Front Coil Spring and Shock Wear

Hey Y'all, I am look for some insight and suggestions.

A couple months ago I (personally) installed a new Falcon Sport Tow/Haul 2.25" Shock lift system (all 4 corners). I replaced 3 year old Bilstein 5100s as I have added a lot of weight and was upgrading the rear with Deaver U402 Stage 2 leafs (over AAL). Up front I also had 3 year old ARB OME 2885 coil springs that I kept. (2014 DCLB)

I did a trip to Colorado with friends last weak, and after doing Mosquito pass (which was a blast!), I started getting funky squeaking sounds and investigated. I found that I had some decent wear on my new Falcon shock body on the driver's side only. In addition it was clear to see that the shock and coil did not look concentric, however, neither did my passenger side that shows no signs of wear.

Has anyone experienced this type of issue before?
Any suggestions on how to proceed with this?

I don't recall having a lot of play for me to potentially adjust for concentricity, but I will likely tear it apart in the next week or so. I also emailed both Falcon and ARB, but don't expect a quick response.

First and Second pic show the wear marks (two spots exposing the metal towards the top of the shock body):


Third pic of concentricity (Shock closer to the "tire side" of the assembly):


THANKS!


EDIT: Conclusion/follow up from me on post #17 below.

 

BUMP

 

I would definitely try calling Falcon or who ever sold you the shocks.

Are you lifted more than 2" and running stock UCA? Are the springs what are scratching the shock body? Are those photos of the suspension at full droop or ride height?

 

Thanks for the response @AccuTune Offroad. I am still waiting a response from Falcon...

The front is lifted up to that commonly known 2", just before it really needs aftermarket UCA. So yes, I still have stock UCA, and the alignment came out well. And yes, it is the coil springs that are scratching the shock bodies, as far as I can tell (scratched by the OEM 2885s). The photo is of the front suspension at full droop, wheel pulled off and that front corner sitting on jack stands.

Thanks!

 

Got it. Usually what happens when there is too long of a shock (too much droop) being used with stock UCA, the springs hit the UCA at full droop. This is where I was thinking the damage was coming from. But sounds like that may not be the case. Those springs are not ground flat on each end, so if the spring seat is not making up for that well enough I can see how it may cause the spring to bow. Hopefully Falcon will get back to you with some insight on their product

 

Yeah, almost looks like the spring could be rotated clockwise a little and maybe not bow, but hard to tell from the pics. Might just rub in a different spot. And I am no expert.

 

I have this exact kit myself and I can tell you that the OME springs dont work as they have a different "tail" and wont seat into the plastic spring seat! Either use stock or Eibachs. I have Eibachs 650lb coils that are perfect for this. You shock isnt centered in the coil.

 

Teraflex are meant to be used with the stock springs and if you use aftermarket taller springs you have to go the the lowest setting on the shock as well or you'll be over lifting it and lose downtravel.

 

Great responses! and things I didn't think of too. I did double check and I am positive that the OME 2885 coils are not upside down (based on the two ends being different styles - plain vs ground). I also took a look, and I could not see any evidence of the UCA hitting the spring. And from the onset of this, my gut was telling me that the coil is bowing upon compression. But that is still theory.

@mauctopa, I appreciate your personal experience on this one. That goes a long way. The whole "tail" condition could lead me to believe that if the end condition is not evenly supported, that it may lead to "pushing" the spring to one side, especially as compression increases. I snapped a quick pic of my coil and shock "seat", and it doesn't look quite as extreme as yours. However, your pics are without any tension applied. If I went the Eibach route with the lower shock setting, I think I wouldn't be happy with the final ride height compared to my rear (plus the clearance). Since I have the constant load of the GFC in the back, I went with Deaver U402 Stage 2 leaf pack. That pack has 9 leafs and adds significant height (which I want). About how much lift did you get up front with your Falcon/Eibach combo? Do you have other additional weight factors like a bumper/sliders/etc.?

Full Droop (looking towards the front bumper, on Drivers Side)


Looking from the wheel well to towards the engine bay


(general )

 

put your jack under the LCA, lift slowly until the whole truck begins to respond. That should be full compression.

 

Mine looked just like yours under compression and my shock wasnt centered either. There was lateral force on the shock and I didnt want to bend the rod or blow a seal so I swapped them for the Eibachs. I dont want to lose downtravel thats why I recommend using the first notch on the shock body as the Eibach is 1" taller than stock.

 

OK, cool, thanks for confirming yours looked just like mine. I am not super familiar with the Eibachs. The ones I see for my Tacoma say 2.5". Are those the same as yours???

Like these: https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s..._Toyota_Tacoma_(PAIR)_-_E30-82-007-03-20.html

 

Mine are
Eibach E30-82-069-02-20 Pro-Lift-Kit Spring
But they could be the same thing, my Taco is 3rd gen

 

Ok, gotcha. I don't recall the exact details off the top of my head, but I know there are subtle differences between the 3rd and 2nd gen front suspension (thus the dedicated/different coils). Thanks,man!

 

np at all

 

Not quite full compression, but it should move a few inches

 

I will complete the loop on my experience, and I hope this can help provide some insight for another TW member (haven't been very good at sharing my experience on my projects even tho I start many of them with that intention )

SHOCK FIX:
So I contacted Falcon on warranty for the wear on the shock. They said that they do not cover situations involving aftermarket coils. I can respect that, but I still think they should know that their market is going to want to include this use case... Anyway, I still setup to have them rebuild it at my cost, which was $120. I also covered $40 for 2 day shipping there while Falcon covered shipping back with their price. So....I thought not terrible in the scheme of things.

COIL FIX:
Even tho I had limited info, I just pulled the trigger based on @mauctopa input (THANK YOU), and ordered Eibachs (E30-82-007-03-20). The goal was to get the correct pig tail interface to the Shock perch. I know that the OME 2885s are popular, but it appeared evident that they were sagging a little. I felt like I got what I needed from them for the 3 years I had them and that something new was worth the price (I am not made of money so I keep a keen eye on my budget).

CONCLUSION:
I get the same results as mauctopa. It was instantly clear once I knew what I was looking for. The Eibachs sit with the bottom properly supported instead of on one coil wrap further up. I have had them installed for about 2 months now, and the shocks are well centered and no signs of rubbing yet. However, I haven't done much "hard" wheeling since. I still feel very confident this has fixed my issues.

OME 2885 on the left and Eibach on the right:



Coils "seated" (Not under tension, just on my work bench):



Rebuilt Shock/Eibach Coil Mounted:


Prior to fix - Shock and 2885 Coil:


Thanks for everyone's input, and ride on!