CJs SW20

[GDII]

I know what you mean. I can't really say I've been saving weight on my build as it's not a track car either. All I have been doing is adding weight to mine but most of the weight is adding factory parts that were missing.

Keep up the good work. It's definitely going to look great when it's complete.

[CJ]

Got the suspension all back on. Got the hub to the right height and started torquing things back down.
Thinking I might take it to the shop and get an alignment done though. They can torque the bolts with the correct weight of the car on them. May have thrown settings out while stripping it all back too.
All looking pretty mean though.



Polished up the outer edge of the spacers while i was at it. Thats the only bit visible with the wheels on.

[GDII]

Definitely get a wheel alignment done. The wheel base on my car was way out side to side when I did the bushes and as you said you should do up the bolts with weight on the wheels. That looks really good. Now, just don't drive it anymore.... The good thing about painting all those bits is that you can just wipe off the dust with a cloth when you want to shine it back up.

[mickeyduck]

Definitely get a wheel alignment done.

+1

If you're like me you have a guy with your car's set-up in his wheel alignment computer already...

Looking REALLY good CJ. Can't wait to see it back out and about mate.

Can't wait to see mine back out and about either, LOL...

[CJ]

Definitely get a wheel alignment done.

+1

If you're like me you have a guy with your car's set-up in his wheel alignment computer already...

Looking REALLY good CJ. Can't wait to see it back out and about mate.

Can't wait to see mine back out and about either, LOL...

mmm . Once its done, i'll probably start on the front end..

[CJ]

Got a new oil filter on and some new 10w60 Castrol.

Put some new Redline MT90 in the transmission.

Dropped the car back onto its wheels again. Its been a while.

I am re-painting the rear caps on the back bumper so theyre not on yet. Its taking some effort in this crap weather.

[CJ]

Pulled apart the rear lights to clean the dirt and crap out of them.
Put some cutting compound on the clear covers.
Decided to do them in black this time around too. Im liking the change. Looks a little closer to stock actually. Bit more like atenza or axela lights.

[CJ]

Think i worked out why my brakes didnt feel so good on Taupo..

Got some new yellow stuff on order. Comtemplating some new rotors, so will look into that.

Funny, when i asked the receptionist, she said, "oh, youre not the first person. Did you cook yours at Taupo as well.".....(ashamed silence). "little bit", I said.

[CJ]

A little while ago i started stripping out the front suspension for a re-con.
Heres a bit of a before look so you can get the idea.



I wanted to pull it out because:
a/ my brake pads were shot from Taupo racing.
b/ I was aware that my front shocks didnt feel right throwing them into the corners.
c/ mechanic at my shop pointed out the wear on my tyres showed a camber on the wheels. Suggested there was something else worn in there but couldnt tell what.

So. got the strut bar off. It was nice and straight and the bushing actually not too bad. If its original, its held up bloody well. I certainly havent ever replaced it. But its getting Urethane anyways..





Control arm also pretty good. The internal collar isnt malformed or worn. But again,.Urethane going in.



The shock cover is completely disintegrated. While not a massive problem, its not great as it allows dirt and water to get into the shock insert lessening its life.



I tested it by pushing the shock down by hand. It does return up, but slowly and quite "jittery" It should be smooth and spring back up quick with no issue.
So, this confirmed my suspicion the shocks were on their way out. Having already ordered some from NST last year, theyre good to go in.

Pulled off the bracket that connects the strut rod to the body. Gave that a clean up too along with some new bolts.



The bump stop part of the cover was fine really but best to have a new set right.. Stop the dust getting in.



Now...this is what happens when you drive around on gravel and dont clean out the underside of the car in long time.



The upper shock support is stuffed. Rusted/seized. The bearings dont even turn anymore. In fact, they were so seized that where the shock insert lines up with spring support is a little hole that has 2 straight sides on it to hold it in place. This then relies on the bearings for axial movement. No bearing movement = these flat bits to get worn out.

Heres one thats been fixed, cleaned and repainted.



Heres a shot of the old upper support mounts. As you may notice, one of them has lost the dust cover all together. The one that is there is crumbling when i touch it.



So, i bought a set of brand new upper supports hoping this might help with the camber wear on the tyres. Yay, they come with new dust covers too cause i forgot to ask about that...Thanks again NST.



The spring insulator. A rubber cushion that sits at the top of the spring. These were both wearing. They felt normal thickness is some parts and paper thin in others.



So, 2 new insulators too please.



Cleaned up the strut rod. New Urethane bushings and new nuts/washer ex Toyota Japan too. Enamel sprayed.



