Lifting my LC200

[TRDHULK]

I'm new to Land Cruisers but have a 2020 4Runner that I lifted myself twice now. I have good mechanical ability, but while lifting my Land Cruiser are there any unexpected surprises I'll run into, or is it pretty cut and dry like the 4Runner?

 

[FerrisBueller]

Some things to look out for and what to expect is described in this post:

Here's a link to the approach I used: OME Install - no spring compressor - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

So the method I used to to avoid having to have my coilovers assembled as follows:
Open KDSS valves 3 turns
Loosen lug nuts
Jack up front end and put on jack stands
Remove wheel
Remove top bolt of the shock
Remove nut from the bottom bolt of the shock
Put a jack under the LCA by the ball joint and remove the 2 bolts under the hub
Support the hub with either a 2x4 or ratchet strap. Take time to get this set up, otherwise you can pull the CV out of place.
Lower the jack to lower the LCA from the assembly
Mark your LCA alignment tabs
Loosen you LCA to Frame bolts
Hit the bottom shock bolt all the way out and the LCA will drop, as will the shock and coil
Takes a bit of finagling to get the new stuff in. A person to help is critical. 1 person to hold the shock and coil in place while the other cranks down on the LCA so you can seat the bottom of the shock. Another thing that helped a bit if it feels like to much monkeying around is to put the jack under the spring, jack it up enough that you can put the top nut on the threads to hold it in the top hat, then you're just fighting to get the bottom in. Once that's in and you jack everything up, undo the top nut bolt and add the bushing and washer.
Once the bottom in seated, don't bother trying to put the bolt in
Jack the LCA up till you have enough thread to unscrew the top screw and correctly put the bushing and washer and nut on the top of the shock. Tighten
Once the top is locked in, jack/lower the LCA to be able to fit the bolt through the bottom shock. It takes a little wiggling but it's pretty easy. Hand tighten nut.
Once that's all locked in, jack up the LCA to connect the 2 bolts under the hub assembly. This is another 2 person job. One crouched over the hub assembly guiding and the other jacking it up.
Attach bolts.
Check your alignment tabs and adjust and lightly tighten to hold them in place.
Put wheel on, lower to ground.
Torque Bottom Shock nut, top shock nut, LCA alignment nuts.
Head to the other side

 

[CharlieS]

If your 4Runner didn't have kdss, then that might be a difference to read up on. The top nut on the rear shocks is challenging to get to. The rest is like any other suspension job, and well documented here on 'mud and Youtube.

 

[DPA200]

I found this project 200 video basically covered the whole thing:



Only 2 parts I found difficult:

1) I let the rear sway bar flip down. This was hard to basically bench press back up. I wasn't on a lift so it was limited space to work for this. Could have been avoided easily if I'd known. Can use a 2nd jack or whatever to keep it from flipping down in the 1st place.

2) The bottom of the front shocks was a bit difficult to get out the bottom cups and back in. Large pry bar helped.

But yeah otherwise just make sure you follow the KDSS instructions and hope that your KDSS bolt isn't seized like mine was. I eventually got mine un frozen but took a solid week of patience and PB Blaster.

 

[TRDHULK]

You guys are awesome, thank you. I normally would have the time to do hours of research but this time around I think I'm just going to dive into it with these videos lol

These videos will be a great help

 

[TRDHULK]

This LC is wifeys and will mainly be a mall crawler, but she wants the aggressive look my 4Runner has.

So it seems I could just slap on this $2,700 King 2.5" set-up, upgrade the tires and call it a day? Maybe throw on some UCA's if needed.

KS25LC - King Shocks Performance Series 2.5 Kit (Land Cruiser 200 Series)

Vehicle Fitment: 2008-2021 Land Cruiser 200 Series Kit Includes: King Front 2.5 Remote Reservoir Coilovers (choose with or without compression adjusters) King Rear 2.5 Remote Reservoir Shocks (choose with or without compression adjusters) Optional Total Chaos Upper and Lower stock length...

www.toyteclifts.com

Seems too easy lol.

 

[cr8r]

This LC is wifeys and will mainly be a mall crawler, but she wants the aggressive look my 4Runner has.

So it seems I could just slap on this $2,700 King 2.5" set-up, upgrade the tires and call it a day? Maybe throw on some UCA's if needed.

