Need Accurate Advice On Ke35 Suspension

[springersrolla]

hey guys i need help here, I'm redoing my ke35 suspension, intentions of doing it all so i need to know what to look for and buy, I'm guessing monroe gt shocks for the rear with reset leafs, nolathane bushes, for the front ive been looking and sifting through forums on toymods, rollaclub, clubk etc.. found differnet combos but no real advice as to what works well, I'm gonna do street driving so i don't need a stiff ride, I'm looking at a write up of using xt130 struts, I'm assuming u cut the spring holder on the strut off the ke and weld it to the xt strut?? do u use lowered ke springs with this? can the struts be rebuilt, or should i just buy ne ke35 struts and lowered springs?? or use the xt130 so i can run the bigger brakes, sorta wanna get it done really soon, got the money and time, just not the right advice on what to use, any help would be f@$kin awesome cheers

[silverra23]

What is your budget my friend? This will make a big difference!

 

As far as I know, its hard to get a decent shock insert for the front. This, along with the ability to have much improved braking performance, is the reason people upgrade to the Corona XT130/RT132 front strut. They have plenty of good aftermarket inserts available.

 

If you are on a budget, buy some king springs for the front, a monroe insert for the front and a monroe shock for the rear, have a play with the rear leaves and see how you like it. You might also look at fitting a front / rear sway bar which will make a significant difference.

 

If you have a bit more money, go the Corona strut. Do a search on how to do it as it is well covered here and toymods. The corona strut will let you run kyb's, koni's and many other good shocks, and you can put something similar in the rear.

 

More money again would be coil overs, but that sounds like over kill for your application!

[blktoy35]

I'm my daily ke35 i have the stock front end struts with compressed/reset approx 2 inches lower stock springs and monroe gt strut inserts new boots/bumps stops.. i couldnt find a shorter stroke shock to suit but the monroes work good enough. apparently there are the pedders equivalent shock inserts which as 15% stiffer than the monroes you could use.

 

The rear is lowered 2 inches is flipped leafs one extra put in, i run suzuki sierra kyb front shocks,they bolt straight in the rear of the corolla, there shorter stroke and stiffer. a few guys in here run them they work a treat.

I also had lowering blocks in the back of mine previuosly and they did the job, but the extra leaf and flip is better ride.

[towe001]

I'm looking at a write up of using xt130 struts, I'm assuming u cut the spring holder on the strut off the ke and weld it to the xt strut?? do u use lowered ke springs with this? can the struts be rebuilt, or should i just buy ne ke35 struts and lowered springs?? or use the xt130 so i can run the bigger brakes

I'm pretty sure there's a thread or two on the 'rona struts floating on the forum somewhere.

 

T-18 struts are just about a bolt in fit - have to use the steering arm from either the t-18, 'rona or celica(?) and the ke35 top hat (the part of the strut that bolts to the body of the car). And they take the same shock absorber as the 'rona (51mm dia)

[springersrolla]

thanks for the responses guys I'm looking at around $1g for the suspension, i got quoted round 180-200 for reset leaves so hopefully can pick up some sierra shocks, what year model are u looking for and how noticeable was the shorter stroke? was it really stiff or just felt nice and tight??, I'm thinknig of going down the xt130 road but if i can find a t18 ill go that way, I'm not too overly keen on cutting a spring seat and welding it on to another strut, i can weld well but i don't wanna f@$k with something like that, its got me thinknig anyway if the struts inserts are removeable ill look around and see what i can find. howd anyone go if the've fitted a rear swaybar to a ke35, or should i up the standard size at the front?? ill start hunting wreckers this week cheers lads

[towe001]

My opinion is to try it with and without for the rear swaybar. But have a look under a later '55 and see how the bar is fitted up - i think how the factory did it was a lot better then the aftermarket style

[doityourself]

I have found a short stroke shock for the KE30 strut is an insert for the N10 pulsar, its 3 inches shorter than the standard KE30 insert.

It has the same pattern for the strut top also which I beleive is a T1 type nut. It will require 3 inches or less to be removed from the strut, depending if you want to insert a spacer in the bottom if you don't intend in slamming it to the weeds

[springersrolla]

so ive gone to the wreckers today and found some xt130 struts that need lcas, I'm assuming corolla ones work fine, who has cut there spring perch off ke35 and welded it to the xt130?? I'm just concerned about strentgh and structural integrity, by cutting and welding something getting hot spots, warping the steel etc.. ive been reading the toymods post and found silverra23s post on nostalgic japanese club forum, and pictures are helping, then i came across a bloke who just used the xt 130s with there original discs and calipers, is there a huge advantage over using the 10mm larger ra60 discs and making spacers for the mx62 calipers, or should i justr bung in the xt130 struts with lowered inserts, welded ke35 spring perches and lowered springs? any helps much appreciated cause i wanna get this off and running, ill grab the struts tomorrow and gives me incentive to pull my finger out, ive signed up to toymods for some help but still waiting for confirmation, thanks lads, cheers

[silverra23]

There is a massive thread on doing this on toymods. There isn't much that isn't covered there. I am not sure you weld your KE35 spring platforms on your struts. I think you use the Corona strut and platform and the Corolla strut top. But I could be wrong.

 

A good welder will be able to do it, if you aren't confident get someone to do it for you, its not worth the grief!

 

If you like at my KE35 link in my signature, its the same as the nostalgic car stuff.

[silverra23]

Oh and Corona LCA's are the same length as KE35's, so no need for them.

 

You do need the steering knuckle thing from the Corona that bolts to the bottom of the strut - the Corolla one is slightly too narrow.

[springersrolla]

yeah cheers mate ill keep hunting round, waitin to hear back from toymods moderator, ive been lookin a fairbit on there, ill grab those xt130 struts and size some shit up thanks mate.

[silverra23]

OK I was wrong - you do need to weld your spring platform to the Corona strut.

 

This thread is a goldmine of information for what you are doing

 

http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.p...ighlight=%24250

 

And this is the normal Corona/Pug/Hilux thread that I also referred to often when doing the conversion

 

http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.p...ght=pug%2Fhilux

[springersrolla]

thanks mate, yep I'm on that first one reading like a bible, ill just poke along with it, ill have to find some bits and pieces

[towe001]

You do need the steering knuckle thing from the Corona that bolts to the bottom of the strut - the Corolla one is slightly too narrow.

T-18 steering arms fit, so do AE86 and also some Celica's not too sure what models but. My guess would be if it uses a 51mm shock absorber (T6?) it'd be ok, just would have to much sure it uses the same ball joints.

With the arms my pick of the lot would be the AE86 that run power steering - the arms are a little shorter, quicker steering.