NewHilux.net

Thanks! I'll consider it when CV time comes around. It will be off-road frequently but nothing crazy Any experience with Cozza or their control arms?

Not sure about Cozza but the genuine part is only 210usd here: https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine ... g301000348

it includes the ball joint and bushes... great value IMO.

Dang, that's not bad at all... At least I'll have a backup plan if the ones I ordered suck...

yeah its not a bad shop for parts. do some shopping around though, I've found parts like the SCV can be cheaper here, so some shopping around is worth doing.

Made some progress the last few days. Still waiting on camber bolts from UAE which still haven't left the country, so I decided to fab some of my own for temporary use with a string alignment.

CVs cleaned up and rebooted. Had to make a tool for the bands.







Prepped and sprayed upper and lower control arms with 2 coats of Eastwood Chassis Black for a little added protection.



And got the wheel wells all cleaned up to accept this load of new parts.



Also installed 555 steering tie rod ends. Reassembly will start in the morning, with a little luck it'll be back mobile in a couple of days!

Looking good!

Nice work on the restoration!
I had to cut my lower control arm bolts also when i changed out my suspension 4 years ago, i had to change the LCA out also as the bolt was stuck in there with all the rust.
New bolts, and a pair of secondhand LCAs, and i was good to go!

hiluxxury wrote:Looking good!

Thanks!

Caleebra wrote:Nice work on the restoration!
I had to cut my lower control arm bolts also when i changed out my suspension 4 years ago, i had to change the LCA out also as the bolt was stuck in there with all the rust.
New bolts, and a pair of secondhand LCAs, and i was good to go!

Thanks, and glad I'm not the only one! Seems pretty common on the Tacoma and 4Runner forums as well...

I loaded the bolts up with anti-seize or grease depending on location. Suspension is done for now, still waiting on camber bolts from UAE, made a temporary set. Test drive went well, took a while to align. Overall very pleased with the Dobinson's kit. Had to recompress the struts for orientation of the cap, the spring rate prevented traditional means.









Stance is about the same as before, a touch higher in the rear at least until it settles.

I had intended to compare my CVs with Tacoma CVs while they were out. However, Tacoma CVs being .5" or so longer I decided to check freeplay before installing the strut throughout it's range of travel. With the suspension in it's uppermost loaded position there is not any play in the CV, therefore a Tacoma CV would hypothetically put it in a bind. I didn't bother testing further.

Also, I used Tacoma UCAs and I am now having problems getting enough camber, also steering tie rod ends do not have sufficient thread engagement, even though I eyed the old and new it would appear the Tacoma UCAs are a bit longer as well... I'll verify and report back but looks like more wasted $

What Gen Tacoma parts did you use/compare?

hiluxxury wrote:What Gen Tacoma parts did you use/compare?

2005-2015 Taco

Just measured them and they're the same. When my cam bolts come in I'll get a proper alignment and buy adjustable UCAs if need be. Disappointed in 555 tie rod ends which have several MMs before the threads start which leads to less thread engagement than I would like to see... Will be swapping them with OE.

It would appear that 2005-15 Tacoma UCAs do indeed work, just for the posterity. That makes about 4 parts that are shared with the Taco so far



String alignment and waiting on camber bolts before any more real updates.

[quote="AmeriKUN26"]It would appear that 2005-15 Tacoma UCAs do indeed work, just for the posterity. That makes about 4 parts that are shared with the Taco so far

That's good to know.

Camber bolts finally came in from UAE!



Got them installed and will take it in for an alignment tomorrow. Also, slowly spraying the undercarriage with Fluid Film for some corrosion protection.

It will drive like a new one

hiluxxury wrote:It will drive like a new one

It is driving really nicely!

Noticed before I set out this morning that it's sitting 1.5" higher on the RH side, you can see it in the pic below. I'll take some measurements and give it some time to settle but it appears at very least swapping the leafs may be necessary (they're the same part number) it never ends

Finally got a chance after the holiday to swap the leaf springs, it's sitting level so far. One leaf was slightly taller than the other. Stay tuned for another attempt at polishing the scratches out of the side windows next week.

Ordered some SPC upper control arms to get a little more caster as the alignment still isn't quite right. Also ordered a 1/4" spacer for the LH strut which should get it perfect on the lean.

Looking good
Some leaf packs are left/right side specific sometimes indicated by a "+" on one of the packs and a "-" on the other. Not sure if that might be a contributing cause of the uneven height.

Pre-empting other comments: many accounts of strut spacers causing strut failures
Have you jacked up the rear by the centre and measured the front L/R heights?
Is common for the drivers side to be about 10mm higher when cabin is unoccupied

Dude! Thats awesome finds on the Taco vs Hilux parts!
In other words you can actually fit some beefy UCA/LCA or a long travel kit from, say; Total Chaos or Dirt King Fabrication, etc.
Wonder if the steering rods and front axles(stronger & wider) can be swapped also, you can pretty much build a Tacoma styled Hilux with wider stance, would look sick!

But then again, waaaay to much money to go that far...

On topic; The Hilux has come along nicely! Cant wait to see more!