Installing a Daystar lift, any tips or advice?
- Thread starter jsmarine
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A while back I installed some Daystar spacers on my '98 and took a few progress pictures for another member:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/55321-help-small-lift-tire-size-options-2.html
Hope this helps...
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/55321-help-small-lift-tire-size-options-2.html
Hope this helps...
laureena23
New member
Just take your time. It took my BF and his buddy about a day and a half to install mine just because my Runner had so many rusted parts underneath.
Let us know how it went and I'd love to see some pics!
Let us know how it went and I'd love to see some pics!
brian2sun
Elite Member
The best advice I can give about installing the Daystar lift: Don't. If you wheel it evn here and there, you won't have much of a lift after a year or so and your saggy coils will amplify every minor imperfection in the road. Do it right the 1st time, get your $$ back if you still can, spend an extra $150-200 and just get some lift coils all the way around.
Not trying to be a bummer, but you can do this once or you can do this twice.
Not trying to be a bummer, but you can do this once or you can do this twice.
Dirt4dinner
New member
I just did this lift a few months ago. My biggest recommendation....FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS! I tried to skip one stinking step and spent the next 4 hours trying to fix it.
My second recommendation: go to Checkers (or whatever O'Reiley parts store is in your area) and rent a pickle fork set, and 2 spring compressor sets. The rental is a deposit only and you get 100% of it back when you return the items. The pickle fork set is going to run you about $100 rental, and the spring compressor is like $50 each (we used to sets on each front coil).
My third recommendation: pick up new upper ball joints and replace them while you're at it (you might need to rent the ball joint press from Checkers too, it's a $200 rental). It is damn near impossible to pop those ball joints off the A-arm without tearing the ball joint boot. So, just plan on pressing new ones in (upper ball joints are $25/ each).
My fourth and final recommendation: GET SOMEONE TO HELP! The back spacers were a pain to put in, I used the spring compressors and had my buddy running in the pry bar.
Good luck! Set aside the entire day, but it's actually kind of a fun project in my opinion.
p.s.- I also had to throw some hose clamps on the axle boot to stop grease from leaking out. The new angle caused it to leak black sludge grease, a pipe clamp on each side remedied the problem. I got an alignment right afterwards too.....
My second recommendation: go to Checkers (or whatever O'Reiley parts store is in your area) and rent a pickle fork set, and 2 spring compressor sets. The rental is a deposit only and you get 100% of it back when you return the items. The pickle fork set is going to run you about $100 rental, and the spring compressor is like $50 each (we used to sets on each front coil).
My third recommendation: pick up new upper ball joints and replace them while you're at it (you might need to rent the ball joint press from Checkers too, it's a $200 rental). It is damn near impossible to pop those ball joints off the A-arm without tearing the ball joint boot. So, just plan on pressing new ones in (upper ball joints are $25/ each).
My fourth and final recommendation: GET SOMEONE TO HELP! The back spacers were a pain to put in, I used the spring compressors and had my buddy running in the pry bar.
Good luck! Set aside the entire day, but it's actually kind of a fun project in my opinion.
p.s.- I also had to throw some hose clamps on the axle boot to stop grease from leaking out. The new angle caused it to leak black sludge grease, a pipe clamp on each side remedied the problem. I got an alignment right afterwards too.....
brian2sun
Elite Member
If anything, remove the lower ball joints instead of the uppers - they don't need to be pressed in so no need to spend $200 on a ball joint press rental (BTW, WTF?? $200!!!). You just need the pickle fork to remove them and the new ones screw back in. I BOUGHT my pickle fork for $12 (don't know where Dirt4dinner is renting his tools from but I hope he brings his jar of vaseline with him). You can also try putting your stock jack between the UCA and the fender and press the control arms down, eliminating the need to remove any ball joints.
For the rear, just drop the whole axle, slip the spacers in, and use a floor jack to squish the springs enough to bolt the axle back up. Took me 10-15 minutes to do the rear.
I recommend taking the front coilovers to a shop and have them compress the springs. It's by far the most time consuming part of the job, they'll do it for about the same price as you'd pay for the spring compressors anyways. And, you don't have to risk killing yourself (literally) if a compressor breaks and shoots the spring or top plate 1000mph into you head.
Once the coilovers are assembled, if you use your stock jack on the UCA, I did my fronts in less than 10 minutes per side. If you know what you are doing and not guessing, the whole thing (front and rear) can be done in less than an hour - no joke.
I still say don't bother with the Daystar, but if you must... at least don't make it way harder than it needs to be.
For the rear, just drop the whole axle, slip the spacers in, and use a floor jack to squish the springs enough to bolt the axle back up. Took me 10-15 minutes to do the rear.
I recommend taking the front coilovers to a shop and have them compress the springs. It's by far the most time consuming part of the job, they'll do it for about the same price as you'd pay for the spring compressors anyways. And, you don't have to risk killing yourself (literally) if a compressor breaks and shoots the spring or top plate 1000mph into you head.
Once the coilovers are assembled, if you use your stock jack on the UCA, I did my fronts in less than 10 minutes per side. If you know what you are doing and not guessing, the whole thing (front and rear) can be done in less than an hour - no joke.
I still say don't bother with the Daystar, but if you must... at least don't make it way harder than it needs to be.
