I spent last Sunday installing new All-Pro adjustable front coilovers. Everything went OK with the install (my first time installing anything like this) and I was able to get the job done in 7 hours. I think if I did it again I could do it in maybe 4 hours due to the learning curve.
However, I'm stuck. I can't get the coilovers adjusted past 24 threads of lift. I haven't measured, but I think this is only about 1/3 of the way lifted (so maybe 1" of lift?). There is a collar on top of the spring to thread down and thus lift the suspension but the farther you turn the harder it gets. I called All-Pro and they said "its easy" and they don't know why I cant turn it. I think they must be eating a lot of vitamins or spinach. They also suggested I put some light silicon spray on there, which I did and it helped me a little but not much.
I have disconnected the sway bar, brake lines, and the upper a-arm so that the wheel can droop all the way down. I tried a spring compressor but due to the tightness of these springs it is very hard to get it in there and there is almost no room once installed to make it work. Maybe I could rent another brand.
There are very small holes drilled into the collar but it doesn't come with a tool to make them useful and All-Pro said to just stick a punch in there. I tried that on one side and managed to mangle the holes and only make 4 rotations of progress in 20 minutes.
Any ideas???
Has anyone else had trouble adjusting the lift?
Thanks
__________________
FJBlack Manual, rails, 285 MTR's, All Pro rear links upper & lower, All Pro Adj. Lift front & rear, custom scratches down the sides...
I just adjusted my donahoes today with no problem at all. I dont know if they are set up similar or not. On the donahoes you loosen the spot with a allen wrench and then use the tool that comes with tthe donahoes to rotate it.
Sorry you are having trouble. I read through this whole thread >> (starting here from page 10) ALL-PRO Lift and Swampers - Bandi's FJC and it looks like there are different top adjustment nut styles out there. Yours is set up for a spanner wrench which is a curved tool with a pin that goes in the hole. Elongating the hole with a punch and hammer on a high end rebuildable shock seems a little cave-man. Get the right tool and save yourself a headache.
Bandi's thread also shows you the approximate lift achieved by different amounts of thread showing. That is priceless baseline information.
I too will be installing this lift soon, and would be interested in a follow up from you when you get it sorted out.
Yours is set up for a spanner wrench which is a curved tool with a pin that goes in the hole. Elongating the hole with a punch and hammer on a high end rebuildable shock seems a little cave-man. Get the right tool and save yourself a headache.
I figured there would be a tool available which is why I called All-Pro and they said that "no" there is not a tool that is made for this. I've see little spanner wrenches with a pin as you've described but the local autoparts store doesn't sell them. I'll hunt around for the right tool.
By the way, I also installed the rear All-Pro springs and Walker Evans adjustables with resevoir. It went pretty smooth taking everything apart but I did have to use a spring compressor ($6/day to rent) to get the new coils in. One funny thing was that the "All-Pro" and "FJ CRUISER" printed on the springs is upside down on both coils. The real bummer came when I went to install the new WE shocks and realized the hole in the bottom mount of the shocks is the wrong size. The stock mount bolt is 1.9 cm (3/4") diameter but the hole in the shock was just 1.4 cm. I've got a call into All-Pro to figure out what is going on. Either I'm an idiot and can't figure something obvious out or they sent me the wrong shocks.
__________________
FJBlack Manual, rails, 285 MTR's, All Pro rear links upper & lower, All Pro Adj. Lift front & rear, custom scratches down the sides...
The bottom bolt should be 14mm stock, and the WE shock uses a 1/2" heim, so there's only a 1mm difference that is taken up with a reducer bushing included with the shocks.
On the adjustment, the tire needs to be off the ground, and the upper a-arm seperated from the knuckle to releive preload. At that point the upper adjustment should be simple using a punch inserted into the holes on the re-designed upper adjusted nut. We havent had a problem with any of the installs we have performed at the shop, but if you have the arm apart from the knuckle and are still having trouble, give me a call at the shop and I'll see if we can get something for you to adjust them easier.
