Firestone PolyBags Install.
Submitted: Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 13:07
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Member - Jeff M (WA)
Well. Very impressed with the ride and added height, less body roll, fantastic.
Installation:
Required tools:
1. Screw Driver.
2. Bigger Screw Driver.
3. Iron Bar.
4. Hammer.
5. Bigger Hammer.
6. Mates.
7. Bourbon.
8. Coke.
LOL
Ok seriously, a good spring compressor is a must IMO. We used one and it made the somewhat tricky job (having aftermarket heavy duty springs) quite easy. A good drill bit and a good cordless drill. A round and flat faced file. Socket set and torque extension bar. At LEAST two axel stands, possibley 3, at LEAST two good jacks and possibly some bricks to space up some of the axel stands.
The hardest part of the entire process was puting the Panhard Rod back in. That's where the scews drivers, iron bars and hammers came into it.
All in all, a couple of hours for an inexperienced pair of idiots like ourselves and you'll have the setup all done, and best $100 bucks I've ever spent on the vehicle.
One tip, DO NOT connect the air hoses to either end (the bag or the valve) until you are SURE you don't want to remove them, as they click in effortlessly and then that's it, they are in there for good.
Reply By: Member - Jack - Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 13:31
Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 13:31
Well done, Jeff.
: )
It is satisfying to get a job like that completed. I fitted my 80 Series up with them and they were fantastic.
You *can* remove the air line from the bag, but it is a bit tricky. I had somehow pinched one of the air lines (between the bag and the top where the line goes through the body) and had to redo the driver's side.
But all the benefits you outlined above were apparent in
mine as
well once I had them installed. Enjoy !!!
Jack
AnswerID:
82538
Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 13:56
Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 13:56
The instructions supplied by firestone were very good, without them I can imagine us doing some of the things "the hard way". But yeah it was certainly a very satisfiying thing to have completed. We also found it much easier to remove both back
wheels, it gave us heaps better access to
the springs and more room to access the spring compressors.
FollowupID:
341586
Reply By: Austravel - Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 14:02
Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 14:02
How do you contact them??? I've tried via the web a few times but never get a response.
AnswerID:
82543
Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 14:08
Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 14:08
Who are you trying to contact and why? Do you want to buy, or do you have a problem?
Are you tring to contact Firestone themsevles or the people to purchase the product from. I bought
mine from Michegan Trucks, or www.trucksprings.com.
They were very easy to deal with and delivered the gear promptly.
If you email the guys and "truck springs" they'll generally have an email back to you the next day (as I imagine they are sleeping while we are at work) :-)
FollowupID:
341587
Reply By: Austravel - Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 14:12
Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 14:12
I'm trying to find out which model to use for a leaf sprung GU cab chassis. Emailed them twice over the last couple of weeks and still no reply.
AnswerID:
82544
Reply By: Member - Ivan (ACT) - Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 20:46
Monday, Nov 01, 2004 at 20:46
A couple of quick questions then... (the price is pretty convincing)
1. Are these any better or worse than Poly airs or other equivalents??
2. Which model is required for the Prado with a 2" lift (or is the lift irrelevant)
AnswerID:
82615
Follow Up By: Banjo (SA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:17
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:17
Ivan - I ordered the red ones at Truckspring - not here yet - any day is the promise - they lob here for a whisker more than half the Poly price !
For my Jack (Trooper in the US) its $69US plus $40US for postage - no duty or GST. For a kit that's not much more sophisticated than a heavy duty plastic bottle the $320A that Poly want is a rip-off in my view. Anyway, they're not on yet ! Will report post the installation. Re comment above on kits for specific cars .... they were very prompt in responding to my email enquiry (I phoned them with a credit card number) BUT it was me who nominated the part number from their comprehensive listings.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Banjo (SA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:20
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:20
er....meant to say.....their listings would all assume standard springing for the vehicles named I expect.....your lift might throw them ! Guess you could measure the spring dimensions but you would have to get onto Air-lift or Firestone direct I reckon.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:40
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:40
I received some foam inserts that were not on the instructions with my kit and I could only assume seeings as they were about 1" thick that they would be for a lifted vehicle... When we pumped
mine up to maximum"recommended" pressure even with a full 52L
water tank and a full fuel
tank the car lifted SO much that in the drivers
seat you'd think you were going down a
sand dune!LOL
I think with the insert and and a little more pressure having a 2" lift wouldn't be a problem, but that's just MHO. I know Poly air do different kits with and without the 2" lift, perhaps they just charge you another $30 and put those foam thingys in...
