Top-Plate Spacers to go with my Coil-Overs

Hey All,

Bit of a Newbie on this site, so be gentle...

I have an 09 TRD Sport with Fox Remote-Reservoir coil-overs (front) and shocks/custom-leafs on the rear. That was enough to run LT285/70/R17 Mickey's on the truck with no issues, until...

The Smittybuilt winch brought the nose down and now I'm rubbing. A bit.

I think a 2"-front/1"-rear levelling kit will do the trick and eliminate the rubbing, but what do you all think?

Any issues with the coil-overs and the spacers? If not,

What material should the spacers be made from?

Are there any brands I should really consider OR really stay away from?

I live in Northern Canada so shipping and import duties can be a real killer, and I would go with a cheaper option IF I'm not going to pay for it, in the long run. Sometimes the off-brand parts are just the next big-brand waiting to be discovered, right?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

The first thought that comes to mind is doing away with those Fox coilovers and installing coils with a heavier spring rate. It sounds like your compression travel has been reduced with the added weight.

 

Okay. That's fair enough. I think both answers are helpful.

I'm not rock-crawling in this and it is my daily driver, but I'm also not afraid to cut away some of the "offending parts".

The issue is that it will sometimes rub on the upper part of the wheel-well, and I have a hard time imagining cutting that away. Maybe it's normal for that to happen sometimes, but I don't think so.

Musubi, could you elaborate on your comment for me? What is involved in this? Could I get new coils and keep the Fox shocks?

I feel like this is the answer, but I don't know enough about it to say for sure, and I want to understand this better before I invest in what will be a pretty serious part-swap. The shocks and coils still seem to be in good shape, and I'd rather not replace them if I don't have to.

 

Adjust the pre-load of the coilovers to raise the front up.

https://accutuneoffroad.com/oem-front-coilover-shock-setup/

 

Thanks.

This was suggested to me, but I couldn't figure out how to adjust the height on the coil-overs.

Have you ever adjusted the height on your shocks? Did it work for you? Is there any advice you would give that is NOT covered in that article?

 

Adding spacers on top off of CO's is a big no-no. My recommendation is to call a company that carries your shocks such as accutone offroad listed by outxider above. You need to see which model CO's you have since if you are maxed out with their lower height CO's then swapping for new CO's with the proper adjustable height range is an option or maybe swapping out just the coils with the stiffer spring rate. If you need to adjust yours, it will likely involve spring compressors and a spanner wrench but accutone offroad can confirm all of this. Welcome to TW..

 

This is the invoice for the shocks. They seem to be adjustable to 3".

I have the spanner wrench, but I don't have any spring compressors. There's a chance that the local mechanic does, but I wouldn't count on it. I'm having new brakes put on in the next week or so, so he and I will take a look at it then. The trouble is, he and I looked at it before, and he couldn't figure out how to adjust the height.

Is there a way to visibly confirm whether or not my shocks are maxed out? I can post photos.

 

You can rent spring compressors for free w/refundable deposit at any local auto parts store, well, here in the states anyways. If the CO's were already at 3" when installed, then new stiffer rate springs are needed.

 

That's good to know. There's a NAPA in "town" - about 100km down the road, so I'll see if they have one.

I'm unclear, though, whether or not the coils can be changed independently of the shocks. Can you, or do they need to be changed together?

 

I have the same Fox coilovers and raised the truck up half inch to compensate for the added weight. I did one wheel at a time. Jacked the front up to take load off the coilover, spray lubricant onto the coilover threads, loosen the set allen screw on the lock collar, and used a 5/16th punch with a cheater bar. Since then, i have the King tool which makes it a lot easier. The Fox spanner wrench is useless as there is no room. This has worked well for me.

As suggested Wattapunk, using spring compressors will take the load off the spring and can adjust freely.

Spring compressor:

$40 ABN Coil Spring Compression Tools - 2pc Durable Coil Spring Clamps Strut Spring Compressor Tool Set with Safety Guard

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S4MV7K...&pd_rd_r=880796fe-07ba-4dc3-94f1-3f450e43eb3a

King tool:
https://www.polyperformance.com/kin...MI_rvfioXK8gIVjSCtBh0QzwX5EAQYASABEgL08vD_BwE

 

Is this all usable thread for raising the shocks?



