Front Shock Install

My replacement Eibach shock arrives Wednesday. Is loosening the caster/camber bolt a requirement? Ive watched a couple of videos and they loosen it but I thought there was enough play in the LCA to push it down and get the shock out. Anyone has done it and can give me a response, id appreciate it.

I am getting an alignment when I swap it on Thursday.

 

It's the quickest way. You can then unbolt the steering stop from the knuckle and swing the LCA down 90 deg. This lets you drop the coilover down with less disassembly of surrounding items (like tie rod end or sway bar). Just mark the cam bolts with a paint pen before loosening them, so you can put them back to approximately the old positions.

 

appreciate that. Just hoping they arent seized up

 

I loosened the LCA just to make life easy. I found a video without doing it but I’ll have to search for it.

Edit: 2wd though. https://youtu.be/oC33zcI9mXY?si=s3w1st4cG3e4zBI0

 

appreciate that. Yeah ill mark it the current "setting" and loosen the LCA

 

I dont normally loosen the LCA bolts if i am swapping something and want to retain the alignment. Unbolting the lower ball joint and using a pry bar in the hole in the lower A-arm will allow you to flex it down far enough to get a lift shock in place. Its the upper A-arm that is so tight and wont really let everything push down far enough. Unbolting the lower ball joint from the spindle allows the upper A-arm and spindle to stay in place. If you dont unbolt them, even loosening the LCA bolts, as you push the LCA/spindle/upper assembly downward the upper A-arm will swing down and contact the spring so it makes installing a lift shock not impossible, but EXTREMELY difficult. Its easiest unbolting the lower ball joint and pushing the LCA downward with a pry bar.
If i am lifting it to the point that i know i need an alignment and i plan to do my own soft alignment prior to taking it to the shop, yes, loosening the LCA bolts makes the lower A-arm swing out of the way much easier but i still unbolt the lower ball joint. Its pretty fast and easy that way.

USE RED LOCTITE on the lower ball joint bolts upon reassembly.

 

I so appreciate your write up. That’s what I was thinking - pry bar to push the lca down. I will unbolt the ball joint. I see there are 2 bolts. The shock assembly arrived today. Plan on tackling it Saturday and have an appointment for an alignment on Monday

 

^Try loosening the cam bolts first. If your rig is in this environment, they shouldn't be seized



A pry bar won't allow the LCA to swing down 90 deg, so you'd need to remove other things like tie rod and sway bar to make room for the shock.

 

Make sure you have a another way to get to the store during the project. My ball joint bolts were tight as fuck, I ended buying a breaker bar for this project (just did it earlier this month).

Cam bolts weren't too bad, but you need a 22 mm socket and wrench (a little bigger than a standard set).

Edit: my bad, the cam bolts are 22 mm. The cam itself is 26 mm or something, but you can use an adjustable wrench or channeloks on that (no torque, just holding it in place).

 

lol. No I’m in Chicago area but they were just replaced like 8 months ago. I’m going to try to loosen them because it’s a good idea for me to periodically loosen them to prevent them seizing

 

^Just coat the cam bolts and sleeves liberally in grease or cosmoline and they won't seize. Don't need to loosen them periodically.

 

I have done it both ways and will say empirically that loosening the LCA and letting it swing down is my preferred method. Much easier to drop the assembly out of the bottom.

Torquing the LCAs to spec was awkward but really accessible.

I've mentioned this before but the best investment I made was a pair of 6 ton US Jack jack stands. Quite pricey but the saddles are really wide and fit the frame without the ears digging in.

 

+1
I also bought some 6 ton jack stands for this project. You need to support the frame really high off the ground to get full droop up front.

 

Prying the LCAs down without loosening the bolts risks damaging the bushings. Tightening the bolts should be done with full weight on the hubs/wheels, bouncing before torquing.

 

Cool. I got that covered. 12 ton jack stands with adequate lift and two jacks.

 

Thank you. I will loosen them. The LCAs are like 6 months old and OEM.

 

Success! Thank you everyone. I have an appointment for an alignment tomorrow. The caster camber bolts broke free. Lowered the LCA. BOOM. Couldn’t have gone any easier

 

Congrats on getting it done.

 

Thanks buddy. Yeah it was smooth. However now one rear is leaking. What are your thoughts

 

Also new?

 

Nope. Eibach sent me front replacements. The rear have about 70k miles on them. We’ve offloaded hard with them so I’m not even mad. Saw a little puddle on the garage floor in the rear. I am taking it for an alignment tomorrow I’ll have them add it to the receipt if they are leaking. I think they are but being winter it’s hard to tell

 

I feel like I'm hearing more than isolated occurrences of Eibach shocks leaking...

 

Honestly couldn’t be happier with them 70k miles. We’ve done Toyota Jamboree twice, Moab 3x Colorado and Arizona. We definitely played hard with them. Plus the customer service has been excellent

 

Congratulations. Just curious why there's a spacer on the top of the coilover, seeing as how those are height adjustable...

 

Honestly, I don’t know. Outside of my expertise. They come bolt on ready.

 

That's just Eibach's attempt at a beefier top hat compared to the OEM rubber/stamped steel part. It's in principle similar to this piece on Kings, for example:

 

ran into some challenges getting the alignment. The tech broke off an alignment "tab" and now i need a new piece welded on - attaches to the frame. Just another day in my life trying to get this done. I see there are youtube videos on this and if you know how to weld its easy. I wish i had taken a welding course in high school.

 

Won't the shop that broke off the tab weld a new one on?

 

omg they didnt. Trust me i was like wtf? I am taking it to a good shop - Annico Automotive by me. I can no longer trust a shop that F'd me over. I am pissed at myself because Annico has worked on my 4R and the work is exceptional. I got anxious and took it to a box store. I am so pissed at myself.

 

I hope that shop didn't charge you for the alignment, since they f'd up the tab and couldn't get it in spec after that.