The bottom bolt should be 14mm stock, and the WE shock uses a 1/2" heim, so there's only a 1mm difference that is taken up with a reducer bushing included with the shocks.
On the adjustment, the tire needs to be off the ground, and the upper a-arm seperated from the knuckle to releive preload. At that point the upper adjustment should be simple using a punch inserted into the holes on the re-designed upper adjusted nut. We havent had a problem with any of the installs we have performed at the shop, but if you have the arm apart from the knuckle and are still having trouble, give me a call at the shop and I'll see if we can get something for you to adjust them easier.
Terry
Terry - Thanks for the reply.
Topic 1: Adjusting the coils a) So far, I have managed to lift the front about 2 1/4 inches give or take b) Truck on blocks, tires off c) Upper a-arm completely disconnected, all pressure off. d) Still cannot get more than 21 threads down on one side and 24 threads on the other. The side with 24 threads was because I used a punch as suggested but this really isn't very effective. It mangles up the pre-drilled holes and makes a mess of the collar and only allows for minimal further progress. e) My feedback is that there needs to be a spanner wrench for this purpose. One of the "j" style ones with a pin in it perhaps? From what I hear including wrenches such as this is common so maybe you can consider this for the future. I see Bandi had a picture of one in his setup kit but I know you've since redesigned the collar. It is now very smooth with small holes drilled in it.
Topic 2: Bolt size on the rear shocks
a) See picture of all measurements b) Am I missing something? There were not directions included on the rear setup so perhaps I'm not putting this together right. The extra rubber bushing that the kit came with DOES fit on the stock bolt (inner diameter is 19mm) but how am I supposed to use that? Do I have to remove the bushing and metal insert that the WE shocks came with?
Thanks!
__________________
FJBlack Manual, rails, 285 MTR's, All Pro rear links upper & lower, All Pro Adj. Lift front & rear, custom scratches down the sides...
I have the same problem with the WE coilovers on the stock bolt and bottom mount. There is no way the stock bolt fits in there. I had AllPro send me another set of reducer bushings and got the same size I already had. Spoke with Terry on the phone and the solution appears to be to go get a 1/2 inch bolt, I'm jut not sure where I'm going to find something like that. Will be phoning industrial fastener places today.
I removed the metal insert and I believe I also removed the bushing and used the extra bushing and original bolt. It's what I assumed I was suppose to do since nothing else fit and I had no instructions. Last time I assumed something with this mod I screwed up so don't go with my instructions. But it has been a while since I installed the shocks and I don't have any obvious functional problems.But there is a noticable thump in the rear over small bumps since I installed the MTZ's.....
The rear shocks fit both the Tacoma and the FJ. The Tacoma uses a bolt that goes through the mount that sandwiches the shock bushing, and its a smaller bolt size, thus the reducer sleeve pressed in from the factory on the rear lower shoch bushing. The FJ uses a stud and the sleeve needs to be pressed out of the lower bushing, the bushing will ride directly on the stud on the FJ rear lower mount.
We came up with a modified spanner wrench for you, PM me your info and I will send it out immediately, this will get your adjustment where you need it, and we made a prototype spanner that will be going into production that has a perfect fit for the Walker Evans upper ring that will be included standard with the coilover kits in the near future when they are done.
I have the same problem with the WE coilovers on the stock bolt and bottom mount. There is no way the stock bolt fits in there. I had AllPro send me another set of reducer bushings and got the same size I already had. Spoke with Terry on the phone and the solution appears to be to go get a 1/2 inch bolt, I'm jut not sure where I'm going to find something like that. Will be phoning industrial fastener places today.
The front coilovers are preassembled with the 1/2" bolt already in the lower mount, if you are missing it please PM me your address if you cannot find a 1/2" bolt locally.
Linear Mode
