im going to install the 2 1/2" daystar spacer lift and i was curious if anyone needed a coilspring compressor to get the spring back on the front? on the front there are 2 spacers, one for inside the strut set up and the other on top, correct? and then the rear just sits on top the coil spring. if someone has any suggestions or time saving tricks that would be cool. funny how i have done a pro comp lift and then a sas on my tacoma all myself and i am asking about some lame spacer lift. oh well thanks for the info, josh

 

U need some cheap compressers from autozone. Compress when taking off, and compress when putting on

 

I've done the very lift you're looking at. The best advice I can give you is to take the front spring/shock assembly off and bring it to a shop that has a wall mounted spring compressor. I've heard horror stories about people doing it themselves and getting hit in the face with flying springs! You'll probably pay about $20-$30 for someone else to do it, so it's not worth the risk. While you're doing the lift, it makes sense to do new shocks if it's about time. Let me know if you need any additional info.

 

i too am curious about the front spacer install. in the lower part of the spacer, it has the recess for the retaining bolt. does this bottom piece (with the longer bolts on it) take the place of the retaining plate, and as a result, have the coil, spacer, retaining nut in that sequence? then obviously the top half of the spacer just sits over the longer bolts.

 

So the daystar package lifts come with a pre-load spacer (One inside the spring and the top plate) and then a top-plate spacer?!

Never knew that.

The only reason you need a spring compressor is to get the spring back onto the shock, and to get that top plate back on. Basically you compress the spring, slide the shock inside, and then make sure that your top nut that goes on top of the top-plate is tightened all the way down. Also check to see ther eis no play with the washers that go around it! That will cause an annoying noise.

You can then just slide it into the location on the truck. You might (most likely) need to take your bottle jack and stuff it upsidown inbetween the fender wall and the top ball joint. Jack the jack up to shift down your control arms.. This will make the space between the top and bottom mount larger so you can now stick in your LONGER strut (with the spacers).

As for taking apart the strut assembly: I know this isint a "safe way" but i've done it about 4-5 times now and I dont see anything dangerous about it. Screw the compressor to take APART the spring/shock/topplate. You dont need it.

Set the strut assembley on the ground on its side. Put your foot on the spring, and take your impact wrench and unload on that top nut. The shock will "FLY" a whopping 2 inches, while your top nut stays directly in your socket and the washers might roll on the ground. hah. I dont see what is dangerous, but, whatever. It saves a good 30 minutes.

 

I've done it about 3 times so far with the craftsman spring compressors. They are a lot thicker than the cheap HF ones. Just use common sense when taking the top plate off, wear eye protection etc...

With the daystar lift, its pretty hard to get the assembled shock with spacer back in place. Your best bet is to undo the 4 bolts for the lower ball joint. That will give you a ton of room to work with. Just use loc-tite when you put those 4 back in.

 

First I dont recommend flipping a bottle jack, I did and I now have bent sheet metal. A lot better to disconnect a ball joint, top or bottom.

Second, if u plan on using the stock shox, then use a compresser to take assy apart. I too have taken struts apart w/o compressing and the last threads on top got stripped completly off when the springs pressure shoots the nut off. I didn't care at the time because I was replacing the shox.

 

Yeah Ive done the bottle jack trick a few times w/o any problems. Thats why i recommended it.