Halfway Through Tundra Front Springs.. Advice Before I Continue?

[Koko4]

I must have watched Speedy's video 5x trying to figure this out, but I have installed the front passenger side coil and spring onto my 4Runner. I went ahead and ground down that "edge" on the upper ball joint that usually makes contact with the spring, just as a precaution. Well, I got the new shock / spring in there, and the coil is touching the rubber boot. It's not making contact with the metal, although if compressed enough, it looks like it would.

Before I proceed..do I need to recompress this thing and turn the spring? Do I need to grind off more of the UBJ metal piece? Or do I need to leave it as is?

I don't know if it will extend any more than this (it shouldn't, right?). Thanks, it was rather scary using those rented spring compressors on the Tundra TRD coils!

 

[D Farms]

its worth the time to get it perfectly aligned, im not sure what perch your on but he uses the second perch so the way he has the springs rotated works only on the second perch without a top plate spacer. the more you go up on the perches the tighter the coils are, you should have enough clearance on the second perch if you rotate the springs like he did. and yeah it takes a while to get it apart so measure as best you can so you dont have to do it more than once.

 

[Koko4]

its worth the time to get it perfectly aligned, im not sure what perch your on but he uses the second perch so the way he has the springs rotated works only on the second perch without a top plate spacer. the more you go up on the perches the tighter the coils are, you should have enough clearance on the second perch if you rotate the springs like he did. and yeah it takes a while to get it apart so measure as best you can so you dont have to do it more than once.

Sorry I forgot to mention, but I'm on the 3rd perch. Maybe that's why I'm having this issue? Planning on staying on the 3rd perch, though, because I will soon have a winch, and already have an ARB bumper.

However, if you look at the last picture - it looks like if I rotate it counter-clockwise, then the top coil won't be hitting the rubber boot anymore, but the coil underneath it will make contact with the metal UBJ piece. And if I rotate it clockwise, it looks like the lower coil will have more space away from the UBJ metal piece, but the top coil will be hitting the rubber boot even more?

What do you think? Can I assume that where I have it now (with the jack pushing everything down like that), is full droop? And I'd have to worry about the coils being even closer together than they are now when the strut is compressed?

 

[D Farms]

hmm yeah i rode on the third perch for a few weeks, it gave me 5" of lift with a bumper thats heavier than an arb, but no winch. it is at max droop when you put it in assuming there is no jack holding the arm up, the other thing is when the wheel turns the whole spindle turns, check for clearance when you turn as well. if you run on the third perch and you have more than 3.5" of lift the ubj boots will rip, ajd the cvs will rip soon as well. get the spindle lined up between the coils, i dont think the ubj boot will touch the coils.

 

[Koko4]

Holy crap..5"?! No way. I wasn't looking for that much... I guess I will see what it gets me.

I do have a 1" diff drop kit that I'm going to install at the same time. I just wanted to get the coils straightened out first. So you think it'd be worth taking it back out, rotating the coil like the 0.5" to the right that would be needed, and seeing if that fixes it? Are you SURE it wasn't touching the UBJ at all? I feel like either way I will hit something.

If I'm clear when at droop like this, am I good? Or do I need to worry about compression as well? Such a pain!!

 

[D Farms]

Yeah i did have the diff drop, it really only drops the diff a half inch for a 1" drop.

the suspension could swing down past what its at right now because bushing would allow it to move down a little more if you got air(imagine the momentum of the tires getting pushed down by the springs then bottoming out the shock and wanting to keep going down, the rubber bushing would stretch and absorb the momentum, making the whole coil-over longer).

if you dont line it up perfect that metal bit on the spindle will slam the spring whenever you go over a bump, and make the ride harsh. so basically line it up so that if the metal bit on the spindle were to continue to swing down it would seat right into the gap perfectly.

 

[Millerad1651]

hmm yeah i rode on the third perch for a few weeks, it gave me 5" of lift with a bumper thats heavier than an arb, but no winch. it is at max droop when you put it in assuming there is no jack holding the arm up, the other thing is when the wheel turns the whole spindle turns, check for clearance when you turn as well. if you run on the third perch and you have more than 3.5" of lift the ubj boots will rip, ajd the cvs will rip soon as well. get the spindle lined up between the coils, i dont think the ubj boot will touch the coils.

How in the hell did you get 5" on the third perch?!?! I'm on the second, and I'm slightly under 3". I know of another local guy who is on the third, with stock bumper, and he's just over 3"...

 

[csp]

I'm on the third and got around 3.5" with y/b y/y springs.

No rubbing anywhere, no torn boots. No chicken little, the sky isn't really falling.

 

[Koko4]

It really looks like either way I turn it, I'll be hitting something different. Which way should it go?? I'm kinda stuck in the process here :bash:

 

[cbr900boy]

I have the same front setup and at full droop mine also makes contact with the coils. I never shaved the upper part of the spindle. The proper orientation of the coil is the "tail" or where the bottom coil ends must face inside toward the engine. Even with mine oriented this way the two parts still make contact at full droop. Others that this same exact problem, its just the nature of this setup, especially because the diameter of the tundra coils are wider. FYI I am also on the 3rd perch as well.

The only real solution is installing limiting straps, which limits the droop. Read this thread and it will all make sense.

