How to remove & install rear shocks & springs on the uzj100 (1 Viewer)

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Feb 14, 2004
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Location
Sandia Park, New Mexico
I used an alignment lift at the military’s auto hobby shop, a chassis lift will also work but I like the ramps on the alignment lift to use as a tool tray.
Most bases have auto hobby shops & they have all the tools you need to do this job with ease. This probably can be done in the garage if you are patient and allow some extra time.

Chock front tires & lift vehicle to a comfortable height. Use the frame lift or other suitable lift or support and place it near the rear wheels on the frame so the axle can hang down.
Remove tires.
Use PB Blaster on the shock bolts.
Using a 17mm wrench/ratchet remove bolt that holds the lower shock mount.
Now the fun part, use a ¾ ratcheting box end on the top shock bolts, it’s very tight. You my find yourself cussing like a WW2 trench solder, this is normal.
I used a chain wrench to hold the shock from spinning.
Install the new shocks in reverse order leaving the bottom of the shock undone.
Removing & installing springs

Remove bracket for parking brake. And if the brake is on release it.
Remove ABS sensor cable brackets at each side. All this will allow free movement of the axle.
Now using something to support the axle (some type of jack), undo the sway bar at the point that attaches at the frame. Let it hang down and pivot where it’s attached to the axle.
Use the jack to gently lower the axle (I used a 2x4 and a block of wood to leverage it up and down).
Watch the brakes hydraulic line; don’t let it to get too tight.
The springs are now ready to be removed.
The OME springs are a bit smaller than the original and will go in easier. Make sure you leave the rubber pads on the top of the springs in place.
Raise axle in place and check for proper seating of the springs.
Reattach all components in reverse order.
Now you have it done, go for a ride and enjoy!

Vaya Con Dios,
Dean
 
Thanks Dean...I will be doing the same install later this week :crybaby:
 
anybody cares to add to this and/or comment? (considering adding to FAQ)
 
A couple things I would add based on my recent removal/install:

Remove the spare tire...this gave me some additional clearance and vantage points.

I had to cut the 'crows foot' off of my Craftsman ratcheting box wrench so I could use my cheater/breaker bar (2' piece of pipe).
 
Spressomon, did you do this on the floor? I had no problem with the spare in place using a lift. Also, some ratcheting boxed ends are at an angle like normal combination wrenches, and will not work. Someone had one that was flat, and it worked nice. IMO, the old style flat-ratchets have too much swing radius to “engage” the gear. The newer styles are much thinner, & have a finer gear making it easier to work in tight places.
 
I did the job on the floor...I have 4-12-ton 29" lift jackstands so I was able to get it up in the air enough to be able to move around underneath; however the absence of the spare (considering it only takes 5-minutes to remove) gave me a little more 'elbow' room. I used the newer Craftsman forged ratcheting box-end...the head angle of this wrench is between pure flat and the couple other ratcheting box-end's Sear's sells. I still needed to cut the crow's foot off to be able to use a long cheater/breaker/pipe bar. It would have been a piece of cake job if the bolts/nuts weren't East Coast corroded.
 
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Real time update -

3:18 into the project - Left side in - Right side not moving at all. Changing strategies to the hole saw method.
 
3 hours or 3 minutes into the project?

With the hole saw you should have the whole rear done in 30 mins. That is with taking a couple beer breaks...
 
Glad to hear it worked out for you
 
That was three hours 18 minutes including 25 minutes helping the wife with the lawn and 15 minutes looking for the top nut to the left shock my eight year old "assistant" moved into the garage for some unknown reason.

I crushed the top tube on the right using a large pair of channel locks and pipe wrenches and drilled a hole in it trying to get the nut loose. No Joy. So I went with the Hole saw.

Took less than an hour to get the right in using the hole saw method. I do tend to be a bit methodical and lubed the new cushions with silicone lube to avoid possible squeaks, torque wrenched the critical parts, painted the cut edge with Rustoleum, etc ...

I count all the prep time jacking, blocking, assembling tools ect.. so I think the 10 minute change or even thirty is a bit optimistic, at least for my skill level. 1h:30min for both sides is doable.

