30" tires and power, Aerostar springs

[coronan]

Here are my notes:

Motorcraft pn ASH1

96-2001 ford crown vic with POLICE SUSPENSION

http://www.toyotavanpeople.com/forum...+shocks#p55467

I remember a slight modification. But not requiring much more than a drill. (sorry, i cant be more specific. It was 6 years ago.)

[AD2101]

was this the correct part number for the shock you used? i read this thread a couple times and i dont think you confirmed it. also, any modification to the shock to fit out vans?

These will work perfectly for the rear of the van. I'm running these on my van right now, the shocks themselves don't require any modification but they are longer and as a result you will need to either buy some coil spring boosters or put in longer rear springs for everything to work right. I went the coil spring booster route and it worked out fine but if I had to do it over again I would have found some longer rear coil springs. I believe it's mentioned in this thread that Ford Aerostar coil springs fit the bill but I'm not sure.

As far as front shocks go, the Motorcraft ones seem to be either discontinued or superseded by a new part # that I don't know of, I threw KYB KG5458 shocks on the mine and love them, much better than the awful and completely blown out Monroes that were on it. They require a bit of modification to get them to work though. Here's how I did it, I'll copy and paste part of the old TVP post since NEC put it much better than I could.

If anyone is looking into the KYB shocks, I did some research for you. It turns out that the steel sleeve/mount bracket in the lower mount on these is fused to the rubber bushing and will not press out of the bushing. You can still press the centers out of the shocks, it just takes the whole bushing with it. If you want to properly adapt these KYB shocks for our vans use Energy suspension PN 9.8107 (around $4 a pair) bushing and 5/8" OD DOM 16 gage tube (or your orig. shock center sleeves, torched out of the rubber). The bushing is only a hair wider than the Toyota shock sleeve, and will have to be finished to fit in the clevis. I suggest a bench grinder but a hacksaw, knife, anything will do to cut these down.

Some links that will help:

Coil Sping Booster

Front Shocks

Modified bushing for front shocks

The rear shocks if I remember correctly are cheapest at the Toyota dealership.

Hope it helps!

[FCDRIFT]

Thanks guys!

thanks for all the useful info! ended up ordering the kyb off amazon as suggested. one question tho, in the picture it does not come with a dust boot, does it come with one? and if it doesnt, did you guys have any issues running it without?

[AD2101]

They don't come with boots, which is a bummer. I tried to buy these locally (I didn't think to order them online with my purchase of the shocks themselves), and everyone at the major auto part stores looked at me like I had no idea what I was talking about, which happens frequently with these vans

I'm running mine without boots as a result and I have no real concerns, but if I had a time machine to take me back to 10 days ago when I ordered the shocks I would have ordered some universal boots off of Amazon as well.

[Danny]

Hi Guys,

I've been trying to find the original thread regarding the details of lifting the rear with spring spacers, but can't seem to find it for some reason. Looking to raise the rear of my 87 4wd TV about an inch. Can someone please link me? Much appreciated!

[89TownAce]

Hi Guys,

I've been trying to find the original thread regarding the details of lifting the rear with spring spacers, but can't seem to find it for some reason. Looking to raise the rear of my 87 4wd TV about an inch. Can someone please link me? Much appreciated!

I just know the spacer used was a Mr. Gasket 1285 and if you use it combined with the OEM spacer you'll get around 1.5" of lift. You have to make a bracket to raise your rear brake bias valve accordingly. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000932O6G/...I1EWUX5IL7KOV6

[Danny]

Got it, and thanks for the tip! 1285 worked perfectly.

I just know the spacer used was a Mr. Gasket 1285 and if you use it combined with the OEM spacer you'll get around 1.5" of lift. You have to make a bracket to raise your rear brake bias valve accordingly. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000932O6G/...I1EWUX5IL7KOV6

[toyota30]

I bought some 215-75-15 Ohtsu All Terrain tires. They are awesome and at $298 for 4 with free shipping from ebay they were a no brainer for me. The best part of the tires is they are MADE IN JAPAN! Going to be making some rear spacers and doing the 2" lift very soon. Purchased new kyb shocks and bilstienlifts.com shock extensions.

