2-2.5" AHC Lift Using King Coils & Shock Spacers

[monkey620]

So I've finally gathered all my parts for the spacer and king spring lift!! DD, I recall you mentioning back in this thread having to re-torque the bolts in the shock spacer/extensions so they didn't squeak all the time. Any idea of what I should torque them to?? You also mentioned having to drill a 1/2" hole for one of the bolts . . ?? I think I see the spot but was wondering the purpose and how it stays in place as I don't see a nut or anything on the back side. Any help and direction as I get started this weekend would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

 

[DirtDawg]

So I've finally gathered all my parts for the spacer and king spring lift!! DD, I recall you mentioning back in this thread having to re-torque the bolts in the shock spacer/extensions so they didn't squeak all the time. Any idea of what I should torque them to?? You also mentioned having to drill a 1/2" hole for one of the bolts . . ?? I think I see the spot but was wondering the purpose and how it stays in place as I don't see a nut or anything on the back side. Any help and direction as I get started this weekend would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

When you install the front spacers, use anti seize or an assembly grease on the surfaces that come into contact between the stock shock mount and the spacer. Then torque to stock specs.

Yes you have to drill a hole, you drill it once the spacer is bolted on. Then there is a nut and lock washer on the back side.

 

[monkey620]

Dude! Thanks so much for the quick reply! Any chance you remember the stock spec on torque?

On another note I asked this a couple weeks ago with no response on my 4x4 system - just wanted to make sure it seemed normal as it's my first LX470/Land Cruiser:

It seems that in low range my LX470 only shifts through 3 gears . . is that normal? I did not have the center diff locked and when I shifted to low, the ATRAC, VSC off, and ABS lights all came on with no indicator or low range on the dash, although it was clearly in low range . . . ??

 

[BillZ260]

It seems that in low range my LX470 only shifts through 3 gears . . is that normal? I did not have the center diff locked and when I shifted to low, the ATRAC, VSC off, and ABS lights all came on with no indicator or low range on the dash, although it was clearly in low range . . . ??

Mine does the same, I'm guessing it simply does not use Overdrive.

 

[DirtDawg]

Dude! Thanks so much for the quick reply! Any chance you remember the stock spec on torque?

On another note I asked this a couple weeks ago with no response on my 4x4 system - just wanted to make sure it seemed normal as it's my first LX470/Land Cruiser:

It seems that in low range my LX470 only shifts through 3 gears . . is that normal? I did not have the center diff locked and when I shifted to low, the ATRAC, VSC off, and ABS lights all came on with no indicator or low range on the dash, although it was clearly in low range . . . ??

100 ft-lb

Yes that's normal behavior of low range.

 

[monkey620]

Sweet! Thanks a lot

 

[Skidoo]

Hello.

A 100 with 2 inch will have hardly any down travel left. Even full stock on mid height the down travel ins't great, on high there isn't much left. I only intend to lift my 100 20 or 30mm up front, i will add the shocks spacer to gain down travel over stock system. I will also add my diff drop to get the CV's flat on road and reduce their angles at full drop.

Longer shocks or shocks drop bracket are a must for a 100 to me.

What is your configuration, the stock UCA can be a limit to down travel (if going for more than stock amount) in addition to the shock. Cycle the supension to see if it is an issue.

 

[syche]

Hi, I haven't fitted my drop kit yet, i did not like the design/manufacturing of it, find it too weak for my expedition use, i redesigned a new piece based on the same offsets, i am waiting to get it made as well as my high clearance diff drop to fit them all at the same time.

I can't tell yet about the shocks vs arm clearance, from the pictures gathered on the forum it seems to work out ok but i am not 100% sure, there might be contact to the dust shield at full drop.

 

[Skidoo]

Hi, I haven't fitted my drop kit yet, i did not like the design/manufacturing of it, find it too weak for my expedition use, i redesigned a new piece based on the same offsets, i am waiting to get it made as well as my high clearance diff drop to fit them all at the same time.

I can't tell yet about the shocks vs arm clearance, from the pictures gathered on the forum it seems to work out ok but i am not 100% sure, there might be contact to the dust shield at full drop.

I had to modify a shock pin adapter to get the Fox shocks to work within the stock travel. So know the "FUN" of setting up these front ends. You going with a taller bump stop? Most shocks for the 100 these days are designed to be the stop for down travel (the Fox was not ...) however they are not designed to be the stop for up travel. I have encountered some surprises on my expeditions that have really tested suspension limits. Good luck with yours.

 

[syche]

up travel will still be limited by the oem bumpstop and down travel by the shock as oem but just lower.

The oem shocks or rams on the lc100 front have a lot more travel to offer than what is actually used, that is the clever part of this shock spacers, it was a very good idea.

I have seen japanese pics of full droped suspensions with this spacers but the shocks were rancho's or equivelent with the soft dust boot. If i see the dust shield being an issue on my ahc rams i will just remove them, maybe just partially.

 

[syche]

pics on a japanese 100, you can see the arm very close if not in contact with the boot, but it looks like it is doable.

