Yeah, you're supposed to loosen the bolt on the other end of the arm so it moves freely, not pry against the bushing to get the suspension arm to move. Then you put the jack under the knuckle, raise it until the chassis just starts to lift off the jackstand and tighten the bolt again. This puts the bushing at zero stress when at static ride height and means you won't be waiting for the suspension to "settle" which really means you're waiting for the bushing to break down internally.

 

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to do not reset their bushings. All this whole talk about letting the car settle for a week or so is nothing more than just waiting for the bushings to twist and deteriorate.

 

Sadly it's in the factory service manual. If they'd just follow Lexus's guidance, they'd get it right.

 

Surely lots of people have done it and have had no problems. But when i did it on the lift to install my coils i did the fronts at the same time not one at a time. So both sides were loose

 

Depends on what you mean by no problems. That's what the people installing aftermarket HIDs were saying a couple of years ago before we started seeing steering ECU issues. Since this is part of the factory service manual's instructions, failing to do this would mean if you have a bushing failure, Lexus will not warranty the failure.

 

unfortunately, some in here think they know more than the lexus engineers.

those "some" are also the same ones that have issues w/ ikea instructions.

 

X2 on what lobuxracer said. I personally like to loosen everything up install the coils and just screw in the bolts and nuts and sit the car down on it own weight. After that if I can reach it i torque all the bolts down or slide some 2X4 and lower the car until the suspension is around the same position as when it was on the floor and continue to torque down what ever I could not reach of coarse if you're doing it on a life it makes things a whole lot better and your bushing won't have premature failure.

 

is there any differences or benefits if you use
an OEM upper mount on an aftermarket coilover?

 

wait.. is that even possible? as in just a quick swap

 

not without springs compressors, just use the ones that come with the coils, thats why they come with them.

 

well, i mean does the oem top mount even fit on an after market coilover without m0dding?

 

you cant use the oem top mount on this type of coilover.

 

TEIN CS and i believe SS use them too. Those are the only ones i can think of....

 

guys, im installing the the coils today. i dont quite understand what preload means. how do i do it? also, i was supposed to get extenders so in future it would be easy to adjust the coils. is this something that comes separate or is it already attached to the coils.

what should i run in softness and hardness. i did some research but people are running all different. should i go with 8/8?

thanks guys

 

Measure the length of the springs while it's not compressing (no load). Then subtract the preload length (usually specified in mm). Lets call this Length A. Raise up the adjustable collar until the spring is length A.

Extenders are usually separate items that you add on. They are long enough to extend beyond the carpet liner. You'll probably need to make some kind of hole or slit to get it through.

Since you're not tracking your car, adjust the dampers until you feel comfortable with them. I generally like to set it at full stiff and work my way backwards until I feel that it's just right. If you start at full soft, you might get spoiled by the comfort. Every click towards stiffer will feel crappier.