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Sequoia GEN2 rear spring spacer - DIY INSTALLED

46K views 56 replies 20 participants last post by  Farnsrocket 
#1 ·
For many months I've been debating with myself to add airbags, a spring spacer, or new springs for just a little rear lift at all times. "At all times" is key. So when unloaded, the rear sits higher than the front, when slightly loaded therear doesn't look like its working so hard, and when towing using a WDH not require so much bar tension to level the truck. Nothing major in any case, butI knew I could improve. Airbags are cheap, but one must keep tabs on PSI. New springs would work, buy they are expensive and hard to replace. So, I focused on spring spacers.


The trouble I found, even with spring spacers, was how to compress the heavy “truck” spring. Revtek told me twice to use a clam shell style compressor. I tried 2 of them, a cheap one and a $160 version. They were equally impossible to fit and get a good bit on the thick spring. I also tried external 2pc compressors, those wont fit either. But while trying all these, I noticed a good size hole on the lower A-arm and eventually stumbled on the internal spring compressor to make use of this hole, but I had a hard time finding one to fit the large spring. I finally found one, and it’s amazing what the right tool can do.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A18KCQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also took measurements to create my own spacer made to 1-1/4” lift. I got real close with my measurements, but ended up making a slight mod for the spring ID. And I learned a few things I could improve uponif I ever make them again.

They are made out of an ABS/Polycarbonate blend material and built by a 3D FDM printer by Stratasys. (I’m an engineer and oversee our machine at work). You may think plastic isn’t strong enough, but surprise surprise,much like concrete…plastic has very high compressive strength. (If I made them out of aluminum, I would have been real near the cost of the revtek’s based on material cost and a lots of beer for our machinist.) So here’s what they looklike:




On to the job…which went fast. About 30 minutes per side.


Spring – no spacer:




Spring – compressed by internal spring compressor. Notice the angle it is at. I had to pull this one over with a ratchet strap. The otherside I swapped the compressor arms around, as there is a long and short arm,and this was nowhere near as severe. The wood is wedged in as shown to keep the assembly as low as possible and not move up with the compressor.


Spring with spacer installed.



Final product. Measurements come out to exactly 1-1/8” higher than original, again using a 1-1/4” spacer.
 
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#4 ·
For my rear lift I actually took the upper control arm bolt off to allow more downward movement. Looking at your picture you used a 2x4 to hold it down which takes a lot of force. I actually found a clam style spring compressor and it too was very tight. The spring compressor you have there looks like it would have done the job too.
 
#11 ·
Rincon: Thank you for sharing. I may try something similar and have several questions:

RinconVTR said:
I also took measurements to create my own spacer made to 1-1/4” lift. I got real close with my measurements, but ended up making a slight mod for the spring ID. And I learned a few things I could improve upon if I ever make them again.
1) Can you provide the key dimensions, or a sketch, of your spacers? It would be nice to take advantage of what you have learned will work best.

RinconVTR said:
Measurements come out to exactly 1-1/8” higher than original, again using a 1-1/4” spacer.
2) What was the actual thickness of your spacer? This quote seems to imply that the spacer moved the top of the coil spring down 1-1/4 inches but the truck only lifted 1-1/8 inches. Just looking at the geometry (the spring is between the frame and the lower spring carrier arm inboard of the wheel) it would seem to me that the wheel would move down considerably more than the thickness of the spacer (the wheel/knuckle/spindle assembly moves in a larger arc than the lower spring seat). Am I missing something?

Auto part Text Organism Line art Illustration


3) There is a rubber spring isolator (Item #17 in the above image), Toyota P/N 48257-0C011, immediately above each coil spring. Did you remove that part when you installed the spacer?

Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide.
 
#12 ·
A couple months after this post, I installed lower height spacers, as shown. One alignment shop complained that they could not adjust camber...which easily could have been caused by the spacers...but turned out to be false. They were just lazy m'er f'ers.

The height change is in fact nearly 1:1.

Change the "set height" dimension at will...but I would not go over 1-1/2" unless the material is aluminum and you have a very professional installation method. (And you could very well run out of camber adjustment)




Recent pic...you can see the rubber insulator and how well the spacers are holding up.

 
#13 ·
Thanks for the warning about the camber adjustment. This confirms what another person told me.

If I may ask, what ride height are you at with your 0.8 inch rear spacer?

I'm trying to figure out what size spacer I should add to get a similar rear height to yours, while safely staying away from any camber alignment and installation difficulties you mentioned. My current ride height, measured from the ground to the center of the rear fender, is at exactly 36 inches, or 20 inches from the center of the wheel to the fender (with OEM 32 inch tires). I have measured 37 inch rear fender height on new Sequoias, so I think my springs may have settled about an inch since new. It may be quite safe to lift 1-1/2" if it is true that in my case adding an inch just gets back to original height. Do you think that will work in my case?

