Toyota IFS Ball Joint Spacer Installation

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Ball Joint Spacer Installation Put the spacer in place, NOTCH FACING DOWNWARD and, using a floor jack to control arm height, align the ball joint and install the hardware. The notch acts as a weep hole to let any water that gets in from above drain out to prevent the ball joint from rusting out. Tighten ball joint hardware to 25 ft.lb. or 35 N.m. Note: Apply this torque to the allen head bolt and the Grade 10.9 nut only, then install the 2nd nylon lock nut and tighten it down snugly in order to lock the first nut in place. No need to toque the nylon lock nut to 25 ft.lb. value, it may strip. If you wish, you can spray the exposed head and threads of the bolts with some paint, as the black oxide coated hardware may tend to rust over time. Extend the shock to see if it needs shimming. (it likely will) Place the appropriate number of washers to ensure the shock does not limit down travel. Tighten shock hardware. Repeat for other side. Re-install the wheels. If the end of the upper control arm is too close to the tire at this point, there are several options: You can try and grind off part of the outer lip of the control arm (area at the left edge of the red circle in the photo above) You can add a 1/4″ wheel spacer to move the wheel/tire away from the suspension. You can swap to a narrower tire, for example changing from a 33×12.50 to a 33×10.50 tire will move the inner edge of the tire away from the control arm since it’ll have less sidewall bulge on the same wheel. You can swap to a wheel with less back side spacing, for example going from a 4.75″ to a 4.5″ backspaced wheel will move the inner edge of the wheel and tire 1/4″ away from the control arm (stock wheels are ~4.75″ backspacing). Put the vehicle back on the ground. For low profile bump stops only: Shim them approx. 1/2″ with some washers or use stock bump stops. Failure to do so could result in damage to CV joints, shocks, or other components