Control arm all cleaned up.



Pulled the tow bracket off and gave that a clean up.



And just like i did with the rear suspension, Ive cleaned out the wheel well. Resprayed it with sound deadening/stone guard.



I spent literally a couple hours working out all the different plastic lugs that are in here holding the plastic inner liner. Theres about 4 different kinds in the end. Worked out how many i needed of each and got these from Partsouq in UAE.




These guys i have to put a shout out for because they are cheap and deliver super fast. Like a week...The stock is ex japan so legit stuff, but this company deals in all makes of cars and works out of UAE.
Using the parts catalog, you can just order directly from the picture so real easy. Ive used them twice now.
I recommend anyone whos looking for hard to find parts or wants to compare prices with Toyota NZ to check them out.
https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/locate?c=Toyota

Got the strut bracket back on, with cleaned up bolts of course.
The wheel arch liner cleaned up and coated in rubber stone guard too. All the grommets replaced and new screws to put the wheel arch liner back on.



Cleaned all around the power steering rack. Took off the brackets that hold it to the subframe and cleaned/painted those. New bolts.
Cleaned down the subframe and reprayed that in grey to match the rear subframe i did already.



Took off the body support/brace thats in there and did that too.



Seeing as how the calipers were out already, i gave them a clean up and a quick respray. This didnt take much as id re-coned them a little while ago with new seals etc.





As you'll notice, got some new yellow stuff pads thrown in. Hopefully these will work a little better.




Also, this time i got all new bolts for the calipers which i didnt do last time I re-cond them.



Cleaned up and repainted the hub carrier/dust shield. Bearing fine as it was replaced a little while ago.
New lower ball joints all round.



I found that my rotors were undersized for what they should be which would also explain a bit of the spongy feel on the brakes.
New rotors ready to go on.



And also, because of Taupo track i melted the hubcentric rings from the rotor being too hot.



Thought id try some new aluminium ones this time.



So. Everything is just about ready to go back on. Need to get over a bit of man flu and can get on to it.
Theres one issue i havent sorted yet. That is the old story of the sway bar mounts cracking.



This is pretty common in the early gens. You can see in the picture a crack opening up all the way down the left side. The crack looks old enough to have started prior to me putting in the larger swaybar.
Only thing for it, is to weld them up and get some reinforcement brackets. Especially with the extra tension thats going to be put on it now with urethane bushings.
Will likely get a set of these.



Will get some on order from either speed source or EMS. Ive bought stuff from both of them in the past. By the time theyre here, i should have all the suspension back on.

[GDII]

Wow this build is so awesome. Buying up all the new parts to replace old worn faded items.

The bushes on the these cars tend to hold up, at least the harder ones in the front and rear. Replacing with urethane makes the car far more responsive to steering inputs and I didn't find it any harsher than stock.

[CJ]

Wow this build is so awesome. Buying up all the new parts to replace old worn faded items.

The bushes on the these cars tend to hold up, at least the harder ones in the front and rear. Replacing with urethane makes the car far more responsive to steering inputs and I didn't find it any harsher than stock.

Thats promising. Im hoping it will respond well without any further jiggling.

[Benckj]

Good work CJ as your going the extra distance for replacement parts. Surprising how much damage has been done with the heat. I like the idea with the sound deadening and may have to do myself in the persuit of a quitter cab. Have another look at your steering boot as its not seated onto lip. Maybe its just the lack of clamp or could be removed for replacement/cleaning.

With the front refreshed I wonder what the plans are for the rear?

[CJ]

Good work CJ as your going the extra distance for replacement parts. Surprising how much damage has been done with the heat. I like the idea with the sound deadening and may have to do myself in the persuit of a quitter cab. Have another look at your steering boot as its not seated onto lip. Maybe its just the lack of clamp or could be removed for replacement/cleaning.

With the front refreshed I wonder what the plans are for the rear?

I had been moving it round to paint the tie rod.
The rears done already.

[Benckj]

As a matter of interest did you grease the spherical bearings in the rear? I didn't find much info on this before installing the poly bushes but after I had apart it seemed logical to pull apart and grease.
Pic to what I'm talking about if others have not seen.

[CJ]

As a matter of interest did you grease the spherical bearings in the rear? I didn't find much info on this before installing the poly bushes but after I had apart it seemed logical to pull apart and grease.
Pic to what I'm talking about if others have not seen.

Nah, didnt pull them apart. They still had nice movement in them so left it.
Good to see you can re-grease them up though.