I sent Arnott an e-mail.

 

The end of 2014 kind of makes sense.

I suppose Arnott is gong to see how the front assemblies work out and the demand for same and proceed on that basis - the approach probably makes commercial sense.

Thanks for looking into it as the Advance website part numbers just seemed odd.

 

The Arnotts are installed and so far I cant tell much of a difference. When comparing the factory struts to these, The Arnotts seem much better designed and built. I can tell they are a little firmer, but most people wont even notice. So first 24 hours in! Ill post a month review as it comes up and I've used them off road.

 

That's good to know. My shocks at 180,000+ miles seem a little soft when towing, so firmer might be better.

 

I noticed that the Arnott's look a bit different - less metal can and more rubber boot so it appears. I guess one really does not want to feel much difference in operation - actually I think the factory air springs are pretty good overall so probably similar operation is good. Also if the Arnott's seem a bit stiffer, maybe new factory would as well. We will look forward to future updates.

I see you have a pretty thorough maintenance program in place. I think that is wise as routine replacement of parts is a lot cheaper than towing and then replacement at a time and place not of your choosing.

 

I've thought about this as well. The Australians suggest that the factory shocks where out at 60,000 Km! Hopefully the Arnotts last longer.

 

Yes, If the service bulletin says it, I try to make sure its done (Using myself and trusty INDY shops of course). Next I plan to add a sump guard in the front and do a tranny flush soon. Only prob is, the LR dealership here and all the INDY shops are telling my not to flush the tranny. So we shall see....

On another note, I have one good LR3/RRS strut for sale if anyone needs one! $125.00

 

What I've heard on this board and others from all our techs that post is that if there is no current issues with your tranny, then flushing is fine. If there is already some slippage and such, then a flush could make it worse.

I'm not sure what one does, in that latter case...besides just waiting for it to die and then replacing it. ????

 

I kind of think that shocks are shocks - they only last so long; good ones longer than cheap ones and paved lanes vs potholes. In Australia, the 3's get pretty rough use, lots of gravel and bumps; us, we get pot holes in pavement at speed - neither are ideal unless you are a shock absorber manufacturer. I expect Arnott specs a pretty good shock in their design - it makes no sense to cheap out on the shock given that is where the first failure point will be.

Probably the one bad design aspect of our 3's is that in a practical sense, when you need you new shocks, you best purchase the whole assembly. In theory the air spring rubber is still good except guess where the oil went that escaped the now useless shock - hence one may as well replace the whole assembly. The older FFRR's have the shock separate from the air spring, hence one can just replace the shocks normal like, as is required.