Werd.

 

I did the install yesterday. Took about 4 hours, taking my time. I've never done suspension work before and used hand tools.

I rented a strut spring compressor, which was a godsend. I was doing this by myself so I didn't have anyone to push on things and compress. Also, with the fronts being keyed, I wanted to make sure they stayed in place while tightening the bolts.

I tried to take off the wiper plastic thingy, but couldn't quite master that part. It was easy enough with a box wrench to take off the front top strut nuts.

Went quite smoothly thanks to this install page! I got TRD springs, and the instuctions say "refer to manual." Overall, the feel is mildly stiffer, not too bad. The drop is there, but not super noticeable. Definitely doesn't look slammed, just closed down a little bit of the gap.

Oh, and no leaks.

 

Thanks for the DIY on this, it helped alot, finished mine up in an hour and a half! Used spy springs and love the ride.

 

installing the fronts can be a tiresome nightmare especially getting the strut back in and lined back up to put the 2 bolts back in took two people an hour a side that are experienced mechanics I don't know if this had anything to do with all the polyurathane bushings from energy that were prototypes there making a master kit for our cars the Xa and the Xb and don't forget to warn people not to move wround to much or oyu will pull the exel out of the transmission especially if it is an automatic. I felt like the basic principle was outlined in the installation but on the xa you definently need to remove the wipers and motor and tray area. there is alot more to it. I also see some people did a DIY without using spring compressors just because it didn't kill you doesn't mean that it can't happen and people loose legs and arms because of not using them considering they can be rented for free at autozone I see no reson for people not to put safety first. This can be a very tough job on the front easy on the back and it may be harder with the TRD springs with less of a drop but I definently noticed alot of difficulty then it was made to sound in the front and some safety tips left out.

 

Sorry to hear you had such a hard time of it. However, the spring install on an xA or xB is not nearly as diffcult as you make it out to be. I am not a certified or "experienced" mechanic, and I did not have nearly the difficulty you did. Granted I am pretty familiar with suspension and have done lots of suspension work in my time.

I also just can't believe it took two experience mechanics over an hour per side just to compress the spring and line up the strut bolts. Myself, with my brother-in-law (who has never done suspension work) took less than 10 minutes per side to compress the strut to align the bolts. And that 10 minutes was with plenty of struggling.

Also, while your comments about using spring compressors is valid in some applications it really isn't an issue with our springs. They aren't compressed enough to pose a serious risk. On other cars, it can be very serious, and if you don't know for sure you should err on the side of caution. But I know from doing mine that with the strut laying flat on the ground and tapping the top with a runner malet the spring went less than 3 feet. Had it been facing vertically I dounbt the coil would have cleared the strut shaft.

Bottom line? Our cars are probably one of the easist on the market today to lower. Are there tools and methods out there that can make lowering them easier? Sure. Are those tools and methods absolutely necessary to get the job done? No. Is it something an average shade tree mechanic and his buddy can get done in an afternoon? Absolutely.

 

Bravo. I agree. I'm no mechanic. I got it done.

 

you dont need to remove the wiper cowl on an xA or xB. I can do one in 35 minutes if I'm not standing around BS-ing too much.

 

When I "compressed" my springs on the struts, I just pushed it down- while my wife got the nut started on the top. It wasn't a big deal. Nothing flew off and killed anybody.

 

just wanted to express what we found on the Xa I think it is tighter work area than the Xb and the car was automatic it was very hot day with no lift. I said what I did about the springs just cause i saw a guy with a toyota NOAH Van loose a leg for not using spring compressors and all went very easy with the install until getting the front strut back in line and bolted up underneath. the axel kept coming out of the transmission this may be something on the automatic Xa I dunno but we definently had to remove the tray and wipermotor up top to use a tourque wrench properly on the bolts. and the hochkis strut bar was in the way as well as a viper alarm siren so it took a little while longer than I expected. I'm anxious to see how your header tutorial is when I install the TRD toyota ist header next monday it should be here from japan I excited. looking at importing all the underbraces that aren't available here either and the yaris supercharger i want to make sure it will fit first in the engine bay and i can tune it with a standalone but thats another topic.

 

The trick to lining up the bottom strut holes is to jack up the front of the car from the middle....raising both front wheels off the ground at the same time. This unloads the sway-bar and allows the struts to drop right in.

 

yeah I didn't jack it up in the middle I used jack stands on the lift points but had the front totally raised

 

Yeah I didn't mean it had to be jacked up from the middle, just that the entire front should be off the ground.

Not sure why they gave you so much grief though.

 

me either still baffling me I'm sure I didn't do something absolutly right but I read alot of diy and followed all the steps even removed top tray with wiper motor for extra room found on echo forums but I don't know they were a serious pain I hope the TRD springs don't blow the shocks because I do not want to change them for along time seriously.

 

me either still baffling me I'm sure I didn't do something absolutly right but I read alot of diy and followed all the steps even removed top tray with wiper motor for extra room found on echo forums but I don't know they were a serious pain I hope the TRD springs don't blow the shocks because I do not want to change them for along time seriously.

 

Please use the ENTER/RETURN key occasionally, as it's extremely hard to read a run-on sentence without that consideration.

Thanks.

 

Just used this tech to istall TEIN springs. Extemely easy and it only took me and my buddy about an hour to do. I measured to factory ride height at 9.5" and now my box sits at 6" all the way round. Looks awesome.

 

I really doubt you have a 3.5" drop with teins.

 

I measured the factory ride height at 9.5" and here is a picture of my current stance at 6" The sideskirt is 6" from the ground. I would post a better pic, but its raining like crazy here, maybe tomarrow.



I dont know, but thats what I got

 

Well just installed the H&R Touring Cup suspension and other than battling with the front springs since I was doing it alone with no compression vice it went rather smoothly. I ended up having to go visit my mechanic and use his. After that was all said and done came back home to put the front end back together. Took the car out for a ride and she rides BEAUTIFULLY.. Very happy so far with the H&R suspension components.

 

Do you have any pics of the car? Looks really low good job