Synister
Member
After 4 years of ownership and 55k mi on the Daystar spacer install, I decided it was time to give my truck a suspension that would last it another 100k. The stock Bilsteins and Daystar combo have been great so far, right in line with what a lot of people on this site look for when swapping in FJ parts for their lift. I took advantage of a nice Cyber Monday deal while deployed and finally installed all the goodies a couple days ago. Upgrades include:
-Total Chaos uni-ball upper control arm
-Icon 2.5 extended travel front coil over
-Icon 2.0 rear remote reservoir shock
-Icon 2" rear lift springs
Since the truck was already lifted, the new components would probably only add a very mild .5-1.0" lift over the 2.5/1.5 Daystar kit that was well settled. I had access to the auto hobby shop on base so a lift, air tools and everything else you could want were within easy reach. That being said, this install still took me 9 hours working alone. If I were to do it again I could probably knock it out in 7 hours, maybe 6.5. I wouldn't say it was hard, just time consuming.
I read through as many installs as I could find, both here and toyota120.com, so I was pretty prepared for each step of the install, except one. There is literally only one post I could find that depicted how to install ANY remote resi rear shock, let alone the one I would be installing. The instructions included with the rear shocks really only tell you how to install the bushings and leave it up to you to figure out how to mount everything. These shocks come with a mounting bracket, hose clamps and bolt...ingenuity not included.
Before a day of wrenching, "Stock" Daystar 2.5/1.5 on 33's
Front end all done. I took my time and triple checked all the brake and ABS sensors were disconnected from the spindle before I knocked the UCA balljoint loose. Overall, the passenger side, which was the first side I worked on, took close to 3.5 hours. The drivers side took closer to 2. You can save some time on the install by pre-building your UCAs. Took me about 30 min to grease and install all the bushings and install the zerks on each UCA. Thats an hour you can save if you do it the day before. I used anti-seize thread lube as the urethane bushing lube based on a number of recommendations from fab shop installers and semi-pro off road racers. Time will tell if they stay quiet.
Done with the front and on to the rear. Again, I triple checked that all the critical brake and ABS lines were disconnected from the axle before I disconnected the rear sway bar and started dropping everything down. I had no issues using already proven methods of removing the rear springs, however, the stock rear shocks took some persuasion to get the top bolt loose. Installing the new rear shock was pretty easy, I just wasn't quite sure how to mount the resi. The frame actually has 2 threaded holes on the underside just forward of the bumpstop. Initially I wanted to use all the stock hardware, namely the included bracket bolt. I actually went so far as to drill and attempt to tap the forward-most hole on the passenger side before I realized I could just dig through the spare nuts and bolt bin and find something that fit. Turns out the hole is already threaded for a sort-of standard Toyota factory bolt. I don't have the numbers but it is basically threaded for the same kind of bolt I was pulling out of the factory retaining brackets for the brake and ABS lines. So far the geometry of the hose routing seems to work and the proximity to the muffler on the Pax side doesn't seem to heat it up at all.
I managed to find 2 similar bolts and rather than waste time drilling and tapping on the drivers side, I just used the bolt I found and saved about an hour. Of note, the most desirable of the two frame holes is the one most forward because it allows the most room for hose routing. On the drivers side, a frame mount for the gas tank gets in the way so you have to use the rear hole. On the passenger side, I drilled and tapped this hole for no reason, essentially ruining it, before using a factory style bolt in the rear-most frame hole. No biggie, you just have to use a zip-tie on both sides (not pictured) to keep the hose clear of the sway bar.
A shot looking at the underside of the frame on the passenger side. You can see where the bracket bolts into the hole. Just forward of the bolt is the second hole that I drilled and attempted to tap. This hole can only be used on the passenger side due to gas tank interference on the drivers side.
Final results. Subtle increase in height, noticeable difference in ride. Still getting used to it, the stock Billies were very nice but I still need to make a couple adjustments to the drivers side as its sits lower than the passenger side. Alignment will follow these adjustments.
-Total Chaos uni-ball upper control arm
-Icon 2.5 extended travel front coil over
-Icon 2.0 rear remote reservoir shock
-Icon 2" rear lift springs
Since the truck was already lifted, the new components would probably only add a very mild .5-1.0" lift over the 2.5/1.5 Daystar kit that was well settled. I had access to the auto hobby shop on base so a lift, air tools and everything else you could want were within easy reach. That being said, this install still took me 9 hours working alone. If I were to do it again I could probably knock it out in 7 hours, maybe 6.5. I wouldn't say it was hard, just time consuming.
I read through as many installs as I could find, both here and toyota120.com, so I was pretty prepared for each step of the install, except one. There is literally only one post I could find that depicted how to install ANY remote resi rear shock, let alone the one I would be installing. The instructions included with the rear shocks really only tell you how to install the bushings and leave it up to you to figure out how to mount everything. These shocks come with a mounting bracket, hose clamps and bolt...ingenuity not included.
Before a day of wrenching, "Stock" Daystar 2.5/1.5 on 33's
Front end all done. I took my time and triple checked all the brake and ABS sensors were disconnected from the spindle before I knocked the UCA balljoint loose. Overall, the passenger side, which was the first side I worked on, took close to 3.5 hours. The drivers side took closer to 2. You can save some time on the install by pre-building your UCAs. Took me about 30 min to grease and install all the bushings and install the zerks on each UCA. Thats an hour you can save if you do it the day before. I used anti-seize thread lube as the urethane bushing lube based on a number of recommendations from fab shop installers and semi-pro off road racers. Time will tell if they stay quiet.
Done with the front and on to the rear. Again, I triple checked that all the critical brake and ABS lines were disconnected from the axle before I disconnected the rear sway bar and started dropping everything down. I had no issues using already proven methods of removing the rear springs, however, the stock rear shocks took some persuasion to get the top bolt loose. Installing the new rear shock was pretty easy, I just wasn't quite sure how to mount the resi. The frame actually has 2 threaded holes on the underside just forward of the bumpstop. Initially I wanted to use all the stock hardware, namely the included bracket bolt. I actually went so far as to drill and attempt to tap the forward-most hole on the passenger side before I realized I could just dig through the spare nuts and bolt bin and find something that fit. Turns out the hole is already threaded for a sort-of standard Toyota factory bolt. I don't have the numbers but it is basically threaded for the same kind of bolt I was pulling out of the factory retaining brackets for the brake and ABS lines. So far the geometry of the hose routing seems to work and the proximity to the muffler on the Pax side doesn't seem to heat it up at all.
I managed to find 2 similar bolts and rather than waste time drilling and tapping on the drivers side, I just used the bolt I found and saved about an hour. Of note, the most desirable of the two frame holes is the one most forward because it allows the most room for hose routing. On the drivers side, a frame mount for the gas tank gets in the way so you have to use the rear hole. On the passenger side, I drilled and tapped this hole for no reason, essentially ruining it, before using a factory style bolt in the rear-most frame hole. No biggie, you just have to use a zip-tie on both sides (not pictured) to keep the hose clear of the sway bar.
A shot looking at the underside of the frame on the passenger side. You can see where the bracket bolts into the hole. Just forward of the bolt is the second hole that I drilled and attempted to tap. This hole can only be used on the passenger side due to gas tank interference on the drivers side.
Final results. Subtle increase in height, noticeable difference in ride. Still getting used to it, the stock Billies were very nice but I still need to make a couple adjustments to the drivers side as its sits lower than the passenger side. Alignment will follow these adjustments.
