NeutronJon
New member
Okay... After hours of research on T4R about what to buy, - and a week and a half of minor setbacks at the shop - I FINALLY have my truck back.
But, I should start the story at the beginning. My old tires were Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors in 265/65r17 with about 5-6/32 left on them after 62,000 miles. They were starting to show some cracking and I was noticing that my front driver side was eating the outside edge indicating a toe problem. However, given that my truck spent the first 10 years of it's life in NY salt country, most of my LCA hardware was rusted in place. So, in order to replace the tires, it was going to need an alignment. Discussions with a trusted local shop confirmed my suspicion that I could end up paying just as much in labor to have them change bushings and ball joints as I would in just replacing the LCAs with preloaded ones. Seeing as how I'd rather spend money on parts than labor, after a great deal of research I decided to go with the replacement LCAs from 1A Auto so that I could afford to do a little more at the same time.
Around 70,000 miles ago I had previously ripped out the rear air suspension system due to corroded sensors and a minor air leak that kept me riding on the bump stops. The XREAS system wasn't leaking (yet), but I found a good price on a full set of FJ trail coils and shocks on another forum. They served me well, but the front end had more rake than I liked and the ride was a bit firm on the highway (arguably partly due to the worn/seized bushings as well). So, I began the search for new coilovers as well.
Through T4R, I ended up picking up Bilstein 6112 coilovers (FJ version 46-227287) from another user, preassembled at one notch up from the bottom. They had only a few miles on them and were in great shape. After deciding that I liked the perch setting for comfort, but wanted a little more lift up front I also picked up 3/8" and 1/2" poly spacers from Wheelers. This would also help to correct the driver's side lean and prevent the top hat from ever becoming rust welded into the tower as we have repeatedly heard about on here.
Since one of my UCA ball joints was also showing a bit of grease around the boot, and I wanted to be sure of a good post-lift alignment, I also started researching UCAs. Hours of reading led to the conclusion that I wanted to go with Camburgs with ball joints. After a bit of searching I also found a set for sale through T4R with low miles. Isn't it great when a plan comes together?
I ordered the following LCA hardware through partznet:
Front bolt: 90119-14120 qty 2
Front Cam: 48409-60020 qty 2
Front Nut: 48452-35020 qty 2
Rear bolt: 48190-60020 qty 2
Rear Cam: 48198-60011 qty 2
Rear Nut: 90179-14069 qty 2
I also got new UCA bolts/nuts and the lower shock bolts/nuts since the used parts I got didn't come with hardware. The 3 upper nuts per side for the shocks were sourced at my local parts chain-store from their selection of dorman 10.9 hardware.
Once I had the new suspension, I came back around to tires again. I went back and forth between the Cooper AT3s and the new Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws but ultimately decided on the Coopers. I was initially leaning towards the Wildpeaks due to a previous problem I had with a set of coopers had the sidewalls delaminate. I had a particular batch number that wasn't covered under the recall for that defect. Most people seemed to like the Wildpeaks, but I found several posts about rapid wear (1/32 per 1000 miles) that began around the 12-15k range. I ordered a full set of 5 Cooper AT3s in 265/70R17 and new dorman TPMS sensors and valve stems to go with them. I would have liked to do the rims as well, but it just wasn't in the budget.
During the install we discovered a torn boot on one inner tie rod. All 4 tie rods were still in surprisingly good shape so we waited 2 days for the boot to arrive. The following morning after the alignment was set the shop discovered that they were unable to clear the ABS light. Codes were present for both front speed sensors. Assuming that it was debris between the hub and sensor they attempted to pull the abs speed sensors and discovered that the drivers side disintegrated during removal. They called me and I fired off an order to 1A for new ABS speed sensors which were delivered after yet another 2 day delay. After replacing the sensors, the left code cleared but the right side is still present. Life forced me to get the truck back as is while I wait for the ABS harness to come in from partznet, and the shop will be installing it for free this coming Friday. Overall, I'm still very pleased with the work.
Measurements (from ground to the bottom edge of the fender with the tape centered on the hub):
FL: 36
FR:36.5
RL: 36
RR:36.25
While measuring I discovered that they swapped my left and right spacers which is causing the lean. I'll give the owner a call tomorrow and see if they can swap them when I bring it back Friday for the ABS cable. Once that is done (and I find a 1/4" spacer for the rear left) I expect to be at 36.25 all the way around.
Next I'll be using the templates posted to fab replacement splash guards and installing new front and rear greasable sway bushings. I also need to start looking for a new catback exhaust as my tailpipe broke clean off the rear end of the muffler. Right now I'm torn between the Gibson or Walker SS; mainly just deciding if the gibson is worth the extra $$$.
