Just got my QA1's but...

I have run into a problem with the bushing sleeves they give you.

This is the smallest sleeve and is a tad to small to fit the stock bolt.



and this is the bigger sleeve and it is a bit to big.



I think I came up with a solution but it is going to require drilling out the mounting holes to a 1/2 in. I went to Lowe's and picked up a grade 8, 1/2 in bolt that is almost identical to the stock bolt and it fits the bigger sleeve like a glove. So I guess I need to know if this will be a good idea or a bad one?

 

That is what I am hoping, its pretty weird that neither of the sleeves fit the stock bolt though.

 

I got the shocks from Luis at paradise racing so they should be the exact ones for the Tacoma. We tried to get the old bushing out of the old shocks but no luck. I think,( and I could be wrong), that maybe there are two types of bushing sleeves, SAE and metric sleeves that come with the shocks. I think what I have is SAE bushings because the 1/2 inch bolt I got from Lowe's fits it perfectly, so with that said, I am assuming that the Stock bolt is metric and maybe they sent the wrong sleeves?

 

Give Luis a call and see whats going on. They should be direct fit, no modification required. At least, they were with the ones I bought from Ryan.

 

I emailed Luis and hopefully will hear from him soon.

 

It's a common issue of Standard vs Metric. The sleeves are made in America the stock Tacoma bolts are made in Japan. Easiest fix is to drill the mounts on the truck to fit the fatter sleeves the QA1's came with. Think of it as an upgrade. Get some 5/8" grade 8 bolts. QA1's come with 1/2" gold sleeves and 5/8" gold sleeves. On my rear 4 link kits, I toss the smaller sleeves and use the 5/8" ones.

Seems you have it handled. I just re read your original post. I know the shocks that I use for the rear on my 4 link kit, come with 1/2" & 5/8" sleeves in a bag. Pictured are the 5/8" next to the shocks, and the 1/2" ones in the bag that I won't be using.

 

I just drilled out the holes so I could make the bigger sleeves fit as of right now the driver side shock is on and adjusted, but now the passenger side ones is giving me problems, the lil nub at the top of the stock shock actually broke off as I was trying to undo the nut I would think the stock Toyota shocks would hold up better after only 70,xxx miles of use.

 

It put up a damn fight but I got the passenger side shock off.

 

I am not 100% sure, the previous owner had 2" drop blocks on the truck before I had it so it is quite possible that they were changed out but I don't see why they would change out the shock bolts?

 

All done, took it for a test drive and everything feels alright.

 

That style shock setup always does that. It's a pain in the ass. I hate that style and wish they could just put a round eye on each end, would make life easier. I use vise grips, but there's technically a special tool used to hold that square top piece, it's so damn small. 4 runner rear shocks are like that and the top piece is buried between the body and the frame and you can barely get to them. REAL stupid! I'd love to have the guy that designed them try to remove a shock after 10 years.

Good looking out Ry Ry. I'll bet you're right, they may have been changed since it's had a different owner and has been messed with before. Who knows.

 

I want thank you guys for all the technical help and suggestions, there is no way I could have done this all by myself, I really appreciate it. I am sure this won't be my last troubleshooting but its good to know that I have people that can help straighten out the problems. Keep up the good work!