Need help removing spacer lift from Bilstein 4600 front strut assembly

Hey everyone!

Brand new to Tacoma World and have a quick question for ya’ll. I just bought these “brand new” Bilstein 4600 front strut assembly and want to take the spacer lift off for my gen 2.5 prerunner. I’m current running stock height with my OEM struts and springs and want to keep it that way. Prerunner just hit 100k miles as well.

My question is, every time I try to unscrew the top hat bolts, it turns the entire strut. Do I need to have a spring compression tool to remove the spacer lift? Is it pre loading the spring or I don’t need the spring compressor at all. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank yall in advance and hope to hear from someone soon.

Thanks,
Nelson

 

Are these the ones you are trying to get off?
It looks like the "spacer" took the place of the original top hat?
If so, you'll need a compressor and new top hats?

 

So a couple of things. You definitely need a spring compressor tool, otherwise that top hat and top nut will come off with the force of a bullet. You can buy those tools on Amazon for $35 for the cheapest ones or around a hundred bucks for plate based spring compressors which I feel are safer, although you will need an impact wrench for those.

Second thing is the stud that comes out of the top of the strut is squared so you can use a small wrench or as I didn't adjustable wrench to hold it in place while you loosen the top nut. With the right tools it's actually pretty easy but definitely make sure to do things safely.

Oh and you might be able to rent the spring compression tools from a local parts store like AutoZone although I'm not sure what style they have.

 

Also if you manage to get it apart without a spring compressor you'll have a really tough time getting the whole thing back together. I've seen some hacks on YouTube where people partially install the strut and use a jack to jack up the lower control arm and compress the spring but I would not try that...

 

Yes! I’ve installed the rear Bilstein shocks easily but having trouble removing the spacer lift for the front strut assembly.

And duly noted on the spring compressor tool. I figured this project would need it but wasn’t sure. Spent the entire Super Bowl Sunday removing my OEM front strut and realizing I needed to have the springs compressor tool for these new Bilstein front struts assembly. Haven’t used the spring compressor tool yet but been watching a lot of YouTube videos on them. Going to make sure I’m super safe when I attempt this. Will check in soon with progress updates! Thanks everyone!

 

Yes, agreed. Just saw that video as well. Seemed too dangerous and reckless but to each their own.

Going to get a spring compressor tool (maybe rent?) tomorrow at a local auto one since my job is fully remote after I drop the kiddos at school. Thanks again guys!

 

Yeah let us know how it goes!

 

Quick update. I bought a spring compressor tool off of Amazon but didn’t get a chance to use it. I couldn’t figure out how to use the spring compressor tool safely so I just installed the front struts with the spacer on top lol. Didn’t change anything to the front struts.

Also, I realized that I need to replace both front struts at the same time (they’re not separate like the rear shocks haha). So that’s why I was running into so many problems. I did learn A LOT tho. Saved myself $500 dollars installing on my own.

Getting a wheel alignment tomorrow for $80 and calling it a day. Thanks everyone who chimed in!

 

Yeah, the amount of money a shop charges to replace struts is ridiculous. I called a local shop to see how much they would charge just to swap the springs (where I just brought the assembly to them with the new strut), and they quoted me $300. Replacing the struts took me half a day, being my first time, but this step took me less than an hour for both of them. Honestly, it took less time than driving them over and waiting for the guy to do the work. I did not even dare to ask how much the whole job would cost. Honestly, the more that you can do yourself with off-road rigs the better off you are and the less likely you will end up getting stranded.