Rear suspension install tips & tricks? (2 Viewers)

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Oct 9, 2019
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It looks like its time to do a full suspension refresh on my 2011 L.C. Original suspension made it to 129,000 miles. My 200 is a daily highway driver, so I'm looking at either the Ironman Nitro or FCP 1" lift, or if they are available, the Tough Dog 40mm adjustable suspension.
Is their anything I need to know about changing the out suspension out in the rear, or is it pretty straight forward just like 80's & 100's series L.C.'s? Meaning just disconnect the sway bar at the links and drop the rear axl, or is more complicated due to the KDSS?

I've messed around on the front suspension a couple of times this past fall, so I'm pretty fluent with the front.
As far as the rear suspension the only "How to's" I can find for the rear is the Tough Dog and OTRAMM videos on YouTube. Ryan mentions at a point in his video something about the sway bar flipping or doing something weird when they disconnected it, to the point they had to use another floor jack to get it back into place. Can anyone explain that better to me.
 
The rears are easy except the top nut on the strut if it is rusted. I've had to sawzall them off on two 200 series.

Access to the top nut sucks. You can get to them from between the body and the frame with a ratcheting flex head spanner (big: 19mm?). You might be able to get at them from the inside. That's how to put the nut/washers/rubber bits on the top of the replacement strut.

If you disconnect the panhard, a ratchet strap is useful for realigning it. I've done the rears both with detaching it and without.

I use a small scissor jack (from a former vehicle) between the axle and frame to make room to remove/reinstall springs. Take off the bump stop to give a sturdy, flat surface to push against.

I've done this a few times and didn't disconnect the sway bar. That may be a viable technique, but I can't help with it.
 
The rears are easy except the top nut on the strut if it is rusted. I've had to sawzall them off on two 200 series.

Access to the top nut sucks. You can get to them from between the body and the frame with a ratcheting flex head spanner (big: 19mm?). You might be able to get at them from the inside. That's how to put the nut/washers/rubber bits on the top of the replacement strut.

If you disconnect the panhard, a ratchet strap is useful for realigning it. I've done the rears both with detaching it and without.

I use a small scissor jack (from a former vehicle) between the axle and frame to make room to remove/reinstall springs. Take off the bump stop to give a sturdy, flat surface to push against.

I've done this a few times and didn't disconnect the sway bar. That may be a viable technique, but I can't help with it.
I feel your pain on having to sawzall the top of the rear struts off. I had to do that on my LX470 when the AHC went it...it was not fun at all! Thanks for that tip on the scissor jack and mentioning that you didn't disconnect the sway bar. I'm wondering if I could pull the spring part of the job off by removing the struts, then use spring compressors to slide the springs in?
 
If you use a really long blade you can access the nut from the wheel well, between the frame and body.

If you remove the shocks and then use a small scissor (or bottle) jack, you can avoid spring compressors altogether. I hate the spring compressors I've used. They're dangerous and there's never a perfect spot to put them on. I have two different types and avoid using them unless I can't possibly find another way.
 
The rears are easy except the top nut on the strut if it is rusted. I've had to sawzall them off on two 200 series.

Access to the top nut sucks. You can get to them from between the body and the frame with a ratcheting flex head spanner (big: 19mm?). You might be able to get at them from the inside. That's how to put the nut/washers/rubber bits on the top of the replacement strut.

If you disconnect the panhard, a ratchet strap is useful for realigning it. I've done the rears both with detaching it and without.

I use a small scissor jack (from a former vehicle) between the axle and frame to make room to remove/reinstall springs. Take off the bump stop to give a sturdy, flat surface to push against.

I've done this a few times and didn't disconnect the sway bar. That may be a viable technique, but I can't help with it.
Here is a photo of the scissor jack approach.

C70D9F6F-EA9B-4C48-8AA1-9C5216E4935D.jpeg
 
Here is a photo of the scissor jack approach.

View attachment 3291772

That's pretty slick. Less drama than having my wife jump on the hub/rotor as I try to slide coils in/out and a lot quicker than a bottle jack between frame/axle.

To the OP. Disconnecting the rear KDSS linkage only takes a few minutes. Don't forget to crack open the 2 KDSS valves prior.

When reinstalling, yes the sway bar can "flip" upwards, requiring a floor jack and block of wood to reposition. Wratchet straps work too. It's pretty self explanatory. If you were able to handle the front coilovers, then anything on the rear is easy in comparison.

Last I heard, TrailTailor is no longer carrying Tough Dog, so if there are no other US vendors, I would look at something else.
 

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