Big Lee Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 (edited) Hello!, My 95 GT4 is due it's MOT in a few weeks. A preview of the shocks revealed missing bump stops, leaks and missing dust gators. At the moment the car is my daily :-) so i dont have the luxury of a full or even partial running gear revamp so my question is do i use the potential / obvious MOT failure to upgrade the shocks and springs or will standard supply suffice? In addition, i notice that some of the brake back plates have eroded or are missing. Not sure if this is a failure or not but it makes a right mess of my Enkie's. Can these be sourced easily? Finally, if i could get away with doing one side at a time (in a day) so i can keep the car mobile more than not, are there any other suggestions as to what i should be doing while undertaking the spring and shock work? Thanks in advance. Big Lee Edited September 30, 2020 by Big Lee Mis representation of item 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Chris_ Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 My preference is standard or mild upgrade, i.e. genuine or KYB. These are normally available at reasonable price from TCB or Fensport. The bump stops, gaitors etc. are also available from TCB (not sure about Fensport). From memory, the upper swivel is also part of the strut so double check the new strut comes with one. I would expect back plates to be available from TCB but I've never changed any so not certain. Worth checking the superstrut components for play as these might as well be done at the same time if required. I wouldn't touch them otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Lee Posted September 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thanks Chris, a great help. I've looked on TCB and find the genuine shocks more expensive than the KYB, which is to be expected, however reading your message i concluded the KYB was a "mild upgrade" and as such, expected a higher price than the originals. There isn't any "shock" rating shown in their description so i'll drop them a mail. One other thing. I notice they have; Set of Tein S-Tech Lowering Springs (approx 37mm lowering) - Spring Rates FR 241 lb, RR 207 lb. 37mm seems like a lot to drop the car (see image in original post) so perhaps i should stick to a set of originals? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Chris_ Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 In my opinion Toyota got it about right for a practical and comfortable but fun car. I don't find the KYB a huge change, and they seem to last ok so if they're cheaper that would be my choice. I've used both. If you want a very stiff, lowered, highly responsive dry tarmac car then go stiffer and lower - but bear in mind you'll be crawling over every speed hump and car park ramp to avoid grounding. Otherwise, just keep your standard springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99GT Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 When i did the front ones on my GT I got it all from TCB, aftermarket (standard spec) springs and genuine rubber seats and bump stops, works good. It had lowering springs on before and they were a right pain for general driving. Easy enough to do yourself but it'll always take longer than planned as nuts will really tight, ABS bracket bolts will round off and may need cutting off etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherv Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 You'll get a shock when you see how much the hub backing plates are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Lee Posted October 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2020 Thanks for all the pointers here guys. Much appreciated. Over the weekend my steering pump started to whine so I'm going to doing a fluid replacement before a pump replacement, before a shock and spring replacement :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99GT Posted October 12, 2020 Report Share Posted October 12, 2020 Get under there a few days before and start putting penetrating oil on all the nuts and bolts ready, every little helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistair_GT Posted October 12, 2020 Report Share Posted October 12, 2020 I have KYB shocks and Teins springs on mine. There isn't much choice of anything else now except coilovers. KYB make the genuine shocks, so they are probably the same as genuine but in a different box. They do come with new upper ball joints as well. 37mm may sound like a lot but it's not. Bare in mind if yours is on the original 25 year old springs they will have sagged quite a lot, it probably won't end up much lower than it is now. Mine doesn't look any lower than yours in your pic. On the back plates, iirc the fronts are available and aren't crazy money. Rears are obsolete. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherv Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 On 12/10/2020 at 13:00, Alistair_GT said: On the back plates, iirc the fronts are available and aren't crazy money. Rears are obsolete. TCB had them at beginning of the year as i was looking to replace the ones on the GT4 i had then.Rears were about 150 +VAT at the time each.But yes,you're right they're showing discontinued now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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