Currently in the process of rebuilding the front end on my 1976 Hilux and ran into an issue. Somehow the geometry seems to have changed enough that the upper ball joint is rubbing on the bump stop and there doesn't seem to be much travel in the suspension when loaded with weight. See images below.

All of the ball joints and shocks are new. I did not change the springs and everything is assembled correctly (double checked and also not sure it can actually go together any other way but the right way.)

Anyone know what could be causing the change in geometry? The only thing I can think of is that somehow the springs were installed upside down, but I checked to make sure that the end of the coil is clocked correctly on the lower control arm.

I'm stumped.

 

6866140465650401577 by Olds77421 posted Sep 20, 2022 at 1:49 PM

4773814278017717973 by Olds77421 posted Sep 20, 2022 at 1:49 PM

 

Spring doesnt look to be sitting right in the upper cup. It fits a certain way.

have you actually set it down on the ground. Are the shocks correct?

 

I put it on the ground and nothing changed. Shocks are from Rock Auto and installed correctly.

When you say that the spring doesn't look to be sitting properly - as far as I can tell it is installed correctly. The bottom sits in the groove in the lower control arm and the top seems to go up all the way to the isolation damper. To confirm - the coiled end is touching the lower control arm and clocked correctly and the flat part of the spring is in the top of the K member. Is that the correct way to install them?

 

It looks like your suspension is drooping too low. The upper arm has a MUCH steeper angle and the spring looks loose. Droop travel is limited either by the shock or there could be a droop stop. If your suspension doesn't have a stop, then your shock is too long (i.e., wrong part)...

Looking closer, it looks like you're missing the droop stop. I see the little plate welded to the chassis spring mount (right above the bump stop) and it looks like there is a mark there where a rubber bumper contacted it?

 

Yea i was wondering if the spring was clocked correctly. Looks like its bulging out a bit so i figured maybe it wasnt seated right

The droop bump stop is very small, the UCA will travel down that far.

Did you remove the cross shafts from the control arms? Did they rotate freely before putting everything back together?

 

Hmm yeah. Can confirm that the springs are clocked correctly. I didn't remove the cross shafts and they rotated freely by hand when the control arms were out of the vehicle.

The shocks are correct for the vehicle, albeit a bit more heavy duty than stock - but that shouldn't cause that big of a droop. Additionally, I seem to remember the ball joint rubbing on the bump stop before I installed the shocks.

My thoughts are that something isn't right with the springs, but I'm not sure what that may be?

Anyone have a link to a service manual I could peep? Or any other ideas?

 

Is the engine in the truck?

 

Engine and Trans are out of the truck at the moment, but both myself and a friend stood on the K member and didn't really notice any difference in the upper control arm droop. Together we weigh about 400 lbs.

 

Thats so weird. 400lbs shouldve brought it back down pretty good.

Are the springs new? And are both sides having the same issue?

I would definitely go thru the process of removing the spring and rechecking everything. I cant think of anything other than a locked up pivot, too long a shock, or the spring causing the issue other than no weight.

 

I know, right?

They are the old springs. I literally just painted them and put them back in. Same issue on both sides even with the shocks removed.

I'm almost positive that the issue is with the springs - I'm just not sure hat that could be since literally nothing changed other than new wear parts and the engine and trans coming out of the car. My only thought is that I somehow screwed up the spring installation but I'm not sure how that's even possible, as they're sitting correctly in the lower control arms and clocked correctly.

I'm planning on putting in the engine and trans this weekend. Fingers crossed it's just a weight issue!

 

Could potentially just be that it needs weight and needs to settle. You'd have to really fuck up the spring install for it to be incorrect lol

 

Well engine and trans are in and it's still rubbing. Apparently I really fucked up the install haha.

Going to pull them out and try reinstalling to see if that helps. Thanks for the sanity check.

 

Keep us updated, hopefully save someone in the future from losing their noodle if they come across the same issue