Hi,

MOT time again and I've had warnings about the rear shockers for the past 2 years. Having looked at the top bushes this morning I think it's got past the advisory stage....so replacements it has to be...but which ones?

Too many to choose from. From Fiat genuine ones at £80 each to brands I've not heard of at £26 each.

I see Europarts do a Sachs one for £37 each and Monroe ones are about £42.


Are they all the same or do some perform/last better than others?

Cheers

Ron

No need to go Fiat genuine as they'll be from a good supplier, but why pay a premium.

Sachs and Monroe are both good makes, either will do nicely.

Doblo is a van, but also sold as a car, with seats and windows. Car version likely to have softer suspension and different damper rates. Your camper is hopefully based on the van, with higher load capacity. Make sure you know which it is in case it makes a difference to which dampers are required.

Thanks Nigel,

Seeing as the shockers to be replaced have only done 40k (albeit they are 8 years old) I was reluctant to replace them with the same Fiat ones (particularly at that price). So if Sachs and Monroe ones are as good (and hopefully last as well) then it makes sense to bung them on and save a few quid!

The vehicle is the MPV type not the van; the conversion doesn't add much to the weight and it's actually a better drive now than when empty before I did the conversion.

The Europarts website gives the same Sachs part number for both MPV and Cargo van; presumably the original specs are also the same?

Cheers

Ron

Went for the Sachs ones from Europarts....pretty much identical to the old ones that came off (apart from being shiny and new).

That saved a few quid.

Cheers

Ron

Did it stop the noise? mine has sounded like the back end is going to fall off when going slowly over bumpy roads but is ok on main roads. Thought mine was anti roll bar bushes but I've wedged them tight with a trick I read on the forum by forcing screws between the bush and the outer bracket. that didn't make too much difference so reckon I may have to go down the shocker route even though they feel fine.

Hi,

Had advisories on the shockers for the past 2 years. This year I took a closer look and the rubber bush part of the top mounting was tearing a bit and the rubber was coming away in places from its housing in the top of the shock absorber.

Replacing them hasn't made any difference to the ride or any noises coming from the rear end. I suspect that if the rubber bush was a bit more knackered then the upper fixing bolt could knock on the top of the shock absorber body. Can't shed any more light on rear end noises other than possibly have a look underneath at the spare wheel mounting....thump it and listen.

Cheers

Ron

Metalguru3 said:

Did it stop the noise? mine has sounded like the back end is going to fall off when going slowly over bumpy roads but is ok on main roads. Thought mine was anti roll bar bushes but I've wedged them tight with a trick I read on the forum by forcing screws between the bush and the outer bracket. that didn't make too much difference so reckon I may have to go down the shocker route even though they feel fine.

Click to expand...

I changed the rear shock absorbers on mine a couple of weeks ago (2007 Doblo) and it made a big difference. The top bush on the left hand one was obviously in poor condition, right not so bad. No more clonking over every bump.

The new ones are Sachs which cost about £34 each (inc VAT) from a local factor.

My usual MOT man says it is usually anti-roll bar bushes which cause the noise, so the problem could be either on yours.

I have attached a couple of photos of the ones I replaced which you can use for comparison.

Best of luck.

Another potential area for knocking noises from the rear of a doblo are the rear drop links.