I have my limiting straps ready to be installed, I just need to get it over the my welder. Hope this helps.

 

[Koko4]

I have the same front setup and at full droop mine also makes contact with the coils. I never shaved the upper part of the spindle. The proper orientation of the coil is the "tail" or where the bottom coil ends must face inside toward the engine. Even with mine oriented this way the two parts still make contact at full droop. Others that this same exact problem, its just the nature of this setup, especially because the diameter of the tundra coils are wider. FYI I am also on the 3rd perch as well.

The only real solution is installing limiting straps, which limits the droop. Read this thread and it will all make sense.

I have my limiting straps ready to be installed, I just need to get it over the my welder. Hope this helps.

I read through that link you posted, and the pictures seemed to help. Glad I'm not the only one with the problem. Right now I have the small end "tail" pointed directly out from the vehicle, away from the frame / engine. You're saying I need to turn it 180 degrees so it is directly facing the engine? On both sides?

In order to do this, I need to recompress the spring..right? It looks like in my picture (at full droop) it's contacting the UBJ and not the spindle, but I hadn't seen this problem in any of the other threads posted.

Am I just going to have to live with the 3rd perch woes, so-to-speak? I feel like mine is currently VERY close to what he has here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...mps-w-ss-1-2-lift-your-thoughts-please-4.html

And if I rotate 180, then I will get what he started out with at the top of his post.

 

[D Farms]

one solution would be to put it on the second perch and use a top plate spacer.

 

[cbr900boy]

I read through that link you posted, and the pictures seemed to help. Glad I'm not the only one with the problem. Right now I have the small end "tail" pointed directly out from the vehicle, away from the frame / engine. You're saying I need to turn it 180 degrees so it is directly facing the engine? On both sides?

In order to do this, I need to recompress the spring..right? It looks like in my picture (at full droop) it's contacting the UBJ and not the spindle, but I hadn't seen this problem in any of the other threads posted.

Am I just going to have to live with the 3rd perch woes, so-to-speak? I feel like mine is currently VERY close to what he has here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...mps-w-ss-1-2-lift-your-thoughts-please-4.html

And if I rotate 180, then I will get what he started out with at the top of his post.

Correct, both sides must face the engine. This is per Steve from Sonoran Steel.

 

[csp]

Mine don't face the engine. My drivers side tail faces the front of the vehicle and the passenger side is pointing towards the transmission.

There's a lot of "must be true" in this thread based on that video. I mounted mine exactly as they were oriented on the Tundra they came from, with the color markings closest to the tires.

 

[Koko4]

Mine don't face the engine. My drivers side tail faces the front of the vehicle and the passenger side is pointing towards the transmission.

There's a lot of "must be true" in this thread based on that video. I mounted mine exactly as they were oriented on the Tundra they came from, with the color markings closest to the tires.

I think you're correct. My passenger side isn't hitting (it's just contacting the rubber boot, but barely), and the tail is pointing towards the engine). The driver's side is currently facing outwards, because when I mounted it facing inwards it hit the coil directly. Where I have it now still contacts the UBJ spindle, and I tried grinding down on the spindle where the contact point was. Now, at full droop it will rub the area where I ground it down, but it shouldn't "clunk".

The trick is getting the stupid top hat AND the shock aligned so they will both fit correctly...I'm not taking it apart again. I might actually just pay someone to rotate it 90 degrees and see if that fixes the issue at full droop.

Got the LC 8-wraps installed in the rear, and WOW as of now it is HIGH. It will take me a long time to get used to the 265/75/16's with the LC 8-wraps. The front looks great though, on the 3rd perch.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow or the next day..still need to do the differential drop and the rear brake line extension, and I broke a sway bar end link in the process.

 

[csp]

Get the top hat to line up and installed then rotate the bottom eye with a prybar/piece of pipe/cheater bar.

 

[Koko4]

Get the top hat to line up and installed then rotate the bottom eye with a prybar/piece of pipe/cheater bar.

So are you thinking I should take the driver's side strut assembly off, compress it again, and get the orientation of the coil tail to face the front of the vehicle? :roadkill:

 

[csp]

No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if the binding issue is solved at the top and the top hat lines up with the holes you can easily force the bottom of the shock to line up with the bolt holes.

 

[kingin]

I have my tundra/Lc setup on its way. Post some pics when fixed.

 

[Koko4]

I have my tundra/Lc setup on its way. Post some pics when fixed.

Here are the pictures as it sits now. I still need to do the following before I call it "done" -> Install a new passenger side sway bar end link (broke the other one while removing it, which turned out to not even be a necessary step), Install the 1" diff drop kit, shave the skid plate to accept the diff drop kit, install the extended rear brake line and bleed the brakes, and TRY to rotate the driver's side coil 90 degrees so it will (hopefully) not hit the coil at full droop.

Here it is, on the 3rd perch of Bilstein 5100's, Tundra TRD coils, with LC 8-wraps and Bilstein 5100's in the rear. The rear is sitting too high for my taste..and I REALLY hope it settles over the next couple of weeks / months (anyone have experience with this?). The tires are 265/75/16's for reference (basically 31's).

Thoughts?

Kinda reminds me of the white 4Runner (and the red one below it) in this post:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...t-32-tires-picture-request-2.html#post1081108