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:44
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:44
Oh and sorry, about your other question, they look the same as poly bags, can't comment on durability, but firestone have been around for a while now and apart from the Exploder rollover deparkle I've neverheard badwords about them, they are made in USA not china, so can't see why the would be any worse quality wise. It certainly looked and felt the part while installing, everthing was of good quality, right down to valves, caps, air lines and washer, all really
well made.
For the Prado, perhaps a look on Poly Air's website, compare the prado's part number to other vehicles, then look at Truck Springs and see if you can find a compatable match.
ie If the Prado and the Jackaroo or 4 Runner have the same Poly Air Model number, then you can bet your ass that they'd be the same match with the firestone brand. It's a pretty simple concept, you just squash the bag into the spring put it all bag and pump them up!
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:25
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:25
Jeff,
The clunk that you said that you had in the other post. If you had taken the pannard rod off and replaced it than the bolt has to be very very tight. I would get back under and retighten the bolt with as much force that you can.
Wayne
AnswerID:
82715
Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:35
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:35
Ok Wayne I will check, we did use to torque bars joined together just to losen the bastard, stands to reason as it is one of the only things that has been changed, however the clunk is deffintally comming from front passenger side ( I played around again last night and got a second opinion from the missus ).
I can't budge the panhard rod, however my mate did do that back up (he's a lot bigger than me!) :-) And can only imagine he did it pretty damn tight, but I'll put the torque bars on the socket and try and tighten it a little more...
Would the rear panhard rod bolt on the drivers side (the only one we removed) be able to cause a clunk in the front passenger side?
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:51
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:51
Jeff,
It may seem funny but vehicles are like that. If you only touched the back of the vehicle that should be where the problem should be. I will say again should be!!!! the reason that I was going for the pannard rod or trailing arms is that is what was loose on the 80 Series and it tookme ages to track it down. It was the front trailing arm but I was sure the clunk was coming from the rear.
Wayne
AnswerID:
82717
Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:59
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:59
Well bugger me, no it seems fair enough as that's all that we fiddled with! :-)
Also when braking and accelerating I imagine the Diff is trying to go a different way to the body so that makes sense too. I'll certainlly give it a go!
Thanks Wayne.
FollowupID:
341774
Reply By: Austravel - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 13:07
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 13:07
Hi Jeff M,
Any chance of a favour. I've tried emailing again and still they haven't replied. Only thing I can think of is that for some reason my emails are not getting to them. Maybe something to do with the way it's sent or.......
Since you have corresponded with them any chance you sending an email for me. I'm trying to find out if they make a kit to suit a leaf sprung 2002 nissan GU cab chassis. What's in the kit and how much for the kit with postage.
If your not fussed just let me know I'll see if someone else can try for me. I've sent at least 4 emails over the past month and still no luck.
Thanks
AnswerID:
82719
Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 13:36
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 13:36
I've emailed them for you, I also sent a picture of a 2002 Leaf Sprung patrol to give them an idea of what we are talking about.
Man I had a look at NissanUSA's website to try and find and equiv. vehicle and if you guys think we have it bad here, then holybleepe you should have alook at the woose bag crap they sell over there! There "patrol" over there has 4wheel independant
suspension and an alloy V8 Petrol engine.
Couldn't find anything that looked like a patrol cab chasis so don't know what your chances are, I also looked at poly air's website and the part number is unique to MQ, GQ and GU Cab Chasis so I don't know what the chances of using another model would be...
I'll let you know if they reply and what they say.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Ivan (ACT) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 17:57
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 17:57
Jeff,
Is the address that you're using 'truckspring@truckspring.com' ??
I've sent something off to them yesterday and no reply (I guess that's half reasonable), - but just while we're checking email stuff...
Thanks mate
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 18:34
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 18:34
Yeah, that's the one. It does take 1-2 days for a reply. I would say that the time difference causes problems in that regard, also you guys now are on a 3 hour diff to us in the west. Gotta factor that in too I spose.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Austravel - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 14:02
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 14:02
Thanks Jeff,
Maybe they didn't answer because they can't supply them. I've tried the air bag man in Brisy and they supply the firestone bags and brackets etc but they may make the brackets here and just inport the bags.
Thanks again.
AnswerID:
82725