Do I really need to be rebuilding Icons?

They don't usually sag, as long as your spring is still there, squaking isn't a given either unless the inner wear band fails entirely or a lower heim goes out too. Leaking can be a sign but it isnt always external, my icons made a squelching noise when they needed a rebuild and they didn't feel so great on rough terrains (fine for around town though).

 

You have a clearly skewed idea of what you’re getting when you buy “performance parts.”

Serviceable suspension is an investment for drive quality as well as the abilty to keep them long term as long as you keep up with maintenance. If you dont feel like keeping up with maintenance then keep the OE equipment but if you read your owners manual those are only good for 60k or so before you should buy new ones. Most people don’t but that’s the interval.

Additionally, just because you didn’t notice your shocks needing a rebuild doesn’t mean they dont need it. You don’t notice your engine oil needs to be changed until your motor takes a shit.

 

You should sell your truck and pick a different hobby, this may not be the best forum for you...

 

Explain

 

I think what he means is, you have different expectations than you should when it comes to; the use of said vehicle, the implementation of performance parts, the life expectancy of performance parts when utilized for performance, and your lack of acknowledgement of the work/time/money required for the continuous use of said vehicle.

Tacoma for me is my 'cheap' hobby...I'd hate to share my more 'expensive' hobbies with you. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that here...

 

By the way, my above statement, as well as the statement made by @Prayn4surf , is not meant to offend you.

We're just being upfront about the actual dedication required to your vehicle/hobby if you intend to use your Tacoma for anything other than highway use only.

 

I'm building my next truck out of legos...wait...that's a rebuild isn't it? Ah, fuck it, I think I'll follow the instructions that I reviewed before I bought my after market mods.

 

There's really no need. Read through this thread and it's very clear that your expectations for your truck, the modifications you're referring to, and the time that you are not willing to invest into the project do not align. You can't bash a companies product due to you'r lack of understanding or unreal expectations of said product.

Just build your truck the way it works best for you and go enjoy it. I'm with @Kwikvette in saying I mean no disrespect, but 30k miles for a maintenance interval is not a bad cost for the benefits.

 

Read what @desertjunkie760 and what @Kwikvette wrote...i dont mean to offend but for you to start a thread to complain about a racing style shock needing to be worked on on a site filled with people who love to work on their trucks, well that says a lot. This should be a slap in the face for you. You clearly don't enjoy that, so why complain to a group who enjoys exactly that. I hate to say this but higher quality offroad shocks require tunning and maintenance, much like an oil change for an engine as stated above. You should find something that requires less "work" as a hobby is what I am saying...When has a truck or mechanical thing of any kind not needed maintenance. I dont mean to offend but in all honesty you make yourself sound like an entitled fool who doesnt want to learn a thing about his truck or enhance its performance and capabilities. That is what this site is all about. When you finally get it you will see an entire community open up, meet new friends, have a huge wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, and have a more capable truck as a result.

 

I didn't start the thread to bash a companies product. I started the thread to figure out if I really needed to be stopping the use of my truck every few months (I almost have 70K on my '17) to rebuild the shocks. Some guys in other forums say they've never serviced them and they have over 60k miles on them, that would be reasonable. I get up at 4am to get a jump start on life and my daily problems and usually dont get home until 11pm or later. On the weekend I try to get out and hit a little bit of dirt/mud in my truck. I dont want to be deprived of that because its on a lift waiting for its shocks to be rebuilt. The amount of free time I have I would much rather spend wheeling or doing something other than learning how to rebuild shocks and then rebuilding them. Now, I apologize if some of my comments were a little aggressive last night, I was drinking and came back in to check up and see if someone turned in a report I needed and well I decided to check up on TW. I think Ill be going with the "5100s and when you break them just swap em out" set up. Maybe Ill get Dobinsons when I break these 5100s. Anyways, who wants some Icon rears?

 

While we're on the subject of hobbies; I need to rebarrel one of my DTA's since I'm coming up to 1,500 rounds in .300WM, rebarrel my custom build in 6 dasher since that's even more of a barrel burner, and replace one of my Osprey weekend packs.

 

I can confirm, plenty of people run their shocks for 60k miles and never serviced them... That doesn't mean you should.

It really comes down to your use. If you wheel hard a lot, then I'd say 15k or every 6 months. If you mostly drive street with an occasional fire road, then 30K is a good number. Never go to 60k. You're likely going to drive on a shock that hasn't worked properly for 30k and complain about needing to replace parts when you open them up.

For Race applications, they recommend a rebuild every 1000 miles or so. It all comes down to use.

Edit: these are generalized numbers off the top of my head. I was hoping you would get the idea.

 

I was confused when you made your "Toyotas are a cheap hobby" comment but I now understand...

 

Yep; fortunately one of my other hobbies is a "buy once cry once" kind of thing. I got only a few replies in a thread I created in another section -



My night vision setup.

 

I hear ya, and feel the same. However, it’s not just Taco’s (or vehicles in general). Just about everything I’ve ever modded or rodded to “high performance” also comes with “high maintenance”. Guns, cars, trucks, ATV’s...everything. I’ve kind of gotten to the point, that if it’s something beyond appearances, I generally won’t “upgrade” if it’s something that I need to be reliable.

 

Are you implying you do long range paired with NVGs or is this a broad coverage hobby?

 

Long range being one (as well as reloading for all my calibers), night vision being another one paired with short range shooting on BLM.

RC cars are one I just recently got out of...kept only 1 RC car after recently getting rid of everything else.

Drag racing is an old hobby, but I still have one of my cars left.

Hobbies get expensive!!!

 

Indeed hobbies get expensive! My eyes have gotten to the point where I can’t hit a 100m target anymore, without optics. I do have a couple of fudd rifles I keep some 3-9 glass on, but that’s for game. The “fun guns” stay at no further than 100m for me, and most of those have at least a 4x. Shouldn’t be sniping with a 16” barrel anyway

 

Yup... I understand your pain.

I really want to take a vehicle tactics course but the price of entry alone is pricey. Maybe sometime this year.

A buddy told me to get into mountain bikes and I laughed at him. I can’t afford the hobbies i have let alone more

 

With the right projectile weight, charge, and barrel twist, you can get pretty far with short barrels.

Problem with guns are, I also play the clone game -

Here's my MK12, even has the ARMS bipod mount, rings, rail cap, etc. Only thing not shown as clone correct is the rear sight...can't find my picture with the correct rear flip up sight.








I'm also a KAC fanboy; SR15 upper on the SR30 lower (since the SR15 lower is banned in CA). On top of having a MAMS welded on, also has the dimpled barrel which is rare to find.