Out of curiosity what is the correct tool to use? The opening is only 1.55 inches wide after being compressed to fit the Eibachs and I couldn't figure out anything I had here to fit into that width and account for the limited depth I had to work with.

I suppose I could have reverse engineered a press with some all thread and a couple of nuts inside the mount.

I appreciate your advice. I will definitely keep in mind.

I also respectfully disagree about professionals. This stuff is exactly why I have a hard time trusting professionals.. they keep letting me down. A high level of work ethic shouldn't be taken for granted, at least based upon my experiences. I see too many guys on here, whom have had their suspension installed "professionally", with misaligned coils, incorrect spring seats chosen, etc. I had the "professionals" at Wheeler's Off-Road assemble my shocks. They did it wrong. So I had to re-do it and fix their work. Many professionals couldn't care less about their work, sadly, and they take advantage of their customer's ignorance to deliver sub-par work so that they can do it quickly and maximize the return ($$) on their time. Some of us live a cut above that crap.

I do my own work because I do a better job than most professionals. And I'm not trying to toot my own horn. I wish that wasn't the case. I'm not a wizard, and my work isn't the best possible. So frankly, if anything, it's just plain sad that I do a better job than they do. Doing my own work also provides me a way to learn intimately about my machine, which I appreciate. Unfortunately, it also provides me with the opportunity to find these discrepancies, which yes, perhaps I sometimes over-scrutinize.

This is very interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience / data point!

___

To be clear, I'm not here to act like this is the end of the world, or bash Eibach. Even Eibach is allowed to make mistakes, or determine what bushings they feel are good enough. But we don't all have to agree with them. I hope they do chime in with their thoughts. In all fairness, they've been very helpful as far as customer service goes, which means a lot to me. At the end of the day, they can claim that using the old bushing is "ok" despite Toyota's change, and that's fine - it is really their choice. Some of us like to know these details. Oh, and also I want to be clear that Eibach doesn't hide this. The old bushing part number is listed right there on the shock's "installation instructions." If nothing else, I'm just highlighting that already "known" detail to those that (understandably) overlook it.

To those that "have my back": I appreciate it. I start to feel bad about always being the "bad guy." It's nice to know that I'm not alone.

A pipe wrench has worked for me every time.

Pretty easy fix.

Put them back in the box. Reinstall OEM suspension for now. Return the eibach for a refund.

Place order for King or Fox.

Well hell. I would have never thought of that but it would have seriously made my life easier if I had.

If you can't get enough bite from the metal to metal contact using a pipe wrench, you can place a rag over the shock mount and then tighten the pipe wrench down.

I've also used a crescent wrench with success (sometimes it doesn't work, as you've experienced). If you're not getting enough leverage from a crescent wrench, placing a metal pipe (or a jack handle if you have the room) over the crescent wrench's handle will give you more leverage.

I'd guess the manufacturing tolerances of the welded lower assembly are far far greater than the manufacturing tolerances on the bushing.

If you think this is bad, remember this the next time you fly:

Any given Boeing or Airbus commercial jet liner can vary in length by a FEW inches due to the tolerance stack up of parts during build. A few inches! While sitting on the ground.

(Toss thermal expansion and contraction in there, and no two planes are the same. ever!)