Pretty disappointed in how rusted my Toytec Ultimate Suspension is

[Trixx]

I installed these Toytec top of the line ($1850) coilovers last summer. They were rusting out pretty bad by December, and even worse now. I do live where there is snow but I rinse the vehicle weekly, very thoroughly. It’s never seen mud beyond a gravel road or driveway.

Here’s a couple pictures. Seems to be way worse than what I would consider acceptable. I saved hard to buy my 2017 4Runner and it’s an otherwise nearly mint vehicle and I’ve put a lot into it.

The condition of this suspension is a bit embarrassing to me. Toytec stated this is normal and will not do anything about it. If I knew this was to be expected after 9 months I would’ve gone another route.

Thoughts?

 

[Rightside Up]

Yikes!

 

[Fern]

I would spray it with something oil based before it gets worse.

 

[SlickTRD]

For 1800 that is a lot of corrosion. I don't think the corrosion will affect performance, but it is pretty crappy quality.

 

[nb rob]

That sucks. Sorry about your corrosion issues.

I went apeshit on my shocks and coilovers. The rear shocks are covered by shock wraps made by PRP seats, both the shock and the reservoir. For the coilovers, I use icon's coilover wraps in the wintertime. They actually do a great job. I take them off once or twice a winter and I wash them and apply a water repellent soak to them (revivex)

For thing exposed (fittings) I hose them down with boeshield every time I wash in the winter, which is almost weekly. I use one can of boeshield in a winter ($30 or so).

King shocks use aluminium reservoirs, so I have zero corrosion on them. The shock and coilover bodies, as well as fittings, have a nice thick layer of boeshield on them that cleans off with....... more boeshield!

What you can do:

when it's time to take them off and rebuild, you can clean the corrosion up and apply some silver paint or clearcoat. The threads on the coilover body will take some work. You you will likely remove what's left of the zinc plating on the fittings in this manner, and they will rust MUCH more quickly, so you will need to seal those as well. Clear enamel works well.

I'm guessing your lower and upper spherical bearings on the COs are probably in rough shape....?


corrosion is manageable with proper materials. Here's my "war on rust" kit... a little bit of work in the spring and fall, and some ongoing maintenance in the winter has kept my king shocks looks great with a nice patina, and no rust.

 

[nb rob]

icon coilover wraps and rear shock wraps protection.

The shock in the vise shows a full winter of reapplication of boeshield. I'll soak that shock body in boeshield overnight, and the pressure washer will get rid of most of that black.

Of course every time I go to toyota they tell me that my shocks are leaking because they're covered in oil....

 

[1996_Valencia_Owen]

I laugh at the vendors saying shit is normal, and they'll do nothing about it. These pics are awful and they've lost my business, and probably 50+ other orders nearly instantly.

I would expect my suspension components to wear no worse than any exposed stock metal parts.. ie tailpipe, bolts, springs, etc.

You aren't even in a cold-weather state........

 

[nb rob]

unfortunately it is normal.

There's a lot of very unhappy ford raptor owners because the fox shocks they use rust like a demon in short order. I'm not aware of any shock manufacturers that will provide support for corrosion. Anything exposed in the wheel well will get a nasty salt bath and rust very quickly. The zinc plating to inhibit rust gets sandblasted off very quickly because of the location.

 

[jrandom]

Wow that's pretty sh!tty. Although not unexpected, at least for the hose fittings, the casings though I would hope they have a little better resistance than that.

First winter my Fox shocks were "okay". Now I use a corrosion inhibitor/coating on them now. I have tried a few things, this seems to work the best for me, pretty similar to Fluid Film.
Amsoil - https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-prod...s-and-protectants/heavy-duty-metal-protector/

The boots are a great idea, I have been looking at them for winter too, probably the best single protection.

Corrosion just sucks when it is something you need to do routine maintenance on and intend to keep longer than an exchange/lease period.

