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Tokico Illumina II's.

Plan.

More photos below.

After a 150 something thousand miles, my stock Supra shocks were shot.  Apparently Tokico makes the factory shocks, the only difference being the stock ones are black.  Since I will have to remove the springs anyway, I decided to go ahead and upgrade them too.
 

Eibach springs...


The Project.

Since I have TEMS, I had to completely remove the rear seat, tire cover, and all the skin in the back of the car just to get the back actuator off.  I then broke loose the top center bolt of all four shocks.  Remove the bolt on the upper A arms.  On the right front the bolt goes forward and I had to loosen the windshield washer bottle to give myself enough room for the bolt to come out.  After removing the TEMS actuators, I took off the 3 bolts holding the shock tops and the one holding the bottoms in.  I pushed down on the lower A arm with one leg, tilted the top of the shock out from under the fender, and lifted the shock and spring out.  I used a spring compressor to squeeze the springs prior to undoing the plate at the top of the shock (this plate is under tension, be sure to compress the spring).  This plate can now be taken off by removing the single center bolt loosened earlier (if it wasn't loose earlier, the shock shaft will just spin with the bolt now).  I removed the compressed spring and set it onto the new shock.  I attached the top plate, hand tightened the center bolt, and released the spring.  There are set places the springs sit in.  After each shock and spring was done, I installed everything back to where it started.  An important thing to pay attention to- after reinstalling the upper A arm bolt, set the tire onto the wheel hub and lift the suspension to approximate ride height with a floor jack.  Then  remove the tire and tighten the bolt.  This allows the bushings to be in their untwisted state while the car is under normal load. 


Difficulty.

1- Since I had TEMS, I had to remove the rear seat, the tire cover and all the rear skin just to get the rear actuators off the top of the shock.  Geeze!
2- Compressing the spring takes some time.  Tighten a little on one side then the other, and back, and forth, etc.  It goes a whole lot quicker with an air ratchet.


The Problems.

1- Some have talked about the Tokicos blowing seals, but mine haven't (knock on wood). 
2- I wished that Tokico would have put there lettering on the other side.  As it is, the lettering faces the engine compartment instead of the wheel opening. 
 


The Payoff.

After the sloppy ride that I used to have, this upgrade was well worth it.



New shock and spring.
   

Back to top...

Time
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6 hours (done with springs)

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Total Cost
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$300.00

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Difficulty, 1 to 10
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1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
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Problems, 1 - 10
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1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
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Payoff, 1 - 10
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1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
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Materials/Parts
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4 Tokico shocks- $300.00

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Tools
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Ratchet and sockets  
Phillips head screwdriver  
Spring compressor  
Pliers  
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Last updated: Freitag August 08, 2003
Copyright © 1997-2002 Duane Smith