Done since Friday evening! So far Im glad Ive opted for the suspension upgrade first before the rock sliders. Yes Ive missed so many 80s trail runs but the truck needed new springs and shocks (170K+ miles). Its truly worth the wait.
No pics yet.
I almost went to a Tire Shop to finish the rear for me because I could not take out the bottom rear shock bolts. But letting somebody do the install that is not Land Cruiser knowledgeable was inviting trouble. I lucked out and finished it myself.
The ride is much smoother and not rough at all. The dreaded front clunk when I go over speed bumps, dips and the like is gone.
I dont even notice the stinkbug look! No MAF spacers in the front as MAF did not expect to have it until this week.
Problems encountered:
- top DS shock nut was difficult to take out due to space and the shock kept moving
(solution more PB blaster and a good grip on the shock with long channel lock/vise grip)
- I could not compress the old front shocks for some reason to remove them
( had to use bottle jack with a hard tip to push the old shock from the bottom)
- Rear bottom shock bolts frozen even with 2 days worth of PB blaster (even encased the area with a plastic sandwich bag filled with the stuff)
(drove to the nearest auto shop and got a mechanic to use their big and adjustable impact wrench to loosen both bottom rear shock bolts - did not even charge me to do that)
- I could not remove PS rear wheel
(called Mo and suggested that a corrosion was probably the culprit (rust) and told me I can still install the springs and shocks)
- after easily removing the coils from the DS I could not take out the PS springs with the wheel still attached - I had no room to work around it even though I took out all the air from the tire to give me more space to push the axle down.
(used the old bottle jack under the right lateral control rod which attaches to the right side frame and jacked it up to decompress the spring much more easily)
- I could not install the sway bar bracket back to the rear PS side frame
( I figured it was the rear flat tire was flexing the sway bar and I put back air to the tire)
All in all I can say I did it on my own and learned from all the obstacles. Not bad from somebody that has been paying others to fix/maintain my vehicles.
So for those fxxxers that think otherwise
.
I would like to thank the MUD members Ive PMed for some help especially our SoCal 80s Slomo. Before this Ive only heard and read about his good reputation. Now I can vouch for it. Mo PMed me additional instructions that really supplemented the Slee OME install. Thanks.
Just be carefull not to do a sharp jerk or you might bend one of the lines.
