Got some stuff done finally. I had to get the truck out of the garage so I could setup "woodworking" shop in there to finish a bunch of trim work in the house. I couldn't drive the truck with the 285's, because the pinch welds rubbed horribly, so I figured it just needed to put the time in and install the front suspension.
TRD Tundra front shocks and coils (coils are yellow/yellow, yellow/blue), and I figured I'd pull out the old, pop in the new, and be done in a couple hours max. I also needed to change the brake pads, but that's quick too.
Not so fast slick.
The Bilstein HD struts that were on the truck had been installed since like 2002....and spent from then until 2010 in Boston. Needless to say, I did NOT simply screw the nuts off the top hat. I'd even been shooting them with PB blaster every couple weeks for the last several months...anticipating this install. 2 screws came out on each side ok, they just took a while. I also had to cut one off each side. So I finally the old junk is out, and I laid it out next to the new stuff for comparison.
Obviously the Tundra spring is much thicker, and the strut is beefier too. However, the overall length was actually about 3/8" shorter than the Bilstein with the factory '99 spring.
Seeing that, I figured there was no way I was going to get enough lift for my 33's with JUST the Tundra's. Especially since several people had told me the don't clear 33's very well all by themselves. Well, no problem, I have some 1" Daystar top plate spacers. But.......that's means renting spring compressors and taking everything apart. So much for the 2 hour job. I ran and got some compressors, and after I'd compressed the springs, the real fun began. Toyota put a damn locking nut on the strut. So after taking the nut off the top of the strut...the threads on the strut shaft were ruined. Also, just getting the nut off is a trick, because the shaft will spin WAY easier than that locking nut, so you have to hold the shaft with a crescent wrench or vice grips. The only place to grab the shaft is on the very end, and you run out of room while spinning the nut off. Just a tip for anyone else doing this.
So the nut is off, but the threads are shot. Get a tap and die set out, and chase the threads with a M12 x 1.5. And now I need new nuts, so a trip to ACE hardware is in order.
After chasing the threads, notice they aren't sharp...but they're definitely good enough to work.
Knocked the old top plate studs out, installed the new ones, put the strut back together, set the spacer on, and installed the whole shebang. It took my dad prying down on the knuckle with a 2x4, and the sway bar disconnected to get them in.
*Side note, I did the brake pads while I was there, and will post about a little issue in the next post*
Put the truck on the ground, and holy cow, I've got tons of room now. I'm wondering if it's too much. Here's a pic.
The front is pretty high. My cv's look ok, and I have a diff drop that I can install. Does the front look too high to you guys? I think it's fine, I just need taller springs out back now, which I was planning on.
I had to take the roof rack off to get out of the garage. :roadkill:
