Different strut if heavier spring (w/AC) is used?

[NWMO]

Hey all,

Just looking down the road. If the heavier coil spring is used in the front (for cars w/AC), is a different strut necessary as well?, I assume not. Wanting to add a little (1" +/-) easy height when I replace suspension parts.

TIA

Chris

[ARCHINSTL]

Chris -
What I used (did not elaborate enough in telconv yesterday):
KYB Strut inserts: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3209&hilit=KYB
AZ Duralast AC springs: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3547&p=26904&hilit=KYB#p26904
Car is now 1 1/2" higher than the weary OE stock parts, but only about 3-5mm higher than OE spec.
KYB pricing: http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm ... _year=1986
Tom M.

[NWMO]

Hey Tom,

Napa has a heavier spring that it indicates is a match to the heavier spring used on the Tercels with A/C, i.e. (longer uncompressed length and slightly more weight than the 212s you used). I was curious if anyone had used those and how much lift (above OE spec) they found AND if the same strut was used with both. I'm not looking for much lift, just the 1" or so folks here seem to agree won't hurt CV joints, drive shaft angles, etc. Obviously the Tercels with A/C would use this spring, so I can't see the lack of air conditioning weight making enough difference to be a problem.

Chris

[irowiki]

You'd be good to go to use that spring.

[ARCHINSTL]

You'd be good to go to use that spring.

+
Tom M.

[Petros]

I have never seen a difference in any Tercel4wd strut, only in the spring. I once inventoried a lot of different springs and struts to compare them and found some of the Tercel springs are slightly stiffer/longer than the others (these in fact came out of a 2wd Tercel wagon). the 2wd strut is about 25 mm shorter, but otherwise identical.

[NWMO]

Thanks guys.

Chris

[NWMO]

Hey all,

Checked this evening and found the front ride height to be about 8.5" on one side and a little less on the other (about 3/4" to 7/8" low). The rear was closer to spec at 10-3/8" vs 10-3/4".

I've got plenty to do, but will likely include new springs when I replace the struts in the front.

- brakes
- frame repair
- struts
- small stuff along the way

Chris

[NWMO]

Alrighty,

I won't tackle until summer some time, but I can't stop myself from trying to figure it out. I'm pretty well set on the slightly heavier springs for a/c cars and minor blocking above the top mount to gain an inch or so.

The pathfinder springs sound like too much and I don't want to cut the spring. KYB has a slightly stouter mono shock that looks good, but I still need an inch or so (nearer 1.5" if I use the current springs). Would a short "bucket" for a new spring mount allow spacing between the OEM mount and the bottom of said "bucket" to allow blocking? vs cutting/rebuilding the mount bases. Again, just looking for an inch or two on rear.

Chris

[Mattel]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Front-Raised ... SwLVZVgnHM

there are plenty of tercel springs available on here.

[Petros]

you can get air shocks for the rear to add height when you want it. also, there are hard rubber spacers that you can put in the coil spring (they are generic items based on coil dia, search ebay and Amazon).

I have been considering the air shock route to allow normal ride height for daily driver, but allows me to raise the ride height for deep snow or creek crossings. I think I can find some airbags for the front struts (they go inside the front springs) that will do the same thing. I also have a portable 12v air pump I got from a wrecking yard that I can rig with a switch to raise or lower the ride height "on-the-fly". Not sure it is worth the effort, but all of the newer SUVs and so-called cross over SUV have this feature, I was in once recently in deep snow, I was surprised how much it helped to get us further up the road for a backcountry ski trip.

[NWMO]

Petros or others,

Did anyone ever try the Corolla struts as discussed here?

Chris