DougR
Member
Good Work! Could you have installed the 6112s as easily if the coil spring collar was set for a 1" lift? The assembled strut would be about 1" longer.
How To: Lift Installation (on KDSS equipped vehicles)
- Thread starter eddiebx
- Start date
Good Work! Could you have installed the 6112s as easily if the coil spring collar was set for a 1" lift? The assembled strut would be about 1" longer.
honda250xtitan
New member
no. perch setting doesn't change overall height of the assembly. if he can fit them in at his setting, it'll work on any setting.
Crikeymike
Senior Member
It's all based on what the FSM lists, just worded so regular dudes can understand it.
It relieves the KDSS pressure from front to rear so that when you raise the piston back up, you're not fighting 700psi or whatever it is to get it back up. It goes back up into place easily.
Who can't count to 3? It's funny that people think it will lead to issues to loosen those shutter valves, especially on 5th Gens that aren't all rusted out and horrible. Mark the starting point on the bolt head and the valve body, undo it and count to 3, or just go 2.5 if that's easier.
If the valves looked horrible, sure I'd get it that it's probably not worth touching them, like what happens on a lot of Landcruiser 200 series, since they use recessed allen bolts instead of regular bolt heads like the 4runners.
SeaDoveGreatness
New member
I had waited a while to install my OME-4R210 2.5"-3" lift on my 2017 ORP w/KDSS because I wasn't sure if it could be done as a one-person job. I couldn't find a local shop that would install a lift kit that they didn't sell me, so I finally decided to give it a shot myself. I'm mechanically inclined but rarely do my own work on my vehicles.
I thought I would share my experience as somewhat of a novice in case it helps anyone else who is on the fence about doing it themselves. I'll highlight some places where I got temporarily stuck and some things that really helped me.
I read every thread I could find on this forum about installing lifts on 5th Gen 4Runners and settled on this one as my primary reference:
How To: Lift Installation (on KDSS equipped vehicles)
There was another post with downloadable PDFs with the missing photos, although I can't remember exactly where I found those.
I watched several YouTube videos on the process. I saved 3 or 4 of them to serve as reference points if whenever I would get stuck.
Here are a few things about my installation experience that may help some others:
The whole process took me nearly a whole weekend. Now that I've done it once, I could now do it in a fraction of the time. A lot of my "wasted" time was spent going back and forth to the store to pick up something I needed for the job that I didn't have after spending a bunch of time trying to do something with a tool that wasn't meant for the job. I also spent a lot of time going back and forth to re-watch parts of YouTube videos and re-read instructions on this forum as I worked through the process.
I started with the front driver's side, then moved to the front passenger side, then rear driver's side, then rear passenger side. The front driver's side took by far the longest, since this was my first attempt at doing anything suspension-related and it was all pretty new to me. I finished the other three corners in about the same amount of time that it took me to do the first corner (not including the time to get the first rear shock out, which I'll explain in a bit).
I don't have a floor jack. I used only the bottle jack that came with the vehicle and an electric 3-ton scissor jack, plus 3 total jack stands (two 6-ton and one 3-ton).
I didn't realize at the time that the front suspension could be done without removing the KDSS sway bar, but it apparently can. The sway bar was not very difficult to re-attach, but it took some time, finesse, and patience.
The most difficult part on the front was disconnecting the UCA from the ball joint. The first one took a LONG time. The other side took 5 minutes once I figured out what to do. What worked: Spray lots of WD-40 and let it sit for at least several minutes, remove the crown nut and turn it upside down (with the crown facing up) and thread it back onto the end of the bolt, then start hammering on the bottom end of the bolt/crown nut until it the assembly finally comes loose. I had to hit it with a hammer 50+ times before it finally broke free. Threading the crown nut upside down on the end will not only prevent damage to the crown nut when hitting it with a hammer, but it also prevents the assembly from flying apart once it finally breaks free (another great idea mentioned in one of the sets of instructions). This method can be used even if you will be re-using the old UCA, as it does not damage anything on the existing UCA.
Some people say that loosening the LCA adjustment cam bolts for the front suspension upgrade is optional. I could not have done it without loosening those bolts. I suppose if you have a way to put a couple hundred pounds of downward pressure on the LCA to pull it down, you could do it without loosening those bolts. However, loosening these bolts just enough to make the LCA easier to move will make things a whole lot easier.
