My 2014 LC

[THEROK]

Finding good help these days is really half the challenge. The other half is dealing with trustworthy parts sellers as I've run into a bad apple with a dealer based in Orange County. Not only did they blatantly send me wrong tires which was a huge pain to swap out since I bought them mounted with wheels, they also sent me the wrong springs. How one could mess up an order so bad and be unresponsive throughout the purchasing process is beyond me. Never again.

On a positive note this LC is pure decadence. I even got some mud on the tires for the first time the other day. it guzzles regular unleaded on the regular and even more so now with lift and E rated tires. The thing is rolling on 13" wides just enough to resemble a friggn tank ready for its casting call to replace that pos ford expedition in I Am Legend 2. In person my lc as it stands looks like nothing else on the road. Love.

On the flip side what's also crazy cool is i am radar cruising down i5 like I'm in a Lexus with hid lights blazing pointed downward via manual control to reduce dazzling others.

My plan of attack at this juncture is let the suspension settle a bit by putting some miles on it as it rides great aside from the noises. Get it aligned by truline. then decide on the uca and icon rear shocks before spring. Maybe someone would be willing to trade me their 722 for my 723s?

I've run into extra expenses both time and money due to the fiasco caused by vendor. Pm me if you want to know who to avoid.

Your help/encouragement is immense. Many thanks.

 

[THEROK]

Get a good 4 wheel alignment guy...this happens all the time with solid rear axle, they were in there, loosening everything up to get the springs out and in, there may have been little or no adjusting to get it straight when they were buttoning it up.

Do I need something like this or can the rear axle be centered again post lift without?

http://www.whitelinesuspensionparts...me&Sec=22725&gclid=CNnD3f7w0LsCFUzZQgodlh8AEg

 

[chimyz]

Don't need it, but adjustable trailing arms do help. Much like the aftermarket UCAs help the front alignment.

If a shop loosens everything, straightens it, then torques it all back, you should be ok.

 

[THEROK]

Should I go for the slee uca or the pricier total chaos? I actually prefer the black understated look of the slee unit. Many thanks.

 

[alwaysme]

not sure really but i heard alot of good feedback from TC UCA. There's also Light racing UCA, anyone used them for the LC200?

http://www.metaltech4x4.com/p-762-200-seres-land-cruiser-light-racing-ucas.aspx

i like how they look OEM

 

[THEROK]

Tca is more race oriented and may be susceptible to more noise which is what I want to avoid. Eg heim joints. Slee units have rubber bushings.

 

[elkaholic]

The Slee arms are actually the Light racing arms ... Same ones MetalTech sells. It will be what I install once my warranty is gone for the stock style ball joints

Sent from my iPad using IH8MUD

 

[THEROK]

So slee UCA is $25 more for same part?

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[chimyz]

I've had Total Chaos on two rigs and would get them again. Only noise is squeaking when bushings need grease. Easy fix with a bit of maintenance.

 

[LCKID]

I've had Total Chaos on two rigs and would get them again. Only noise is squeaking when bushings need grease. Easy fix with a bit of maintenance.

i grease mine every 6 weeks and have managed to never hear/deal with the well-known squeaking.

 

[THEROK]

I'm going with the slee uca and ordering up 722 springs. Turns out there is low inventory as I called ARB myself with due date toward mid January.

Continually running into confusion on vendor side. None really seem to be forthright in their responses to my questions.

I understand that the stock and ome rear springs are different lengths. Slee guy says there should be a and b labels and a is for passenger and b for driver the reverse from aus lcrusiers. Like just look at the thing spring you're shipping me to make sure?

Also slee mentioned orientation of shocks should be noted. I ask for instructions and he says just follow the Toyota shop manual. Yet I read three cases where the top shock has gaps that require washers which slee says they don't run into ever on their installs (ie zero noise).

 

[sleeoffroad]

I understand that the stock and ome rear springs are different lengths. Slee guy says there should be a and b labels and a is for passenger and b for driver the reverse from aus lcrusiers. Like just look at the thing spring you're shipping me to make sure?

