Rotating spring and strut

[brianhuntRVA]

I have KYB StrutPlus installed on the front of my 4Runner (sr4130 / sr4131). For those unfamiliar, it is the spring and strut assembly. One is specified for the left and the other for the right although I cannot understand why. Anyhow, on the passenger side, the UCA hits the spring at full droop. I've noticed that the coil starts 180 degrees different on that side than on the drivers side, which doesn't have this issue. In other words the spring starts coiling down on the inside of one side and the outside of the other.

So my plan was to drop the strut using the no-compressor method and spin it and the spring 180 degrees. The strut itself would have to spin because of the perch. So, is it ok to do this? Or was it possibly assembled this way for a reason?

 

[brianhuntRVA]

Nobody knows? I guess really the question is: Does it mater which way the strut is installed onto the LCA? Meaning can it be rotated 180 degrees or is there an "inside" and "outside"?

 

[cpark_12]

I don't think the struts are "side specific" as much as the springs are. As far as the spring spinning, that sounds like a problem with the perch. There's supposed to be an indention on the bottom perch that keeps the spring from moving.

Any pics of that particular strut?

 

[brianhuntRVA]

Oh the spring is not spinning. It's seated in the perch just fine. It's that one side the perch is toward the inside and the other side has the perch toward the outside. So the coil / space between coils is opposite from one side to the next, if that makes sense. I'm aiming to rectify that.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Are you sure you have the correct shock/strut combinations on the right sides? The springs are slightly different...

We'd need pictures to really grasp what you are getting at...

 

[brianhuntRVA]

Yeah they are definitely on the right side. I've done some more searching and it looks like what I'm referring to is called "re-indexing" the coils. Either way I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them here.

 

[4gin007]

Ive never had your specific issue but at the same time Ive never paid attention to which way the perch is facing. Its always a wrestling match when I install front springs and struts so I tend to install them whichever way I can get them in. Never had an issue once there installed.

 

[kevinpt]

Ive never had your specific issue but at the same time Ive never paid attention to which way the perch is facing. Its always a wrestling match when I install front springs and struts so I tend to install them whichever way I can get them in. Never had an issue once there installed.

i am the same. i just put my 5100's in the way that worked with almost no work.

its odd that i see this after checking the front end of my truck after work and this is one of the things i looked at. if you want you can look at my truck to see how mine sits if you want. if you need any help let me know and i might be able to help if needed

 

[brianhuntRVA]

Ok so here is what I have. This is the drivers side. The UCA does not contact the spring at full droop. At full droop it the UCA just goes into the space between the springs. Note that the spring starts coiling down from the "outside"


This is the passenger side. The coil spring starts on the "inside". This is the side where contact occurs between UCA and spring at full droop.


So basically if you compare the sides they are opposite. Wherever there is spring on one side, there is space between on the other. So the plan is to rotate the spring, and subsequentially the strut too because of the bottom perch, 180 degrees. This would make the passenger side match the drivers side.

 

[4gin007]

I just compared my truck with the pics you have here, and this is what I found. On my truck, both left and right springs start to coil from the inside. Both springs have bigger gaps between the coils starting from the top and as they reach the bottom the coils become tighter, so the last 1.5 coils are just about touching. Your driver side seems to be opposite, almost as if the coil was installed upside down. I don't believe that is any concern you mentioned before but just an observation of mine. As far as the passenger side contacting the UCA at full droop, Im not sure rotating it 180' will help that. But its worth a try at least.


How high is the lift? Might need adjustable UCAs to fix your issue

A pic at full droop and the point of contact could be helpful

 

[brianhuntRVA]

I just compared my truck with the pics you have here, and this is what I found. On my truck, both left and right springs start to coil from the inside. Both springs have bigger gaps between the coils starting from the top and as they reach the bottom the coils become tighter, so the last 1.5 coils are just about touching. Your driver side seems to be opposite, almost as if the coil was installed upside down. I don't believe that is any concern you mentioned before but just an observation of mine. As far as the passenger side contacting the UCA at full droop, Im not sure rotating it 180' will help that. But its worth a try at least.


How high is the lift? Might need adjustable UCAs to fix your issue

A pic at full droop and the point of contact could be helpful

Thanks for checking and comparing. Adjustable UCAs might really be the ultimate fix. My lift is somewhere btw 2.5-3" between the springs and the spacer.

The springs are constant rate so they are spaced evenly top to bottom. They are definitely closer together with more coils than OEM springs. But they ride very nicely on road and did fine, at least as far as I could tell, off road.

I guess I'll go ahead and rotate them around and see if it helps at all. I'm gonna get an alignment when I have my new tires installed. If they can't get it in spec, then I'll probably have to go the adjustable UCA route.

 

[brianhuntRVA]

i am the same. i just put my 5100's in the way that worked with almost no work.

its odd that i see this after checking the front end of my truck after work and this is one of the things i looked at. if you want you can look at my truck to see how mine sits if you want. if you need any help let me know and i might be able to help if needed

Thanks for the offer to help. It should be pretty simple to do though following the no compressor method.

 

[brianhuntRVA]

Job done. Its close but no more contact! The no spring compressor method was definitely the way to go, very easy and straightforward.