Little off topic but does yours have a solid front axle! And do they heavily salt the roads up there as well?
suspension upgrade
- Thread starter jgranthevagrant
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- #22
Not off topic yet. No solid axle yet. Maybe down the road. Vancouver is not too bad for salt, but there is plenty in the rest of the province. I clean the undercarriage a lot.
I too used a sawzall when I cut mine off. Maybe a grinder would work, but they also remove metal sideways. My suggestion would be to get rid of the sleeve. Drill out the hanger (get a real 18mm drill bit) and replace the bolt with an 18mm. I seem to remember I bought mine from Roger (4crawler.com). Give him a ring and see if he can help. Pay attention on the gas tank side. The bolts I had ran into the tank.
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- #24
Yes, I'm trying to be careful not to hack into the spring hanger too much. I got brand new oem bolts, but I can change them to 18mm later.
The dermal may work but likely won't cut deep enough and will go through wheels very fast.
I understand having to work around not having a tool. Maybe someone local has one to borrow. For me a grinder was one of the first metal working tools I bought.
Indispensable. I went through three Dewalts on my FJ40 project.
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- #27
I will pick one up at some point. I have a giant bench grinder, which doesn't work for this, sadly.
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- #28
4.5 inch grinder? smaller? bigger?
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- #30
Thanks for the info. I will look around at grinders. I predict needing one anyway.
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- #31
Put about 8 hours into it. Not including running to Home Depot etc. Got one rear spring removed. Trashed many sawzall blades. Bought a grinder, which I haven't used yet. Looks like I can't reuse the shackles. Upper one has a weird taper to it. Any comments on OME vs Toyota shackles? I will try to post pix. I want the shackle to be close to stock for now.
Doing one side at a time is a great way to end up very frustrated. I highly suggest getting that other tire off, and disconnect the driveshaft from the diff. Put the axle on a second pair of jack stands.
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- #33
I was kind of leaving one side with the tire on because it feels safer until I'm closer to re-assembly. But I can pull it all now if it will line up better and reduce frustration. Chasing new shackles right now. The frustration level with the old bushings is already pretty high.
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- #34
Does anybody on Mud know if an OME GS3 shackle actually works on a 1990 pickup? ARB dealer wasn't sure if they worked and they are not returnable. Stock shackles from Toyota run over $300 in Canada.
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- #35
Passenger side rear spring came off nicely. Mostly the impact and a lot of drilling out of the shackle bushing. No sawzall or grinder at all. Now waiting for shackles. Might have to start on the front while I wait.
I have a set of flat bar shackles I made out of 1/4" the bolt holes are 3.25" center to center. set up for a 19mm or 3/4" bolt. The only problem is mine are straight. They could probably be re shaped in a vice with a hammer. Or you could half ass it and leave them straight the only drawback I see is excessive wear to the bushing from them looking like this \ / If you want them how is $20 and shipping from 17601? Bolts not included. I used a greasable bolt from TG.
I would also suggest flipping your drive shaft so the slip yoke is up at the t case. I feel that end is the most prone to damage from rocks and such. If the holes on the flanges are different. Just turn it 45* and re drill it.
The pic of the broken leaf. It must be a toyota thing. I feel I see that alot on stock leafs.
I would also suggest flipping your drive shaft so the slip yoke is up at the t case. I feel that end is the most prone to damage from rocks and such. If the holes on the flanges are different. Just turn it 45* and re drill it.
The pic of the broken leaf. It must be a toyota thing. I feel I see that alot on stock leafs.
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- #38
Is that not the way it has always been in? I will look at reversing it after the pass side spring is in. Driver's side is in place. Shackle currently points forward, which kind of worries me, but I guess the springs will settle. Will post pix later this week when I get back to it. Truck is about 20 ks away at a carport with level concrete.
The drive shafts may of come installed from the factory that way. I had flipped mine on my 4runner. If it's a 2 piece shafts you may be out of luck. My old taco was that way.
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- #40
Yup. 2 piece shaft. I will look at it anyway. I haven't actually looked at it since I broke a u-joint in Juneau. As far as the broken leaf goes, I'm ok with it, because it did last 25 years.