Everything Elka and How They Compare

Sorry, I was typing away on my phone and missed some important details.

They shipped my 2-3 lift with 13” coils I believe. Hell, maybe they were 12”. All I know was there was a ridiculous amount of threads showing to achieve the appropriate amount of lift. I had to buy brand new 700lb coils (same weight, different length) to have an acceptable amount of preload. They charged me full price for the coils. Does that clear things up?

 

I appreciate the sympathy, but I don’t think it’s the same thing if you look outside the issue I had with service centers.

If you do a quick search online you can find all kinds of information on rebuilding Tacoma shocks yourself; videos, parts, everything. Elka seems to be the only brand that I can’t find information on.

If I’m going to have to spend 1K to rebuild my shocks every 25,000 miles, I’m want to do it myself. Even if it requires a vacuum pump I pay that off after 125,000 miles and help rebuild others to pay for it in the process.

When 303 suspension told me that they could not get the information to service them I knew something was up. The vast majority of Elka shocks being sold in the US are being sold under the Toytec brand in Denver, and yet they won’t provide any information to companies in Denver that want to add Elka to their service line?! Something fishy is going on here!

If there’s no information available on rebuilds how am I to trust that Roll Design or Impact solutions knows what they are doing? What are you hiding Elka?!

 

Yes it does. Maybe I'm not clear on how Elka sells their coilovers, if they offer different spring rates. A different spring rate (than what comes standard) would be recommended based on added weight to the truck, nothing to do with desired lift height. Threads showing on the coilover does not equal preload.

 

I see the confusion.

At least when I looked earlier on Elka install instructions they said that you should not have over 2” of threads showing. My suspension certainly had more threads that the allowed showing, which is crazy considering it’s a 700lb spring and the appropriate amount of lift. This is before the swap.


This was after:

 

I mean, Fox never replied to a single email or phone call. There's no rebuild information on their website and no website for ordering replacement parts. Every single shop in Canada that sells Fox wasn't even able to get replacement parts from them. I stopped trying after about 8 months. I had to get 303 Shocks Services to send me replacement seals from the US just so I could do it myself. If it wasn't for forum posts and youtube videos, I would no idea how to rebuild those either. So yeah, kinda the same thing lol.

The weirdest part is that you actually got a response from Elka and they straight up said they don't have that information. Not sure what's up with that because there are a handful of shops in Canada that are authorized Elka repair facilities. Elka will even direct you to them sometimes. I wonder how they got their info/training on how to rebuild and revalve these. I know Krave has actually had Elka out at their shop recently for in-person training. Maybe that's how it all been done up to this point?

 

From my experience, Elka sells "off the shelf" setups of their shocks. But if you order directly from them, or through a shop like Krave, you can request different coil and valving specs for no additional cost. I've done both. I'm not sure what the default setup is designed for though... It's a 13" 700lb coil as a standard option on their 2-3" lift coilovers. I have a stock weight DCLB and they put a 14" 600lb coil on with about 3/4" of thread showing on the preload collar for 3" of lift.

 

It took weeks to get that response from Elka and previously they told me that their tech guy would provide the information, but then they changed their mind. I was willing to buy a second set if they were willing to provide it, but it’s a no go.

I honestly haven’t found the rebuild info on Fox shocks website, but I haven’t really looked for it because I’ve watched enough videos to know it’s not going to be a problem.

I found this directly on King Shocks website. This is the right attitude. I think that any company that advertises themselves as race shocks should understand that racers need pit crews with mechanics that have to appropriate information to do rebuilds.



When I was on the phone with Elka the guy actually told me that they never made documentation for people to rebuild at home because “we didn’t expect that people would want to rebuild them at home”. What a joke!

 

Where did you get that cam tab alignment plate from?

 

would most of you who have experienced this "clunk" say it is generally experienced at rolling around at low speeds light navigating a parking lot, etc. I definitely have something going on and after an initial shakedown of most other things, my fear is this as well.

 

"Generally", yes.

I encounter this (almost ALWAYS) hitting bumps below about 30mph.
Above 30mph or so, it's my opinion that road noise takes over and I just can't hear it.

Cheers

 

Thanks

 

Marlin Crawler LCA frame brace

https://www.marlincrawler.com/axles/frame/hd-lca-frame-brace-2016-tacoma

 

So after a year on the 2.0's I would have to say I'm happy with their performance and elka/kraves support for the product.
They get used on everything highway, service roads and towing. Any issues that have popped up they were handled quick and havnt had issues past repair. Even the coil length issue that was brought up was looked after. I have a bit of an advantage over most having krave all of 20 minutes from my house.
Lots say you instantly need to go 2.5 or bigger I have still yet to fade my 2.0's or see any issues with performance even on long sections of rough fire road. Where as my stocks had lost almost all dampening performance early on in the stretch.

One of the pros these have over everything else is they stand up to winter. Just finished my second winter with them and they still look nearly new. My roof rack is deteriorating faster than them.

When the time comes for a rebuild I'll let you know how that process goes. But with my experience I will have elka on the truck for the foreseeable future.

Brand new

1 year later

 

I have been running 2.0 700 lb/in coilovers for a couple of years but not driving a lot because of working from home. Put pretty much the heaviest available winch bumper on the nose around 6 weeks ago, plus 225 lb net incl. the winch. I can definitely feel the mass but the truck still rides and handles much better than stock, at least to me.

I'll be sure to upgrade to 2.5" coilovers when I start racing through the Baja desert and having drinks with supermodels. Still waiting for Gisele to return my calls...

 

Does any one have a technique for "replicating" the clunk sitting still in terms of jacking up the truck & pushing on the wheels up/down like you would check for play in a tie rod, etc. I would love to diagnosis this 100% before tearing it apart. I am almost certain it's probably the culprit, but seen a lot of videos of folks who get a lot of squeaking when the lower spherical bearings fail & I definitely don't have that. Just this dreaded clunk as @GasPowered describes it.

 

Haven’t had the clunk in a long time up front. I’m now experiencing a pop coming from the back end. I think it’s my leaf’s. I did replace the spherical bearing back in November after I had an awful screeching/squeaking sound. Maybe the clunk is related to the spherical bearing loosing its tight tolerance and it’s only a matter of time before it needs replacing

 

I've replaced the shock bearings on the front.
Unfortunately, the "clunk" is still there (never went away).

Cheers

 

I can’t remember if someone mentioned it here or I read it elsewhere but sometimes the coilovers are under pressurized. They need to be topped up with nitrogen but require a special tool from elka to do.

 

I had this on my rears, quick top up clunk gone. I chased it forever was convinced it was I my leafs forever.

 

Same here.