I am in the process of doing some maintenance on my Sway-a-way coil-overs. They have sagged under the load of my bumper/winch and have to be cranked almost 100% to get 2" of lift. I'm having problems with siezed adjustment collars, but that is another issue.

Right now I am running the 650 lb springs. I understand that most new 4runner SAWs come with the 675 lb springs.

Can someone who has the 675 lb springs chime in and give a report on how the rig rides? How far do the collars have to be cranked to get around 2" of lift?

The 650 lb springs are nice and supple for off road and do fine on the road, but I am leaning toward getting new 675 lb springs because of the extra load up front.

Comments?

 

i run the 650#, so heres a bump.

it sounds like the 675# springs are right for you.

 

I've have had the 675's on since November--I have a TJM but no winch and I cranked them up show 5cm(a little under 2") of thread is showing--this gives me 2"--per RTdawgs advice I just got the RB 1" lift and trim packers. Good luck.

 

Some folks have had SERIOUS problems in stacking a spacer lift on top of coilovers. It's the kind of low budget "Frankenstein" construction that causes problems. People have had problems with combination "blowing out" when they are on a sidehill with the suspension compressed on one side. When it happens, you walk home.

I would STRONGLY not recommend this approach. It's a hack and you are getting what you deserve if you go that route...

(EDIT: This post was originally directed at a now deleted suggestion to stack a spacer on top of coilovers)

 

I totally agree. The SAWs are at the limit of shock length with the stock a-arms. The upper ball joint is already pretty stressed at full droop.

Gringo - thanks for the measurements. How does it ride and flex with those springs?

 

I've got the 675 lb springs, TJM, and Warn M8000 winch. I think the 675's are pretty stiff both on and off road, although things smooth out a bit with the sway bar disconnected. If I were to continue wheeling my 4runner, I'd actually go the other direction with softer springs to allow it to flex a bit easier. Talk to Steve Schaeffer, who tried as low as 575 lb springs if I remember correctly. Jeff the Marmot is currently running 600's or 625's if I'm not mistaken, he's certainly running softer springs than stock. Obviously, the softer the spring, the more you'll have to crank to get the increased ride height, but is that necessarily a bad thing? Sounds like its just time for new springs, and I'd vote for the 650's again.

 

Mad Chemist,

Good input. That's exactly what I was wondering about. I do not want to go any softer than the 650s, because they flex just fine for my uses. My springs are not worn out yet, so if I stick with the 650s then I save $120 or so.

 

Put the 120 towards your next mod!

 

The roads are pretty rugged where I am and the SAW's are great--Its the heavy duty OME's in the back that I wish were softer. We took the 4Runner 60 km down a running river--the flex is fine. I would get the 675 version again. Good luck with your decision. I just bought trim packers and a RB 1" lift but now I'm second guessing the trim packers due to the above posts....

 

Keep in mind that Scheafer has a 4 cyl engine. The V6 is a bit heavier.

I was having a problem with my SAWs bottoming out as I came down off of obsticals. I was convinced that I needed a heavier spring rate, mine are 650. I then dialed in more lift and everything seems really nice now.

I also had a bit of a problem getting that adjustment collar to break loose to crank in a little more lift. This is a problem that needs to be address and corrected. In the NE the body of the SAWs rusts right up and it is really hard to get that collar to move. I ended up lubing the hell out of it and using a section of pipe on the end of the spanner wrench hoping the pin would not snap off.

I would like to see them use a better plating on the shock bodies or use a material that will not rust or corrode. I think these shocks were developed out in the Southwest were things are nice and dry and they do not have the same issues that us NE guys do with nasty Winters and mud off road.

Anyway, if your truck feels good with the 650 springs, and you are just running out of adjustment due to spring sag, you may want to consider using a longer spring.

I think SAW uses a standard spring size so you should be able to get the same thing in a longer spring from some place like Eibach.

Gadget

 

Wouldn't using anti-sieze lube help?

 

I certainly HOPE you are in no way what so ever refering to what I have created. It is NOT a coil over and works extremely well. I ran Revtek spacers with SAW's with ZERO issues in Arizona and in Southern California going fast. ZERO issues, What in the world are you talking about?

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

 

I have no idea what you have created. Why would I have any idea what you are talking about?

I am glad you had no problems. Unfortunately that has not been the case on several stack jobs I have seen.

 

http://fastq.com/~sschaefer/ultimate_spacer.html

Not what your talking about?

 

Nope. From the looks of it, that unit is retained by the top plate. That would eliminate what I am talking about. I am speaking of stacking an additional spacer on top of the top plate of a set of coilovers that is not retained by the top plate. For example, taking a set of SAW's, then stacking the Revtek spacer on top of the existing top plate, then sticking the whole mess in and running bolts down through the mount, through the Revtek and and into the SAW top plate.

It's a cheap way to not have to buy longer springs, but I have seen it fail with disasterous results on several occasions.

That's an unfortunate product name on that link, since the term "Frankenstein" is usually used in a derogatory way to indicate something that is built without thinking of the consequences, then runs amok until the villagers get p*ssed off...

 

I have a picture of a stack like I am describing here somewhere, before it blew out and the carnage after it blew out... I will keep looking.

 

what a coincidence!

 

Oh... Then I want to put back my original post 'cause what I'm talking about is what Steve has.

That's what David did... He was an early adopter of Steve's idea.

 

i have been running the SAW/Revtek combo for about 6 months...no known issues.

its difficult for me to forsee a blowout from an additional 3/8" spacer.

 

I am not talking about the top out spacer. In Mark's post, he did not specify that. I am talking about THE spacer, the 1 1/2" thick, 3" lift spacer. People stack IT on their coilovers.