KS25LC - King Shocks Performance Series 2.5 Kit (Land Cruiser 200 Series)

Vehicle Fitment: 2008-2021 Land Cruiser 200 Series Kit Includes: King Front 2.5 Remote Reservoir Coilovers (choose with or without compression adjusters) King Rear 2.5 Remote Reservoir Shocks (choose with or without compression adjusters) Optional Total Chaos Upper and Lower stock length...

www.toyteclifts.com

Seems too easy lol.

I mean you could do that but is a $3000 king suspension setup and the likely 4-6 month lead time to get it worth it for a mall crawler? There are a ton of other options for a 2.5" lift out there that will cost you about a third of that setup and get the appearance where you want it.

 

[TRDHULK]

I mean you could do that but is a $3000 king suspension setup and the likely 4-6 month lead time to get it worth it for a mall crawler? There are a ton of other options for a 2.5" lift out there that will cost you about a third of that setup and get the appearance where you want it.

True, but I like having the best. I’ve considered dobinsons as well. Ironman is damn near the same price.

The lead time isn’t as bad as advertised. Took less than 2 months for my kings for my 4Runner to arrive; I just ordered them at the beginning on dec from Accutune

 

[CharlieS]

If you are going with the Kings, consider contacting Ben at Filthy Motorsports. He'll take the time to understand how you use your vehicle and set you up with something that is right for your needs, rather than something off the shelf.

 

[DPA200]

OME BP-51's are probably the more popular 200 option on this forum. Same benefits of Kings but less bling in the appearance factor. Might consider the OME UCA's to match as well. Still falls under the "having the best" category.

Old Man Emu BP-51 Coil Over and Shock Absorber Kit

 

[bloc]

@TRDHULK you will definitely need UCAs at stock weight and standard king 2.5" spring rates. If you drop to a 500# spring you can keep it down toward 2" and run stock UCA's. Stock springs on the kings are 600# and you will have trouble keeping it under 2.5, possibly 3" of lift in front.

Note that just because an alignment is "in range" on the alignment machine doesn't mean it's correct. The FSM specs call for more caster than is usually programmed into the machines. Stock UCA's will often be out of adjustment to hit the the lower caster setting and only 2" lift.

Also what Charlie said about contacting Ben.

OME BP-51's are probably the more popular 200 option on this forum. Same benefits of Kings but less bling in the appearance factor. Might consider the OME UCA's to match as well. Still falls under the "having the best" category.

Old Man Emu BP-51 Coil Over and Shock Absorber Kit

SOME benefits of kings, and some even better (internal bypasses), but not all. Like the king 2.5's having a 0.5" larger piston, which takes surface area from 3.1" to almost 5". Or the ability to order parts and rebuild at home if you are so inclined. MANY more spring rate options for the front..

Not that I don't think BPs wouldn't be great for OP... IMO they are more appropriate for the stated goals.

 

[TeCKis300]

@TRDHULK you will definitely need UCAs at stock weight and standard king 2.5" spring rates. If you drop to a 500# spring you can keep it down toward 2" and run stock UCA's. Stock springs on the kings are 600# and you will have trouble keeping it under 2.5, possibly 3" of lift in front.

Note that just because an alignment is "in range" on the alignment machine doesn't mean it's correct. The FSM specs call for more caster than is usually programmed into the machines. Stock UCA's will often be out of adjustment to hit the the lower caster setting and only 2" lift.

Also what Charlie said about contacting Ben.


SOME benefits of kings, and some even better (internal bypasses), but not all. Like the king 2.5's having a 0.5" larger piston, which takes surface area from 3.1" to almost 5". Or the ability to order parts and rebuild at home if you are so inclined. MANY more spring rate options for the front..

Not that I don't think BPs wouldn't be great for OP... IMO they are more appropriate for the stated goals.

Sounds like Kings have lots of spring rate options, but do they have shorter lengths? Spring rate really should be matched to weight on the axle, rather than using to adjust height. That should be done by perch adjustment or free length, but I get that your saying the perch won't go down any lower which is why I'm wonder if they have shorter lengths.

 

[bloc]

Sounds like Kings have lots of spring rate options, but do they have shorter lengths? Spring rate really should be matched to weight on the axle, rather than using to adjust height. That should be done by perch adjustment or free length, but I get that your saying the perch won't go down any lower which is why I'm wonder if they have shorter lengths.

Yeah that is on my to-figure-out list. Standard coils with LC200 king 2.5 fronts are 16", and I'm not sure whether king makes a 14" but eibach does (as well as a 550# 16" spring, which is what I may go with). From checking out my shocks there is enough threaded area to run a 14 and keep it at same height.. let alone back it off an inch which is the whole point of running a shorter coil in the first place.

