Suspension install

DannyLlama

DannyLlama

Elite Member
Alright so W T F every shop I call wants 700 bucks to install front and rear coils and springs.. I mean it's not special job but that's ridiculous.


Has anyone had any luck with a price half of that?

Anyone willing to help a newb learn and install some parts?
 
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Off road warehouse wanted $600 for a stage 2 ICON install. That included an alignment. I suggest tackling it yourself. It's not too difficult.
 
I haven't seen any lift install posts recently, but you may be able to post a "lift party", you supply beer/food, guys help you install.
 
How much is your time worth? Doing it myself (with some previous experience) it took me about 11 hours this weekend to do front/rear shocks and springs, and UCAs. I'd guess about 2-3 hours was spent just trying to get the rear shocks off. Probably spent longer than I should have before I finally decided to just cut the damned things off though. Then I had to run to Home Depot to get blades for the sawzall. I'd be happy to help, but I have a birthday party this Saturday and I'm limited to about a 6 hour window on Sundays.
 
I faced the same situation a while back when I wanted to install my FJ springs and Bilstein 5100s. One of my coworkers referred me to a mobile mechanic she used who quoted me only $220 to do the whole job, including stripping out all of the old XREAS hydraulic lines. He came out to my house, did the whole thing in my garage and was done before noon. PM me if you want his contact information.
 
[MENTION=126173]SKP-4R[/MENTION] I would totally do it my self, I'm mechanically challenged and don't have the tools, but willing to learn.
[MENTION=60694]TheSentinel[/MENTION] name your food and drinks, would love to do that.
[MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION] Thanks man, will give them a call, you think they give Syrian specials? :lol:
[MENTION=123332]Drunner97[/MENTION] Its more about learning and being able to fix things on my own when out wondering by myself.
[MENTION=84801]AKmoney[/MENTION] Thanks! PM'D
 
I'd be glad to help sometime, living 1.5 hrs away has some drawbacks though.

About the tools you don't need much. I probably have all the tools needed. Only basic tools really. You need to 2 people for sure.

Are your coil overs assembled already?

PM [MENTION=25058]ChildrenOfBodom[/MENTION] because he lives 15 mins from you and is quite the semi-pro. Not sure if he works for beer though.
 
DannyLlama said:
[MENTION=126173]SKP-4R[/MENTION] I would totally do it my self, I'm mechanically challenged and don't have the tools, but willing to learn.

[MENTION=60694]TheSentinel[/MENTION] name your food and drinks, would love to do that.

[MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION] Thanks man, will give them a call, you think they give Syrian specials? [emoji38]

[MENTION=123332]Drunner97[/MENTION] Its more about learning and being able to fix things on my own when out wondering by myself.

[MENTION=84801]AKmoney[/MENTION] Thanks! PM'D
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Unfortunately, I'd be more of an observer or extra set of hands. I haven't done my truck yet, but was going to try the lift party concept when I was ready. I'd love to come down to help if I'm off work that day.
 
BrianSD_42 said:
I'd be glad to help sometime, living 1.5 hrs away has some drawbacks though.

About the tools you don't need much. I probably have all the tools needed. Only basic tools really. You need to 2 people for sure.

Are your coil overs assembled already?

PM [MENTION=25058]ChildrenOfBodom[/MENTION] because he lives 15 mins from you and is quite the semi-pro. Not sure if he works for beer though.
Click to expand...

You don't necessarily need 2 people, but there was definitely more than one time that I could have used an extra set of hands. If the coil overs are already assembled, then it's an even quicker job. I had to do the no compressor method to get mine in and still managed to get everything lined up by myself.

Not sure on the 5th gen, but the 4th gen most of the bolts are 17 and 19 mm, smaller ones for stuff in the way were 10 and 12. I did end up breaking a 19 mm socket trying to crack a LCA bolt, and started using impact sockets after that.
[MENTION=75328]DannyLlama[/MENTION] - Exactly the same reason I did mine instead of going to a shop. If something breaks on the trail, I want to be able to fix things myself.
 