I also replaced my UCAs with SPA adjustable UCAs. I was concerned that getting the long UCA bolt out and back in would be a two-person job. However, I was able to get the bolts out myself in a couple minutes, and about the same time to get the bolts back in for the new UCAs. I removed three of the plastic clips that hold the mud shield in front of where the UCA bolt feeds in and out of the front of the UCA. With that mud shield moved aside, I had plenty of space to feed the long bolt out of the old UCA and back in with the new UCA. The passenger side took a bit of finesse in the engine bay to get the last inch or so out since a mounting clip was in the way of the bolt head. I just turned the mounting clip sideways and was able to get the bolt head past it.
On the rear, I spent a lot of time and frustration trying to get the top nut loose on the first rear shock. I did a bunch of research and it seemed like a lot of people preferred to just cut off the nut at the top. However, I didn't have anything to cut it off with and it seemed like a very tight fit for any kind of cutting tool. Also, I didn't expect the nut to be rusted to the shock stud since roads here are not salted in the winter and my 3-year old 4Runner is garaged when not in use. I ended up purchasing a set of 16" channel lock pliers to hold the shock in place and was able to get each shock off in less than two minutes each. I wasn't concerned about damaging the shock since I wasn't going to re-use the shocks, but the channel locks did not damage the shocks at all (barely even a scratch on the housing). I wish I knew in advance how simple the solution for the rear shock would be.
I had purchased spring compressors to get the new rear springs in since the new springs were taller. The stock springs came out without too much trouble. However, the spring compressors were too large and I could not get the new spring all the way in with the compressors on the spring. I did manage to get the new springs in without the spring compressor, but I had to jack up the opposite side of the axle and use the scissor jack on top of the axle side I was working on to push the axle down. That worked like a charm and I had just enough space to get the new springs in.
Multiple size pry bars helped throughout the job. I purchased a 4-pack of different sized pry bars, and these were surprisingly useful.
I also purchased a 12-piece flex-head ratcheting metric wrench set. People talked about how useful these are for removing the top shock nuts, and I found these to be very useful in several other places as well.
Be careful on the torque specs for suspension nuts and bolts. Several sets of instructions out there have conflicting torque specs. I ended up having to pull the front wheels back off after I was done and re-torque some of the bolts after I found out that one source I used had incorrect torque specs for a couple of the nuts/bolts.
The only injury I sustained was at the very end when I was re-installing the front skid plates with the diff drop kit. As a slid myself under the front of the vehicle feet first, I whacked my knee on the corner of something underneath the vehicle. My immediate pain response was to lift my head up, at which time I whacked my head on the end of the frame and had a bump on my head for two days.
In the end, I probably spent half as much on tools that it would have cost to have a shop install the lift for me. Not bad considering that I actually get to keep all the tools and supplies that I bought.
I ended up with exactly 3" of lift on both the front and rear. The ride is significantly firmer than stock. I can feel every bump on the road, but it also handles better than stock.
I thought I would share my experience as somewhat of a novice in case it helps anyone else who is on the fence about doing it themselves. I'll highlight some places where I got temporarily stuck and some things that really helped me.
I read every thread I could find on this forum about installing lifts on 5th Gen 4Runners and settled on this one as my primary reference:
How To: Lift Installation (on KDSS equipped vehicles)
There was another post with downloadable PDFs with the missing photos, although I can't remember exactly where I found those.
I watched several YouTube videos on the process. I saved 3 or 4 of them to serve as reference points if whenever I would get stuck.
Here are a few things about my installation experience that may help some others:
The whole process took me nearly a whole weekend. Now that I've done it once, I could now do it in a fraction of the time. A lot of my "wasted" time was spent going back and forth to the store to pick up something I needed for the job that I didn't have after spending a bunch of time trying to do something with a tool that wasn't meant for the job. I also spent a lot of time going back and forth to re-watch parts of YouTube videos and re-read instructions on this forum as I worked through the process.
I started with the front driver's side, then moved to the front passenger side, then rear driver's side, then rear passenger side. The front driver's side took by far the longest, since this was my first attempt at doing anything suspension-related and it was all pretty new to me. I finished the other three corners in about the same amount of time that it took me to do the first corner (not including the time to get the first rear shock out, which I'll explain in a bit).
I don't have a floor jack. I used only the bottle jack that came with the vehicle and an electric 3-ton scissor jack, plus 3 total jack stands (two 6-ton and one 3-ton).
I didn't realize at the time that the front suspension could be done without removing the KDSS sway bar, but it apparently can. The sway bar was not very difficult to re-attach, but it took some time, finesse, and patience.
