Lurch

I guess this is a public service announcement of sorts. Lurch -- my '99 Runner -- suffered a broken coil. NEVER even been off-road. Go figure.

So, because I don't have the time these days to take it apart and replace the coil myself, I took it to a buddy who owns a shop.

He calls SAW and they refer him to a dealer in Michigan. He calls the dealer, explains the situation and orders two new coils. This was in NOVEMBER.

After repeated calls to that dealer and to SAW, I still have no new coils.

From my perspective -- two months after the order -- I'm NOT impressed with the customer service from Sway-A-Way. If this isn't resolved soon, I'll replace the SAWs with something else and make sure everyone on YOTATECH knows about it.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' with it. Too bad, since they've been good units for two years.

jjrgr21

check out toy-tec

ecchamberlin

I must agree with you. These photos were taken 11 months after I bought my set of SAWs. I contacted them and also wrote the company with attached photos and was informed both times that they will not cover any corosion issues.

I am not impressed with the company either however after actually compairing these to a Tundra lift in person I will say that they perform well. I just wish they were not falling apart.

sschaefer3

I am still waiting for Ryan Ship to call me back. I left the messages in 2002.

I wish I had my 700 bucks back.

http://www.sonoransteel.com/saw.html

Good Times

Ryan no longer works there and has not in about a year.

Lurch

Gosh, Steve ... I guess you'd better stop waiting for that call ... :-)

On the other hand, the shackle mounts that I bought from you are GREAT! Those suckers will be on that truck long after it's in the boneyard.

sschaefer3

They don't have to call me back. I opted out of the IFS all together.

mastacox

I'm definitely going to have to keep this in mind when I go LT on the '98... Probably King Coils instead...

ecchamberlin

I don't know much about Kings but I do know that Donahoes are excellent quality. I had a set on my 99 Taco and kick myself for not taking them off and putting them on the Runner when I sold that truck. I sold it within 2 days of listing for more than asking price before I could swap in a cheapo set of front spacers onthe stock Coil overs.

They didn't have a spot of corrosion after a year and a half in the same condidtions as the saws. And performed great. Yeah they are bling CO's but but they did work great for what they were designed for.

mastacox

10-4 on that, DR is on the possibilities list as well.

ecchamberlin

I would just back up the point of view that Steve is offering. Most adj coil overs are not designed to be flex kings. They are made to handle high speed. I don't think the tundra set up is ideal either but just want to point out the differences.

sschaefer3

The entire point of the Tundra/Tokico: setup/part/combo no one seems to realize.

The NUMBER ONE goal of that was extreme reliably and durability. Something you could pound on every weekend for YEARS and never have to screw with it. Never have to rebuild it, never have to adjust it, never have to check anything, never have to worry about a schrader valve, etc.

It also works best going slow. But it's also IFS. I am a Total Chaos dealer and the sales staff over there told me that they offer the long travel kits as an alternative to a Straight Axle Conversion.

As I was told this, I thougth "you have got to be kidding". I replied that a Dana 44 with Cro-Mo is just a little stronger.

It's Apples and Oranges. To compare the Trundra/Tokico to ANY coil over is a mistake. To compare any IFS truck to a Straight Axle Truck is a mistake.

The reasons to convert you vehicle to a SA are NOT to be cool on YT or be an RTI Ramp Champ. I get the feeling a good number of conversions are done solely for this reason.

The Benefits of Long Travel IFS:

1. You can go extremely fast in desert terrain setting.

The Benfits of a front SA:

1. You have the weight of the vehile on BOTH front tires versus only the compressed one with IFS.

2. With the exception of the Dana 30 you have an axle that is extremly stong. It can be so strong that there is no way in the world your 2.7 liter engine can break it no matter what you do. The down side is that then your 2.7 liter engine will start to dissasemble itself. Magic Moments.

Drawbacks of Long Travel IFS:

1. You still have IFS axles that are designed for high speed, at high speed you never have extreme torque. At high torque they break pretty easy. There is a TC customers that has been through 13+ axles.

2. Maintnence on the coil-overs.

Drawbacks of SA Conversion:

1. Extremely expensive

2. Very few people have the skill or balls to pull it off on newer trucks.


So to sum it up, the Tundra/Tokico setup is an Endurance Piece, it was designed to last a very long time under hard use with zero maintenance.

So please stop comparing it to Coil-Overs that cost 3X to 4X more. It and them are not the same.

So lets do three categories:

1: Coil-Covers and Long Travel IFS
2: SA's Trucks
3: Endurance/Expedition no-maintenance IFS

SteveO

So you saying that rock-crawling IFS rigs should probably forgo the expensive SAWs as they are not really designed for rock crawliing, and go with V6 coils (Tundra...) on some quality shocks, Tokico.

Interesting info on Total Chaos's viewpoint...

Travisfab

Eibach!!

deathrunner

I was gonna say. What coils come on the preassembled Sway Away CO's?

I put Eibach coils on mine and they seem to be ok. I've seen Eric's in person and that corrosion is for real. I don't know what I'm doing right, but mine are still kicking strong. The only problem I ever encountered was hitting mud. If you let it dry on the shaft and then compress it, you ARE going to jack the seals. I rebuilt my shock, don't hit mud anymore, and no problems. I think I have outgrown mud anyway.

But, no corrosion or broken coils after a year and a half.

ecchamberlin

I think it is a mistake to assume that all Socal off roading is only of the high speed varriety. Plenty of tire eating rock crawling down here in addition to our open desert terrain. When someone is thinking of lifting a rig it is responsible and correct to compare the options they face including adj coil overs and the Tundra set up.

That is how we make informed choices.

I guess if you are building a rig for a single type of off roading things may seem black and white. However it is my opinion that if you plan on using the rig for a varriety of terrains then something has to be comprimised in one direction or another. There is no such thing as an ultimate rig for every terrain. So by comparing the pros and cons, which is exactly what Steve did in his post, we can make better decisions about the direction of a build.

sschaefer3

Some mystery house brand.

I have been to Anza-Borrego, We did Truck Haven which was the only crawly thing I saw out there. Nice wheeling place, but too many people for me.

Johnson Valley is quite different that Anza-Borrego and Arizona is entirely different, lots if vegetation and cactus. If you guys want to do some unreal wheeling, it's 6 hours to the east or take a shot at JY (Hammers).

You seem to be into this, now maybe you need to expand your horizons and try something different. That is the way you learn. Colorado is a new twist, Moab major twist, the Rubicon can be very draining.

Try your coil-overs in another state, it won't kill you.

deathrunner

Tell it, brotha!

Lurch

Time for an update ...

I have no interest in trashing Sway-A-Way. However, with my current experience, I have to at least share it with my YotaTech community and let you decide.

After months of trying to get replacement coils for my SAWs, it seems that Sway-A-Way has no coils for my coilovers. I let my mechanic deal with them for two months, then stepped in to get this taken care of. I mean, really, how hard can it be to get a pair of coils for my SAWs?

Well, impossible it seems.

I called Sway-A-Way and spoke with their receptionist last week. Aside from being rude, she was not helpful at all. When my mechanic called her back, he was told that he'd have to speak with someone else -- who happened to be gone the rest of the week. Mechanic calls back the next week and is told that they've redesigned the units and there are no coils that will fit mine.

So, FWIW, my recommendation is to stay away from Sway-A-Way at all costs. Unless someone can offer another suggestion, I'm now forced to throw away my SAWs and start over with another brand -- an expense of several hundred dollars.

Any suggestions, anyone?

lee

can you send them in to be rebuilt?