On the topic of DIY installation, I reviewed the Revtek installation instructions.

http://4wheelonline.com/images/Revtek/manual/INST-441.pdf

On Page 5 they say to loosen a number of different bolts and then remove the bolt that connects the upper control arm to the knuckle, in order to allow the lower control arm to drop down more to gain access to compress the spring. Your DIY description doesn't mention loosening any bolts in the suspension, and I can see the upper control arm/knuckle bolt still in place in your pictures. So clearly use of the internal spring compressor is sufficient to avoid major suspension disassembly when installing a spacer. Did you disconnect the shock or the sway bar link to get more droop? (I have already installed rear 5100's which allow more droop than the OEM shocks.)

Thanks again for sharing what you have learned. This information will be very helpful to anyone adding rear spacers.
 
#14 ·
Well, I cannot find anywhere that I marked down what my actual ride height was before all this, I only posted the difference.

Today, I measure 37-1/2" exactly. So it sounds like the .800" (basically 3/4") spacer I posted would work perfectly for you and most others.

And I must say, I am questioning my measurements and statement of 1:1 spacer to height change at this point seeing you are at 36" inches stock right now. If only I wrote down my original number somewhere. DAMN!

Regarding the spring compressor, yes its easy to compress with the tool I used but still a little scary too. (always is a little scary to me!) Obviously I had to compress it more for the 1-1/4" spacer vs the .800. I did have the lower shock bolt off, may be even the whole shock was off. The 2X4's kept the arm in a downward position to add clearance so I was not over compressing the spring. There may have been a couple more bolts to loosen to make the job easier.

The hardest part was pulling the spring inward (notice how it tilts outward) while decompressing the spring. I used a 2" ratchet tie down. It wasn't fun, but not really difficult. 5 out of 10 difficulty level for those who have done this sort of work at least a couple times before. Never compressed automotive springs before? This is definitely not the job for you.

I hope I answered all your questions.
 
#15 ·
OH...those RevTek instructions have evolved a TON since I looked at them. It looks like they did the very same procedure I did (almost), but they clearly got a clamshell compressor to work. The two I tried were not even close to fitting correctly. They didn't even fit over the thickness of the spring wire itself.

What they do not show, is how they got the spring back in place...as their was tilted outward like mine did. Its challenging for sure.
 
#16 ·
I installed my lift kit on 2012 Limited 2 weeks back and followed exactly what was said in the notes from Revtek. Yes the Clmashell type compressor ( from harbor freight ) did not help me at all. i used the coil spring compressor rented from o'reilly's and it did the job. it took about 6 to 7 hrs for me to install both the front and rear kit. I would say this is my first job ever working on cars except changing brake pads and limited tools and shop space.
 
#17 ·
I installed my lift kit on 2012 Limited 2 weeks back and followed exactly what was said in the notes from Revtek. Yes the Clmashell type compressor ( from harbor freight ) did not help me at all. i used the coil spring compressor rented from o'reilly's and it did the job. it took about 6 to 7 hrs for me to install both the front and rear kit. I would say this is my first job ever working on cars except changing brake pads and limited tools and shop space.
Measured height, before and after? Photos?
 
#19 ·
I just installed the RevTek 441R spacers for 1.5" lift in the rear. I also replaced the stock/OEM shocks with the Bilstein 5100 Part #33-187280. In the front I installed the adjustable Bilsteins (Part #24-239387) at the highest setting. My Sequoia has 125K+ miles on those original shocks and they were well worn, so between the 1.5" lift and new shocks, I've ended up 2" higher in the rear. If you're replacing shocks that are in good shape on a newer sequoia, I'm guessing you'd be closer to 1.5" with the RevTek 441R (or if you're not replacing the shocks at all, and just adding spacers). With this combo, I am level front to back.

I love how the new shocks/struts ride, BUT, when I took it to get a 4-wheel alignment, I got the great news that 3 of 4 corners of my lower control arm bushings were shot--the alignment bolts just spun in the bushings. Now this is going to be expensive (unless I can figure out how to replace the front LCA's and the rear coil carriers, or all the bushings). I'm so out of alignment that it's eating the rear tires' outer edge noticeably in just 20 miles.