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I'm in the middle of the 2.5" Daystar lift on my 2002 4wd. I don't know where all the damn rust came from, but I spent nearly a whole day removing the front strut assemblies. I started that day with a surplus of both liquid wrench and patience, and I ended it with three spent metal cutting wheels 
. I found out my front strut mounts were badly deteriorated, so I'm currently waiting on Fedex to deliver new ones.
If you think your mounts might look like this, maybe you should go ahead and order some new ones to go along with your new shocks:
<a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00626.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00626.jpg" border="0" alt="Rusted Strut Mount (Top)" ></a><a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00627.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00627.jpg" border="0" alt="Rusted Strut Mount (Bottom)" ></a>
In the meantime I've finished the rear lift - it took me and a friend a few hours, but it was actually pretty fun. Follow the directions on this one, and maybe disconnect the sway bar if there isn't enough room to get the spacer in. I ended up using coil compressors to make it super easy (.. or sort of easy.. relative to everything else I guess):
<a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00623.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00623.jpg" border="0" alt="Spring Compressor Assist" ></a>
The pickle fork will destroy your bearing boots, and even with a bfh it is a pain to use. Go with a ball joint puller instead. I should have.
I've got or can get plenty of pictures if you need them. Everything I need will be in by the 24th, so I hope to finish up the front on the 25th.
Current Status:
<a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00629.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00629.jpg" border="0" alt="12/21 Status" ></a>
. I found out my front strut mounts were badly deteriorated, so I'm currently waiting on Fedex to deliver new ones.If you think your mounts might look like this, maybe you should go ahead and order some new ones to go along with your new shocks:
<a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00626.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00626.jpg" border="0" alt="Rusted Strut Mount (Top)" ></a><a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00627.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00627.jpg" border="0" alt="Rusted Strut Mount (Bottom)" ></a>
In the meantime I've finished the rear lift - it took me and a friend a few hours, but it was actually pretty fun. Follow the directions on this one, and maybe disconnect the sway bar if there isn't enough room to get the spacer in. I ended up using coil compressors to make it super easy (.. or sort of easy.. relative to everything else I guess):
<a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00623.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00623.jpg" border="0" alt="Spring Compressor Assist" ></a>
The pickle fork will destroy your bearing boots, and even with a bfh it is a pain to use. Go with a ball joint puller instead. I should have.
I've got or can get plenty of pictures if you need them. Everything I need will be in by the 24th, so I hope to finish up the front on the 25th.
Current Status:
<a href="http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/?action=view¤t=DSC00629.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh243/bjo2314/Car/th_DSC00629.jpg" border="0" alt="12/21 Status" ></a>
Coil spacers will not sag the coils. The fact that Toyota made the coils will sag them.
004Gunner
New member
True. Toyota coils for the 2nd and 3rd gen are garbage. I put the Daystar 1.5" spacers in the rear after brand new coils had the same sag. A big pry bar came in handy for that install. The only snag I had was the rusty sway bar end link that snapped
brian2sun
Elite Member
Garbage or not, I went from 2.5" of lift to 1.25" in a year, and I had these stock coils for 10+ years before I put on the Daystar lift w/ no sagging. When they flex, the spacers cause the springs to smash down more than they were ever intended and that's how they lose their spring and then start to sag. 10 years w/ no problem, a few months w/ the spacers and noticeable sagging.
Well, I have run spacers on my jeep (wheeling toy only) for quite a few years now and have not had any issues. I truely think that the toyota coils are to blame. Did you properly extend your bumpstops when you installed your lift? Overcompressing any coil (aftermarket or stock) will cause damage over time...
brian2sun
Elite Member
That's a good point. I didn't extend my bump stops so that may have added to the problem. I'm not a big fan of the stock coils either, but with spacers added, my ride quality on road was way worse than before and it didn't take long to notice. The spacers had to have some negative affect on the coils since it always felt smooth before the lift. Now that I have OMEs, my ride quality is 100x's better.
Oh, I completely agree that OME coils are a MUCH better quality than the stock coils. There are quite a few variables when it comes to how a vehicle rides, so it would be difficult to tell what caused a bad ride. Most of my experience with spacers comes from installing them in Jeeps and every one I've installed them on, the person was quite happy (one was on my sister's jeep and she's picky as hell) and none have experienced any sagging. I'm not sure what the problem is with Toyota's coil springs, but they sure do suck...
I just swapped in a set of 906's into the back of my 4R and have a set of 881's for the front. It is ridiculous how much the stock springs sag. When I had the old rear coils out, I set them on the ground right next to the 906's and they were roughly the same height (906's were about 1/2" taller), but after I installed them on the truck, it sat about 4" taller.
The ride is MUCH nicer.
These stock coils have more than 200K miles on them and they were sagged when I got the truck. I tried to compensate for the sagged coils using spacers, but I just didn't like they way the coils felt, so I picked up the OMEs.
I just swapped in a set of 906's into the back of my 4R and have a set of 881's for the front. It is ridiculous how much the stock springs sag. When I had the old rear coils out, I set them on the ground right next to the 906's and they were roughly the same height (906's were about 1/2" taller), but after I installed them on the truck, it sat about 4" taller.
The ride is MUCH nicer.These stock coils have more than 200K miles on them and they were sagged when I got the truck. I tried to compensate for the sagged coils using spacers, but I just didn't like they way the coils felt, so I picked up the OMEs.
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