The Lift Kit Thread aka The Canadian Commuter mod

[Leegamer]

My pants feel a little tight all of a sudden

[myfirstyota]

Updates and pics on first page!

[myfirstyota]

Originally Posted by TiedBassDrummer

That looks awesome!

Can't wait to get the fenders trimmed and the tires on it!

I was able to trade a buddy of mine a couple sets of rims for his old vw corrado g60 rims. They're 15's with a 35 offset. They're pretty rough but I'm gonna hit them with the wire wheel and paint them up again. I'm not concerned too much with mintyness... this is a winter car

[myfirstyota]

Originally Posted by Leegamer

My pants feel a little tight all of a sudden

So did mine when I sat it on it's own feet for the first time! Hahaha

Found this fun pic. Just Xd springs here.

[TiedBassDrummer]

Again, this is awesome. It also makes me glad that I live where I just need winter tires in order to be more then fine.

[06YarisRS]

Originally Posted by myfirstyota

So did mine when I sat it on it's own feet for the first time! Hahaha

Found this fun pic. Just Xd springs here.

Haha. Tough little unibody.

[myfirstyota]

[myfirstyota]

[myfirstyota]

[myfirstyota]

[myfirstyota]

Late 90's - early 2000's Ford ranger shifter boot

It's new life is a steering shaft boot

Looks like this crazy idea just may work.
Trans mount spacer

Engine mount spacer

All bolted in


Interesting info:
The only thing that needs to be modified with the engine sitting 2.5" lower is the exhaust. It appears all hoses, lines and shifter cables will work. Edit: the rad hoses actually need to be shortened to prevent kinking.

Where'd that oil filter come from?

[06YarisRS]

Rulz! Very inventive/clever use of the shift boot.

[myfirstyota]

My only concern is it's proximity to the exhaust. I'm gonna make up a small metal heat shield and use an existing bolt on the firewall to secure it.

[myfirstyota]

So as I was trying to put the car back together a couple days ago I noticed the driver side ball joint was a bit sloppy. So I ordered a moog lower control arm from rock auto.

Last night I went to install it. I knew the front LCA bolt wasn't gonna be easy. 12 years of salt and rust. Probably never been removed before. As I started working the bolt back and forth with what little pb blaster i could get on it I thought 'really hope this one doesn't snap like the one on the red car's subframe' (I used the xd subframe as the bolts came out somewhat easy, and was in a bit better shape)

After about an hour working the bolt in and out, it was almost completely unthreaded. Then the backing nut broke loose. FAAK!! And of course it's burried within the subframe. There's no access to the backing nut without cutting the subframe.

Now I have to remove the subframe, again, cut the subframe apart to get at the backing nut, cut the bolt out and weld a patch plate back in. So glad I bought the welder at this point or I'd be screwed.

[06YarisRS]

Oh, man. That blows! Sorry to hear. But, nothing catastrophic, just a setback that you have the skill to overcome. This would spell the end - or a massive cash expenditure - for some. I know...not much consolation.

[myfirstyota]

So true. Without the skill and tools I have, it could be a big expenditure. Or a wild goose chase tracking down another subframe...

[myfirstyota]

So this weekend I'm tackling the control arm bolts. I don't think anyone has posted the process of fixing this b.s.

To make life easy (and because I have already had the subframe removed and greased all the fasteners) I just removed it from the car. I also recommend that you remove the rack and sway bar. The sway bar is kinda in your way. And because the tierods are above the sway bar, you can't just swing the sway bar up out of your way.

This is a great time to inspect your sway bar bushings for wear and replace if needed. They are only accessible with the subframe removed.



Cut the frame open with a grinder and a cut off wheel.
Inside you'll find the square nut and the dinky cage that holds it in place.


I ended up cutting the lower control arm off it's mounts to give me room to work. For whatever reason, after removing the square nut, I still couldn't pull the bolt out of the control arm. I tried a punch and a bfh but it wouldn't budge. I tried using the gun in reverse while prying on the bolt with a prybar, still no bueno. I ended up cutting the bolt with a sawzall


I used the control arm bolt to keep the nut in place while welding it to the sub frame


Welded it up


And cut a patch plate. The section of subframe that you cut out has a curvature to clearance the LCA bolt. I massaged some of the remaining metal of the subframe for the patch plate to sit nice and flat for welding.


Welded, primed and ready for paint.

With the inside nut welded in place, and lots of grease and oil spray (rust proofing) this should never be a problem again.

[myfirstyota]

Got the "new" feet all cleaned up