One hint on compressing those rear coils: That OEMTools 27035 Coil Spring Compressor that RinconVTR used would have been AWESOME if AutoZone had one to loan or if I had time to wait for Amazon to ship. That is absolutely the best solution. BUT if all you have is the MacPherson Strut Spring Compressor set (like the OEMTools 25550), you can take the bottom off one of the sets and replace it with a fat washer. Then insert the bolt through that same center hole of the coil carrier. Then grab the inside of the coil as high as it will go. With the other/twin compressor, grab the outside of the coil (other side) and the bottom lip of the coil carrier. Improvising is scary when working with a spring with that much energy, but it was a solid solution . . . for me. Good luck. For the front, no compressor needed. Just drop the LCA after disconnecting the sway bar. Take off the whole unit (4 bolts 14mm at top, 1 at bottom). And yes, something like PBBlaster/WD40/etc. to soak those bolts overnight helps.

Any words of wisdom on the LCA & coil carrier bushings and alignment issue would be appreciated. Check out those alignment numbers in the photo . . . ARG!
 

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#20 ·
JohnnyO - Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm curious about your observed 2 inch height increase in the rear. A couple of questions:


1) When you installed the rear spacers did you remove the rubber spring isolators? (New shocks don't change the height at all and the Revtek 441R spacers are designed to work without the isolators.)


2) Did you note the thickness of the Revtek 441R spacers? If not, can you get an approximate measurement of that dimension after installation? Even a close-up photo would help as it could be compared to Rincon's photo of his installed DIY 0.8 inch thick spacers.


Sorry, I can't give any advice on the alignment issue.
 
#22 ·
Even a close-up photo would help as it could be compared to Rincon's photo of his installed DIY 0.8 inch thick spacers.
Ran out and took a few quick pics to post for you. End result is that gap between top of new 275/55R20 tire and wheel well is 7" whereas before 441R and 5100 install it was 5"

Hope that helps.
 

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#21 ·
MtnClimber, regarding your two questions:
1) If by the "rubber spring isolators" you mean the thin disks at the top of the coils, then, yes, I removed them. They don't even nest well inside the Revtek spacers and I'm betting that two stacked spacers would be terribly unsafe. Additionally, the old isolators were very worn--worn through at the coil ends.

2) I didn't take a ruler to the Revtek spacers, but they're described as 1.5" and that seems correct. I'll shoot a pic and post it when/if I get can escape my desk a few minutes this afternoon.

I was out of town for the last 4 days so, I still haven't taken it to the dealer to get their assessment of how badly the LCA/bushing problems are going to raid my wallet. I'll give an update on that when I get the news.
 
#24 ·
I concur with the 2:3 estimation of spacer vs lift. (My statement of 1:1 cannot possibly be correct.)

The revtek installed pic protrudes almost exactly as much as my original 1-1/4" spacer did and the side view picture shows the lift.

My current spacer is .800, which I posted dimensions for, is pretty nice but I'd actually like to go back to the 1-1/4".

I think we found out max and mins for this mod. Dont bother with less than .800 and dont go over 1-1/4" spacer thickness.
 
#25 ·
After getting more lift than expected from new front struts, I'm revisiting these rear coil spring spacers. So I picked up a set of the Revtek 441R. Their measured thickness is 1 - 11/16". After taking some measurements of the parts on the truck, I think the spring isolators are about 1/4" thick. So the net added thickness of the Revteks after removing isolators is estimated at 1 - 7/16". That would translate to about 2.1" lift (using the 2:3 spacer:lift ratio). So the Revteks are a bit thicker than the 1 - 1/4" target quoted above, but I think should still be acceptable in my case given that compensation for sagging rear springs needs to be made in addition to adding lift over stock ride height.

The high durometer polyurethane is easily machinable with sharp tools, as long as feed rate is limited to avoid heat buildup and clamping fixtures do not cause excessive distortion of the part. (The top surface of the Revtek comes as a machined surface.) So it would be possible to face off the top of the spacer if one wants less lift.

The part of the Revtek that nests inside the top of the coil spring is 1 - 1/4" tall; much longer than necessary. In preparation for installation, I'm milling a half an inch off the bottom surface. (Will then be that much less that the internal compressor needs to compress the spring in order to fit the spacer into the gap between the frame and the spring.)
 

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#26 ·
Installed the Revtek 441R rear spring spacers today. The guidance given in the OP was extremely helpful. A few other things that I did that maybe helped some were:

- Besides the jack stands I placed a support under the hitch so if anything slipped while I was horsing around under there, the vehicle couldn't fall.

- Removed the bolt from the top of the rear shock to gain an additional inch of droop. No need to disconnect the sway bar to do this job.

- Added a beveled washer to the internal spring compressor (see photo) to minimize the bending moment on the shaft. (The centerline of the spring is not perpendicular to the bottom surface of the spring carrier.) Not sure this made any difference but it didn't do any harm either.

- Attached a 2" ratchet strap before compressing the spring (2nd photo). That assured that the top of the spring did not tilt to the side to any substantial degree throughout the process.