But, I should start the story at the beginning. My old tires were Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors in 265/65r17 with about 5-6/32 left on them after 62,000 miles. They were starting to show some cracking and I was noticing that my front driver side was eating the outside edge indicating a toe problem. However, given that my truck spent the first 10 years of it's life in NY salt country, most of my LCA hardware was rusted in place. So, in order to replace the tires, it was going to need an alignment. Discussions with a trusted local shop confirmed my suspicion that I could end up paying just as much in labor to have them change bushings and ball joints as I would in just replacing the LCAs with preloaded ones. Seeing as how I'd rather spend money on parts than labor, after a great deal of research I decided to go with the replacement LCAs from 1A Auto so that I could afford to do a little more at the same time.
Around 70,000 miles ago I had previously ripped out the rear air suspension system due to corroded sensors and a minor air leak that kept me riding on the bump stops. The XREAS system wasn't leaking (yet), but I found a good price on a full set of FJ trail coils and shocks on another forum. They served me well, but the front end had more rake than I liked and the ride was a bit firm on the highway (arguably partly due to the worn/seized bushings as well). So, I began the search for new coilovers as well.
Through T4R, I ended up picking up Bilstein 6112 coilovers (FJ version 46-227287) from another user, preassembled at one notch up from the bottom. They had only a few miles on them and were in great shape. After deciding that I liked the perch setting for comfort, but wanted a little more lift up front I also picked up 3/8" and 1/2" poly spacers from Wheelers. This would also help to correct the driver's side lean and prevent the top hat from ever becoming rust welded into the tower as we have repeatedly heard about on here.
Since one of my UCA ball joints was also showing a bit of grease around the boot, and I wanted to be sure of a good post-lift alignment, I also started researching UCAs. Hours of reading led to the conclusion that I wanted to go with Camburgs with ball joints. After a bit of searching I also found a set for sale through T4R with low miles. Isn't it great when a plan comes together?
I ordered the following LCA hardware through partznet:
Front bolt: 90119-14120 qty 2
Front Cam: 48409-60020 qty 2
Front Nut: 48452-35020 qty 2
Rear bolt: 48190-60020 qty 2
Rear Cam: 48198-60011 qty 2
Rear Nut: 90179-14069 qty 2
I also got new UCA bolts/nuts and the lower shock bolts/nuts since the used parts I got didn't come with hardware. The 3 upper nuts per side for the shocks were sourced at my local parts chain-store from their selection of dorman 10.9 hardware.
Once I had the new suspension, I came back around to tires again. I went back and forth between the Cooper AT3s and the new Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws but ultimately decided on the Coopers. I was initially leaning towards the Wildpeaks due to a previous problem I had with a set of coopers had the sidewalls delaminate. I had a particular batch number that wasn't covered under the recall for that defect. Most people seemed to like the Wildpeaks, but I found several posts about rapid wear (1/32 per 1000 miles) that began around the 12-15k range. I ordered a full set of 5 Cooper AT3s in 265/70R17 and new dorman TPMS sensors and valve stems to go with them. I would have liked to do the rims as well, but it just wasn't in the budget.
During the install we discovered a torn boot on one inner tie rod. All 4 tie rods were still in surprisingly good shape so we waited 2 days for the boot to arrive. The following morning after the alignment was set the shop discovered that they were unable to clear the ABS light. Codes were present for both front speed sensors. Assuming that it was debris between the hub and sensor they attempted to pull the abs speed sensors and discovered that the drivers side disintegrated during removal. They called me and I fired off an order to 1A for new ABS speed sensors which were delivered after yet another 2 day delay. After replacing the sensors, the left code cleared but the right side is still present. Life forced me to get the truck back as is while I wait for the ABS harness to come in from partznet, and the shop will be installing it for free this coming Friday. Overall, I'm still very pleased with the work.
Measurements (from ground to the bottom edge of the fender with the tape centered on the hub):
FL: 36
FR:36.5
RL: 36
RR:36.25
While measuring I discovered that they swapped my left and right spacers which is causing the lean. I'll give the owner a call tomorrow and see if they can swap them when I bring it back Friday for the ABS cable. Once that is done (and I find a 1/4" spacer for the rear left) I expect to be at 36.25 all the way around.
Next I'll be using the templates posted to fab replacement splash guards and installing new front and rear greasable sway bushings. I also need to start looking for a new catback exhaust as my tailpipe broke clean off the rear end of the muffler. Right now I'm torn between the Gibson or Walker SS; mainly just deciding if the gibson is worth the extra $$$.
