[97TT6SP]

Hey, anyone who has done this before, do you have to save anything off of the control arm (eg any rubber pieces)? I had to destroy some of the bushings and these outer rubber pieces on the lower arms while cutting the bolts out (gotta love rust). It doesn't say in the R2 instruction manual, but I want to make sure before I place an order to Curt at Toyota.

Thanks.

 

[97TT6SP]

^nevermind. Dusty at MVP said that nothing except the bushing kit and the arms are needed (and the bolts of course, if you had to cut em like I did). That's what I get for using the search function and reading old threads on this topic.

 

[flaktech]

Let us know what you think when you drive on them. Can't have too many opinions imo.
I still have to do my rears.

 

[LLCoolJ94]

Yes please, I just ordered my kit yesterday!

 

[97TT6SP]

No problem, once I have time, I was going to do a write up with all the information I have accrued since the beginning of the install. I can say that this job is a real nightmare unless your car has no rust. For example, I have had (or will) cut 5 of 8 of the cam bolts because the bolt is frozen to the bushing sleeve. The front is cake compared to the rears. I have also managed to bust one ABS speed senor in the process of trying to remove it (rust strikes again). Half of it is still stuck in the hub. Still not sure what I will do about it. I have spent about 30hrs on it so far and am not completly done with dissassembly. Hopefully today is the day though. Installation should be much easier (in theory at least).

 

[LLCoolJ94]

Damn. That makes me really reluctant to try this job on my own. But I also don't feel like shelling out the cash to have somebody else install them.

 

[97TT6SP]

I'm not sure how much it costs to do, but if you have tons of patience, another vehicle to drive in the meantime and lots of tools (use your "labor" costs to buy some new tools) you can do it. If you like this sort of stuff go for it. Hindsight, I would have lived with just doing the coilovers for now and do the bushings later since my car only has 74k miles.

 

[StickyRice]

The initial drive is awsome, the car feels so tight and rigid. When you hit a bump and just nice and crisp (the best way I can describe it). I don't this awhile ago its not hard as long as you have the right tools and time.

 

[LLCoolJ94]

The initial drive is awsome, the car feels so tight and rigid. When you hit a bump and just nice and crisp (the best way I can describe it). I don't this awhile ago its not hard as long as you have the right tools and time.

How much time did this job take you to finish?

 

[97TT6SP]

^ I've heard full two days using professional grade tools and a lift all the way to three weeks (a few hours per day working on it). Hopefully I will land around two weeks, under 50 hrs. I had to buy tools as they were needed (eg. air tools, angle grinder), and spent many hours performing pointless acts to remove bolts such as heating and beating with a hammer. I am certainly on the slow side of doing this type of work since I only know what I have read (no experience in the field) and done in the past on my own cars.

 

[Lagtime]

How long this takes depends greatly on where the car has been driven. Any car from the snow/rust belt is going to be several orders of magnitude more difficult than a car from the dry, salt-free southwest.

My car, mostly driven in the SoCal desert climate, has a much cleaner underbody and suspension than even the low mile Florida cars I've seen pictures of, just due to Florida's humid conditions and proximity to the ocean.

If you are contemplating this, and your car spent any time at all in a state that sees snow and road salt I'd order all the attaching hardware upfront.

 

[StickyRice]

It took me 4 days off and on to do the whole thing. Only reason it took little longer because of the rear upper arms, we had trouble pressing them out other than that everything was just remove and install affair.

 

[SJ]

4-6 hours should be more than enough time

 

[97TT6SP]

^^ I hope you are kidding b/c 4-6 hours is a joke. There is absolutely no way somebody could do this job in 4-6 hrs unless you have done it many times before, absolutely no rust on the car, your car is a hardtop and therefore you don't have to remove the entire rear interior. It takes almost that long just to press out the bushings and put new ones in (there's 20 to do).

By the way I finally got all the parts off last night.

Damage done:

1 abs speed sensor, snapped off, leaving most of the sensor in the hub (hindsight, could have left it in there and deatached the wire from the trunk)

5 out of 8 cam bolts had to be cut (all lower arms in the back and one in the front lower arm) using angle grinder and sawzall.

 

[UF-Supra]

I did this probably about a year ago now, and I couldn't be happier. I had the loud rear end squeek from my old worn-out bushings, and the condition of the stock bushings after 130k miles was "Extremely worn" to say the least. Now whenever I go over ruff pavement/bumps the car just feels so much more solid!
It only took me a weekend to do. Started on a Friday, got all the control arms off (I never had a problem with rust). Saturday I dropped them off at a shop to have all the bushings swapped out (took the rest of the day off). Sunday I reinstalled them.
Alignment was out of wack, even with using matchmarks, but it wasn't something a quick trip to the alignment shop couldn't handle :bigthumb:

 

[brian_k03]

Just dropped them off to get new bushings pressed in.
Having a pitman arm puller for the ball joints is a must.

I didnt have no problems with rust being a Texas car.

 

[3inarow]

Finished mine this last winter.
Tighter steering response, feels more solid.
Had about 100 hours doing it myself in the garage at home. Of course it involved a
lot of cleaning, painting, (lower control arms and steering links) and polishing(upper control arms).
Braided lines went in then also, as well as a run out check
on the wheel bearings. Replaced the bearing seals while I was there.

Figured since I was into it already, I might as well take care of a few things.

Only down side is that the ruts on the Interstate where all the wheels ride can
push you back and forth until you find the low spot of them.
Does it more in the right hand lane, so I try to run on the left when I can. Not
nearly as bad in that lane.

 

[97TT6SP]

Well, finally got her back together and aligned on Sunday. Assembly was cake compared to the rust BS that I had to deal with during disassembly. It took about 10 hrs total to put the entire suspension back together, test drive, adjust ride height a few times, etc. I am very pleased with the results. Right now the Tein's are set on 8's all around and the ride is very crisp, but not too rough. Even for the shitty mid-west roads I drive on. The car hugs the road much better than before, no nose dives under hard braking, etc. The ride quality is better than I expected so far.

 

[flaktech]

Good to hear! And no squeaking or other noises?

 

[97TT6SP]

No bushing noises, just use the supplied grease packets that come with the R2 bushing and you will be set. I used the stock upper mounts so I can not comment on the Tein mounts.