Hilux rear coils

[mudlux]

A while ago I seen a tradie on site that fitted mazda coils to the rear with no modifcation at all. It lifted his standard susspension 1in and enabled him to carry a heavier load. There were no mods at all and the coils were located by the bump stop and upper bump stop plate as the coils were wound to a small diameter at each end.
Now I'm thinking I may do a similar mod but take some leaves out and use the coil to do the job of the removed leaves.
What would be a minimum amount of leaves to run so axel wrap was not introduced. I do not wish to fit a trac bar.

[Chuckanoo]

I have a 1982 RN46 Hilux with Celica coils in the same set up as the tradie. Gave me 2 inchs of lift (unexpected), greater load capacity, better cornering and a smoother ride in the rear end. I personally would not take out any leaves. But if you do, start with one leaf at a time and see what happens.

[duza]

I have a 1982 RN46 Hilux with Celica coils in the same set up as the tradie. Gave me 2 inchs of lift (unexpected), greater load capacity, better cornering and a smoother ride in the rear end. I personally would not take out any leaves. But if you do, start with one leaf at a time and see what happens.

I'd be very interested in seeing photos of your setup. How are the coils attached etc? I've been contemplating air bags or helper springs etc, but they're all fairly exy. This sounds a cheaper option. Any chance of posting up some pics?
Ric

[Chuckanoo]

Ok, I've sent duza some photo's, so he can post them. I don't know how to yet. In the mean time, I'll try to describe how to put the coils in.:)
You need to chock the front wheels & loosen the wheel nuts on the rears.
Jack up the diff until the wheels have cleared the ground. Put car stands under the chassis to support it.
Take the wheels off and lower the chassis onto the stands, keep lowering until the jack just clears the diff (I always leave the jack just touching whatever I'm lifting just in case the stands happen to collaps). By now, the axle is at maximum drop that the shockies will allow. You can remove the shocks if you want. Compress the springs as much as safely possible. Place the bottom of the coil over the bump stop rubber. I had to unbolt the top bump stop & insert it into the top of the coils. If you had to unbolt the top stop, now bolt it back in. Un-compress the springs and they should slide into postion. Replace the wheels and shocks (if you removed them), Raise the diff & remove the chassis stands, Lower back down & tighten the wheels nuts. And there you go, Celica coils in conjunction with leaf springs. After the coils settle in, you should have an increased ride hieght, better hanlding and greater load capabilities, not to mention a smoother ride (especially for twin cabs). Of course, I must give a warning that I cannot take any responibilty for mishaps that may occour. When in doubt, get help from a mechanicly minded person. Though if you are carefull, you should be OK. I hope this has helped. You can also use HQ coils, I have seen them in use.
:truck:

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

A whole heap of Hilux's and 75 Series trays up FNQ way run a fairly similar set-up, but most keep the entire leaf pack in place to stop the axle wrap and carry the load! There again, these guys usually load 'em up pretty heavy, what with dogs, tinnies with outboards, tinnies that're cold, steaks, and eskies for the fish or pork that the next few weeks might bring!

Usually they seem to fit the coils without any compressing, just lift the tray high enough with the shocks and rear shackles undone so that the coils slide in from the back; lower it all down until it's in position to re-fit the shackles and shocks & Bob's your uncle! See whole mobs of them on their way thru Mt Molloy every time I'm up that way, they stop in town to purchase coils (the guy there must stock heaps & make a packet on them!), they drive out of town to the campground, fit the coils with the aid of a cooling ale or three then hit the hay for an early start the next morning.

They handle the maxi corrugations with ease and under fully loaded conditions, but I don't know if they destroy the coils each trip and refit next time they head off, there's ALWAYS heaps of guys fitting them in the campground there! Never come across any of them by the side of the road later on, tho'. Even tho' we usually meet campers and grey nomads and a fairly broad range of visitors to the campground again as we work north, what with busted shocks, broken springs, cracked chassis, broken trailers, snapped wheel studs, etc - mainly cos of their load and speed on the corrugations; it's just the penalty they pay for the distance they travel on the corrugations at the wrong speed. Can't seem to get thru to them that you can go too slow as well as too fast on Cape York Corrugations! But, like I said, we don't ever see any of the coiled 'Lux's or 75's, so either they just keep going if they break summat, or they don't break it in the first place! I prefer to think it's the latter option there!

Good Luck!

[duza]

Thanks, for the photos, Chuckanoo. I will try to remember to post them here tonight. The only thing I'd be a little concerned about is them popping out, particularly off road when fully flexed. I wonder how I could fix them in there somehow.
I've had this idea in the back of my mind for sometime now, but wasn't sure what sort of springs to fit. Buying from a wrecker on a guessing basis could turn out to be an expensive exercise, so thanks to both yourself and Peter for the info. Gives me something positive to work with now.
Ric

[duza]

Here are the photos chuckanoo sent me.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u162/ricduza/Phto0012.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u162/ricduza/PHTO0011.jpg

I guess because the bump stops are still in place they would pretty much guarantee the coil stayed put. I will give this some serious thought. Certainly cheaper than air bags etc.
Ric

[duza]

Chuckanoo. Forgot to ask. Any idea what model Celica your coils are from and I assume they're rears, not from the McPherson struts?
Ric

[Chuckanoo]

I don't know what model they are from, but they are definetly from the rear axle. I also don't know how well they will go with either the 2 inch lifted springs or extended shackles. Maybe longer coils would be needed.

[duza]

I don't know what model they are from, but they are definetly from the rear axle. I also don't know how well they will go with either the 2 inch lifted springs or extended shackles. Maybe longer coils would be needed.

Mines standard height, so it should be the same as yours. I'll look into mid 80s Celicas at the wreckers, see how they look. Thanks, mate,
Ric

[Chuckanoo]

Glad to have been a help, and thankyou for posting the pics. I hope the information that I have given will be a big help to all who read this. Happy 4wdriving to all:) and I will help out wherever I can.

[JTS]

if u instert the coils can u still go 4wd. aka shoot outs, hill climbs, busting sand and stuff. we were thinking of doing it to my mates 1996 hilux tray back, but we didnt no if we could still do the weekend 4x4 or not???

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Sure you can still go 4wheeling, but you WILL have firmer suspension, and you are likely to have less articulation 'cos the springs will tend to stop quite so much compression, but it will extend as far as it can better'n it did!

It IS better to take them out for the weekend stuff, altho you gotta sort out what your priorities are. Firm suspension with no sag, or articulation with a little potential for sagging!

Cheers


BTW, it's virtually impossible for them to 'pop' out, especially if you had to take the shackle out/off to get them in! The Leaf springs simply don't let the axle drop that much.