TL;DR - I waited too long to swap out the spherical bearings in my ADS coilovers, and they ended up destroying the rod ends of my shocks. A simple job made more complicated by my lazy ineptitude.
Well, shit.
August 17, 2024
With the Tacoma home for the summer, I had a long list of preventative maintenance to take care of, and one of those things was replacing the spherical bearings in all four corners of the ADS shocks.
Since moving to extra tight, stainless-steel bearings (FKSSX10-F1), I've been checking them regularly and have been quite impressed with how much better they hold up than the non-stainless, and regular-tightness bearings. Still, even before I removed them from the Tacoma, I knew that I'd pushed this last set just a little too long because I could hear a lot of squeaking and groaning from the front coilovers on the last few trips. In fact, Ben @m3bassman even mentioned it when we were roaming around in Montana.
So, on a sunny day after I returned, I wasted no time - if you ignore the 4-month procrastination immediately prior - in getting started on the job. In good fashion, I started in the rear, where I knew things would be easy, and where I knew I could procrastinate the fronts even longer!
With the special press tools from ADS, the rears were no problem at all, and within 45 minutes of starting, I had both sides swapped with new bearings - FKSX10-F1, no stainless steel needed in the rear - and reinstalled on the Tacoma.
Then, it was on to the fronts. Because of how the Tacoma was situated in my lack-of-garage-and-real-driveway parking spot in the alley, the passenger side was the easiest place to start. So, after jacking up the front end and removing the wheel, I detached the limit strap and zipped out the ADS coilover.
As I did, the inner ball of the spherical bearing fell out, and I knew immediately that I hadn't just waited too long, I'd waited way, way too long. Still hoping I hadn't wrecked anything, I headed into the shop and laid the shock on the workbench. It was not pretty.
When both snap rings and the entire bearing race are worn through, and the misalignment spacers look like a metal beaver has been hard at work, it's hard to find a reasonable excuse for the neglect that's been shown.
The state of the bearing and snap rings was a bummer, but the biggest problem was that, after wearing through those components, the bearing started to wear its way into the aluminum rod end.
Well, shit.
With the rod end destroyed, the fix took on an entirely new scope. I'd either need new rod ends or to send my shocks back to ADS for rod end replacement, and I worried that both options would be wallet-lightening experiences, even if - by some miracle - I could replace the rod ends myself.
In the meantime, I was lucky that Zane @Speedytech7 had left a spare set of shocks, which I promptly bolted into the front of the Tacoma.
Riding around town for a few days on Bilstein 5100s made me really appreciate the ADS coilovers.
Over the next day, my hopes rode a bit of a roller coaster. They weren't buoyed by the guys on TacomaWorld, who - while completely understanding my predicament, since they've had their share of this type of thing - suggested that the fix was probably difficult, with shock shops often replacing the entire shaft rather than just the rod end. On the flip side, I heard from Tyler over at ADS, that with a bit of heat and a special clamping tool, that I could probably swap out the ends myself.
Hoping Tyler was right, I ordered a pair of ends - which were fairly cheap at $57/ea. - and a $45 clamping tool, and then waited. And worried.
ADS is always really good about shipping quickly, and when the goodies showed up, I immediately set about raising my anxiety levels by clamping up the first coilover and applying some heat.
The clamping tool - used here for the 7/8-inch shock shaft - worked a treat, and can also be used to clamp the 2.5-inch shock body. #multitasker
Tyler assured me that a propane torch would be enough to loosen the red Loctite that secures the rod end.
With a big red persuader in hand, I hoped for the best...
So relieved. You really have no idea.
It was amazing how easily the entire removal process unfolded. Before long, I was cleaning the crusty old Loctite out of the threads and prepping to install the new (and improved) rod ends so I could return the truck to trip-top condition.
The new rod ends have a shoulder milled into one side of the bearing race, so only one snap ring is needed to secure the bearing on the opposite side. Oh, and they aren't all wallowed out, like the old ones.
A bit of red Loctite 271 and I tightened on the rod end. Note: Just snug the rod ends up. Overtightening can deform the spherical bearing race and cause premature failure of bearings.
In less than an hour I was reinstalling the springs on the coilovers and bolting them back into the Tacoma. I'd royally messed up on changing out the bearings, but the suspension gods had been smiling in my direction with the fix!
- - - - - - - - -
For completeness, here are the mileages I've run on my spherical bearings and the condition rating scale I use:
- New
- Good - not new, but still tight.
- OK - not time to replace, but not really tight anymore.
- Time to Replace - loose, but not jiggly.
- Jiggly - noticeable gap between ball and race.
- Oops - starting to wear through one or more of: race, misalignment spacers, shock bolt.
| Set | Miles in Service | Condition at Replacement | Bearing, Tightness | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front Lowers | ||||
| Set #1 | 22,000 | Oops | Unknown | * Installed by ADS at factory. * Wore through misalignment spacers prior to replacement. |
| Set #2 | 9,000 | Jiggly | COM10T | Generic bearing (from ADS) |
| Set #3 | 7,000 | Jiggly | COM10T | Generic bearing (from ADS) |
| Set #4 | 10,000 | Jiggly | COM10T | Generic bearing (from ADS) |
| Set #5 | 9,000 | Jiggly | COM10T | Generic bearing (from ADS) |
| Set #6 | 40,000 | Time to Replace | FKSSX10T-F1 | |
| Set #7 | 55,600 | Oops | FKSSX10T-F1 | Spherical bearings destroyed, rod ends ruined. |
| Set #8 | In service | FKSSX10T-F1 | ||
| Front Uppers | ||||
| Set #1 | 106,300 | Time to Replace | Unknown | Installed by ADS at factory |
| Set #2 | In service | FKSX10T-F1 | ||
| Rear Lowers | ||||
| Set #1 | 162,000 | Time to Replace | Unknown | Installed by ADS at factory |
| Set #2 | In service | FKSX10T-F1 | ||
| Rear Uppers | ||||
| Set #1 | 162,000 | OK | Unknown | Installed by ADS at factory |
| Set #2 | In service | FKSX10T-F1 | ||
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