And yeah, rate should be a function of weight on the axle.. but stock is 500# rate, and we are at stock weight. Part of the issue is the kings coming standard with a stiffer spring assuming a modified truck is heavier than stock. IMO king should build and offer a 550# coil but they aren't yet.

I think the issue with shorter coils of a given rate is the wire is thicker and there may be a risk of binding. Your message spurred me to finally ask Ben at Filthy about this. It can take them a day or two to respond but I'll update with what I find out.

At this point I'm leaning toward running the Eibach 550s, but will see what he has to say about a shorter spring.

And just to complete the picture here for OP and others, I'm very close to stock weight on king 2.5s with the standard 600# 16" coils in front. I got about 3" of lift, and did have to run UCAs. I went with ARB/OME, and they are great. But, I gained just a bit more height than I wanted.. keeping the rig relatively low is a goal of mine, having flopped a prior truck. But I'm also finding it very difficult to use the full range of travel up front. The truck is so light that with the 600# springs I can't quite get the front to compress to the bump stops on articulation, no matter what I do. Since I want it a bit lower a shorter 600# option would probably work (if it doesn't bind), or a slightly lower rate spring would accomplish both as well.

 

[bloc]

Sounds like Kings have lots of spring rate options, but do they have shorter lengths? Spring rate really should be matched to weight on the axle, rather than using to adjust height. That should be done by perch adjustment or free length, but I get that your saying the perch won't go down any lower which is why I'm wonder if they have shorter lengths.

And of course, my attention to detail is lacking.

Due to suspension geometry a 2" shorter spring would mean a 4" difference in ride height.. so we'd need to be able to give it more preload and I'm not sure there is enough adjustment. Plus, even more risk of coil bind.

No one makes a 15" spring.

Guess I'll be ordering some 550s. Thanks for the nudge to get on top of this.

 

[TeCKis300]

Yeah that is on my to-figure-out list. Standard coils with LC200 king 2.5 fronts are 16", and I'm not sure whether king makes a 14" but eibach does (as well as a 550# 16" spring, which is what I may go with). From checking out my shocks there is enough threaded area to run a 14 and keep it at same height.. let alone back it off an inch which is the whole point of running a shorter coil in the first place.

And yeah, rate should be a function of weight on the axle.. but stock is 500# rate, and we are at stock weight. Part of the issue is the kings coming standard with a stiffer spring assuming a modified truck is heavier than stock. IMO king should build and offer a 550# coil but they aren't yet.

I think the issue with shorter coils of a given rate is the wire is thicker and there may be a risk of binding. Your message spurred me to finally ask Ben at Filthy about this. It can take them a day or two to respond but I'll update with what I find out.

At this point I'm leaning toward running the Eibach 550s, but will see what he has to say about a shorter spring.

And just to complete the picture here for OP and others, I'm very close to stock weight on king 2.5s with the standard 600# 16" coils in front. I got about 3" of lift, and did have to run UCAs. I went with ARB/OME, and they are great. But, I gained just a bit more height than I wanted.. keeping the rig relatively low is a goal of mine, having flopped a prior truck. But I'm also finding it very difficult to use the full range of travel up front. The truck is so light that with the 600# springs I can't quite get the front to compress to the bump stops on articulation, no matter what I do. Since I want it a bit lower a shorter 600# option would probably work (if it doesn't bind), or a slightly lower rate spring would accomplish both as well.

And of course, my attention to detail is lacking.

Due to suspension geometry a 2" shorter spring would mean a 4" difference in ride height.. so we'd need to be able to give it more preload and I'm not sure there is enough adjustment. Plus, even more risk of coil bind.

No one makes a 15" spring.

Guess I'll be ordering some 550s. Thanks for the nudge to get on top of this.

Gotcha. I'm understanding why the recommendation for #550s now as you're trying to attack both lift height and compliance. Is there somewhere on the boards that has a list of springs and rates? I've seen rear ones regularly but not for fronts.

And yeah, the reality of available tailored parts. You may also want to watch the full extended length of the shock and whether a shorter spring will work in fully extended configuration without falling out. As the Kings have that much more droop travel. Not sure if helper springs are in the kings inventory. I'm thinking your original intuition of #550 @ 16" may be the right combination for what you're seeking.

