Coilover install + factory bottle jack

I used this trick on my 1st gen, but haven't found anything solid via search relating to a 2nd gen.

To get the new coilovers in, can you take the factory bottle jack, invert it, and use it to push down the UCA (which would then push down the LCA) to get clearance to put the c/o back in?

When I did SAWs on my '04, that trick worked like a charm. Does it work as well on the 2nd gen?

 

You could use a floor jack and lift up on the LCA

 

works only for weaker coil springs..........new stiffer coils = no way. You will lift the truck and not compress the spring enough.

 

These two replies don't make sense to me.

Why would I want to jack up on the LCA when the whole problem is that the LCA is not *down* far enough in the first place?

How would (with the truck on jackstands and the wheels off) using the factory bottle jack against the UPPER CONTROL ARM, to push the UCA down, 'lift' up the truck?

I'm not sure if my question was unclear or if despite looking at the suspension on my '12 there is something radically different about how things work.

 

I assumed you were referring to the trick where you use a floor jack to jack up on the LCA to compress a coil spring so you can put your strut back together without the aid of a compression tool.

 

I reread your post...........so your struts are assembled and ready to go?

Loosen the LCA, it will easily move out of the way. Scribe witness marks to get your alignment back to where it was, then take it to an alignment shop.

 

Not sure why you want to push the LCA down with a jack to begin with. Then again the first post made hardly any sense to me, seems like you think there is fitment issues with placing a coil over in the spot as the OEM coil/shock assembly. I've done my front suspension 3 times and never had to "force" the LCA down, it has always moved down far enough for me to put in everything, I did use a pry bar recently to stuff my 700# coils in there but went relatively smooth...

 

Let me sprinkle some 411 on it.

With the UCA, spindle and LCA all together, if you push down on the UCA, the LCA moves down. Derp.

If you remove the factory coilovers and install something else, i.e. SAWs, the LCA rides too high to get the bottom of the coilover in the 'bucket' in the LCA, since most aftermarket coilovers have an overall longer length than the stock units. Derp #2.

One poster on here, some time back, used a pry bar to move the LCA down (which was still attached to the spindle-UCA assembly). It appears he roasted his alignment cam tabs, as in turned them into scrap. The downside of brute force. Derp #3.

So today, I got around to installing my SAWs on the '12. Disconnect the sway bar, disconnect the tie rods from the knuckle (unpleasant bang, to say the least), remove lower bolt for the factory coilovers, remove the 3 upper nuts for same, remove. Yeah, Derp #4.

Place SAW in, get the 3 top bolts started, and the SAW is about 3/4" longer than the stock unit. So the options at this point are:

1. Loosen alignment cam bolts/nuts on the LCA, remove the 2 bolts holding the LCA to the ball joint and drop the LCA down. Derp #5.

2. Take factory bottle jack. Place upside down in the wheel well, with the 'top' of the jack on the UCA and the 'base' of the jack up against the wheel well. Extend jack until you have enough room to slip in the SAW, insert lower bolt, remove jack, PROFIT!

So yeah, the trick does work on this generation of Tacoma, saves a buttload of time (less junk to loosen, disconnect, reconnect and re-torque to specs) and doesn't destroy the alignment cam tabs in the process (if that was even the dude's root cause in the first place).

Removing Derp from the world and spreading knowledge, one post at a time.