It looked so easy on YouTube...

lowcel

lowcel

New member
Anyone else notice how easy people make things look on YouTube? I watched a video of a couple of guys upgrading the suspension on a Toyota 4Runner. It took them about an hour from start to finish. Everything just slid right into place.

I did the same job over the weekend. It took me around six hours, over the course of two days. Nothing about the job went into place easily. I busted fingers, smashed other fingers, and made up a bunch of new curse words. At one point I was laying on the floor almost in tears due to a quad cramping up. My back felt like it was going to snap in half.

I got the job done but it was nowhere near as easy as the guys in the video made it look.
 
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Can you do your install again and film it please? Stick it on youtube. Yours sounds much more entertaining than the boring 1 hr version.
 
No one makes videos of jobs where their trucks are covered in mud, rust, and other gunk that could make them look like idiots while trying to put it on. Most guys install it first just to see if everything's going to go on easy and then take it all off to make the video. That or a lot of video editing.
 
^ that or they have done tons of these lifts and other work before so they know to pre lube at the nuts and bolts for easy removal
 
I feel like they may have cheated and soaked everything thoroughly in PB blaster before shooting the video. If I would have done that MORE I probably would have taken 2-3 hours of my suspension swap. But yes the front end was a little complicated with that third nut on the tophat being a pain to get to and then dropping and reattaching the front sway bar. Fortunately it made the rear end go significantly quicker.
 
I fought the upper control arm for over an hour. I ended up having to use a ratchet strap in order to get it lined up. Then I screwed up the ball joint when I hit it with a hammer trying to get it to release. I know that wasn't a good idea...now.

I have two gopros and eight batteries. I'm really not sure that would have provided enough video to cover all of my screw ups.

Oh, I ended up having to use spring compressors on the rear coils even. Some jobs would just be so much easier with an extra pair of hands.
 
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[MENTION=119443]Twitchstyle13[/MENTION] has done a TON of suspension work on vehicles. You watch him you work you will be like holy shit but hey do it a few hundred times and you will be surprised what you can do. I can give you a ton of Toyota parts numbers now and what they are and what they do all from memory
 
Probably comes down to experience and having the proper tools. I can easily remove and reinstall my coilovers in about 45 minutes, because I have done it a dozen or more times.
 
I don't know about what video you guys are talking about... but a good rule of thumb I've learned is that if you're working in your backyard or on jackstands the job is automatically going to take at least twice if not 3 times the length it would if it were on a hoist in a shop.

I can't really explain why this is the case, but it seems like even when I drag my tools from work it always takes a longer to deal with backyard car than when I'm working in the shop.

The other thing to point out is experience and tools, I have a set of nice shorty ratcheting wrenches that are perfect for things like that back 3rd bolt on the strut tower (break it loose with a regular wrench and just speed wrench that nut off.) But experience can play a big role in that, for example knowing when to just pre-soak some parts and/or not fight some components when you don't need to.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
I don't know about what video you guys are talking about... but a good rule of thumb I've learned is that if you're working in your backyard or on jackstands the job is automatically going to take at least twice if not 3 times the length it would if it were on a hoist in a shop.

I can't really explain why this is the case, but it seems like even when I drag my tools from work it always takes a longer to deal with backyard car than when I'm working in the shop.

The other thing to point out is experience and tools, I have a set of nice shorty ratcheting wrenches that are perfect for things like that back 3rd bolt on the strut tower (break it loose with a regular wrench and just speed wrench that nut off.) But experience can play a big role in that, for example knowing when to just pre-soak some parts and/or not fight some components when you don't need to.
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Here is the video I watched. It looked so easy I decided that I could easily do it myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OScLwBAs4Jw
 
PB Blaster combined with an extremely hot torch has saved 90% of the rusted bolts on my 4runner. The blaster alone wouldnt do it and neither would the torch, im guessing when you heat up the bolt it helps the blaster soak in. Not sure, but it works!
 
Its the same with "how to" threads sometimes...just because it was easy for another guy doesn't mean its going to be easy for you. Once you learn your limit on what projects you can and can't tackle its much better because you do what you can handle and have someone else do what you can't and avoid the headache.
 
techno said:
Can you do your install again and film it please? Stick it on youtube. Yours sounds much more entertaining than the boring 1 hr version.
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That would be awesome! You could do a series of videos. Car repairs with tools the average guy has handy: random assortment of OEM car jacks, cinder blocks, 2x4's, a gravel driveway to work on, basic SAE only wrenches (no metric!), socket set (with all the key sockets missing), vice grips, channel locks, a hammer, a big screwdriver, lots of beer, and a blow torch! What could possibly go right? :madgrin: Do it, and I'll subscribe to your channel! :laugh:

BTW, if someone has done this, please provide a link! :)
 
98WhiteT4R said:
Its the same with "how to" threads sometimes...just because it was easy for another guy doesn't mean its going to be easy for you. Once you learn your limit on what projects you can and can't tackle its much better because you do what you can handle and have someone else do what you can't and avoid the headache.
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I'm not smart enough to know my limits. I'm just a dumb hillbilly from West Virginia. :redbrick:
 
my guess it would come down to experience. my lift took 6-8 hours to do a couple weeks back. If I had to do it again I could probably do it in 2 knowing what I do now.
 
Yeah I got my ass kicked by my lift last week. Biggest issue I had was the UCAs; they have a polyurethane bushing that is tapered and press fit into place, the problem I had was because they were greased and tapered they popped out just enough to make it difficult to install the washers. Thanks to some help from a coupe of forum members the front end was done over the course of six hours. Yep, six hours. The back only took me three. Keep in mind that I was on my own for most of that. Would I do it again? Yep, in a heart beat. Why, because despite getting my ass kicked I enjoyed it and I like to do as much as possible on my vehicles.
 
It's all boils down to experience. If it's your first time doing something big like a lift, plan on 6-8 hours at least. The first time I did a lift it took me every bit of 9 hours and that was on a cherowagon. The other key factor is tools make sure you have the correct tools going in. I have never done any work on a lift I have always had access just prefer not to get involved with it at work. Once I get all my parts I plan on taking a Saturday off and doing my long travel, bumper, winch, and dual battery setup in two days. Probably won't take that long. The best part of all of this is I'm just a salesman.
 
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