How To: Lift Installation (on KDSS equipped vehicles)

[b407driver]

My 4Runner is a 2016 TEP w/KDSS


Ok I knocked mine out this morning and......

Took 3.5 hours and thats with coffee, texting and just taking my time.

I almost feel bad..... One of the easiest mods I've ever done. I know I owe it to this thread though, I read it over a few times and the referenced thread and like always I came up with a game plan....Now sometimes my game plans turn to SH@! and fully expected this one too just because the KDSS was unknown territory for me.

I wanted to thanks the OP and all others who contributed. I just followed the steps as they are presented and it all went well, much better than expected.

Mounting the KDSS sway bar back literally took me 10 mins. before I jacked up the truck I did ratchet strap the KDSS piston at its current position.... after I installed the shocks etc and lowered the truck to the ground I literally did not have to move the passenger sway bar mount, it just went right back together, the drivers side took a little bit of manipulation but nothing like I had thought.

One thing I did that I did not see throughout the threads is I did not waste time pulling the spring out, just the shock, I used 2 zip ties through the damper rod hole and through the spring to hold it in place just until I fed the new shock back up, then cut the zip ties and finished feeding up the shock mated with the spring.

I also marked the spring (prob not necessary) but I did it anyway, I wanted it back in the same position as the factory placed it, thats me though.

I will post pics

I went with .85 on the bilsteins and got about 1.5" of lift and I think if I had went 1.75 Id be cussing at negative rake right now.

Ive already lifted plenty of toyotas, 6" to 10" etc, re-geared blah blah, I really want to keep this 4Runner close to stock but that rake was killing me.

Drove it about 50 miles, after about 200 more miles I will get it aligned

(And yes my 4Runner has been undercoated if you see that gunk everywhere)

It now sits just about perfect

Thanks again everyone!

Before and after measurements:

Before:
DF - 34
PF - 34 1/8

DR - 36.5
PR - 36 3/4


After:
DF - 35 3/4
PF - 35 5/8

DR - 37
PR - 36 3/4

BEFORE


AFTER
excuse my ghetto boards lol

Maybe I missed it, but did you do anything (i.e. new springs) to the rear? If not, to what do you attribute the driver's rear side lifting 0.5", if you only lifted the front?

 

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Maybe I missed it, but did you do anything (i.e. new springs) to the rear? If not, to what do you attribute the driver's rear side lifting 0.5", if you only lifted the front?

I read your Q wrong at first

1 I'm may be horrible at measuring or
2 weight was somehow distributed differently.

I'll measure again tonight.


I only raised the front

Nothing in rear.

 

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Maybe I missed it, but did you do anything (i.e. new springs) to the rear? If not, to what do you attribute the driver's rear side lifting 0.5", if you only lifted the front?

Still not sure why. I'll update my post.

Here are the current measurements after settling and alignment

Front - both sides - 35.5"

Rear - both sides - 36 3/4"

Somehow the turd is sitting level front and back with a tad of rake. I'm happy

 

[funshot]

Amazing thread, thank you so much for taking the time! I just found this site and it has answered almost all of my questions so far. Except one, I have a 2016 Trail with KDSS, if I put an adjustable suspension on it, say the ICON, and II have a side lower then the other you could just raise the respective side, correct?

I am still reading into suspension, lifts, KDSS etc. so take it easy on me please

 

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Amazing thread, thank you so much for taking the time! I just found this site and it has answered almost all of my questions so far. Except one, I have a 2016 Trail with KDSS, if I put an adjustable suspension on it, say the ICON, and II have a side lower then the other you could just raise the respective side, correct?

I am still reading into suspension, lifts, KDSS etc. so take it easy on me please

Yes. On a lift like the icons or any fully adjustibles you can lift where needed (for the most part)

My particular goal was to reduce stock rake and keep the 4R close to stock. I think it's a great rig out of the box

Keep reading too.... great info. It helped me greatly.

 

[kiecker]

Awesome post. I know from experience that the front KDSS sway bar is a serious pain in the butt. I ended up tearing up the threads on the sway bar bracket bolts from trying to bolt it back on under tension. I ended up ordering a new set of bolts and the new ones are made of a much harder steel than the originals.

I think I'm at this same point. I did driver side first without issue, then I did passenger and had issues with sway being in the way. Disconnected it to get coil in and that worked. Then disconnected driver side to get tie-rod back on. Now with the vehicle on the ground went to get the passenger KDSS back on. Bottom bolt was fine, struggled hard with the top bolt. I think threads are messed up now. Tomorrow off to find a chaser and hopefully not have to retap. Ugh. Hopefully rear is easier. Anyone else have suggestions on the threads?

 

[xnodesirex]

Just did this upgrade. Thanks for all who've commented thus far!

I ended up doing it twice. Previous Owner had put in a 1" spacer on the front, which I left at first, but I was worried about the UCAs at that point. Didn't want to bite the bullet for new UCAs (YET), so I removed the spacer. Went together very easily, though it dropped me from perfectly level to about 1-1.5" rake.

The original how to: guide used a "rear spring removal tool" on the back. I found that it was equally useful up front between the LCA and the frame. If you pry open, you can't get it as low as if you jack it open. It's slower and more controlled, which helps a lot with positioning the bolts.

