This is not another "which shocks should I fit" because I know which ones I am going to use. I am going to used the standard cheap britpart units. They are what I have fitted currently and have performed well for 5 years including a trip to Morocco, so am happy to swap like for like, the fact they are £15 each makes them even better. The only reason for replacing them is one of them is now leaking.

What I do need some insight into is the difference between the shocks fitted to early and later models. According to paddocks there are two different shocks for the 110 depending on the model year:
RTC4639 - Defender all to WA159806
RPM100080 - Defender 110/130 from XA159807

Now as mine is an '89 110 they should be RTC4639 which I am happy to fit and was going to order. I then noticed that the later models have specific shocks for the 110/130 rather than using the same ones as fitted to a 90.
Does anyone know the difference, is it is fitment or rating?
And if it is in rating is it worth fitting the later model shocks to the back of mine rather than the standard ones?

If l were you l’d fit the Terrafirma 4 way adjustable dampers as they transformed the ride quality on my 110 TD5.
Particularly on rough or potholed roads or tracks.
They have 4 settings and on the softest the ride is so much better, you can also set it to “normal” (which is the same as standard dampers) or harder for “fast road” use but l have never tried those settings.
They cost around £60 each.

lightning said:

If l were you l’d fit the Terrafirma 4 way adjustable dampers as they transformed the ride quality on my 110 TD5.
Particularly on rough or potholed roads or tracks.
They have 4 settings and on the softest the ride is so much better, you can also set it to “normal” (which is the same as standard dampers) or harder for “fast road” use but l have never tried those settings.
They cost around £60 each.

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I am happy with the current ride, have oem shocks fitted to the front with HD springs due the the Fairy (older husky) winch sat in the front bumper, and standard springs and Britpart shocks fitted to the rear. I don't think it bounces too much and does not ride harshly but is also quite happy with 1,5 ton of logs, or rock in the back. So am happy to just replace like for like as they are very cheap. I also know full well that if I had adjustable ones they would get set and then never adjusted so probably a little pointless for my usage.

I think they all fit the same way,but there is a heavy duty version. I had some Gaz shocks on my 90 but they packed up after five years [ 20k ] so were replaced with the standard Armstrong ones. Good enough for my working 90 and cheap to replace if damaged. [ drive a lot on rocky ground]
If you are happy with standard then stick with them.

tottot said:

I think they all fit the same way,but there is a heavy duty version. I had some Gaz shocks on my 90 but they packed up after five years [ 20k ] so were replaced with the standard Armstrong ones. Good enough for my working 90 and cheap to replace if damaged. [ drive a lot on rocky ground]
If you are happy with standard then stick with them.

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I am happy with standard but it looks like at some point during production what was standard changed and land rover no longer used the same shocks universally across the whole range. There must have been a reason for land rover the change this, so I am looking for what the difference between the original standard which was universal and the later standard which was then model specific is. From this information I am hoping to decide which standard I want, old model standard or later model standard.

So you don’t want your Landy to ride better?
As in less bouncy and better over bad road surfaces?

At some point the changed the lower bush arrangement on the rear shocks with deeper bushes and cups welded to the axle mounts, this necessitated a longer pin on the shock body. I think that happened around the introduction of the Td5 in the late 90s so could be the reason for the change in part numbers, assuming it was done for both 90s and 110s.

There are technically different part numbers for pre-Td5 90 and 110 rear shocks too, however most places just sell the same thing for both. There were also at least two types of rear 110 shock, one for levelled (SW) suspension and one for standard.

I would just order whatever is correct for the year of your vehicle (or rear axle if it’s been changed) - so for a pre-Td5 90 that would be the RTC4639 ones. I’d agree standard Land Rover (Armstrong) are good enough.

It’s funny that everyone moans about the poor ride quality on Defenders but every time l suggest a way to improve it my suggestion gets sidestepped
Even though l fitted these parts to both my 90 and my 110, and both were noticeably better for an outlay of around £250

lightning said:

It’s funny that everyone moans about the poor ride quality on Defenders but every time l suggest a way to improve it my suggestion gets sidestepped
Even though l fitted these parts to both my 90 and my 110, and both were noticeably better for an outlay of around £250

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I have no complaint about the ride quality of my land rover. I am more than happy with it and the current setup suits my purposes well. I am only replacing as they have worn out. If I was unhappy with the ride comfort level and was looking to improve it I would consider your recommendation as I followed your fitting and trial thread with interest.

Retroanaconda said:

At some point the changed the lower bush arrangement on the rear shocks with deeper bushes and cups welded to the axle mounts, this necessitated a longer pin on the shock body. I think that happened around the introduction of the Td5 in the late 90s so could be the reason for the change in part numbers, assuming it was done for both 90s and 110s.

There are technically different part numbers for pre-Td5 90 and 110 rear shocks too, however most places just sell the same thing for both. There were also at least two types of rear 110 shock, one for levelled (SW) suspension and one for standard.

I would just order whatever is correct for the year of your vehicle (or rear axle if it’s been changed) - so for a pre-Td5 90 that would be the RTC4639 ones. I’d agree standard Land Rover (Armstrong) are good enough.

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Many thanks, that is the information I was looking for. I will stick to the earlier version to suit my axle type. I will also look into trying to find the specific 110 shocks for the earlier vehicles as I did not realise they differed. As you have stated most places sell the same shocks for the whole range and I am looking for a 110 standard setup.