FJ Springs Problem/Question

H

H1_VLTG

New member
I just installed the FJ Springs and toytec leveling spacer. I love the look and ride...but I have an issue. The rear springs have left the truck unleveled. At first the rear Passenger was 36 1/4 and driver was 34 3/4 or something like that, it was about 1 1/2 inches difference. I didn't have time to switch them so I drove the truck like that for 2 days. I suspected I put the springs on the wrong side

I just switched the springs and on the rear and now the difference is 1 inch. The driver side fender is is 35 1/4 and passenger side 36 1/4. :( The FJ springs were suppose to have less than 5k on them. Is this normal? Please help...I am losing my mind.
 
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To my knowledge, the front springs are side specific, but the rear's are not so it shouldn't matter. I'm not quite sure what would cause your problem, but thought I'd say what I could.
 
ARK_SWAMP_RIDER thanks for the info. BTW your truck is what inspired me to get the springs and space. And I am gonna order the same 255/75-17 Dynapro ATMs as well.

Out of curiosity, what is the dimension from the ground to the fender on the rear of your truck?
 
I've heard of others with a similar problem - I actually had a 1/2" difference on mine (left side lower, of course). It was enough to make the stance look awful. I know some folks add a top plate spacer to the front drivers side to level the vehicle out. I actually modified a poly spacer for the back to level mine out (the poly spacer is 1" on left side and shaved down to 1/2" on right side, so truck sits perfectly level, finally!). The easy route may be to try one Toytec or OME front top plate spacer on the drivers side (3/4" or so) to try and level it out. Have you taken measurements up front yet? If so, is the front left also lower (I am guessing that it is, by 1/2" or so)?
 
That is the odd thing, I did measure the fronts and they are even. I think it was around 34 1/2" on both sides. I have the FJ springs and a 1/2" leveling spacer on the front.

If I understand correctly I could add a spacer on the driver side rear to raise the vehicle only on that one side. I may wait a little to see if any settlement happens. Gonna be putting the new tires on within a month and want to get everything aligned before then. Thanks for the help guys!

(Oh sometime my work firewall does weird things and I end up posting or sending 3 emails at a time. So If end up posting multiple times...that is why.)
 
ARK_SWAMP_RIDER said:
To my knowledge, the front springs are side specific, but the rear's are not so it shouldn't matter. I'm not quite sure what would cause your problem, but thought I'd say what I could.
Click to expand...

Confirmed! Only the front springs are side specific and the rear springs are not. All I can think is one of the rear shock is blown. My rear end was dead even when I installed the FJ springs couple weeks ago.
 
H1_VLTG said:
That is the odd thing, I did measure the fronts and they are even. I think it was around 34 1/2" on both sides. I have the FJ springs and a 1/2" leveling spacer on the front.
Click to expand...

Yeah! It's odd. My front is ~35" without any spacers and the rear is 36" 1/8 also without spacers. BTW, our vehicles are identical but I used a 2010 brand new takeoff shocks & springs. What year is your FJ springs & shocks?
 
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I only installed the spings, I retained the XREAS on my truck. I didn't see any leakage so I assume the shocks are fine (truck has 43K).

I was looking through the FJ forum and from what I can gather the springs are off an 08 FJ. I misquoted the mileage on the springs. I thought they were around 5k but it turns out the sellar said they were pulled with under 1k on them.
 
Hey...Good News, I just stepped out to the parking garage and I don't know how or what, maybe the springs just needed to settle in or something. There is about 1/2" difference. I'll take measurements when I get home and post up my findings.
 
H1_VLTG said:
I only installed the spings, I retained the XREAS on my truck. I didn't see any leakage so I assume the shocks are fine (truck has 43K).
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I thought. I did not know my 3 out of 4 shocks were leaked until I took the shocks off and inspected. It must be fully extend so you can see it. BTY, my was ~54k miles.
 
All I can think is one of the rear shock is blown.
Click to expand...

Shocks have nothing to do with ride height or stance, they only absorb bumps and stop bouncing. The springs (coils) will determine stance. If you just installed the coils, drive it for a bit and give the coils time to seat and settle.
 
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Mine looks completely level with the FJ suspension so will take some measurements today. With that FJ TRD suspension and the half-inch taller tires, it looks and feels higher too...I'd guess 1.5".
 
H1_VLTG said:
ARK_SWAMP_RIDER thanks for the info. BTW your truck is what inspired me to get the springs and space. And I am gonna order the same 255/75-17 Dynapro ATMs as well.

Out of curiosity, what is the dimension from the ground to the fender on the rear of your truck?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment, and sorry I'm just now getting to respond to this. Remember, I have the OEM rear air suspension, so it'll probably be different than yours. I've got a slight bit of difference from side to side, but it comes in at ~36.5 rear. That's with 255/75/17 tires, running about 33-34 psi. On the front, I'm at ~35.25.
 
Man, mine is sideways too. Just measured today after getting my tires put on (255/75/17 Hankook Dynapros). With a full tank of gas I have FL 33 15/16" ;FR 34 1/4"; RL 35 13/16"; RR 36 7/16". So 5/8" difference in the rear and 5/16" in the front. Is this pretty normal? Would installing FJ spring/shock combo fix this? I just ordered the DS 2.5/1.5 kit that I'll install soon as well. Don't want to thread jack but I thought this was relevant.
 
I haven't had a chance to measure (ended up running to NY over the weekend and got back late last night). I'll measure tonight and post my results.

Gonna order my tires this week.
 
ARK_SWAMP_RIDER said:
That's pretty typical. I'd advise using this spacer to level it out, but I'm not 100% sure it'll be compatible with that Daystar spacer, maybe someone can verify that.
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Hmm...well I actually have a bigger difference in the back than the front, and only 5/16" difference in the front so a 1/2" lift would over-do-it the other way. I think I'm going to look into having the Daystar spacers machined down some. So shaving the front right down 5/32 should lower it the 5/16 I need. The thing I'm unsure of is how changing the front will affect the back and vise-versa. Thoughts? Since the back is actually a larger difference the difference in the front might actually just be caused by the difference in the back. So maybe I'd be better off removing the 5/8" from the back right spacer.

The bigger question is what causes the difference and was it the same when it was brand new or has it happened as parts have worn down or settled in. If the latter is the case then wouldn't new springs bushings fix the problem? Has anyone had the tilt and noticed it go away when they swapped to aftermarket springs and shocks? I don't expect it to be perfect but 5/8" seems like a lot.
 
OK..so I measured first this morning and then again after reaching work (the commute is about 26 miles and take aprx one hour). Truck has a full tank of gas and is riding on the OEM 265/65/17. The rear springs were swapped (RL to RR and vica versa) and all rear suspension components were torqued per specs last wednesday when I did the swap.

At home measurements (roughly, I didn't bother measure to 16ths)
FL = 34 1/4
FR = 34 1/4
RL = 35 1/8
RR = 36 1/4
(makes some sense being the tank is full)

After reaching work (again roughly, I didn't bother measure to 16ths):
FL = 34 1/4
FR = 34 1/4
RL = 36
RR = 35 1/2
(makes NO SENSE to me at all)

Both locations are relatively flat. Really strange but I can live with a +/- 1/2 of an inch. Gonna measure again at lunch time and see what happens.
 
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