KDSS was a bit of a nightmare the first time around. The threads of the bolt hole were pretty damn awful. I had to wait and order a 12x1.25 tap and die. Re-ran the threads and it went together SO much more easily. Highly recommend that step.

I used a pair of large vise-grips to hold the KDSS bracket close to the mounting point, and then used a screwdriver to pry it over. This made it easier to get the bolt threaded on the driver side, and allowed me to move slower with less tension on the screwdriver. I did bottoms first, then tops. Pass side first, then drivers.

 

[T4Ranger]

so I just swapped out my ome bp-51 from my 2014, and only had to disconnect the rear right bolt in the kdss in order to remove the springs, then used my jack to press it high enough to slide the bolt right back in, Loctite, torque, and done. That means I was able to leave the front KDSS bars bolted in the entire time... basically if you compress one side fully, it provides enough droop on the opposite side in order to just slide out the entire shock. It was so much easier than trying to do it with unbolting the sway bar ends as it was such a pain to get it lined back up... I'll be swapping the ome bp-51s into my 2016 this weekend and will post up pics.

 

[Brandonium]

Yes please.. Shit, I'll send you some beer if this in fact works and you have detailed pics.

so I just swapped out my ome bp-51 from my 2014, and only had to disconnect the rear right bolt in the kdss in order to remove the springs, then used my jack to press it high enough to slide the bolt right back in, Loctite, torque, and done. That means I was able to leave the front KDSS bars bolted in the entire time... basically if you compress one side fully, it provides enough droop on the opposite side in order to just slide out the entire shock. It was so much easier than trying to do it with unbolting the sway bar ends as it was such a pain to get it lined back up... I'll be swapping the ome bp-51s into my 2016 this weekend and will post up pics.

 

[T4Ranger]

Yes please.. Shit, I'll send you some beer if this in fact works and you have detailed pics.

it does work because that's how i took everything off. just need to use a little elbow grease

 

[Brandonium]

it does work because that's how i took everything off. just need to use a little elbow grease

Will this method also work if replacing the UCA's?

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[T4Ranger]

Will this method also work if replacing the UCA's?

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

yes. I have TC UCAs... no issues

 

[aroslv]

Thanks for the guide!

Just installed the toytec boss kit with total chaos UCA on my 16' TE w/ KDSS. Very happy with it!!

Getting the front KDSS brackets lined up and bolted again was an absolute nightmare. Seems like some suggested if you are replacing UCA that it can be avoided. I would definitely go that route if I could do it over.

 

[axisbogner]

Any problems with the KDSS lean with the toytec boss kit? Anyone know a professional in LA who's experienced with a lift on a TEP w/KDSS?

 

[Throwback]

The BOSS coil-overs should allow you to independently adjust the front coil-overs and in theory should allow you to adjust out any lean that you get.

 

[Throwback]

Has anyone installed the Toytec 1/4" Front Top Plate Spacer on a KDSS truck?

Front Top Plate Spacer (One - 1/4")

I've reviewed this thread and Sp8Ball's thread and it appears that the installation would require simply disconnecting the front KDSS sway-bar connection point and removing the strut assembly without touching the control arms or anything. The 1/4" spacer utilizes the OEM shock bolts as well.

Essentially it looks like something any guy with a couple jack stands and a torque wrench could handle in short time.

If I go apply upward pressure to my front passenger fender well the driver rear also goes down, which would bring me closer to level.

Currently this morning after sitting overnight; from the hub to the fender I have deltas of: 5/8" rear, 9/16" front.

 

[cobblecrazy]

The Icon installation instructions say to first "deactivate" the KDSS when doing the install on the front coilover. It says to "...refer to the Toyota Factory service manual..." for instructions on how to accomplish this. At the end of the instructions it says to "reactivate" the KDSS. https://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/I58646_REVB.pdf None of the write-ups, or videos, I've been able to find say how this is done, or even mention doing it. What gives...?

 

[mwray8909]

The Icon installation instructions say to first "deactivate" the KDSS when doing the install on the front coilover. It says to "...refer to the Toyota Factory service manual..." for instructions on how to accomplish this. At the end of the instructions it says to "reactivate" the KDSS. https://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/I58646_REVB.pdf None of the write-ups, or videos, I've been able to find say how this is done, or even mention doing it. What gives...?

I assume they are saying it a weird way to disconnect and support the system???
And disconnect I mean support the pistons and unbolt
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[cobblecrazy]

I assume they are saying it a weird way to disconnect and support the system???
And disconnect I mean support the pistons and unbolt
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Perhaps poorly written on Icon's part. I've been trying to track down the Toyota service manual to see if I can find some type of explanation. I don't see "deactivate" and "disconnect" as being the same process mostly due to the instruction to "reactivate" it when you're done. In my mind it almost seems as though it somehow keeps the piston from extending thereby making it easy to get the clamp off and on. I've got the first service due tomorrow at the Toyota dealer so I'll have time to go over and talk to someone to see if they can give me some answers.

 

[adrtoy]

I've done three of them now and the only thing that needs disconnected is the ends from the LCA. The key to making it easy is a ratchet strap to control the front to rear movement of the sway bar after disconnecting and a second jack under the KDSS piston to control up and down.

This is for the front.