Westcott 3/1 Install

Has anyone installed this kit on their TRD Off Road 22?

I purchased the exact spring compressors they use in their video and they are not strong enough to compress the spring to get the top hat and nut installed after the new perch is in place…

I’ve called 20+ local shops who tell me they won’t touch it since it’s not their parts or they don’t have equipment to do it…

 

I don't know but interested in getting this done myself also.

 

well as of right now I would say don’t try it yourself if you have the TRD Off Road suspension… the springs are too much for anything less than a hydraulic strut compressor, of which I can’t find locally…

 

Westcott has a YouTube video showing the complete install with a spring compressor. Unfortunately they probably don't show every detail or possible issue. I'm going to wait it out some before I decide on a leveling kit, I just saw Rough Country came out with another kit that raises it 3", it is a complete kit. I heard Toyota will eventually have a leveling kit of their own, doing it at the dealer may be a good option.

 

yep, I watched that video 20 times, and purchased the exact same compressors they used… my guess is the off road spring is much stiffer than the regular spring from that particular truck…

 

They were upgrading the off-road springs, you should call them, good people I bet they can help provide what you can do to install the kit.

 

I was able to DIY it on my 22 TRD Off Road. Felt like I was pushing the spring compressors to it's limits with clamps to help. Took a while but after some was able to finish the job.

Told the wife it should take maybe 3-4 hours, ended up taking a full day. She was not a happy camper.

 

yea mines not either haha.. i pushed the compressors to their limit, so much show they ended up seizing up on me (even loaded with anti-seize per instructions)… went to Auto Zone to rent another set to try and keep going, and those were worthless…

now we’re at the 26 hour mark of the truck being on stands, and I just dropped off the spring/struts to 4WP… they said it won’t be a problem… Going back in an hour to see what’s what…

 

How much does 4WP charge to set up the spring/strut?

 

$66.66 was what they charged me today… billed it as .5 hr labor…

I wish I would have had the foresight to just take them there from the start…

Official time to install: 28hrs

Once I got home with the reassembled struts, I knocked out the front and back in 2hrs flat…

I fully believe this is a 3 hour job, I just had bad luck with shitty tools…

 

Update: here is the finished product… sitting on a slope so it looks off, but it’s completely level all the way around…

well worth the trouble, but damn was it a bummer haha…

 

Well it is done and looks great, congrats, lesson learned may help others thinking about this.

 

Final Update:

Took the truck in for an alignment on Saturday... I was at the shop longer than I wanted to be, and in my haste of leaving did not verify that the all of the alignment specs were in fact correct. It looks like they used the 20-21 info in the machine, and while the Camber and Toe are perfect, the caster is at 1.7 and 1.9, which is pretty far off from the factor settings and even the target numbers from Toyota for their 3 in lift that is coming soon... I will be calling 4WP today to talk to the manager about getting it back in and seeing if they can get the numbers closer to the spec sheet that I know have printed for the 22 models...

The overall stance after the alignment is perfect as far as I'm concerned. The rear is still .5" higher giving a tiny rake, but overall looks perfectly level.



As for the overall feeling of the truck:

The TRD Off Road suspension seemed much stiffer than my 14 SR5 TRD OR did, and I attributed that to the fact that it was all new components and the OEM 20s with lower profile tires than I had before.

After installing the 18s w/ 35s (D rated), the ride was noticeably better with the factory suspension. The larger tires really ate up the bumps and road imperfections.

After installing the 3/1 lift, the ride quality is back to the feeling as if I'm on factory suspension with the OEM 20s again. Maybe a hair harsher, but not much. The only time I really notice a difference is if I take a speed bump a little too fast or something like that. Standard road travel feels no different than before.

 

Truck looks great! The alignment I had done on mine post-install of Westcott the shop was able to get my caster to 2.5* each side, and the truck drives just as smooth as stock (in terms of twitchiness of steering). I've found when your caster is too low, steering gets twitchy. I don't think any shop will be able to get these trucks back to near 4* of caster, but my truck drives great with 2.5* on each side. If you're looking to get it redone, I think that you're warranted to ask them to get it back into spec of at least the 21 truck as your measurements are out of spec for even the 21.

 

Can you provide the specs on your rims and tires? Is there an offset on the rims? I'm asking for info for when I decide to do mine, If I can keep my stock 18" rims I'd like to do that to save money if possible.

 

Thanks for that info.. I will make sure to keep that in mind when I speak to them...

Black Rhino Rapids 18x9 with a +12 offset. Toyo Open Country AT3 35x12.50r18 with D load rating.

 

Your setup look good thanks for the information, can't wait to get mine done.

 

Thanks! I actually saw the wheels on another Lunar Rock 22 here and they just looked perfect... I was really wanting to stay away from the Methods and Fuels that so many use, and these fit the bill perfect...