Another Center coil install
14 low res pics loading
5-9-2004



Bought this 87 Runner with 22RE and auto as a project to be
passed on to dad so he can get out a little and enjoy some
camping :) Keeping it simple and cheap, I chose a TJ front
coil as it would do a nice job of lifting the rear stocker
packs the desired 3~4 inches. Even with the fiberglass top
off, the rear packs still rested flat against the overload
leaf. When that happens, the ride gets harsh. Using a center
coil picks the pack up off of the springboard giving a very
cushy ride.



The floor jack is pushing the frame much higher than it will
ever ride....but it sure is nice to have all that extras headroom
to do the required fitting and welding. Here, the truss is already
mig welded to the axle housing. The upper crossmember and dish
is also in place.



The 2 dishes are lined up with each other and the mig welder will
fill in that 1/4" gap nicely.



Don't want to possibly warp the housing so moderate welds are fine.
Date-coded for historical reasons.



The factory pre-formed brake line would not do for the new truss....
AutoBone had a 20 and 40 incher for less than 5 bucks total. I formed
the new lines using a random piece of 1" OD pipe and kept the lines
ON TOP of the new truss to keep the boulders away from them.



Forming them was rather easy.....service loops took up the extra
length nicely.



OK.....shoot me....I took a square plate and welded it under a
round dish. And yes, when I was a baby, I did negotiate the square
peg into the round hole.



Moment of truth....The 17" long TJ coil just looked too long to
wedge between the dishes. I chop-sawed off about 2" on the coil.....
it was still a bear even with the shackles disconnected and the
rear jacked extra high...but it did go in. The coil compressed
about 5" with the entire weight on it. This gave 4" of lift as
measured from wheel lip to bottom of fender.



Note that the leaf packs are no longer resting on the overload.



I don't require any "coil retainers"....besides, the only way to get
it out (without compressors) is to remove the shackles/shocks/brake
hose/driveshaft and somehow jack the rear up about 9 inches....
then it will fall out.



The factory brake line mount was moved on top of the truss so
length was not a problem.



The new cross-member did not interfere with the actual proportioning
valve itself. I chose to chopsaw off the long rod that attached all
the way down at the axle housing. I felt it was not needed.....
and it wasn't.



The BEFORE pic......



The AFTER pic. It's hard to tell but the rear has a bit of the
'stink bug' profile to it. The front has the torsion bars turned
12 full turns on each side for 1.5" of lift and the rear has 4"
with just the coil mod. The rear shocks are close to being fully
extended but that's minor. The on-road ride has yet to be tested
as of this moment....

Update (3-12-2005) ...Just rode tested it and it rides smooth...
really smooth. ZUK


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