ae92, ae101, ae111 shock differences

[jacobrjett]

righto I just pulled out my rear struts and installed my superlow dobi springs. I found that (not only the king lows werent captive and there was a bumpstop missing) the top hats have a different slot in them then the shafts of the shocks, which are monroe gas strut replacements.

the shaft will go into the top hat, but when I try tighten them the shaft just spins around and doesnt tighten them up as the slots dont lock into the top hat.

the dobi superlows I put in place dont make the car sit any lower, however hopefully they will settle a cm or even two as they are brand new. the car doesnt sit low at all though.

basically I am wondering if while the shocks will bolt up between the ae92/ae101/ae111 chassis, could the newer models be slightly longer? I looked up the part numbers and the ae92 left side factory shocks number is 48530-12430, where the ae111 left side factory shocks number is 48530-19675. so there must be some kind of difference, theres also a different price between them on toyodiy.

if the ae101/ae111 shocks are slightly longer it would explain why the car isnt sitting low and the springs werent captive. the new dobi superlows are captive but barely.

So basically if anyone knows if there is a slight difference between the shocks let me know, I may end up trying to find some factory ae92 replacements so the car sits properly.

[jacobrjett]

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/134-6th-generation-1988-1992/427745-ae92-vs-ae101-strut-comparison.html

well I found this. interesting read.

i think ill go see if i can find any part numbers on the monroe shocks to see if they are in fact ae111 struts.

[jacobrjett]

nevermind. it would seem the shafts have wiggled their ways into the top hats a bit better after driving to tech and home with them half tightened. I got a good grip on them and now they are very tight.

top hats still do not have the right slot but they seem to be doing fine for now.

question is now why is the back passanger sitting higher then the back drivers side and how much more they will settle but I will try figure that out on my own

[Kiwi-Corolla]

The AE92 and AE101 share the same front strut design, however the rear struts are different as the AE92 uses skinnier springs. So in other words, you can't put AE101 springs into AE92 struts as the bottom spring seat isn't wide enough. The difference in the part numbers between the AE92 and AE111 front struts would be due to revisions over the years, and the provision for a tab to mount the ABS wiring found in later AE101 and AE111 models.

[jacobrjett]

thanks for your input.

i was kind of worried the previous owner might have had ae101 or ae111 shocks and springs in there, which im pretty sure would work fine, and I had ordered ae92 springs that did not quite fit the ae101/111 shocks.

it all seems fine now, i just need to have a look at why there is more gap in the passanger side, maybe theres more camber on that side and I need a wheel alignment.

will probably let it settle for a week then get a wheel alignment done.

[jacobrjett]

getting off topic here but ive read you can get another cm or so lower by simply undoing and redoing all of the suspension bushings (except for say the sway bar Id imagine)

if anyone knows if this is true or not let me know. Ill probably go under there and have a look see if I can visualise the effect.

[Bling]

Lol, yeah i'm sure that's true. Go give it a try and let us know the results.

[jacobrjett]

i think i sense a bit of sarcasm in that im not sure?

stupid internet.

anyway from what im reading it sounds like the lower control arm bushing should be set at the vehicles height when its weighted. if its tightened down at the vehicles standard height then the car is lowered without touching this bushing then there is a constant weight/strain on the bushing that can cause premature wear, and the bushing is resisting the weight of the car which is what causes the premature wear and holds the car just slightly higher.

of course this could all be a load of shit as I dont understand suspension very well yet, I will try get my head around this tomorrow and ill post up if it makes a difference.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

^ Someone actually told me that today on another forum I posted pics on after installing my coilovers.

The conversation went exactly like this:

Them: "Don't forget to reset your suspension bushes too mate, otherwise it'll cause them to tear prematurely."

Me: "Thanks for the advice. What does the process involve specifically? Just loosen the mounts and re-tighten? Never done that in all of the years I've had different brands of lowering springs etc."

Them: "Yeah you'll need to have the weight still on the suspension, it's easiest to do this on a 4 post hoist or on a pair of ramps.

Just crack all the control arm bolts then bounce the car a few times (it's best if you can roll it backwards and forwards whilst bouncing) then retighten the bolts whilst the weight is still on the suspension.

I never used to believe in it either until my control arm bushes tore prematurely.

A mate of mines Honda Civic EP3 did the same thing too (only had 60,000kms on it).

So I well and truly believe in it now".

[jacobrjett]

yep and where I first read about it the poster was claiming he measured a further 15mm drop after doing his.

I think it was on some kind of holden forum though, cant find the post again as i was just sifting through spring settle topics in class.

[XSVWGN]

Sounds plausible in all honesty


Matt

[Dell'Orto]

Yes you should always tighten suspension bolts when its fully laden. I don't know whether it would raise it that much if you tightened the bolts up with the car on axle stands, but it certainly would wear the bushes prematurely.

[Bling]

I'll believe it when I see it (the drop). Until then i'll file it with all of the other 'facts' i've seen on the internet. There was sarcasm in my post, but i'll happily remove the sarcasm if you can prove it creates drop. Just so much misinformation out there. Be it needing more back pressure, or smaller oil filters for higher pressure. Keen to hear results either way. About time you posted some better photos of it anyway!

[Grrrrrrr!]

I think you need a pretty light car for the torque of the bushes being slightly twisted to make a measurable difference in ride height. Still a good idea to reset them to make them last a bit longer (maybe).

[Leon]

Drat (in reply to the original question) ... I better measure up the springs I've got then, cos I've got two sets of suspension for my AE92. One in the garage (AE92), and one on the car (bought used, but *probably* 101) ... both installed as complete units currently. However I was thinking of mix and matching some of the springs and shocks around between the two sets.

Now if there's the chance the rear springs may differ between the two sets I may not be able to do this (evidence suggests that the set in the car currently might actually be designed to be in a 101, so might have different dia springs to the other set, which were definitely 92).

[jacobrjett]

pretty much the problem i had... there would be a much larger market for ae101/ae111 replacement suspension then ae92, and for all I knew the previous owner had replaced it with ae101/ae111 shocks AND springs, and retained the original top hats which didnt have the right groove.

they actually look like the top hats on my old ae111 struts. with ae92 struts maybe.

so i guess one should not be confused, the ae92 ae101 and ae111 shocks CAN be mix and matched, however the springs must be shock specific!!!!!