DIY: Land Cruiser Rear Springs Install for 100 Series
Upgrading suspension components such as the rear springs on your Land Cruiser is so easy you’d be insane not to do it.
Upgrading the rear springs on your Land Cruiser is a MUST for any serious overlander. If you haven’t already done it, you might benefit from this DIY tutorial from Chowcares.
Your improved overlanding adventures are literally just an hour and a few hundred dollars away. By improving your Land Cruiser’s rear springs you’ll gain added stability, utility, and most importantly… trail cred. Who doesn’t love gloating about new parts?
Where’s the Beef
“Today I have the easiest DIY that you could possibly think of,” starts Chowcares “We are switching out the rear springs on the Land Cruiser.”
Chowcares’ Land Cruiser starts off the video with an Old Man Emu (OME) suspension kit. Great mod. Small problem though, they simply aren’t beefy enough for his needs.
So replacing those scrawny OME 860 rear springs is a must. Chowcares elects to go with a set of Slee Off-Road springs. The Slee’s aren’t taller, but they are beefier with a higher spring rate.
Lastly, Chowcares warns to be careful how you install the springs noting that the L and R springs have slightly different lengths and must be installed on their proper side.
How To
Before getting started, be sure to chock your wheels and loosen your rear lug nuts. Next, you’ll want to jack up the rear end of your Cruiser by the rear differential. Place your non-Harbor Freight jack stands in their appropriate locations and you’re ready to drop the jack and get to the good stuff.
Remove your wheels and use your jack to raise one side of the axle. Place your jack just behind the caliper and lift to compress one side, decompressing the opposite spring
Now, you can easily remove your old spring and replace it with your new one. Simply repeat the process on the other side and you’ve got new springs! Easy peasy.
Land Cruiser Rear Spring Install Tips
While you’re in there, it would be a good idea to clean up the spring seats and surrounding areas. Also, make sure the last coil on your springs makes contact with the ridge of the coil seat. This is very important for proper install.
“If you have a saggy bumper or saggy rear end,” says Chowcares “Make sure you get heavy-duty springs.”
“Swapping out the rear springs is a complete walk in the park. Just a word of advice, after installing the Slee springs, I took it out for a test run and I noticed that it still was sagging a little bit,” mentions Chowcares “So since then, I’ve already replaced the springs again with the Old Man Emu 863s which [are] the same spring rate as the Slees I believe. However, they’re about an inch higher.”
If you’re at all serious about taking your Land Cruiser out for camping or overlanding, this mod should be at the top of your list. It’s cheap. It’s easy. What more could you ask for?