I have used the compressor tools before, but they scare the hell out of me. I'm checking with some of the guys around work who do auto work on the side to see if anyone has a wall mounted compressor in their garage. Here's to hoping.

My thoughts on 5100's with stock springs - don't do it.

I did it on my 2012 Tacoma and it was awful (set at 2.5" setting). The 4runner always rode much better with 5100's at lowest setting and Toytec/Eibach coils. The Tacoma was basically new when I did the lift, I think 6,000 miles, so it's not like the springs were worn out or anything. It was just a really rough ride. I also did 5100's with stock springs on my 2014 Ram a couple months ago and it's almost as bad as the Tacoma was.

I think you can get away with the lower settings of the 5100's without sacrificing too much ride quality, but on both of these trucks it feels very much like riding around in Fred Flintstone's car every time you hit even the most minor imperfection in the road.

If you want to avoid spring compressors for the install, I would suggest doing the spring compressor-less method. I keep posting about it because it's my hope that more people find it in their searching, and after fiddling around with spring compressors probably 20 times in my life (and fearing for my life every time), I'd say this is quicker and safer (okay, safer than using autozone rental compressors). Just jack up the one side and support with a jackstand and take the tire off, disconnect 4 lower ball joint bolts, and disconnect your sway bar. You can then jack up the lower control arm with a floor jack until there's no tension on the top bolt- and remove it, then slowly lower the jack and remove the bottom bolt on the billies. The top hats of the struts stay in place (you don't touch the three bolts that hold those in), and you can pull out the factory shock and spring in two pieces with ease.

To reinstall, just slap your new spring (or old) on your 5100s at whatever setting you choose and put in the bottom bolt. Jack up the lower control arm again, lining up the threaded piston on the bilsteins with the hole at the top. Once you get it through a little bit, screw on the top nut and continue to lift the LCA until you can tighten the bolt adequately.

I first did it on my Tacoma and was delighted to see the same principle applied to the 4runner. I did have to use the stock bottle jack in some funny ways to get things to line up perfectly, but I did it outside with snow flurries coming down in an apartment complex lot by myself. I'm also master at screwing up DIY projects but I can do this job in like 30 minutes per side with no issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVLBOnAifc

Ditto on the "No compressor" need to swap them out....

I disagree on the comfort of the 5100 w/ stock springs. My azz feels fine, although i have do not have it on the highest setting (5th perch) so i can't tell you how it feels.

Hey guys, this is one of my first posts here. I was thinking about running the Tundra Bilstein 5100s on stock '99 springs on the fourth perch. I want a bit of rake to run with OME 890 in the rear. I'm looking for about 1/2-1" lower in the front. Is anybody running this? About how much lift did you get on the fourth perch? Thank you

Keep in mind that since this thread was started, there are now 4Runner specific 5100's - so there are 3 5100 choices that fit (Tundra, D558 Tacoma and 4Runner). The perches on each version are slightly different, so you might just have to try it and see how it goes.

-Charlie