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Coil Spring preference

Discussion in 'Daihatsu Hi jet' started by cdover73, Jul 7, 2014.

  1. cdover73

    cdover73 Member

    Last edited: Jul 7, 2014
  2. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    I put the QA1's on my Scrum in the 250# and they are fine.I put the AFCO's on my Hijet and they are fine. The AFCO is a larger diameter steel and the yellow color matches my truck.I bought them from Speedway in one of their "garage sale" deals for about half price,they are unused returns.For me the 250 is plenty but others want more.
     
  3. cdover73

    cdover73 Member

    Thanks. I'm 6'1" and 270lbs. My truck bottoms out all the time, even on the smallest bumps. I have a 2.75" lift also. From what you said and what I've read on here it sounds like I would be better off going with the 275's. A lot of people said the 300's were too stiff, even with larger guys. The only thing that concerns me is your comment about the QA1 being thinner. Does this mean they would lose their spring rate quicker, or poorer quality? Also, since the springs bring the truck up as much as 1.5" would I need to cut an inch or so out of my spacers on the front to keep it from lifting too much? I think it would be fine if I was in the truck compressing them, but I just got the camber and toe perfect and would hate to mess that up again.

    Thanks,
     
  4. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    The quality of the thinner spring seems fine so far,I've had them about 1 year,and they raised my front end up about 1 1/2" without bothering the camber but I don't have a lift on that truck.On the Hijet with the AFCO's I have a 2" lift and it messed up the camber.It's only been 6 mo. since I did that truck so I'm waiting to see if they settle like some guys have reported before doing anything.It's a S80,2wd, so the camber adjusting bolts won't work on it and I will have to slot the spring perches. I would guess that the 275's will affect your camber but there's only one way to find out.
     
  5. muddy moose

    muddy moose Member

    Have you checked out the progressive or dual rate springs? I almost got the 250/400 afco that I found........ but I have a lot of weight on the front of my carry and also a HUGE snow plow that I really should cut down a bit..........but I really get a kick out if everyone that sees is and their expression when I push snow up over the cab hahahaha 94 inch blade hahaha.

    One thing to remember...............
    When you put heavier springs on, the rebound will be quick and hard. To the point that when the suspension stretches, the strut will max out on extension and let you know that it has by making a loud solid noise. You can remedy that by making limiter straps. Since you already have lift blocks in........ get yourself a 4 inch wide strap and wrap it from bottom of the strut up and over the lift block. Then you can remove the bottom bolts that hold the lower section of strut and run them threw the strap. It works great but takes a bit of playing around to find the exact right length. Added benefit. ............. after a while the strap all but encases the strut and keeps trees and debris from getting stuck between coils hahaha
     
  6. cdover73

    cdover73 Member

    I just ordered the QA1's 275lbs from Summit. I will post a review in a week or so once I install and try them out.
     
  7. cdover73

    cdover73 Member

    Well I got the springs quicker than I expected. Installed them today. It did change my camber and toe-in a lot but after a little adjusting I got it straight as an arrow again. It did put the cv axles a little too close the bottom of the strut for my comfort but doesnt rub so far. I will run it a while and see if it settles in. BTW, I didn't have a spring compressor so I removed the lift block and used a floor jack to raise the a-arm back to the top mount and let the weight of truck compress the springs while I removed the nut. Then slowly lowered the jack until all tension was off so it was safe to fool with. DO NOT loosen the stut retainer nut without compressing those springs with something!!! It will shoot off and take a limb off! Very dangerous if you don't know what to expect. Going back was a bit of a pain trying to line the strut shaft back in the hole. Tightened it down, reinstalled the lift block and proceeded to the other side. The left side was harder due to the shorter cv axle not letting the strut flex enough to get everthing in place. A little patience and it was done. I absolutely love the way it drives and feels now. No more bottoming out, not too stiff of a ride, and puts the truck higher so it feels like you're actually in a 4wd. Thanks to everyone who contributed their advice on this upgrade. I highly recommend to anyone who hasn't done it and is fighting that annoying bottoming out. Money well spent!
     
