how do i stiffen rear suspension

[BIG G]

Ive got a 3.0td ssrx 93' L, i want to stiffin my rear springs. I realise that every car bogs down a bit at the rear when you are towing are have a car full but is there any cheap way stiffining the rear springs so when im towing the cars still sits relatively even. I have heard that surfs suffer from relaxed springs however being that the cars only done a genuine 50,000 mile the springs do not look warn at all and the whole underneath of the car is as new. Any kits for this, thanx. G.

[marky]

MILNERS sell 20% stronger springs at around £40 for the pair.
www.milneroffroad.com I tow a 1600kg caravan & i notice the difference

[Linda]

I've got heavy duty procomp springs.

[kitesurf_phil]

I've got Milners 20% stronger springs. Mine had 60,000 on the clock when I got it and was suffering butt sag. The stronger springs have made a huge improvement when towing and in general handling. £40 well spent. I rarely use the hard suspension button now.

[Darren]

Also got Milner 20% stronger, they didn't lift it as much as I'd hoped when unloaded but definitely less sag when towing.
Darren

[TonyN]

Also got Milner 20% stronger, they didn't lift it as much as I'd hoped when unloaded but definitely less sag when towing.
Darren

Milners springs don't give you any lift, they are just uprated for load carrying. Any lift seen is cos your old springs are foobarred!

LA Supertrux, Roughtrax, Procomp all do lift springs of various sizes

[Silversurfer]

Also got Milner 20% stronger, they didn't lift it as much as I'd hoped when unloaded but definitely less sag when towing.
Darren

Just fitted Milners uprated springs - big difference especially when towing. The original Toyota springs are just too soft to start with with too much movement in them. Not a hard job to fit - took me just 1hr with a pair of axle stands and a small trolley jack. No special tools needed just a few sockets and couple of open ended spanners. No need to clamp the brake flexible hose from the body to the axle and bleed the brakes - just undo the brake pipe clips that run along the axle to allow the brake pipes to move.
The Milners springs simply return the back end to the height it was at when it left the factory but make a real difference when hauling heavy loads/towing.

[NeillOP]

Just fitted Milners uprated springs .

Hi Silver, I've had a pair of Milners springs in the shed for ages, it looked a bit tricky to do. I'd be grateful for a few more pointers - do you have to take the anti roll bar off? and do the springs just come out once you have jacked the chassis up high enough?
Neill

[Silversurfer]

Hi Silver, I've had a pair of Milners springs in the shed for ages, it looked a bit tricky to do. I'd be grateful for a few more pointers - do you have to take the anti roll bar off? and do the springs just come out once you have jacked the chassis up high enough?
Neill

I wish I had had the foresight to take a few pics and post them to the Forum - anyway here goes:

You need a pair of good axle stands and preferably a 2ton trolley jack (got mine 18mths ago from Halfords for £27 the lot) but can be done with the standard Surf jack - just takes a bit longer. You might need some sturdy blocks to put under the stands as the Surf needs to be quite high to get the axle low enough to drop the springs out without having to use spring compressors. Put the axle stands just ahead of the brackets on the chassis that take the axle tie rods for safety Once on the axle stands you will need the jack under the diff to support then lower/raise the back axle.
Once on the stands take the rear wheels off as it is much easier to get the springs out from the wheel arch side.
Undo the two roll bar link rods from the chassis - don't need to take the bar out, just undo the two rods and let them hang - best with two open end spanners.
Undo the shock absorber mounts, at the bottom only as you only need to move them clear and to allow the panhard rod fixing bolt to be removed.
Slacken off the panhard rod at the axle mounting (the rod that goes across the back of the axle) to allow a bit of movement and undo the end that bolts to the chassis and take the bolt out. The rod should then pull out of the chassis mount and just hang down.
Undo the bolts/clips that hold the brake pipe that runs along the back of the axle and the one on top of the diff that holds the tee-joint to the flexible brake pipe from the body. Make sure that the pipe is free to move - it just removes the risk of stretching the flexible pipe and allows the axle to be lowered a little more so spring compressors aren't needed.
Use the jack to gently lower the axle checking that the brake pipe is free to move and not snagged.
To get the springs out I found that the easiest way was to use a piece of wood about 4ft long that you can slide between the spring coils and rest on top of the brake drum to push the axle down just enough to allow the springs to drop out. There should be no danger of the springs flying out as they are now not under compression. There are rubber cushions at the top and bottom of each spring that will need to be re-fitted with the new springs. It is obvious how they fit as the springs are different at each end.
It is actually easier to fit the Milners springs in than to take the originals out as they are actually shorter than the original ones. They lift the back end of the truck back up by being much stiffer and not compressing so much under load.
Once the springs are in place use the jack to raise the axle back up and re-fit the panhard rod at the chassis end first then re-tighten the axle end.
Re-attach the bottom of the shock absorbers and re-fit the brake pipe bolts and clips. Finally re-fit the roll bar links, wheels and - job done.
It sounds a lot but it really did only take me an hour on my own and I'm no great expert.
The result with the new springs fitted is well worth the effort - Surf does not now roll on bends, handles much better and tows my wifes double horse box without dragging it's a**e along the floor.

[Mike66]

If you do a search for rear Springs there are a number of threads with pics on. Including mine when i did them.

[NeillOP]

Thanks very much Silver, for taking the time to write that up, it is much appreciated. I'm going to have a go this weekend
Thanks again
Neill

[laser_jock99]

Buy, beg, borrow or steal some spring compressors- makes the job a whole lot easier.

Nevillef

[Tallyman]

And if you do use spring compressors, only put them across two coils when under compression from the vehilcle weight unless they are very long ones. Tried this on mine and the old springs expanded so much when out that the springs were still under compresion with the spring compresssors at full stretch across three coils.

[BIG G]

So will these springs make the car equal height when sitting normally coz at the moment it sags a bit even when parked up with no wait in the boot.

[Linda]

So will these springs make the car equal height when sitting normally coz at the moment it sags a bit even when parked up with no wait in the boot.

They should do as long as noone has teaked your tortion bars at all. If it still looks high at the front with the new springs then you can adjust the front down to match by turning the bolt on the tortion bar (but you proably wont have to.)

One point though - you wont be able to use the Hard/Soft settings with Milners or Procomps. They are not adjustable.