[rowemjr]

Does anyone have some input on whether or not the MOOG CC841 coil springs will fit my 89 4wd van. Rock auto lists them as replacements for the aerostar van. i took some rough measurements of my stocks springs and it seems like they will give it 2 inches of lift in the rear. Just wanted to see if anyone had experience with these or if the specs look right. Thanks

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....105063&jsn=666

Bar Diameter - Inches	0.53
End Type 1	Pigtail
End Type 2	Pigtail
Free Height - Inches	18.69
ID - Inches	4.30
Installation Height - Inches	14.00
Load - lbs	482.00
Spring Rate - lbs per inch	101.00
Spring Type	Variable Rate

[djshimon]

I did the Aerostar springs(Moog CC845 Rear Variable Rate Coil Springs (New)) and the Tacoma bilstein shock mods and I like it...but a few notes.
I ordered the springs new off ebay because it was 10 bucks more to have them delivered than go pull used springs from the junk yard myself-who would've thought used springs were at a premium!
There are three types(that I found) for the Aerostar that are cc845,cc841, cc850. The inner diameter are between 4.07" and 4.3"- Which seems almost 1" smaller than the van springs-see picture. I could barely fit it in the upper spring holder.
Also the springs were pretty long I had to cut a couple of the coils off to get it in-then I cut one too much! It still raised the van a good amount that I'm pleased with but I'll have to figure out a way(weld a piece back on or get another new spring or add a mr. gasket to the originals) to make the pair identical in size.
The Shocks fit great!
Two questions-
1. Why raise the brake bias? I haven't noticed a difference in breaking but I do value safety...
2. Do I need an alignment after this?
Thanks, Aaron.
P.s. the van with the spring mod is on the left. Right has a mr. gasket extender.

[coronan]

The brake proportioning valve senses the distance / angle of the rear axel to the body. If the distance shortens it assumes more weight has been added to the rear and increases brake application. If you lift the rear (ie: increase the distance) it inhibits the function of the proportioning valve. Brakes are important. Its a sin like increasing horse power with out increasing stopping power.

Ever since I went to 30" tires my braking has been less desirable. Especially on long mountain descents. (20% grade)

old%u00252Bpriest.jpg

[djshimon]

So if my tires are 27" which is <1" bigger than the original tires I shouldn't need to raise it much? The body is higher but the axle shouldn't be much higher?
I see this post is about 30" tires... Maybe I start a new one?

[coronan]

Here is what I came up with.

Adjustable up to 3.5" lift. And I marked the stock location.
IMG_20160530_145649.jpg

Keep an eye on my other thread regarding braking.
http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...brake-upgrades

[micah202]

.


...so the idea is to raise the proportioning valve the same amount as you raise the back end?

[timsrv]

.


...so the idea is to raise the proportioning valve the same amount as you raise the back end?

It's explained in detail HERE

[djshimon]

Thanks Tim. Bottom of the first page of that thread is what Micah and i were needing.

[ingmire]

Thinking through my van lift. Interested in using the Aerostar springs.
Can anyone tell me how much I need to trim the springs? Or any info on the installation process?

thanks!

[LightBlueToy]

I am also curious if people are able to use the van spring insulators with the Aerostar springs. I am trying to decide between getting Moog CC845 and cutting them or getting the daystar spring boosters

[spacecruisers]

i have the moog aerostar springs and cut the top 2 coils IIRC. I would do one and see if its still to long then cut one more coil just to be safe. i borrowed my neighbors angle grinder and he actually cut one a hair too short but we were fortunately able to make it work. Im not using any spring insulators since paper thin OEM ones were toast so its metal to metal which isn't ideal but it hasn't presented any problems since i did it about 6 months ago. Highly recommend this mod over spacers as you get the greater travel and its not really any harder all you need is an angle grinder or something to cut the spring with. the lift height is perfect for my 215/75/15 tires (sidekick wheels) and the tacoma bilstein shocks. nice ride too.

[spacecruisers]

fitting 30" tires will require significant modification to the suspension, as well as cutting up the floor pan and door/frame. i just met a new user on here, VanCo, last night and he showed me his rig which had 30" hankook dynapro tires. it was amazing.you could ask him about it if you're interested. however, the work he put into getting the lift and room for those tires was....well....lets just say significant. i think 215/75/15 with the longer springs and cranked torsions up front is a pretty good setup but i may be biased