Heavy Springs And Lift Upgrade

My friend, I have pulled the trigger. Disclaimer: everyone's particular needs for lifting a Prius are different. What works for me might not be appropriate or useful to you. My way is not the only way it's just a middle of the road approach so I can camp on BLM land or even drive down a non paved road. I am not trying to convert a Toyota Prius into a jeep. I am not trying to haul 2000 lbs of batteries around. I am trying to prevent a rock from ripping my oil pan off 2k miles from home.


I went out on my maiden voyage last year and spent 22 days on the road. I drove almost 9k miles back and forth across the US spending most night's at paved truck stops that allow overnight car parking. It was fun and well worth the investment but with rising fuel prices I need more camping options and that means new springs and lift blocks.

Anyway, for posterity here are links to the parts I bought in case this information could benefit someone else. I have a 2005 Prius with 240k miles on the chassis and about 210k on the ICE engine. I felt like it would be worth it to buy all new struts and springs for this project as mine are 17 years old. I will also be buying slightly larger tires (need to wait until I get the springs and lift on to decide the size) and a knock off lift block kit from E Bay.

Complete struts is a good middle of the road brand I have used in the past.

I need the lower perch and springs from 2009 AWD matrix rear struts so I bought the same brand.

I have not ordered this yet but this is the lift block kit I will be going with. Car Lift Kit 40mm for Toyota AVENSIS CELICA COROLLA MATRIX PRIUS VOLTZ US SELLER | eBay

I have the 2009 Matrix springs on order from Rock auto and apparently it was the last pair in the USA but you can still get the same AWD 2009 Matrix complete struts on E Bay for 65-75 per unit new. The Rock auto price was around 100 just for the springs so it's not that much more.

Now, I realize there are cheaper options like pull a part or buying just the bare strut shocks and springs (IF YOU CAN FIND THEM) but this was the best option for me. Also, there are other options where you can buy the custom made springs that will fit on your current stock Prius struts and I am sure that is fine depending on your budget and level of mechanical inclination.

If anyone has any constructive criticism or questions I welcome your comments. When I bought my Prius with this hair brained scheme to convert into a camper it had a 4x3 holE in the side of the block where the rod shot through. I knew exactly jack $hit about a Prius or how they worked however, I can read, and this site made it all possible.

Also, this will not be a quick project with daily updates. I run a small lawn business in Ohio and we are getting killed with rain this year so the decent days we do get will need to be spent on mowing for now but it will dry up soon.

Like I said I owe this forum a lot and I will give an honest account of how this all works out. I just took these (before) pics to document the build.

Stay Tuned and thanks.

 

I didn't realize the group did not allow Amazon links.

 

Anyway, here is what I ordered.

 

Could you PM me the links? Maybe, just maybe, I can use Dutch Amazon to find the items. Or US-Amazon and ship directly (if I ever decide to pull the trigger too, but since I'm not American, I'm probably less trigger happy... )

 

Just getting back here, sounds like I'm too late, or were you thinking of doing teal and the setup you just purchased?

For me, less about you lying, just wanted someone detailed as yourself, if they are shit you'd be the one to tell me where to improve.

 

Black_J, are you extending that offer to the entire group here?

I'm running Prius Offroad Spacers on the matrix spring / strut assembly. I've been kicking the tire on the teal springs front/rear with the hitch add-on. Is there a deal to be made here?

 

No I did not go with the teal springs. I just got my lift done like an hour ago so stay tuned in the coming days for a complete report.

 

Stay tuned at some point this week I will be doing a total report on my lift that I just finished today. The good the bad and the ugly.

 

Disclaimer: This is not an easy job and can potentially be dangerous. If you have the budget the direct replacement Teal springs from Prius Overland would save a lot of steps. Attempt at your own risk.

Hello friends, Here is the story of my 2005 Prius lift build. This is what has worked for me but this might not be what works for you as everyone has their own level of mechanical inclination and risk tolerance.

The first thing you need to do is go back to the first few posts of this thread. The OP used salvage parts for his build and my process was similar (same parts from the same vehicles yet mine were new aftermarket)

I went with all new struts and springs as my old struts were shot. I got them from Amazon and Rock auto and it is a slightly different build than the one the OP did.

The main difference is that original rear (stock) spring perches can be pounded off with a hammer on the original factory parts then slid together while my aftermarket new strut perches were welded on.

I had to use a cutting wheel and steady hands to cut my new perches off the 2009 Pontiac vibe (rear) AWD struts I bought.

When I was assembling the rear struts I used a paint marker to mark where the original spring ended on the top of the strut. I marked the rubber seat and the steel plate on top. On the bottom of the strut the spring ends in a different position than the original Prius spring did but did not matter as I slid the lower perches from the Vibe struts on top.

I made a wood template to try and line up the studs on the top of the strut with the hole on the bottom of the strut so that I could install them without much adjustment. I waited until they were on the car and bolted down before I welded the two perches together.

I was able to buy the stand alone (front) springs for the 2009 Pontiac Vibe AWD from Rock Auto and they are direct replacement no perches needed changed just mark the original position of the stock springs then install the vive springs in the same position.

I bought a brand new set of rear Vibe struts just to get the perches and springs.

Also, for whatever reason after I cut the perch off one of the struts it slid over the other one like OP described in the first few posts of this thread while the other side had to be ground down (both on the existing Prius perch and the vibe perch) until it finally slid down.

I used a dremel like tool to grind them down and just took some time grinding the surface of one then the other.

This is what happens with aftermarket parts. The struts I bought were made from thicker steel and appear to be a very good build quality but they were not designed to have the lower strut perches removed after they were manufactured so there are slight differences in the welds and what not.

To do this job using my method you will need a few specialized tools. First a good quality spring compressor. Removing the rear springs from the new rear Vibe springs I bought was the hardest part.

I got a set of spring compressors from Amazon for $35 USD.

The second is a pneumatic cutting wheel or electric equivalent to remove the perches.

The struts I bought had pretty thick steel much thicker then the original Prius struts I removed from the car. I will post pics of the approximate location of where to cut but again if you want to save some of money there will be some (sweat equity) involved.

You may want to build a wood template. I just used a small piece of thin wood flooring and a hole saw and drill bits. I laid the bottom part of the strut flat on a 2x4 chunk then set the template on it's side so that the top strut studs that bolt to the car and the bottom strut hole were somewhere in the neighborhood of where they need to be.

You can make small adjustments to the bottom after you bolt the top onto the car.

The Vibe struts compress the springs like 2 inches shorter than the stock Prius struts I was installing them on. That is, the vibe rear struts are shorter than the Prius rear struts which makes them more compressed and harder to clamp down.

The upside is they fit a little looser on the Prius strut so you can make small adjustments to the bottom of the strut and the strut perch to get it lined up and installed.

The price for my build breaks down like this. My method all in cost=521.53
USD all in. The Teal springs with all new strut method= 1217.32 USD all in.

The choice is yours.

 

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This is exactly what I did, worked out for me too.