 

[CharlieS]

I may be missing the gist of this, but Ben told me that they went to a 16" inch spring because they had to run higher spring rates with the shorter 14" coils to get the same dampening, and it was at the extent of the preload adjustment for heavy rigs. Or something like that. It came up when we were discussing spring rates - he said that it wasn't possilbe to compare spring rates recommended on older threads because they were dealing with different rates. I think some people recommended a 700 front, but he was saying the 700 in a 14" is more like a 600 in 16". Or I could be completely misunderstanding. Not really my wheelhouse, that's why I feel good about having an expert in my corner (Ben).

 

[bloc]

Gotcha. I'm understanding why the recommendation for #550s now as you're trying to attack both lift height and compliance. Is there somewhere on the boards that has a list of springs and rates? I've seen rear ones regularly but not for fronts.

And yeah, the reality of available tailored parts. You may also want to watch the full extended length of the shock and whether a shorter spring will work in fully extended configuration without falling out. As the Kings have that much more droop travel. Not sure if helper springs are in the kings inventory. I'm thinking your original intuition of #550 @ 16" may be the right combination for what you're seeking.

In my head a shorter 600# spring would get the job done because losing an inch of ride height would mean the same amount of up travel from static would put me 1/2" closer to the bump stop, but as Charlie is stating Ben is shooting that down as being too simple of a view.

As for a list of spring rates.. I haven't seen anything organized. OE is 500. I know standard kings are 600 with 500 and 700, and maybe 650 available. Eibach makes a ton of different spring options, way more than king. Just search for 3" ID and 16" length.

I may be missing the gist of this, but Ben told me that they went to a 16" inch spring because they had to run higher spring rates with the shorter 14" coils to get the same dampening, and it was at the extent of the preload adjustment for heavy rigs. Or something like that. It came up when we were discussing spring rates - he said that it wasn't possilbe to compare spring rates recommended on older threads because they were dealing with different rates. I think some people recommended a 700 front, but he was saying the 700 in a 14" is more like a 600 in 16". Or I could be completely misunderstanding. Not really my wheelhouse, that's why I feel good about having an expert in my corner (Ben).

Yeah that's what I'm gathering.

Ben's response to my inquiry about 14" being viable:
"If you go to a 14” spring you would need to go heavier on the spring rate as the spring would need less initial preload to avoid coil bind and that would negatively affect ride quality.
Finding a 16” x 500 spring would be the correct choice."

He may not know I found that Eibach 550 because they only sell king coils. He did check and king doesn't do a 550.

Either way apparently it's more complex than simply tossing in a shorter same-rate spring.


The other option is to weigh down the front end some.. hidden winch? This is what's known as a positive feedback loop of spending....

 

[TRDHULK]

OME BP-51's are probably the more popular 200 option on this forum. Same benefits of Kings but less bling in the appearance factor. Might consider the OME UCA's to match as well. Still falls under the "having the best" category.

Old Man Emu BP-51 Coil Over and Shock Absorber Kit

Thanks! I've considered them as well. I worked for Toyota for 7 years and always used OME when the client requested a lifted LC. I have Kings going on my 4Runner so I want going for the match lol

Funny you sent me that video.... is that yours?

I'm doing the same grill and trim wrap on mine. Already ordered all of t he body color wrap, and mines that same color! Are you spying on me??




I might even go Dobinsons. Thats what this one has and this LC has been my inspiration

 

[DPA200]

Thanks! I've considered them as well. I worked for Toyota for 7 years and always used OME when the client requested a lifted LC. I have Kings going on my 4Runner so I want going for the match lol

Funny you sent me that video.... is that yours?

I'm doing the same grill and trim wrap on mine. Already ordered all of t he body color wrap, and mines that same color! Are you spying on me??




I might even go Dobinsons. Thats what this one has and this LC has been my inspiration

Thoughts on what direction to go for UCA's then? That's another area you'll get a lot of opinions on. Def a must if you are going for a lift over 2.5"
SPC by far the most popular option, but they were also the only aftermarket option for many years for the 200. Trail Tailor, OME, and Total Chaos are all other options.

 

[TRDHULK]

Thoughts on what direction to go for UCA's then? That's another area you'll get a lot of opinions on. Def a must if you are going for a lift over 2.5"
SPC by far the most popular option, but they were also the only aftermarket option for many years for the 200. Trail Tailor, OME, and Total Chaos are all other options.

If I go with Kings, I'll probably choose SPC

If I go Dobinsons, I'll use their UCA; thats what that LC I posted has and he has no issues. Its a mall crawler, but hes lifted 3" on true 35's