 

[menancyandsam]

Watching

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

A little bit late to the thread... I do own a pair of front shock spacers but have yet to install them. But I do know Rohitash has been running them for the past 10 years as we purchased them at the same time and he hasn't exactly babied his LX. I can only offer my opinion on the front spacers... take it for whatever it's worth. The front spacer can add a little bit of down travel to the front suspension. Without the spacer, the "shock" limits the down travel. With the spacer, the balljoint/UCA area contacting the shock limits the down travel. Ideally, there would be a limiting strap but I don't think it is as bad as it sounds. With the spacer, up travel is not reduced because the the AHC shock's compressed length is quite short (IIRC). If anybody has some front AHC shocks out of the vehicle, please post the compressed length.

As far as CV problems with extra down travel, I don't think it is a concern with the minimal amount of down travel gain. Just gotta go easy on the throttle like you would when the wheels are fully locked to one side. Plus, when the suspension is fully extended, there is usually hardly any grip on that one wheel.

Let me install my front spacers in the coming weeks and then I'll be able to give a better assessment.

Info from @PADDO

Rears have a stroke of 220mm, measured from top edge of lower cup to mounting bolt center you’re looking at 590mm extended and 370mm compressed.
Fronts have a stroke of 145mm, with 440mm extended (again top edge of lower cup to mount bolt center) and 295mm compressed.

@hoser did you ever install your front spacers? Im looking to make some and was looking for feedback, any issues or suggestion if needed on a better mouse trap.

 

[hoser]

@LandCruiserPhil No, I did not install the front spacers. Thx for the reminder. I forgot about those. =)

 

[FLtrails]

I'm planning on putting an ARB deluxe winch bumper with winch on the front of a 2003 LX470 with AHC. With that much weight on the front it seems to be the consensus that I'm going to have to upgrade the torsion bars. Used Land Cruiser non-AHC bars are all that is available to my knowledge. Hopefully very old and used, as they were designed to hold the weight of the entire vehicle themselves. I'm worried even with used LC non AHC bars I might still have too much spring and be running very low front pressures. To avoid this, I was thinking I could go with a 1" sensor lift to add to the strain on the front and increase pressure to spec. But then the rear will need help as it gets a lift as well of course. Just factory rear bumper, third row seats, plus maybe 220lbs total from sliders and aluminum roof rack added. I was thinking King springs would fix that issue. But earlier in this thread you can see the king springs are shorter and it was mentioned they will help in normal mode, but when put in high mode they might not be able to support the weight. Will this ruin my plan? Does anyone have experience with a similar setup? Thanks!!

 

[DirtDawg]

I'm planning on putting an ARB deluxe winch bumper with winch on the front of a 2003 LX470 with AHC. With that much weight on the front it seems to be the consensus that I'm going to have to upgrade the torsion bars. Used Land Cruiser non-AHC bars are all that is available to my knowledge. Hopefully very old and used, as they were designed to hold the weight of the entire vehicle themselves. I'm worried even with used LC non AHC bars I might still have too much spring and be running very low front pressures. To avoid this, I was thinking I could go with a 1" sensor lift to add to the strain on the front and increase pressure to spec. But then the rear will need help as it gets a lift as well of course. Just factory rear bumper, third row seats, plus maybe 220lbs total from sliders and aluminum roof rack added. I was thinking King springs would fix that issue. But earlier in this thread you can see the king springs are shorter and it was mentioned they will help in normal mode, but when put in high mode they might not be able to support the weight. Will this ruin my plan? Does anyone have experience with a similar setup? Thanks!!

I was running these springs at 2.5” lift height in the rear under all conditions (loaded/unloaded) and the king springs worked fantastic. Always kept proper pressure. It’s how the spring compresses, not its free standing height.

 

[FLtrails]

Were you just using the King springs or King Springs plus 30mm spacers?

 

[DirtDawg]

Were you just using the King springs or King Springs plus 30mm spacers?

Ran both, pressures were adequate with the king springs, but I wanted to get below the OEM pressure spec, and the spacers achieved that for me.

 

[monkey620]

Hey DirtDawg, I know this is an old thread but it's been super helpful to me and my 01 LX470 I remember a year back or so talking through the AHC lift and that in the end you opted for a toughdog lift! Well I am growing suspicious that my AHC system may be getting tired too so I wanted to ask about how you're liking your toughdog lift and what you got exactly? Is it adjustable shocks? What's the difference between the foam cell, adjustable and Ralph shocks? 50mm or 75mm lift? Did the kit come with torsion bars and shocks for the front too or did you do something different in front. I'm grateful for any info. you've got as I don't know a lot about toughdog and am trying to compare it to OME. They're more expensive - are they worth it?? Thanks a lot!

 

[BNuts]

I went through a similar progression. DirtDawg was a huge help in going through my sensor lift. I maxed out the sensor sliders for about 1-1.5 inches lift. i sourced the ahc shock spacers from Japan 4x4 and King springs from ebay. After an alignment my ride was great. The king springs greatly improved the ride quality. A little firm but sporty how I like it. Unfortunately, my globes were already failing at almost 200k miles and I developed a fluid leak so i decided not to go down the rabbit hole of ahc repairs and opted for a 1.5 in tough dog kit (rear springs and torsion bars) w/ 41mm foam cells all around from @reevesci . The ahc lift rode great with the King springs and I enjoyed retaining the function of the ahc system but, after moving to the tough dog setup, Ive been very happy with the ride quality. My LX is otherwise stock with no bumpers, drawers, or heavy accessories. I definitely recommend working with Jason @reevesci. Great customer service and the tough dog foam cells are smooth and soak up rough roads nicely but still sporty not spongy.