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Smooth Ride

Simple 'Bagged Solutions
By Mike Alexander
Toyota Pickup Drivers Side View

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We began by jacking up and putting the Toyota on jackstands, then removing the wheels.
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To remove the spindle and hub assembly, the caliper was unbolted and properly secured out of the way to prevent the brake lines from being stressed. The ball joints were then broken free from the spindle.
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After the lower control arm and stock spindle were removed from the truck, the hub came next. The dust cap was removed to access the castle nut, which holds the hub and rotor to the spindle. Remove the castle nut and then take the rotor/hub assembly off the spindle.
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The backing plate was unbolted from the stock spindle for reuse. Some people don't reuse the backing plate because it looks cleaner without, but brake dust will collect more quickly.
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With the stock spindle out of the way, it was time to rework the lower control arm. Bobby measured the area the arm needed to clear the control arm subframe.
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Next, we carefully cut the marked area out of the control arm.
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To maintain the stock look of the arm, as well as retain strength, the removed piece was trimmed and TIG-welded to an inboard location.
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Once completed, the arm will have more travel than stock, but looks as though it was never touched.
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Another trick on Toyota trucks is to flip the lower ball joint. Unbolt the ball joint from the bottom of the arm, and bolt it back into place on top of the arm.
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Here's a look at another key component: Belltech's 2-inch drop spindle.
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The lower arm, Belltech spindle, and hub assembly were bolted back in place.
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Sean then jacked the wheel up to check the clearance at the control arm. With the wheel jacked all the way up, it was also time to measure an area for the shocks to be installed.
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After checking the turning radius and measuring the shock travel, Bobby made new shock mounts from i/4-inch steel plate.
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Here's a look at the Monroe shocks bolted to their new mounts.
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The mounts were double-checked for measurement, then welded into place.
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The shock was bolted to the top mount, then compressed to measure exactly where the bottom mount needed to be installed.
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The bottom mounts were cut from the same i/4-inch steel and cleaned up.
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Holes were drilled in all the shock mounts for the shock bolt to pass through.
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This is the lower control arm (after it was modified for clearance) with the bottom shock mount welded and gusseted into place.
Toyota Pickup Front Airbag Suspension View
It looks pretty good. With the new shocks, the Belltech drop spindles, and the Contitech airbags, the 'Yota now rides like a dream.

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