So a little while ago I bought a 2006 gx470, it needed some work and more work after digging into it. It already had the rear coil spring conversion so that was something I was happy about, a bit bouncy but not terrible (add it to the list). Coming up the drive way I heard a loud metal clunk, so I took a look underneath and the both coil springs were broken in multiple spots. They were probably previously broken in parts but had some fresh breaks now too.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about metal tech but these broken springs were metal tech so I decided to go with Dobinson instead. The struts were original and pretty done at 200k which most likely lead to the premature failure.
I ordered Bilstein 4600s as I currently want factory height. And some new sway bar end links.
I watched the metal tech video - which was great - but since my air springs were already removed I thought it would be easier.
I removed the tires which were fused to the brake rotor so some driving with slightly loose nuts broke them free once I hit a bump. Than the sway bar links, those came off pretty easy with some penetrating lube and a wire brush.
The bolt on top of both struts snapped right off. I used a chain pipe clamp to hold the strut while I tried to loosen it. The bottom bolt came out alright.
The springs were partly stuck to the plastic isolator which had expanded through the years ( my guess is they are 6 years old) and the were also stuck to the axel.
So lots of squinting and prying to get them off, I used some dawn and water as well to lube up the isolator. This was probably the biggest pain in the whole job. The soap and water helped get the springs on again too
After finally getting them off I jacked up the one end of the axel but the other end bottomed out on the drive way. So lots of jacked side to side to get the rear end up - since I wasn’t sure about jacking it up by the axel without springs or struts attached.
When it was high enough it was still a tight fit so had my wide stand on the brake rotor together the end down and got both spring in that way.
Struts were straight forward, but the weld on the bottom of the stud prevented me from putting a wrench on it so I used vice grips, the bushing diagram was a bit counter intuitive to me but I tried the way they recommended with the cupped portion of the washer facing away from the bushing but thought I could get more room for a wrench (to hold that welded nut) but I still couldn’t get it so I left it backwards anyways).
I put it all together and it looked like one side of the axel was lower, the one spring top wasnt in the right position against the body. So being a pro I undid the sway bar link, undid the top of the strut and proceeded to poop my pants as the axel shot down and made loud noises. So fixed the positioning of the spring jacked it up, put it together, torqued what I could and it felt better than ever.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about metal tech but these broken springs were metal tech so I decided to go with Dobinson instead. The struts were original and pretty done at 200k which most likely lead to the premature failure.
I ordered Bilstein 4600s as I currently want factory height. And some new sway bar end links.
I watched the metal tech video - which was great - but since my air springs were already removed I thought it would be easier.
I removed the tires which were fused to the brake rotor so some driving with slightly loose nuts broke them free once I hit a bump. Than the sway bar links, those came off pretty easy with some penetrating lube and a wire brush.
The bolt on top of both struts snapped right off. I used a chain pipe clamp to hold the strut while I tried to loosen it. The bottom bolt came out alright.
The springs were partly stuck to the plastic isolator which had expanded through the years ( my guess is they are 6 years old) and the were also stuck to the axel.
So lots of squinting and prying to get them off, I used some dawn and water as well to lube up the isolator. This was probably the biggest pain in the whole job. The soap and water helped get the springs on again too
After finally getting them off I jacked up the one end of the axel but the other end bottomed out on the drive way. So lots of jacked side to side to get the rear end up - since I wasn’t sure about jacking it up by the axel without springs or struts attached.
When it was high enough it was still a tight fit so had my wide stand on the brake rotor together the end down and got both spring in that way.
Struts were straight forward, but the weld on the bottom of the stud prevented me from putting a wrench on it so I used vice grips, the bushing diagram was a bit counter intuitive to me but I tried the way they recommended with the cupped portion of the washer facing away from the bushing but thought I could get more room for a wrench (to hold that welded nut) but I still couldn’t get it so I left it backwards anyways).
I put it all together and it looked like one side of the axel was lower, the one spring top wasnt in the right position against the body. So being a pro I undid the sway bar link, undid the top of the strut and proceeded to poop my pants as the axel shot down and made loud noises. So fixed the positioning of the spring jacked it up, put it together, torqued what I could and it felt better than ever.