Icon Stage 4 Install Detailed Instructions

I have a few dumb questions:
Is it necessary to pull off the tie rods?
Is there enough clearance to remove the shock if you already have the UCA out?

 

I had to pull my tie rod. It helps move stuff around. Just be careful and support the spindle. If it not supported you can damage the ABS sensor line.

 

I have had a stage 4 ICON in my truck for 4 years now. Long story short not really happy the way they last. I paid the extra money to have them coated for salt and shit to help them last longer... My truck is a daily driver and I don't do any major off roading. I live in souther western Ontario Canada so not around any salt water.

2 years ago I blew a line on a rear remote ressie driving down the road . I was ( WTF) I paid all this money and this happened

I notice 2 weeks ago that the seals were leaking alittle bit. So I ordered a rebuild kit for them from shockseals.com ( $14.00 per side and had them in 2 days, they are great to deal with) , I pulled the shocks to rebuild them. Then I noticed the chrome is off the shafts and rusting.. ( WTF after just 4 years) So I had to order a set of shafts (Kurt Youngs suspension is the man he got them out to me over night)

Here is were the fun began, I have rebuild my race quad shocks time after time and my race bike the same.. Well I couldn't get the retainer cap off of one of them..wouldn't move. ( heat and a SST ) . got it off with a lot of work... ok next step the piston and shaft wouldn't come next so I heated the body and got the good old slide hammer out... got it out. Well lets just say I wasn't a happy camper when it came out... the bore is rusty ( WTF after sending all this money ) I am leaving on vaca next weekend and I have to take my truck so I honed the bore and got it back together. ( the one with the cap that wouldn't come off I had to machine it and put 2 set screws in it to hold it on.

The pass side was worst then the driver side.. The alum is just messed on the inside of the shock. I will post pictures tonight when I get home. I just got them back together late last night 2 am

And for pulling them out I did it in 30 mins a side from start to stop. That is upper control arm and shock with remote ressie.

Bottom line is when you pay all the money we do , you would think they would last more then 4 years as a daily driver and not off roading every day.

My buddy that builds shocks for 30 years has never seen shock this bad in his life from a daily driver. Said he never seen race shocks that are in mud and sand all the time this bad.

And to get ahold of icon it is a pain , Icon will be hearing from me. and I will post what they are going to do for me.

Terrie B

 

I just put together a custom ~stage3 kit (UCA + ext-travel coilovers and rear shocks + AAL but no resis) from them and im waiting on the IVD coating (we're in the 2nd wk of turnaround now).

Definitely interested to see what transpires with your situation. Are you planning on contacting them about this with picture documentation?

Obviously im still excited for my kit but i would say if thats the life expect ency it definitely needs some addressing.

 

If you jack up on the lower control arm when removing the tapered ball joint, doesn't that release the tension? Then once it's been released can't you just lower the jack to lower the whole assembly so you can get the balljoint bolt out?

 

Could it be that you didn't perform scheduled maintenance on the Coilovers?

 

Hey I'm a lot better at seeing and learning rather than just reading instructions awesome write up but this video helped me understand it a lot better as well (it uses Fox shocks but the step by step is exactly the same) and you can use it to relate to these instructions
http://youtu.be/bbsTJgb6S_c

 

Jaime. Dude. I seen this video a few days ago. They make it look so easy. I'll definitely have my iPad next to me watching the video when installing my suspension. That's if I ever get it from TAP.

 

It's actually not that hard I helped a friend take out his a couple months back but the video does help a ton man. I'll be doing the same just to be sure I'm doing it right.

 

Don't base your decision off 1 person there are tons of people who happily run Icon lifts without a single bad thing to say just my 2 cents

 

So how did it pan out? Interested in a stage 3 but even if there is a flaw I would like the company to back their products.

 

We more than stand behind our products, and here on TW as well. I'm sure plenty can express their experience and the additional effort we put out to make sure people are happy. Obviously we are a business so there has to be line at some point. We service shocks 10 years old with out issue and shocks that are "less than maintained" that come in destroyed. You as the consumer have to maintain your investment like anything. If you live in brutal climates / conditions and never do a thing to them, well they are probably going to treat you the same way! .

 

So what are some things you would suggest to maintain and help them last.... I live in Colorado ...FWIW .I love my ICONS..The ride is awesome..

 

First and foremost keeping them clean, it is crucial to keep them from having debris stuck to the shocks. Being you reside in Colorado as mentioned and can face conditions that leave lots of things on the ground you may want to pick up a set of the coilover shock covers we sell for the winter. They velcro on for easy installation and removal but offer quite a bit of extra protection to the shaft and seals. Part number is 191003.

 

Thanks for getting back on this. I live in Canada and see a lot of snow and road debris. I clean by truck regularly so I don't anticipate anything related to that maintenance part. Is there anything else besides cleaning you recommend? Certain lubrication on certain parts? Anything I should definitely not spray into/on?

 

Look into those covers as that is huge......grease upper arm bushings regularly and clean uniballs if you have them is pretty much it. Some use the Tri-flo dry teflon based lube on the uniballs and bearings, anything moist can attract dirt so grease is not the best idea.

 

do you make plastic dust caps for the tubular upper arms with uniballs? that would really help me keep them clean. i noticed the beefier uppers came with caps, just not my tubular ones.

oh, also... the grease fittings dont exactly seat in a position that i can get a grease gun on them easily. is a crush washer appropriate for permanent installation to get the fitting pointing at an angle i can easily get to? so far ive had to just loosen the fitting, grease up and then tighten the fitting back down.

 

Here is the link to the:
ICON Tubular Uniball Upper Control Arm Billet Cover Caps


http://iconvehicledynamics.com/shop/503-tubular-uniball-upper-control-arm-uca-cover-cap.html


The grease fittings do not have to be heavily torqued so you should be able to rotate them to the usable area and leave them.

 

are these a new thing? it would have been helpful to include in the stage 4 kit i bought last year.

im looking at 1/4 to 1/3 turn.. i honestly dont trust that the fittings wont come loose from on-road and off-road vibration if i set them and leave them

 

Great write up!