Notes -
- You are crazy not go with the hole saw method. Not only is it quicker but most of the work is off the concrete.
- Leave the lower shock bolt in until the top nut is off. This keeps the shock in alignment with the mount and keeps pressure off the top bolt.
- Large channel locks (Mine where a #460) worked best for getting a good hold of the top tube but the pipe wrench was easier to operate one handed once the nut was loose.
- The hole cuts very easy. The metal is actually pretty thin with some hard sound dampening material over it. I used a saw that was dull from cutting several holes in stainless steel sinks and had no problems.
- Rhino's pics are great! I measured 6" from the wheel well plastic trim on the second rib and my pilot hole hit the shock bolt.
- The upper shock mount collects a lot of dirt so wear some glasses when underneath.
- Torque values are 51 ft/lbs for top nut and 72 ft/lbs for the bottom bolt.
- The FSM shows the lower shock bolt as non-reusable so you may want to order those prior to starting the work. (I didn't but I'm sure Toyota has their reasons.)

Thanks for all those who posted up their experiences. These and my fronts were my first ever shock install and I probably wouldn't have done it without the board info.
 
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Quick question when removing rear springs. Is it recommended to lower the entire rear axle as a unit to remove/replace the springs or lower one side at a time (if that is even possible)? The FSM reads like the entire unit is lowered. Thank you.
 
With the chassis on high jackstands or a lift and the swaybar disconnected on one side its a snap to remove & replace each spring.
I'm not a fan of the 'cut a hole in the floor' idea because vandalism. Its just dead easy to cut the shock shaft with a sawsall. Make the cut through the rubber bush below the upper mount and parallel to the washer just below the cut. Keep the blade wet with water to reduce friction and prevent rubber smoke. Takes about five minutes a side. Easy peasy.
 
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Installed new oem springs yesterday. If it wasn't for 2 broken bolts it would have been a 2 hour job.

The 2 bolts that broke were the outside bolts from the sway bar bracket where it mounds to the frame rail. Had to drill out broken bolt and threaded new threads. New bolts were grade 8 8x1.25. Screwed in they felt very strong, shouldn't have any issues in the future.

IMAG1116.jpg


I did do the process slightly different (and easier in my opinion) than this thread and some of the others explained. Did the entire job with 1 large jack and 1 6 ton jack stand. Did one side at a time. So I only took off one wheel at a time. Once one side was on jack stand I repositioned jack to under the axle on the side I was working. Lifted the axle so sway bar and shock didn't have much pressure and unbolted both. Then I slowly let that side of the axle drop. Every half an inch I felt the brake lines for tension. I was able to replace the spring without undoing anything other than sway bar mount and bottom shock bolt. With my rusty bolts not removing anything else made the job super easy. Maybe my lines had extra slack, who knows but nothing pulled hard enough to be of concern.

Results are awesome, my old springs were worn out, my 04 lc was leaning to the left and drove me nuts. It now sits level and 3/4" higher. Rides a bit less bouncy too. I'm sure over next few hundred miles they'll settle a bit but I bet they still sit half inch higher than before.
 
I installed the rear Ironman Toy13B springs 2" (0-200kg added weight) yesterday. I tried the RobRed approach but there was not enough droop to get the old springs out with out disconnecting the swaybar.

Springs went in pretty much straight forward, I think prep took longer to set up the stands in various locations and pull out all the tools & get the wheels off than actually swapping in & out the springs. If you are working off the floor as I do, removing the spare tire does make a difference. You can sit upright in that area with the tire out. I got a hair over 2" lift from the rear springs, enough that I couldnt pull out of my garage.... had to laugh, and then remove my rhino crossbars, and only then just cleared the door opening by a few millimeters.

I installed the shocks a few months ago, and did the access hole method. That worked well. No second thoughts about drilling holes. I searched for a solution for plugging the holes; not easy to find 1.5" body panel plugs. But after some trial & error I found a good supplier of body panel plugs out of San Diego: Rubber the Rightway (rubertherightway.com) mostly for supplying vintage body panel plugs. The challenge is finding a plug thats deep enough to hold- since the floor is thicker than most sheet metal (insulated) at the spot where you cut the access hole. I ordered 4 different plug styles. For my 1.5" holesaw cut I found the 1 1/2" x 2-1/4" head plug worked pretty good: part#20-019X. Of course a little Gorilla tape would probably work fine as well, which is what I used while experimenting with different plug suppliers.

Edit: Spring Placement: Forgot to mention that the springs are marked Driver Side and Near Side. Here's an area for confusion if you're not paying attention. These markings are intended for Right hand drive vehicles (Ironman is an Aussie brand). So for Left hand drive rigs, markings with Driver side is for your passenger side and marking with Near side is for your driver side- got that? Helps to measure the springs against each other, and also compare to the springs you remove. On these Ironman TOY13B's there is a marginal difference in length by roughly 10mm.
 
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