The OME springs are labeled with tags. There is a A and a B side. They are labelled for RHD trucks and A is RHD Driver Side. So for us, that is passenger side. That is how we do them at the shop. You also have to know what to do with the KDSS when installing and working on the suspension. Dealer techs have access to Toyota tech info and should know this.

Also slee mentioned orientation of shocks should be noted. I ask for instructions and he says just follow the Toyota shop manual. Yet I read three cases where the top shock has gaps that require washers which slee says they don't run into ever on their installs (ie zero noise).

Orientation of the bushings and washers should be noted. In some cases, we do add washers just below the nut when we feel the pre-load is not enough on the bushings. If you just crank down on the nut, you run the risk of running into the end of the thread on the stem and stripping the nut / stem. What I said we don't run into noises on the installs when we are done. It is up to the installer to know when the install is done right. Some of this is just knowledge gained with doing a ton of OME installs. Dealer tech is probably not going to know that.

 

[SWUtah]

I drove over 2000 miles to have Slee do my OME suspension and some other work. Everything came out perfect. I could not find anyone in Las Vegas I would trust to do the job right. When I get a 200 series I again will be driving to Slee Off Road for the work. But that's just the way I roll. Do it right the first time!

 

[THEROK]

the challenge I'm running into is while there's tribal knowledge avail thru this forum and in side conversations with some vendors, no one has a proper set of instructions detailing how to install the rear ome setup correctly that can be shared with shops that don't have much if any experience lifting a 200 lc.

I'm going to have the Toyota guys do it due to the kdss factor. Knowledge gap still remains for the rear ome setup. There is no "slee" shop in Seattle else is be all set!

Thanks for responding and selling me the uca + 722 bundle.

 

[chimyz]

the challenge I'm running into is while there's tribal knowledge avail thru this forum and in side conversations with some vendors, no one has a proper set of instructions detailing how to install the rear ome setup correctly that can be shared with shops that don't have much if any experience lifting a 200 lc. I'm going to have the Toyota guys do it due to the kdss factor. Knowledge gap still remains for the rear ome setup. There is no "slee" shop in Seattle else is be all set! Thanks for responding and selling me the uca + 722 bundle.

Toyota dealership would be the LAST place I take my truck in to do any aftermarket installations. Unfortunately they don't know anything up here about my truck. I've taken It in for things that only a dealership could do (otherwise I need to spend $10,000+ on a computer), and typical conversation is:

Dealer "Wow, is that a lifted Highlander? Cool!"
Me "No"
Dealer "Oh, is it a 4runner?"
Me "Nope, guess again"
Dealer "Ah, it's the new Sequoia, looks good lifted"
Me "Not a Sequoia either, it a Landcruiser"
Dealer "Landcruiser? I didn't know they made those anymore?"

 

[chimyz]

KDSS is simple. No electronics and no engineering degree needed to understand. Open valves for free flow, install suspension, drop truck, close valves, go wheelin!

 

[THEROK]

Mucho thanks chim. I'm going to drop it off at truline which is a reputable alignment shop locally and have them handle the 722 spring and slee uca install. Also set the rear perfectly even side to side as well as get me some more hwy stability.

 

[chimyz]

Mucho thanks chim. I'm going to drop it off at truline which is a reputable alignment shop locally and have them handle the 722 spring and slee uca install. Also set the rear perfectly even side to side as well as get me some more hwy stability.

There is a document on here somewhere explaining the procedure. You may want to search it and take it in to the shop. Explain to them for suspension installs they need to follow this procedure. Once it's levelled, then close out the valves and do the alignment.

You can also check lcool.org ...great LC resource site. I know it is somewhere in the 200 section there for sure (possibly one of their stickies).

 

[elkaholic]

There is a document on here somewhere explaining the procedure. You may want to search it and take it in to the shop. Explain to them for suspension installs they need to follow this procedure. Once it's levelled, then close out the valves and do the alignment.

I think the attachment from the "kdss valve" thread is what you were referring to

View attachment landcruiser_kdss_instructions.pdf

 

[Atwalz]

I will keeping an eye on this thread. As I also got a rig just like yours. 2013 Black on Black. She is stocker. Any issues with the kdss after installing the lift?

Also, new to this forum. My first post here.