- Compressed the spring using the floor jack under the spring carrier. Then attached the spring compressor finger tight while the spring was compressed to the point that no weight was left on the jack stand. No need to tighten the spring compressor further; after gently lowering the floor jack and prying down on the upper control arm that gave just enough room to remove the isolator and insert the spacer.

I have attached a photo of the spring isolators in case anyone wonders what they look like. Their effective thickness is about 1/4" as estimated previously.

The net gain in rear ride height after removing the Coil SumoSprings (-1") and inserting the Revtek spacers (+2") is about 1 inch. Truck is now about level; maybe 1/2" higher in the back at most.
 

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#27 · (Edited)
There has been some mention on this thread about possible difficulties with adjusting camber after lifting the rear with a spring spacer, so I thought I would share my experience. Every truck must be different. After lifting the front 1.75" and the rear 2.25" (actually the rear is now only 1.25" above stock due to sagging springs), the rear camber turned out to be close enough, requiring no adjustment. The front caster required only a minor adjustment. The front and rear toe were both pretty far out, but those are relatively easy adjustments. Print out below.
 

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#28 ·
Kinda new to the forum, and I really appreciate the detail in this thread. I've got a 08 SR5 that I need to lift in order to get 33-34" tires under. But, I also need to firm up the rear end (on my truck). We're typically 1500-2000lbs of gear and butts when we roll out for an overland. My question is, with the stock spring with spacer and an upgraded shock (e.g., 5100s), will that improve my load carrying? I've seen where others have replaced the rear springs and/or added air bags, but wondering if I can get away with just spacers and shocks. I'd think not, but appreciate any feedback.
 
#29 ·
The stock rear springs are soft to give a smooth ride but that allows the back to squat when you load it up. Lifting with spring spacers and/or upgrading the shocks doesn't alleviate that at all. The spring rate is unchanged.

If you find rear sag under load to be excessive, there are a few options to consider. I doubt that either Timbrens or AirLift or Firestone air bags would be satisfactory for off-road use. As you mentioned, custom coils with a higher spring rate are probably the best option. You might be able to specify a progressive spring that is not too stiff when empty, but provides higher spring rate when loaded. Some details can be found here:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/sequoia/164497-aescondes-2010-sr5-build/

Another option are Coil SumoSprings, which you insert into the spring to provide a progressive spring rate (increasing with load). See:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/sequoia/153521-is-your-sequoia-rear-end-sagging/

If you consider going this route, be aware that the Coil SumoSpring model which fits may change after you lift with a spring spacer. That's because at full wheel droop (with the vehicle jacked up so the rear wheels are off the ground), the spring can't expand as much with the spacer present. I used to use CSS-1195, but only CSS-1168 fits now after lifting with Revtek 441R spacers. (The wheel droop is limited by the maximum extended length of the 5100's, and I'm too lazy to disconnect one end of the shocks just to get another inch of droop when I want to use the Coil SumoSprings.) Haven't done any testing yet, but expect the smaller CSS-1168 will not be quite as effective at reducing squat under load.
 
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#35 ·
The stock rear springs are soft to give a smooth ride but that allows the back to squat when you load it up. Lifting with spring spacers and/or upgrading the shocks doesn't alleviate that at all. The spring rate is unchanged.

If you find rear sag under load to be excessive, there are a few options to consider. I doubt that either Timbrens or AirLift or Firestone air bags would be satisfactory for off-road use. As you mentioned, custom coils with a higher spring rate are probably the best option. You might be able to specify a progressive spring that is not too stiff when empty, but provides higher spring rate when loaded. Some details can be found here:

Aesconde's 2010 SR5 build

Another option are Coil SumoSprings, which you insert into the spring to provide a progressive spring rate (increasing with load). See:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/sequoia/153521-is-your-sequoia-rear-end-sagging/

If you consider going this route, be aware that the Coil SumoSpring model which fits may change after you lift with a spring spacer. That's because at full wheel droop (with the vehicle jacked up so the rear wheels are off the ground), the spring can't expand as much with the spacer present. I used to use CSS-1195, but only CSS-1168 fits now after lifting with Revtek 441R spacers. (The wheel droop is limited by the maximum extended length of the 5100's, and I'm too lazy to disconnect one end of the shocks just to get another inch of droop when I want to use the Coil SumoSprings.) Haven't done any testing yet, but expect the smaller CSS-1168 will not be quite as effective at reducing squat under load.
Man, you're knowledgeable! I tow a 31' travel trailer with a Hensley Weight distributing hitch. Are you saying that even with a spacer I will still sag down to the same height? I want it to sit up an extra inch or two. Will a 1-1/4 spacer net me any gains with a load on the hitch? Thanks!
 
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