  8. muddy moose

    muddy moose Member

    Awesome!! Glad it all worked out. Just make sure to pay attention to the sound it makes when ya hit a bump and the suspension unloads. If it bangs or thumps you'll need to make limiter straps to keep from pounding the strut apart hahaha
     
  9. RollTider123

    RollTider123 Member

    I put the 250 afco's on my 91 hijet s83 and I am pleased with the ride. I left my 2.75" lift kit on and now my wheel well is sitting at almost 28.5 inches. There is still about an inch between my CVs and the struts but I dont know if the front end is too high. I would say the new springs added about 1.5-2 inches of lift. Has anyone cut their lifts/blocks in half before? or do people just buy a new set? I'm hoping that eventually my springs get broken in and settle down a half inch or so.

    The afco springs are definitely more thick than my previous springs. When I first put them on the front right tire rubbed on the spring. I had to reposition the spring so that it fit without rubbing. Now there is prob only a half inch of clearance between the new spring and the tire. I tried to post some pics of my ride but my work computer won't allow me to. Will try again later.

    Morgan
     
  10. muddy moose

    muddy moose Member

    The wheel shouldn't pivot in tword the strut/spring. The ball joints should prevent that direction of movement. Ya might get a little play in the wheel bearing but if it moves the wheel in far enough to rub, ya need to fix em. I have seen people put their rims on back words to get more space or offset..... gotta be careful doing that. Depending on the rim and lug nuts you may break your studs. Have you lowered your front diff and front end at all? I had to block the entire front end down when I did the 3 inch lift on mine. Now I have 7 inches lift in front and had to block the front end down 4 inches and the diff 5. Blocking them down takes the bind out of the cv as well as setting the wheel strait up and down. Is the top of your wheel farther away from the truck then the bottom?
     
  11. RollTider123

    RollTider123 Member

    Yes, the top part of wheel is leaning out. Like this \- -/. With the old springs there was alot more outward lean on my tires but they straightened up a good bit with the new ones. I have not lowered the front end or differential. How difficult is it to do this? I thought it was strange how only one of the tires was rubbing spring but I figured it was just because the new springs thicker..... I will be the first to say that I have very little knowledge when it comes to working on these vehicles so any help is greatly appreciated.

    Morgan
     
  12. cdover73

    cdover73 Member

    My springs added about 1.5" to my already 2 3/4" lift. It threw my camber and toe-in out of whack pretty bad. I slotted the bottom mounting hole in the struts so I could correct the camber(too impatient to wait for the camber bolts Trax and Horns posted about...) and had to turn the tie rod ends in 5 full turns on each side to get the toe-in corrected. Now I have about 1 1/4" clearance between the struts and cv axles and the tires are straight forward. After a week of off roading I figure everything is settled in to where it will run. No issues at all with rubbing, bottoming out, or over extending. I think I'm at the absolute upper limit of lift I can go without stressing my cv joints, but they run quiet without popping or creating drag. Now on to new struts....
     
  13. muddy moose

    muddy moose Member

    When you lifted the truck with the blocks and the springs you basically pushed the suspension all the way to the bottom of its travel. So now the wheels, in theory have lots of room to move up but not much to go down. The limit in down word movement is due to the amount the cv can pivot as well as the amount the arms can travel down. As everything gets pushed down your cv gets shorter and stuffed into the cup. You may not hear popping or clicking but that doesn't mean they aren't bound.
     
  14. RollTider123

    RollTider123 Member

    I still wasn't sure whether my front end was sitting too high so I jacked it up and tried to spin the wheels and neither would turn. I take it that means the CVs are binding so I removed my 3 in lift on the front. Now that the lift is off the tires spin when i jacked it up. I will say that the truck rides alot better now with the lift off, not quite as stiff. I plan on trying to get my 3 in lift cut down 1-2 inches and trying it again. I have tried to research how to drop the front end and differentials down but cant seem to figure it out. It may be a very easy deal but I'm very uneducated when it comes to working on any sort of vehicle or atv. Does anyone have pics or details of how to drop front end and differentials?

    Morgan
     
  15. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    Thanks for documenting your process. I'm running the 250lb afco and a 1" spacer on top of the struts and things seem to work great. Offhand I can't recall a HiJet-specific post on dropping the front end although I seem to recall a post a long time ago of someone doing a Carry.
     
  16. muddy moose

    muddy moose Member

    In my thread "resurrection and resteration of a 94 carry".......... I think thats the name of it hahahaha. ......... ive doccumented how I did my lift. If thats not the thread.........I have a couple others I made.........one if them has it. I know that a carry is very different then your rig, but the theory is the same. At least you will get an idea of what needs to be done and how to do it.
     

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