The most difficult part on the front was disconnecting the UCA from the ball joint. The first one took a LONG time. The other side took 5 minutes once I figured out what to do. What worked: Spray lots of WD-40 and let it sit for at least several minutes, remove the crown nut and turn it upside down (with the crown facing up) and thread it back onto the end of the bolt, then start hammering on the bottom end of the bolt/crown nut until it the assembly finally comes loose. I had to hit it with a hammer 50+ times before it finally broke free. Threading the crown nut upside down on the end will not only prevent damage to the crown nut when hitting it with a hammer, but it also prevents the assembly from flying apart once it finally breaks free (another great idea mentioned in one of the sets of instructions). This method can be used even if you will be re-using the old UCA, as it does not damage anything on the existing UCA.
Some people say that loosening the LCA adjustment cam bolts for the front suspension upgrade is optional. I could not have done it without loosening those bolts. I suppose if you have a way to put a couple hundred pounds of downward pressure on the LCA to pull it down, you could do it without loosening those bolts. However, loosening these bolts just enough to make the LCA easier to move will make things a whole lot easier.
I also replaced my UCAs with SPA adjustable UCAs. I was concerned that getting the long UCA bolt out and back in would be a two-person job. However, I was able to get the bolts out myself in a couple minutes, and about the same time to get the bolts back in for the new UCAs. I removed three of the plastic clips that hold the mud shield in front of where the UCA bolt feeds in and out of the front of the UCA. With that mud shield moved aside, I had plenty of space to feed the long bolt out of the old UCA and back in with the new UCA. The passenger side took a bit of finesse in the engine bay to get the last inch or so out since a mounting clip was in the way of the bolt head. I just turned the mounting clip sideways and was able to get the bolt head past it.
On the rear, I spent a lot of time and frustration trying to get the top nut loose on the first rear shock. I did a bunch of research and it seemed like a lot of people preferred to just cut off the nut at the top. However, I didn't have anything to cut it off with and it seemed like a very tight fit for any kind of cutting tool. Also, I didn't expect the nut to be rusted to the shock stud since roads here are not salted in the winter and my 3-year old 4Runner is garaged when not in use. I ended up purchasing a set of 16" channel lock pliers to hold the shock in place and was able to get each shock off in less than two minutes each. I wasn't concerned about damaging the shock since I wasn't going to re-use the shocks, but the channel locks did not damage the shocks at all (barely even a scratch on the housing). I wish I knew in advance how simple the solution for the rear shock would be.
I had purchased spring compressors to get the new rear springs in since the new springs were taller. The stock springs came out without too much trouble. However, the spring compressors were too large and I could not get the new spring all the way in with the compressors on the spring. I did manage to get the new springs in without the spring compressor, but I had to jack up the opposite side of the axle and use the scissor jack on top of the axle side I was working on to push the axle down. That worked like a charm and I had just enough space to get the new springs in.
Multiple size pry bars helped throughout the job. I purchased a 4-pack of different sized pry bars, and these were surprisingly useful.
I also purchased a 12-piece flex-head ratcheting metric wrench set. People talked about how useful these are for removing the top shock nuts, and I found these to be very useful in several other places as well.
Be careful on the torque specs for suspension nuts and bolts. Several sets of instructions out there have conflicting torque specs. I ended up having to pull the front wheels back off after I was done and re-torque some of the bolts after I found out that one source I used had incorrect torque specs for a couple of the nuts/bolts.
The only injury I sustained was at the very end when I was re-installing the front skid plates with the diff drop kit. As a slid myself under the front of the vehicle feet first, I whacked my knee on the corner of something underneath the vehicle. My immediate pain response was to lift my head up, at which time I whacked my head on the end of the frame and had a bump on my head for two days.
In the end, I probably spent half as much on tools that it would have cost to have a shop install the lift for me. Not bad considering that I actually get to keep all the tools and supplies that I bought.
I ended up with exactly 3" of lift on both the front and rear. The ride is significantly firmer than stock. I can feel every bump on the road, but it also handles better than stock.
Blue109
New member
It won't stop....it don't stop...another shout out to this thread. Local shops wanted $800 for install and alignment. Did it in about 6 hours with these instructions. Everything went together like buttah. Had zero issues getting the end links back on the LCAs. Only minor hassle was the right rear stock upper shock bolt spinning. The little flat section stripped and I didn't have anything big enough to grab the shock and keep it from spinning. Was going to sawzall that btch but I managed to jam a screw driver in the corner and get enough friction on it. Everything else was silk.
