Suspension!

[akito]

Im trying to work on my suspension and upgrade the springs. What is the easiest way of removing the front struts, do i have to take out my upper control arm? I know the rear is easy to take out. Have anyone removed the front struts without having to remove the control arm? I know Dylan had a write up about suspension upgrade but for some reason i cant access to his page. Thank you for any input.

 

[jmanbball]

You can remove the struts without taking the control arms off, but it is a complete pain it the ass. You have to seperate the spring and the strut while still on the car, and then remove them.

 

[AF1JZ]

I took out the long ass bolt that holds the upper control arm out and slid the arm out of the way. It made taking out the strut/spring easy as pie. I think that it would be a big PITA any other way.

 

[akito]

JMANBBALL-THAT would be a pain to do, separate them while they are still in the car?LOL...

AF1JZ-I think i would rather do that than doing what JMAN said.
Thanks

 

[AF1JZ]

Good, now go and swap out the stock 4x4 springs/struts :biglaugh: .

 

[akito]

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! and pictures will be post up to to see the differences.

 

[AF1JZ]

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! and pictures will be post up to to see the differences.

:bigthumb:

 

[Obsessionw/Boost]

What kind of springs are you putting on? Just curious because Im doing my suspension also..well, not yet, but within the next 2 weeks..

 

[akito]

Well, i might need to put on a flame suit on. Theres a coilover sleeves set on ebay that i bought. I have an extra set of stock set up that has less milage and in very good condition. This is for my dd so those coilover sleeves will go on my old set up right now and im trying to see what kind of ride quality it will provide. Those who thinks this is a bad thing to do please tell me, like i said i have extra to replace so im not too worried. Initally i was going this route, front bilsteins (srry if i spelled it wrong) rear hp blue tokicos and intrax all around. That is the cheapest i can afford right now. Every input about my ricy set up im about to do is welcome. Thanks

 

[AF1JZ]

The ride is going to be horrible. Yea, you will be able to set the ride height to you liking. But, will ride like shit. If you want something that rides good and lowers it, go with the arospeed/kyb gr-2. Not to mention that it cost me $270 shipped for the whole setup. That's what I have.

Now, if you want to go for something that handles and lowers just a little bit, go with the eibach/tokico. Only downfall is that it is probably beyond your budget. Just my 2 cents.

 

[akito]

The ride is going to be horrible. Yea, you will be able to set the ride height to you liking. But, will ride like shit. If you want something that rides good and lowers it, go with the arospeed/kyb gr-2. Not to mention that it cost me $270 shipped for the whole setup. That's what I have.

Now, if you want to go for something that handles and lowers just a little bit, go with the eibach/tokico. Only downfall is that it is probably beyond your budget. Just my 2 cents.

How lowered is your car. If i had known this sooner! Lol, i guess i'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the advice, maybe i'll do what u did afterward.

 

[AF1JZ]

How lowered is your car. If i had known this sooner! Lol, i guess i'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the advice, maybe i'll do what u did afterward.

Pics somewhere in my build thread. It lowered it 2''.
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43269

 

[akito]

Update! Not done with the installation yet since i dont have enough time at my school. I have tems on my car but i dont think it work since i got the car because of the light on the dash is never on. Is there a fuse for the tems system? What could be the cause for it not to function? What else is there that i can look at to fix it?
Thanks

 

[starscream5000]

http://gallery.sanitylapse.com/v/supra/Suspension+Upgrade+8-9-05/

 

[OneJArpus]

You should have saved up and got these

(not the exact picture for a Supra but you get the point)
KSport

 

[bowsercake]

The rear strut can be removed without removing the upper control arm.

For the front suspension you really need to remove the upper control arm. That bolt was really hard for me to get out. Once it was a few inches out I padded some vice grips and clamped on so that I could tap that with a hammer to slide it out. You might need to remove your fender liner to deal with that bolt.

 

[TobyCat]

I've done my suspension 3 times now and it really is quite easy.

If you're just changing the fronts, here's how:

1. Crack the front lug nuts with the car still on the ground

2. Jack up front

3. Remove front wheels

4. remove the front ABS sensor brackets. 1 on control arm, other on strut

4b. put something under the lower ball joint to support the weight, you don't want your brake lines to be stretched out. Jack works good for this!

5. Get a nice long breaker bar w/ a 19mm(3/4") socket and a 19mm wrench and remove the upper control arm bolt. This one will be very tight as it was torqued to 121ft/lbs from factory (iirc).

6.Once the bolt is loose, you can feed it forward and sneak it behind the inner fender wall. It fits fine on the driver's side, and is a total *BITCH* on the passenger's side. Passenger side has the washer fluid reservoir but it can be done. Keep wiggling and it'll slide back there enough to get the control arm out.

7.Remove the bottom strut mount bolt. This one is also very tight and is a total pain to get to because one side is a shallow 19mm, the other side is well behind the rotor. Jimmy up the shortest extension you can use to get around the rotor and give'r. It'll come lose with enough cursing.

8.Remove the TEMS actuators on the front keeping note of their orientation. Remove the top 3 upper mount bolts. Do not I repeat do not remove the strut nut in the center.

8b. Lower the jack slightly. Careful not to lower too much and stress brake lines.

9.Get a dead blow hammer. 'Push' the bottom mount into the center of the car and slide it free. Slide the McPherson strut down to either side then play the get it out of wheel well game

Installation is pretty much the reverse. Some tips are:

-there are brass sleeves in the lower mounting brackets that are really tight. You can back these out slightly by putting a bolt/nut through one half, and hitting the other side with a hammer. This makes installation way easier, and the sleeves will crimp back in once you torque down the bolt.

-Grease your upper control arm bolt as you put it back on. If you don't, you're asking for squeaky bumps!

-Use the jack to slowly lift the strut back into the top three mounting holes. You can use your foot or something to slowly push down on the jack as you guide the suspension in.


Hope this helps!
-Chris

 

[akito]

I put the front sleeves in already, the ride quality is not that bad, and it is only a lil bit bouncy. Im so mad at myself for not taking b4 and after pix. I will do that on the rears tho. No one knows anything about the tems problem that i have? If anybody do please tell me, thanks!

 

[akito]

You should have saved up and got these

(not the exact picture for a Supra but you get the point)
KSport

I do want those, but imma save up for a turbo supra instead. Those REAL coilovers do cost a lot tho, lol