 

[Angelo]

I totally feel your pain man, I'm doing a big undercarriage rust prevention thing to mine currently. I think you'd also be surprised what you could accomplish in restoring it a bit with a scotch scrubber pad, oil based / rust inhibiting cleaners, and some elbow grease. Now that you know what's happening with it you can cut your losses and start looking at maintenance and prevention.

FWIW, if this is what's happening to your shocks which are easily (if not cheaply) replaceable, thank about what's going on inside your frame rails, which is the REALLY big deal if you're looking at wanting to care for your investment. There are some great threads here on rust prevention that I've used too.

It sucks that this is happened but hopefully it's a prompt that helps to save your Runner before the rust really sets in further.

 

[honda250xtitan]

no one else concerned he paid 1800 for Toytec shocks? lol

 

[Angelo]

no one else concerned he paid 1800 for Toytec shocks? lol

Haha I think he means ~$1300 for the shocks / springs and $500 for the UCAs? I hope? :scared:

 

[Throwback]

Is your location accurate? Columbia, South Carolina?

That's a crazy amount of corrosion for such a short period of time and I suppose you'll have to replace everything before too many more years pass.

I've seen several posts about the Toytec Ultimate coilovers rusting horribly so this isn't a one-off situation.

Maybe they'll offer you some sort of credit against a different setup (OME, etc.) if you can return them?

The good news is that it looks like the Toytec stuff rusts out well before you have to service the shocks so you can avoid that cost.

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

Surface rust on raw steel, what do you expect? The resi canisters I would have expected to have held up better but nothing a little paint can't handle. Why aren't you blasting TC? Your control arms are rusted also........... Rust prevention is your responsibility, period. Reason I get under my truck at least twice a year to clean and paint everything.

 

[rayofsi]

damn thats a lot of rust..

 

[ScarfaceT4R]

Wow that's pretty sh!tty. Although not unexpected, at least for the hose fittings, the casings though I would hope they have a little better resistance than that.

First winter my Fox shocks were "okay". Now I use a corrosion inhibitor/coating on them now. I have tried a few things, this seems to work the best for me, pretty similar to Fluid Film.
Amsoil - https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-prod...s-and-protectants/heavy-duty-metal-protector/

The boots are a great idea, I have been looking at them for winter too, probably the best single protection.

Corrosion just sucks when it is something you need to do routine maintenance on and intend to keep longer than an exchange/lease period.

That Amsoil stuff seems like it would help out a lot. Does it really leave an amber'ish color on the shocks though?? Just slapped these 5160's on and I would like to keep them as fresh as possible for as long as possible...

 

[Trixx]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve ordered some stuff to attempt to clean them and protect them better. Nothing else on the 4Runner is rusted remotely close, so I didn’t expect these to corrode so much. I’m mostly surprise by the condition of the reservoirs. As mentioned, I can paint those, which I will. I’ll also replace the nuts on top of the shock.

I had bilsteins for 55k+ miles including a winter up north on my F250, and they looked far better after 3 years than these do after 9 months.

 

[WVhillbilly]

For 9 months in a southern state that is bad.
I wouldn't expect that much rust even where I live and they dump a lot of stuff on the roads there that will rust your vehicle.

 

[Lionel_Hutz]

That Amsoil stuff seems like it would help out a lot. Does it really leave an amber'ish color on the shocks though?? Just slapped these 5160's on and I would like to keep them as fresh as possible for as long as possible...

I thought the Bilsteins have rustproof plating, is that not right?

 

[Jetboy]

IMO - it's completely reasonable to expect products intended for use outside to be coated or made from materials appropriate for the conditions of use. That's a lot of corrosion for a short time in normal use. The comments about how you did something wrong are nonsense. You shouldn't have to. These are automotive parts that industry standards are for long term corrosion resistance. If a $38 OEM shock can last 20 years with minimal surface rust - a $500+ shock should be at least as good.