Who's unbolted lower control arm to disassemble/assemble coilovers?

I watched a youtube video where a guy lifted the front end of a 2nd Gen, removed the lower A-arm's bottom 2 bolts, then used a bottle jack to let it swing straight down and removed the tension from the coils/struts. He changed the notch on his 5100s then used the bottle jack against the weight of the truck to compress it all back in to place.

I have my 5100s set on the 1.55" notch and my 2017 DCOR rides like crap now...way too stiff! I'm hopeful I can use this procedure to drop the snap ring down to the .65" notch without having to take the whole assembly to a shop.

Anybody tried this???

 

Youll need two jack stands, good floor jack with a good valve to regulate down with weight.


Took me 1.5 hours to lift truck using method youre talking about. Its good to have a friend with you to help you line up the shaft of strut when re installing.

Btw had two beer during that 1.5 hours working at relaxed speed. Dont back off lower control arm bushings too much at begining it will also help control the spring force acting downwards.

Youll have to push and pull and twist to get the lower ball joints bolts to line up again. But nothing crazy.

 

Thanks for the info. I looked at it earlier today and was just trying to go thru the process in my head. It's good to get the info from someone that has actually done it. Thanks again...

 

You don’t need to do this.

Take the pressure off the spring
Loosen the bottom bolt
Loosen the top bolts
Have a buddy pry the UCA down
Slide the bottom bolt out
Remove the top bolts
Slide the coil over assembly out

 

Watch "PART 1 TOYOTA TACOMA STRUTS INSTALL | No Spring Compressor" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/5E6u7dC7EHg

Rethinking, watch this video, just incase we are refering to two different videos. Should be same method to release spring pressure though.

 

Ummm so when the coil over assembly is out ...... ? ya this guy is trying to avoid a mechanic over charging him or like most people dont want to risk a sketchy a$$ spring compressor.

Leaving the bottom bolt of strut on lower control arm pretty much removes the odds of things blowing up in your face. Having the bushings of lower control arm only slighly loosen also act as a brake on downward force.

 

I've done it several times, it can get sketchy, just take your time and follow the steps from the video you watched...

 

I did it myself a few months ago after watching a few videos. I’ve done lots of shocks, but never a coilover. As said above, it seems perfectly safe when leaving the bottom bolt attached when releasing the top nut.

 

When you're doing this, make sure to mark your camber bolts position. In fact, i would take the camber bolts out and slather them in anti seize without putting any on the threads. This will save you later if you ever need to change your lower control arm or change the LCA bushings/ball joint. Take it from me, I have had to use a Sawsall on too many camber bolts to count because they rusted and would not come out. Takes an extra 15 mins or so but saves you time and money in the long run. If you have any questions DM me

 

Good call. 5 or 6 years later, during an alignment, you would have avoided seized LCA cam bolts! I have no idea why, but every Toyota I've had has had that issue.

OA

 

I’ve done this method probably 4-5 times, and it’s not difficult in the slightest. You will want a second set of hands to guide the shock through the top hat. To rebolt the LCA to the spindle, use the jack to apply as much upward pressure as you can until you start just lifting the truck from the LCA. This gets the ball joint nice and close to the spindle, making it easier to put the bolts back in.

A good idea while you have it apart is to entirely remove the LCA bolts, one at a time and smother them with anti seize. I do this and have never had a problem with seized bolts.