3rd gen front coil compression

Looking to throw on an Eibach 2in lift springs with bilstein 5100s in the front and then an AAL in the rear next weekend on my 3rd gen Tacoma. Curious about any tips or tricks people have used when it comes to compressing the coil spring to take the old one off and put the new coil on. I plan on picking up a coil spring compressor this week but I've seen in a lot of videos that they end up bending and are really only good for one time use depending on the quality of the compressor you buy. This is my first time doing an IFS lift since every other truck Ive owned has been solid axle, so any help or insight on this specific lift would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced !

 

Welcome aboard, Michael.

You have the option to buy from a vendor that does assembly prior to shipment since you're new getting springs. That would be the easiest route. Then you can keep your OEM coilovers assembled, sell them complete, or keep them to bolt back on after sale without much trouble.

There is a pretty slick way of using the trucks weight and a jack to compress/decompress the springs also. That's a video on YouTube somewhere. Start with watching a few installs online, there are a few different ways you can get the job done.

Good luck!

 

take them to alignment/ suspension shop and have them installed them off the vehicle for prolly less than 50 bucks

 

Honestly your best bet if your doing them yourself is to just find a shop with a wall or bench mounted spring compressor. A good shop can do it in 20 mins for close to what you are going to spend on a dangerous diy spring compressor. Just my 2cents

 

When i purchased the kit, it was supposed to come complete. However since the struts were on back-order, they just sent me everything other than the struts and then sent the struts a month or two later. So I kind of got the short end of the stick on that one. I've never heard anything about using the trucks weight though, I am definitely going to look into that. I appreciate the input !

 

The LBJ unbolts from the spindle on our trucks and makes installing coilovers pretty slick.

In short, jack under lower control arm, sway bar off, 2 LBJ bolts out, take off CENTER nut of shock in shock tower but leave 3 top hat bolts tight, and SLOWLY relieve jack pressure. She'll decompress real nicely.

 

Getting everything lined up while you reinstall is a little tricker, but not bad. Just guide everything as you're jacking upward, gradually compressing the spring until things are seated.