DannyLlama said:
Alright so W T F every shop I call wants 700 bucks to install front and rear coils and springs.. I mean it's not special job but that's ridiculous.


Has anyone had any luck with a price half of that?

Anyone willing to help a newb learn and install some parts?
Click to expand...

How much would a roundtrip ticket plus shipping for my tools cost ya?
 
DannyLlama said:
Don't toy with my emotions man :suspicious:
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Well then make the drive!

I mean really- make it a roadtrip! You can even do a thread about it.

See the country, install your lift in my garage- I'll take you fishin' out on the bay and then you drive back and do some wheelin' with other members along the way. It would be epic!
 
Drunner97 said:
[MENTION=75328]DannyLlama[/MENTION] - Exactly the same reason I did mine instead of going to a shop. If something breaks on the trail, I want to be able to fix things myself.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm wrestling with. My 4th gen has a leaky CV boot. I need to fix it. I know there are people on this board who bring spare CV axles with them and have the tools (and the know-how) to complete the repair in the middle of Death Valley, if necessary. I'm in awe of that DIY wizardry, frankly. I also know that unless I dedicate the time to figure it out on my own in the relative comfort and convenience of my own garage, I'll never develop that capability myself.

And yet, every time I dive into one of these projects it always takes longer than I anticipated. Just this weekend I replaced the serpentine belt and tensioner pulley and that (relatively) simple project wound up taking an entire afternoon, running back and forth between Toyota dealers and auto parts stores, trying to figure out the right part numbers (because the current numbers didn't match the part I pulled off my truck), pulling out the radiator fan to gain access which in and of itself isn't as easy you think, smashing my hands fingers into various metal objects trying to un-stick things, etc etc..

I told myself years ago I much prefer driving cars over working on them.

Anyone wanna join in on a CV swap party in my garage? I'll buy the beer. Decent stuff, too, like Stone IPA maybe. :cheers:
 
[MENTION=84801]AKmoney[/MENTION]

No one wants to have a CV swap then clean and reboot party lol.

Removing the CV is easy, about 30 mins, there are videos on YouTube and DIY threads on this site.

Rebooting a CV-Properly is just a dirty dirty job. You need to clean out ALL the old grease by hand with towels and rags then apply new proper grease then reassemble.

A compromise would be to pull it yourself, order the parts from Camelback then take it to a shop to have it done.

You can remove the wheel, then the CV, then stuff a rag in the hole and leave it parked.

Next order the OEM CV Boot kit from Toyota (I'd do inner and outer) and take the CV, grease, misc parts, and boot kit to someone in OC who will do the grease work. Likely about $100 per CV.

Pick up the completed CV, take it home, reinstall on the truck.

Now you're good to go for the next 150K miles.

Even the guys who swap them out on the trail don't properly reboot them on the trail.
 
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[MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION]

I know.. I've read the write-ups. It's a messy job and it may even require tools I don't have (like 36mm socket, impact wrench, etc). I'm pretty sure I'll never blow one off-road because I don't/won't do any serious rock crawling.

I actually took my truck in to a local mechanic to have a look at it and he told me even HE didn't want to mess with it! He said I should go to a transmission shop.
 
Driver's side outer CV boot is leaking. There's grease all over the lower control arm. The boots on the other axle have a little grease coming out too but not as bad.

The mechanic I took it to said he'd probably leave it until it started making noise but I'm a little more paranoid... I don't need to be in the middle of Anza Borrego outside of cellphone coverage and have that thing give out. Blowing a CV on a V8 4th is not desirable due to it being full time 4wd.
 
[MENTION=84801]AKmoney[/MENTION]

Where in SoCal exactly? I don't think a great mechanic would say leave it until it starts making noise. These CVs can go hundreds of thousands of miles if properly cared for. I'm at 230K miles on my original CV metal. Rebooted only recently.
 
I'm right smack in the middle of OC. There's a mechanic in Irvine I occasionally use and he's the one who told me he'd probably just leave it until it got worse. He's not the guy who installed my shocks and springs, though - I'm going to try calling him next to get another opinion.
 
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