NewHilux.net

Here is the first of a few photo glossarys that will be added to the forum over a period of time.
For those who are not sure about the parts and components on the front suspesion of the hilux and what they do here are some basic pictures a brief description of what the part does and maybe a link or two that can take you to a more detailed thread that describes it function better. So this is clear as there are many parts to the front suspension the description of the parts will be BELOW the photo and the subheading will Be 1A and so on.
PICTURE 1

1A. Upper Control Arm. (UCA) Moves the wheel through an arc in the suspension travel. Running wider tyres can cause them to rub on the control arm so the need for different offsets in rims to prevent it may be nessicary. There are other options of fitting aftermarket UCA items if lifts exceed 2.5 inches.
Upper Control Arms
1B. Lower Control Arm. (LCA) Moves the wheel through an arc in the suspension travel similar to the UCA. Camber and Castor adjustments are done on this suspension component.
1C. Stub axle bracket. Holds the UCA and LCA together, along with the stub axle, front driveshaft and also holds the brake caliper in place. Gives a pivot point for the steering as well.
1D. Strut Assembly. Commonly refered to coil overs, struts. Comprises of a spring and a shock bolted together. Most lift kits up to 2-3 inches replace this to achieve the lift.
Common manufacturers of 2 inch lifts.
1E. Sway Bar. or often also refered to as an anti roll bar. Transfers downward movement in the suspension from the inboard side of the vehicle to upward movement to the outboard side of the vehicle to combat vehicle roll when going around a corner.
Swaybar removal
1F. Steering rack/tie rod end. Connects the stub shaft to the steering rack to allow the vehicle to turn.
1G. Front Drive shaft. (CV) Connects the front diff to the stub axle assemble to provide drive to the front wheels when in 4wd. Also allows the drive to be flexible and permit the vehicle to steer. There are plenty of threads in the drivetrain forum on this topic.

PICTURE 2.

2A. Bottom Bumpstop. Mounted on the chassis. A rubber stop that limits the upward travel of the suspension to prevent the wheel hitting the guard and also stop the strut bottoming out through compression.
2B. Bottom Bumpstop Contact point. Bottom Bumpstop hits this to limit the upward travel of the suspension. This is shown buy the distinct witness mark on the LCA
2C. Adjustment. Not normally needed to be adjusted but if strut spacers are fitted it should be extended to prevent the strut itself bottoming out.
Snake Racing Strut Spacers thread
Strut Spacers thread
Dangers of Strut Spacers
PICTURE 3.

3A. Camber Adjustment.
3B. Castor Adjustment.
3C Upper Ball Joint.
3D. Upper Sway Bar link.
3E. Lower Sway Bar link.
3F. Tie rod end and ball joint
3G. Lower ball joint
3H. Lower strut bush.
This is an open thread as suggestions and questions may be asked about components here. I will move it into the mod section from time to time for maintenance.
Cheers
Mark

well done Mark, very thorough

Mark,

If I may mate, maybe you can edit 1F as steering rack end and then add another for the actual tie rod end.

Terrific work Mark.......this is what a first class forum is all about. Not all of us are born knowing this stuff.

earlydays wrote:Terrific work Mark.......this is what a first class forum is all about. Not all of us are born knowing this stuff.

exactly...fantastic work mark and will help many forumites understand some of the lingo many of us refer to instead of wondering what they are talking about.

great stuff....this forum is the best place to learn about hilux's

Excellent job Mark

Well done! Thanks for the information

I think this thread is a great idea and it will be good to use this as a starting point for a suspension bible.

I filmed this short video yesterday to give an idea of how the front suspension and driveline components work during normal driving conditions. It's only short but gives a good indication of how everything works in together. When I get time, I will film another video off road so you can see the suspension working through its full range of movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Ai9tTRwQs

If I may just make one alteration to your glossary Mark. 2A is actually the Bottom Bump Stop. This limits the amount of up travel or “Bump” like you said. 2B is the bottom bump stop’s contact point.

The 150 Series Hilux does not have a Top bump stop to limit droop. The amount of droop is actually limited by the strut. This is why it is easy to destroy a CV if the strut and coil combination is wrong or if coils spacers are used with a raised height suspension. As mentioned in the coil spacer thread; the coil spacers place too much downwards pressure on the system and over extend the droop potentially fouling the CVs.

Our 4” smart lift and some other kits actually install an aftermarket top bump stop to ensure the perfect amount of travel is achieved without compromising any driveline components. Here’s a picture of our bump stop.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have ammended the first post for the corrections. I still have to get some links happening for picture 3.
Brendan. That is a great video. shows how all the components work together though the range of travel... Wish mine was as new and as fresh as that..
Ive still got to put up a disassembled strut and a picture of a strut spacer fitted to a stock strut...
Will also do a rear suspension glossary as well.. When time permits....
Thanks
Mark

This thread is my savior... Found a massive rock at speed and now I know that the part I need is a stub axle bracket... Thanks guys..