Installing Coil overs and A-Arms on a 1998 Tacoma

[crawler#976]

After a short wheelin' trip to break things in, I found I'm going to have to crank up the coils about a 1/2" to get back to my original lift. With the new additions on the truck, the front end is perhaps 150 Lbs heavier than it was. A TJM bumper with M8000 w/ synth line and a second battery add up quickly. As the truck sits before cranking on the adjuster it rides like a Caddy - a bit too soft and it has more boddy roll than before.

Mark

 

[p1michaud]

Great write up.

Very comprehensive write up and clear pictures. I've got a few questions for you not directly related to the install, feel free to PM me if you don't want to clutter up your post:

1-Where did you pick up your ball joint tool? I replaced mine earlier this year and had to force them out then back in with a piece of pipe a big hammer and lots of patience. This tool would have made the job much smipler.

2-What size MTR tires are you wearing?

3-What is different about the new 2.5" Donahoe Extended Travel Zoo Road coilovers?

4-About your body roll, did you remove your sway bar duing this install or after? I'm currious if your SAW 2.0 controlled body roll better before vs. the Donahoes.

Cheers,
P

 

[crawler#976]

1-Where did you pick up your ball joint tool? I replaced mine earlier this year and had to force them out then back in with a piece of pipe a big hammer and lots of patience. This tool would have made the job much simpler.

I work in a machine shop that is serviced by MSC Industrial at a 40% discount. ( mscdirect.com ) They have a massive tool catalog!

2-What size MTR tires are you wearing?

32/11.5-15's

3-What is different about the new 2.5" Donahoe Extended Travel Zoo Road coil overs?

The extended travel D'Hoes net an extra 1" of down travel when using an aftermarket A-Arm. They are the same price as the standard D'Hoes.

4-About your body roll, did you remove your sway bar duing this install or after? I'm curious if your SAW 2.0 controlled body roll better before vs. the Donahoes.

I've been swaybarless since I installed the SAW's. The SAW's were using a 675Lb spring and controlled the body roll quite well. I was happy with the SAW's performance, but the d'side coil was bent, and SAW is not supporting the older shocks anymore so I was unable to get replacements. I'm sure cranking up the D'Hoes will help control the body roll some.

 

[p1michaud]

Coilovers

My response is in blue below.
Cheers :beer:,
P

1-Where did you pick up your ball joint tool? I replaced mine earlier this year and had to force them out then back in with a piece of pipe a big hammer and lots of patience. This tool would have made the job much simpler.

I work in a machine shop that is serviced by MSC Industrial at a 40% discount. ( mscdirect.com ) They have a massive tool catalog!

Oh boy, I'd be out of house and home!

3-What is different about the new 2.5" Donahoe Extended Travel Zoo Road coil overs?

The extended travel D'Hoes net an extra 1" of down travel when using an aftermarket A-Arm. They are the same price as the standard D'Hoes.

Ok, so the Zoo Road does not add or change anything to the Extended Length coilovers then?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Great writeup...

However, I strongly advice against using the inverted jack, on top of the upper A-arm. Not only does it pose a safety risk (if it pops out), but it can dent your inner fender well. It is much easier IMO to undo the lower ball joint (either at the castle nut or the 4 mount bolts).

To remove the stock coils/struts you shouldn't need a jack at all... undo the top mount (3 studs as noted) and then undo the bottom mounting bolt, it will come out without issue.

 

[BajaXplorer]

Mark,
Nice writeup and congrats on the upgrades to suspension. I will be interested in knowing how wheel alignment goes, with respect to camber. As you know I am running AllPro coilovers and A arms. The camber never will adjust to Tacoma specs. Toyota calls for -1.1 to 0.5, but my left is -1.3 and right is -1.6. Of course, bending the front end down in Baja a couple of years ago may have contributed.

I have the #650 and I believe 14" coils which barely handles my front end weight. Considering going to the Donahoe #675 extended coils, so your report will be of great interest to me. I don't believe you can get a stronger weight coil than the 675.

BTW, anyone who has attended SCORE races at San Felipe will know why they are called "zoo road" coils. LOL
BX

 

[crawler#976]

Hey BX!

Finished the final adjustment on them today - the left side is at 2.125" of exposed thread, the right at 2.000" - both up from the 1.500" setting from Donahoe. That got the suspension height slightly higher than I had it with the SAW's, and took out some of the lean to the left.

To settle the suspension I ran a 2 mile long section of the worst washboard near Chino Valley. The closely spaced ridges vary from 4 to 6" high and has potholes mixed in that are up to 8" deep and nearly 3' in dia. The D'Hoes sucked it up! The SAW's were good, these are better, and ride slightly softer at the same ride height. The only chatter I experianced was from the rear Deavers and Bilstien 5125's, and that wasn't bad.

I'll be taking the truck to Jim's Alignment and Brake's next week to have it checked. The Camburgs are built with additiona caster, so I'm hoping Clay (Jim's son) will be able to get it to factory spec. He's ben doing alignments on my junk for 20+ years, and I haven't found anything he can't correct.

Mark

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cruiseroutfit

The jack isn't applying any serious pressure to the upper a-arm - it is more of an aid in keeping the suspension down while removing the lower bolt. The stock a-arms apply slight torsion to the suspension, and I didn't use more pressure than I could apply by hand. Now that the Camburg A-Arms are on it doesn't need a jack at all - suspension goes to full droop when the truck is on a jackstand.

 

[crawler#976]

Update:

The alignment was only off by a wee bit - right side started at 0.8, right was 0.5. Clay at Jim's Alignment and Brakes had no trouble getting it to spec.

Unfortunately, the left side of the rack is worn - got a fair amount of play, but isn't leaking yet.

Mark