Brandonium
Member
This might be a stupid question but it appears that you can do this with just the front lifted and then moving the the back once the front is complete? No issues with KDSS not having all 4 wheels up at the same time? I have 2 bottle jacks and 2 jack stands but figured I also need a floor jack and possible 2 more jack stands but figured I would ask.
Crikeymike
Senior Member
That's right, you can do one end at a time.
When you're all done though, it may not be level left to right, and the best way to correct that is have the car in the air with the KDSS valves loosened and hanging for a while, then lower it to the ground so it's all even, then tighten them up.
Brandonium
Member
So I will report on my endeavor to get a 3/2 lift installed on my KDSS TEP this weekend. I had no real issues with the front initially. I started by lifting the front and removed the drivers side UCA and strut assembly. I disconnected the tie rod end to give me more clearance when getting the new assembly in. My drivers side UCA pivot bolt was installed with the nut at the top so the bolt had to come out from the back side which was a bit awkward. Once I had that side in I moved to the passenger side. I placed the floor jack under the KDSS piston and it lowered the passenger control arm so much that the strut assembly went in without having to push down on the LCA at all. The rears required me undoing the KDSS sway bar at the bushings to let it droop and give me the space to get the coils in. This was a ***** of a job as I had to position spring compressors in such a way as to allow me to un-compress and remove them once the coils were in place. The drivers side is especially crowded.
A few things to note.
1). The SPC instructions were not clear on the orientation of the ball joint in regards to the SPC logo. I had mine reversed 180 degrees causing terrible camber.
2). Make sure you are not distracted by quasi helpful friends drinking beer. I misread the torque values on the UCA pivot bolts and at 150 ft/lbs I stripped out the nut on the drivers pivot bolt and the nut would not come off. It is at the shop now getting it replaced before tires and alignment.
3). I have a solid DAC light and a slip indicator on the dash. No ABS lights however. I suspect I will need a ZPC once this is all said and done.
4). My alignment was horrific after the lift kit went on. My toe in on the passenger side was abhorrent and I still had camber issues even with the ball joints corrected. I did go and make sure my LCA cam bolts were all free and adjusted the back cams to outboard and the front cams to inboard as a baseline setup.
I have no clue as to if I have KDSS lean but once everything is dialed in I will compare against prior measurements.
One other thing. Make sure you do not drop your rear shock washer on the frame rail on the drivers side and watch it slide down then drop on top of the fuel tank. Yep.. I left it there and sourced a temp one until Bilstein sends me a second install kit.
A few things to note.
1). The SPC instructions were not clear on the orientation of the ball joint in regards to the SPC logo. I had mine reversed 180 degrees causing terrible camber.
2). Make sure you are not distracted by quasi helpful friends drinking beer. I misread the torque values on the UCA pivot bolts and at 150 ft/lbs I stripped out the nut on the drivers pivot bolt and the nut would not come off. It is at the shop now getting it replaced before tires and alignment.
3). I have a solid DAC light and a slip indicator on the dash. No ABS lights however. I suspect I will need a ZPC once this is all said and done.
4). My alignment was horrific after the lift kit went on. My toe in on the passenger side was abhorrent and I still had camber issues even with the ball joints corrected. I did go and make sure my LCA cam bolts were all free and adjusted the back cams to outboard and the front cams to inboard as a baseline setup.
I have no clue as to if I have KDSS lean but once everything is dialed in I will compare against prior measurements.
One other thing. Make sure you do not drop your rear shock washer on the frame rail on the drivers side and watch it slide down then drop on top of the fuel tank. Yep.. I left it there and sourced a temp one until Bilstein sends me a second install kit.
Treetopflyer
Junior Member
I’m just going to take my 2018 TRD off-road to my mechanic. This is outside my level of experience.
If I had to give him the short notes on what to do and what NOT to do with the KDSS, anyone have any advice? His response regarding KDSS is what’s that and a lift is a lift is a lift.
This is kinda stressing me out since I’m afraid of having it all ****ed up just for a couple inch lift.
Cheers and thanks in advance
If I had to give him the short notes on what to do and what NOT to do with the KDSS, anyone have any advice? His response regarding KDSS is what’s that and a lift is a lift is a lift.
This is kinda stressing me out since I’m afraid of having it all ****ed up just for a couple inch lift.
Cheers and thanks in advance
Crikeymike
Senior Member
Have him do this, then install it. You can always rebalance it afterwards if it has a big lean when it's done.
https://exitoffroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/KDSS-Instructions-4Runner-Exit-Offroad.pdf
Treetopflyer
Junior Member
I’ll have a look. Awesome! Thank you!
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