1/4 Toytec spacer install question

I have a few questions for any of you who have installed the toytec 1/4 top spacer. Can I just remove the top three stud bolts on top of the coil/spring assembly and slide the spacer over? And if not do I have to remove the bottom shock bolt as well or do I pretty much need to take apart everything just to slide it over the top? The spacer is going on a stock sport coil/shock. Thanks for any input...

 

It's just a top plate spacer

 

I'm guessing the easiest way to do this is

1. jacksands under the frame
2. drop the 2 bolts that hold the lower-control-arm to the spindle
3. remove the three nuts holding the shock coilover assembly in place
4. swing the lower-control arm down, lowering the coilover assembly to gain access to the top
5. add the spacer
6. add the bolt extensions
7. reverse steps 1-4 to reassemble everything.

 

I want to go with a mild lift, anywhere from a 1/2 to 1 inch would be perfect on my truck. I am afraid the Bilstein 5100 will cause vibrations...seems to me like its 50/50.

 

It's only a 1/2" thick spacer providing a little less than an inch of lift.

Useful if you've e.g. added a heavy bumper that caused the front to droop.

 

I did a set of 1/4" top plate spacers on my truck last week. It actually turned out to be a HUGE pain in the ass. Granted, my truck is already lifted on 5100s set at 1.75" so maybe that played a part as the over all strut assemble is a bit taller.

But, I had to unbolt the 2 lower balljoint bolts, the sway bar bolt, lower strut bolt, and the 3 strut mount top bolts. Then I had to stick a big prybar between the frame and lower control arm and pry the lower control arm down enough to slide the bottom of the strut out. The bushing on the control arms dont allow the control arms to pivot far enough to just lower the strut to slide on top plate spacers on. However, when you attempt to pull the strut assemble down, itll hit the sway bar and take a bit of persuasion to get it to drop low enough. At this point, the top of the strut mount is low enough to get the top play spacers on. Then you have to wrestle the strut assembly back in place while you pry the control arm down to get the strut bottom in place. Youll need a few prybars and an extra set of hands.

Again, this could be from it already being lifted that made it a huge pain in the ass.

 

After changing the oil and rotating my tires today I decided to try to install the 1/4 spacer. I took apart the top 3 bolts, the bottom of the shock, and the bottom 2 bolts spindle to lower control arm which then I decided to stop. First off barely anything was budging and I only gained about 1/8 inch between the top of the coil assembly and the bottom of the mount. I also tried to push the lower arm down with a steel bar and that accomplished nothing so I figured the only way to do this is to take apart the entire front end as if I was installing a new coilover. In the end I give you guys a lot of credit for doing your own suspension work because this task was well beyond my skill set. And I figured all this work isn't worth a 1/2 inch lift... Honestly is it even worth having a shop do it?? If I may going to have someone pull it apart I might as well install 5100's but I am concerned about vibrations at .85. Any in put is appreciated ...

 

Do it all at once if youre going to do it.

My 5100s are set at 1.75" on stock springs and theres no issues.

 

I did the 5100's set at 0 with the OME 883x coils . It gave me just under 2in. on the pass. side and about 1 9/16 on the driver side . Damn taco lean. It rides great with no issues . The only regret is I wish I would of done the spacer on the drivers side for the taco lean and for the same issues you had is why I had a shop do the install. It was well worth the money.

 

I agree with doing the entire install at once. Not worth pulling the front end apart 2 times and having it aligned twice.
Follow a video like this one and you should have no problems. Feels super safe and relatively easy, just time consuming.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVLBOnAifc

Bilsteins set at .85 for me and no excessive vibrations felt. I had vibrations prior to my install ( typical 60-70 mph vibes, likely tire balance)
Good luck!

 

Boom, do this !

1) be careful lowering the truck/compressing the coils

2) you're gonna want more lift

 

There should be no vibrations if you keep the lift at- or under 2". After all, the factory TRD Pro and Baja packages lift 2"...

Look into Rancho Quicklift 2" lift complete strut assemblies so you don't have to dick around with spacers or spring compressors.



These came on the market ~2011, so they are newer than Bilstein 5100s and aren't as well known. A few guys here run them and like them.

 

Alotta guys on the ford explorer forum (my last truck obsession, see profile pic) ran the rancho struts, all good reviews

 

And a passenger-car scissor jack wedged between the lower control arm and the bumpstop bracket works a lot better than prying down on the lower control arm. I used the one from my Subaru.

 

I really want to give this one more try, my next question is what keeps the lower control arm from going down??? Is there some sort of spring or mechanism? This seems to be the only reason why I can't get the shock down. I think I am going to try the scissor jack approach but I am want to do as much research as possible to be prepared for any more problems. And I have decided to wait until I need new shocks before I upgrade to the 5100's. Thanks again guys appreciate the help.

 

^When torqued down, the lower control arm inboard joints are no longer rotating joints but flextures. (The flex comes from the rubber bushing material.)

If you loosen the lower control arm bolts, the arm can swing down 90 deg. This doesn't always work due to corrosion, but is worth a try. Use a paint marker to mark the alignment cam positions prior to loosening.

"Performance" control arms typically use urethane bushings. Since urethane doesn't flex as much as rubber, the bushings need grease reapplied every 6 months to a year to function correctly.

 

Yep. Loosen the bolts at the alignment cams after marking their positions. I should have called that out above.

 

With the sig pic, you lost me at scissor....

 

use the scissor jack or port-a-power method. that will give you enough room to get the spacer in.

 

I used a porta power