springs out then take the opportunity to replace all of the hardware with galv versions. Details of what I used on my 110 are here: https://www.defender2.net/forum/post820610.html#820610 Darren

110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Post #911564 9th Jul 2021 8:10am
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Mother superior



Member Since: 05 Aug 2013
Location: Surrey
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 
That's great, thanks for that. Did you notice much of an improvement?
Wes Oh woe, oh woe
My crusty old landrover,
It will not go.
Post #911589 9th Jul 2021 9:13am
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LandRoverAnorak



Member Since: 17 Jul 2011
Location: Surrey
Posts: 11324

United Kingdom 
I think they take the edge off the harshness but they don't transform the ride, unfortunately. As they're so cheap, they're a worthwhile upgrade whilst doing other work - upgrading or renewing the springs and shocks, for instance - but I wouldn't go to the trouble of fitting them as a standalone task. Darren

110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Post #911591 9th Jul 2021 9:20am
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Mother superior



Member Since: 05 Aug 2013
Location: Surrey
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 
Great minds think alike mate, I'm doing the output shaft seal and thought I'd have a pop at these whilst I'm at it
Cheers
Wes Oh woe, oh woe
My crusty old landrover,
It will not go.
Post #911595 9th Jul 2021 9:46am
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Dinnu



Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3437

Malta 2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Santorini Black
I fitted D1 rear isolators on the rear of my 90. I did it together with a change of rear springs to NRC2119. I think the ride is better, but not by a whole lot as my original springs were progressive.

I think the springs make much more of a difference than the isolators. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black
Post #911597 9th Jul 2021 10:13am
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custom90



Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20512

United Kingdom 
I’ve got the castellated ones fitted top and bottom front and rear on my 90, never had a problem ever they’ve been on for at least 4 or 5 years now.
You can’t do that on a 110 on the rear as there are differences there.

They don’t transform the ride but they do improve it, I much prefer it. It smooths out light shock loading such as small potholes at higher speed feels more of a little rumble than a bang into it. No Guts, No Glory.
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Post #911695 9th Jul 2021 8:11pm
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glpinxit



Member Since: 31 Jul 2010
Location: rural Somerset
Posts: 156

United Kingdom 
Any thoughts or experience of the isolators on the rear by comparison with running lower rear tyre pressure. (Mine seems to be recommended 38psi rising with load- seems high.) Cheers, Guy.
Post #911817 10th Jul 2021 7:32pm
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LandRoverAnorak



Member Since: 17 Jul 2011
Location: Surrey
Posts: 11324

United Kingdom 
That's achieving different things. The whole point of the isolators is to literally isolate the suspension from the chassis as an aid to reducing NVH. Running lower tyre pressures will get you a softer ride but doesn't stop the metal on metal interface between chassis and springs. Darren

110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Post #911838 10th Jul 2021 10:07pm
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Pacha



Member Since: 23 Feb 2020
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 772

United Kingdom 2008 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 HT Stornoway Grey
^^^^^

Beat me to it Darren.

Small cost and worthwhile - I did upper and lower at both ends. Rgds.

Chris
Post #911843 10th Jul 2021 10:46pm
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custom90



Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20512

United Kingdom 
I run 32F and 34R tyre pressure.
I don’t tow anything over 750kg max, and this works well for me and have stuck with those pressures for a long while.
This is on a 90 though. On a 110 or bigger or with any medium to heavy towing then higher rear pressure on the rear is probably a good idea.

Generally speaking often or not you’ll find a lot of us do very similar things.
I’ve never ran 38 on the rear, I find that far too hard, I did go for 36psi at one time but found 34on the rear to be perfect for me. No Guts, No Glory.
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Post #911844 10th Jul 2021 11:56pm
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Gasket



Member Since: 30 May 2020
Location: Manchester
Posts: 629

Could I revive an older thread please?

There are a few threads on the use of isolators - another quite comprehensive one being here: https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic23909.html but that one doesn't really dwell on the discovery route - something that LandRoverAnorak has suggested in a few threads.

I have a 2010 90 SW. I'm about to fit the following parts:

1) New genuine springs and dampers (take offs, 2015 SW spec) - bought
2) A full set of Superpro bushes - bought

After advice from the forum, I'm also about to buy the following:

3) Gwyn Lewis HD, standard height galvanised front turrets (in my basket, awaiting payment)
4) 4x NRC9700 galvanised spring seats (in my basket, awaiting payment)

5) I'll also be getting new retainers for the rear.


The use of some sort of isolator seems to be a bit of a no brainer: slight improvement at a low cost. I'd welcome the 10mm lift that comes with these, though 20mm (using isolators top and bottom) would be too much due to garage door height and concerns about driveline angle.

Am I right in thinking that the best "OEM-plus" route for me would be to use:

1x pair of Discovery II front isolators, on the top of the front springs incorporating the retention rings
1x pair of Discovery I rear isolators on the top of the rear spring
1x pair of factory ANR3060 isolators on the bottom of the rear spring.

...or are the castelated isolators all round with standard front retaining rings a safer bet?

Reliability is my main concern, with the benefits of the isolators running a close second.

Does anyone happen to know if the disco II front and Disco I rear isolators provide the same amount of lift? (to keep the vehicle stance balanced).

Just need to track down part numbers and then I'll get them ordered.

Thank you.
Post #918542 24th Aug 2021 1:22pm
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Mo Murphy



Member Since: 01 Jun 2008
Location: Letchworth Garden City, Herts
Posts: 2254

United Kingdom 1984 Defender 90 BMW M57 3.0 Diesel HT Auto Pennine Grey
I'd get the springs on first and see how it sits. Add isolators afterwards if you feel you need to lift a little. You may find the back a little lower than you expect.
The isolaters are not difficult to fit later but don't make any difference to noise or ride.
Mo The Land Rover 90 - Many are called, few are chosen.

50 Shades of Pennine Grey
Post #918548 24th Aug 2021 2:13pm
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LandRoverAnorak



Member Since: 17 Jul 2011
Location: Surrey
Posts: 11324

United Kingdom 
There's no reason to doubt the reliability of the DII front isolators. They are basically an upgrade to the earlier D1 part and have the advantage of not requiring a separate securing ring. I had them fitted to my 110 last year, having done my 90 a few years earlier, but there must be thousands of DII's running around with them, fitted from new.

I've never seen the point in fitting isolators to the bottom of the springs as well as the top. The vehicle can't be more isolated than having just the top ones. I also think the levelling ability is somewhat overstated. By the time these things are fitted, the difference is closer to 7-8mm and you'd be hard pressed to be able to spot the difference Darren

110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Post #918550 24th Aug 2021 2:14pm
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nitram17



Member Since: 08 Jun 2014
Location: newcastle
Posts: 2261

Im not sure your isolator theory rings true from a physics standpoint but each to there own and any dampening is minimal anyway . I think most use both to regain a bit gf height..i was thinking of using the D2 isolators but I chose tha galvo GL ones instead.
Post #918575 24th Aug 2021 7:04pm
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