Also, is that set-screw on the upper or lower end of the coil?

Edit: Now that I think about it for a second, the visible thread would probably be used when LOWERING the shock, yeah? You would need to see the remaining thread BELOW that piece?

 

You are going to want to clean those before you attempt to adjust them. The hole on the right needs to be cleaned out to access the pinch bolt to keep the collar from turning/slipping. Once it is loose you can more easily spin the collar. It is worth measuring the strut length at ride height to make sure you aren't already over the recommended length.

 

As I spin the collar to increase the height, are those threads going to be taken up, or will I expose more thread?

And I was a little embarrassed to post that picture - she certainly needs a good clean! She doesn't spend a lot of time on the blacktop...

 

It will expose more threads.

 

You can likely adjust on the truck. Might save you time and headache. FYI A lot of spring compressors rented out of Napa and autozone are too thick to fit in coilovers.

I would look into a degreaser/cleaner and spray for a few days, try and get a toothbrush in behind the coils on the exposed threads. When you adjust the collar, you’ll be tightening then Down. The exposed threads on top don’t matter as much, as tightening down will expose more threads. I do worry about the threads below the collar. They’ll need to be cleaned. Make sure the clamp screw on the collar is cleaned up and accessible. After they’re cleaned up:

1.spray wd40 or penetrating oil/lubricant on the threads to help aid in adjustment. Spray both top and bottom threads. And on top of the collar so it can seep down into the covered threads. Let it sit for a bit.
2. Jack up the front entirely u til they are drooped and tires are off the ground.
3. Loosen collar clamp nut
4. Using a spanner or appropriate size punch, slowly spin the collar so it threads down (tightening the coils).
5. Give it a few complete turns, lower truck and jump on or drive truck back and forth to settle the suspension, measure new ride height and repeat as necessary until you get your desired height.

when tightening, tighten and back off a bit, tighten a bit more, and back off. Almost like chasing threads with a tap, this will help is any residue or gunk left on threads.


Hope this helps!

 

Wow. Super helpful write-up. Sincere thanks for taking the time.

Just so I'm clear, though, after loosening the collar, I'm spinning the BASE of the shock, not the collar, right?

 

The adjustments are done with the collar, there are holes along the outer edge of the collar spaced evenly. These are what the spanner wrench or punch fit into, the collar spinning is what compresses the spring, thus lifting the front end. Sometimes the coil will spin with the collar, sometime it won’t.

one thing you WILL need to look for is spring contact with the upper control arm. Ideally, the upper control arm will droop between coils, but if the coil spins when you spin the collar, it may bind up on the control arm and make it 20x harder. You can alleviate this by using a jack to lift up the hub assembly slightly which will lift the upper control arm away from the coil.

 

Man, oh man! I can see how got it wrong last time, then: didn't slacken the collar screw and we were trying to spin the bottom part of the shock assembly, not the top.

The guy up here is a great guy and a pretty good mechanic, but he's never seen anything like these shocks before (and neither had I, before I bought the truck). As I said, we live in a pretty remote location.

Now, viz a vs cleaning the threads, can I use a wire brush? Like the sort of one you would use to clean a gun (the breach and pin area, not the barrel)?
And also, I have TONS of thread below that collar. I can't see all of that being usable thread. There was a table on the link from outxider that gave maximum length for the shocks. Although I don't see my exact piece on there, is that what I'm going to go by?

 

So, I have thread down to here, but that's at least 6" remaining. I can't imagine increasing the height by 6"!

How much of that can I play with? Refer to the table, or what?

(I was going to measure the length of the whole unit, but it's not sitting level in the driveway so I'll have to get a measurement later)

 

if memory serves me correctly each revolution got me 1/8". You will top out the strut and collapse the spring long before you reach the threads on the bottom. If you look at the link provided above by accutune they recommend the strut to only be no longer than 21" at ride height.