Installing AP LT this weekend...have a question

Finished up everything on Saturday. The UCA fit perfect, the LCA were still a little "off", but acceptable, i guess.

I was able to fit spacer on both sides of the LCA forward frame mount:


I still was unable to fit the provided spacers on both sides of the LCA rearward frame mount:



Not a huge deal i suppose, but i wanted to make sure the mounts were straight and not being bent so I put the two provided spacers on the outside and a thinner grade 8 washer to take up the rest of the empty space between the frame mount and the LCA.

Finished passenger:


Finished driver:


Trucks getting an alignment now.

 

LCA's measured 11 15/16's" inside metal to inside metal. Seems like the arms need to be around 12 1/16th" to be perfect. I didn't measure the UCA's, but they were definitely wider!

Seems like the arms could be off 1/10" here and there.

 

No hd steering upgrade?

 

Nah, couldn't justify the extra $500 right now, since there are a couple of people that have had issues with the AP HD steering.

 

Oh really? Care to elaborate? I will be getting the hd steering upgrade. And I agree $500 is a lot.

 

I think NwiTaco had the issue. I'll let him PM ya about it. I hate to bad mouth the manufacturer on here when I really dont know all the details.

You going with FOX CO's?

 

I'll bad mouth them They don't know how to set up proper steering geometry

 

Yup. Getting top of the line stuff where I can. I've heard a lot of good things about the fox coilovers. I need to find a place to get the spindle gussets welded on. And not sure if il take on the task of doing the axle shifts. Might be less of a pain in the ass just to get someone else to do it for a fair price. I have a big press and stuff, but it looks awful.

 

I've had two of the fox adjusting collars seize up on me over the years. If it happens to you, you'll probably need to use a little bit of heat to loosen them. I had to torch mine for about 1 minute before the brand new passenger side collar would loosen enough to adjust. Nothing else worked, PB, breaker bar, etc. Just make sure not to heat them too long bc they are cast aluminum.

In hindsight the axles really aren't that bad. Once you cut the axles a press is all you need. Putting everything back together is really easy, just freeze the new axle shafts for about 2 days before install (may be overkill). Make sure to get new hole rings (Hole Ring P/N: 43425-04040) from Toyota. They are like $3 a piece. I got new c clips for the inner shaft as well, but you can reuse the stock ones if need be.

One more thing, if the parts don't seem to fit right, call AP. Even though AP made it right and I didn't get charged for it, I would hate to see anyone go through what I did. disassemble, reassemble, disassemble, reassemble,

 

Then what did you use?

Thats because the proper clip is a different shape than a c-clip. The factory clip is like a round bent piece of music wire, a c-clip is flat with a rectangular cross section.

You dont need a new clip for the inner joint, simply remove the clip and reuse it. The outer is the one in the birf that gets f'd up removing the axle.

The only clip that comes up at the parts counter is for the inner joint. Toyota only has the birf available attached to the shaft, thus they dont sell just the clip.

OK so what did you do on the birf end (outer)...

Or did you put a c-lip on and use that? The whole point to the round cross section of the proper clip is that it facilitates shaft removal. If you installed the axles in the birf with a c-clip it will never come out.

And the freezer thing isnt at all necessary. The splines have plenty of clearance and the axles go right in at room temperature.

 

oh jeez, let me clear this up.

I got the inner and outer confused in my previous post.

For the inner, I could have reused the factory one bc I was able to pop it off undamaged, but I chose to purchase a new one.

For the outer I ordered the above mentioned part number, at least I think that was the part number. Sorry for calling it a c-clip. I ordered both, but im almost 100% that's the correct one for the outer. It was round shaped ring, not the rectangular square c clip. Was called a hole clip via the Toyota parts counter. We found the P/N on a diagram and ordered it. Other than that I dunno what to say, it fit and it held the axle in place.

right on

Hopefully I can get the truck wheeling, well at least somewhat wheeling, to flex it out and check clearances this weekend.

 

no way that is absolutely unacceptable from a company like allpro. thats ridiculous im mad for you!

 

I thought the FJ and Tacoma LT control arm kits share a common PN? In fact, if you drill through AP's web site, they go to the same page. I think more likely the arms pulled a bit after welding, and because of the extensive gusseting, they can't be pulled apart at installation. My AP non-LT UCAs were also tight, but they don't have the gusset at the uniball, so I was able to get the washer in there with some prying.

 

Thanks for the clarification. Just trying to get everything straight as it seems a thread like this was long overdue and peeps will be coming here for info in the future.

My LCA's fit just like yours so I have a little reassurance now. Thanks for all the info!

 

sounds good. I went back through and cleaned up my previous posts where the inner and outer were transposed. I'll get some good pictures of the finished truck soon for you guys, I'm too busy for my own good.

 

I know its not much, but I took some driveway shots today. I'm real happy with it!

 

Like a boss and what fenders flares are you going to get

 

Some spacers in the back would put the icing on the cake.. A mighty beast cake!!

How about some offroad pics? Go enjoy your hard work!

 

I'm afraid of someone stealing the ap lt when I get it. I will definitely paint them black so it's less obvious. I'm thinking of welding some tabs over the bolts to you can't get at them without some work. But I'll make it so I can get them off. Same with bumpers and winch.