I'm sorry and apologize in advance.

My 2008 Limited has a dying X-Reas SYS and needs to be replaced with shocks. I've been aware that this may happen from threads on here for yrs. I want the Bilsteins BUT they're on backorder everywhere and no promise they'll be available for weeks or months. I need to do something ASAP.

Alternatives? I want a ride close to the X-reas if possible, but don't want to spend $2,000. I don't want a squishy ride either. Mostly highway driving. Truck has 173,000 and runs like a swiss clock and in great shape.

Sorry in advance but all references seem to point to Bilsteins, and they ARE NOT available anytime soon.

What's wrong with getting a set of inexpensive lesser shocks while waiting on your back order?

Find a set of new Bilstien takeoff front shocks with springs from a 3rd gen Tacoma for the front, they are all over Craigslist for around $200 or so.

Get 4th gen 4Runner Bilstien 4600 shocks for the rear.

Get a set of new FJ Cruiser rear springs from like a 2007 off RockAuto.

You'll have maybe $500 into a brand new, non-XREAS suspension for your 4Runner that will ride great and work great. Probably get about 1" of lift out of it while you're at it.

So remove the X Reas, and replace with coil overs front/back ... get the Bilsteins, get springs from a 3rd gen tacoma to use with bilsteins front, Use new springs from 2007 FJ Cruiser for rear with Bilsteins.

Not suspension savy. Buying this for a shop to put in.

Shop around. There are a lot of great shocks made for our platform. Fox, Dobinson, OME, etc. Also, I just got some bilstein rear shocks for my car last week, in stock, from Fat Bob's Garage. Not sure, which vendors you're lookin at.

There seems like several sellers on ebay that have these shocks. Im cobbling together a set of bilsteins right now. I bought a pair of front shocks for 125 shipped (new) and a rear shock $35 shipped (new) off of ebay. Just need one more rear shock to complete the set. Should be at $200 all in for new shocks with lifetime warranty.

since you said "mostly highway" the KYB replacement front coil/shocks & rear shocks would be a good alternative to the big name off road stuff mentioned above, you dont really need fox, dobinson etc for a highway vehicle & they will usually be much stiffer than stock if you just want a stockish xreas type ride.

im in the same boat as you & dont do much off roading, maybe light service roads or occasional ventures around my buddies farm but 90% street use, i removed my working but tired xreas at 145k miles & the KYB's are great in every way plus they added about 1" above stock height in the front. rock auto usually has the best prices & KYB offers a rebate frequently.

nothing wrong with trying to find low mile factory pull off set of shocks, even the 5th gen 4runner stuff works. but kybs are a quality product with lifetime warranty for a reasonable price.

I'm going to be in a similar situation, but I have the factory takeoffs from my 2010 tacoma TRD offroad which I swapped to 5100s years ago.

Would those work on a 2008 V8 limited as a stop-gap? I also will be needing to replace the RAS, which might be shot. The rear end sits so low I think it might be sitting on the bump stops, but it didn't ride that hard in the test drive.

I'm keeping the tacoma for a daily driver, and would mostly only move the runner to clear the driveway as needed while I'm building it out.

Do I need any special hardware or installation kits for coil over shocks and just plain shocks for the back ?

From what I've read, Tacomas, Gen 5 4runners and FJ's will all fit with a slight mod. I started looking at aftermarket when I got a leaky strut (normal style) but went with take-offs from a 2019 4runner with low miles as they should last the life of the truck. I found them on E-bay and they looked brand new. I had to grind off a bit of the lower eyelet so it would fit into my control arm but that's it. Rides like new now, huge difference. From what others mention, the Tacoma ones will bring the front up a bit over stock.

My “X-REAS delete...” post linked in my sig should be helpful & feel free to PM me with any questions you have. To answer this question, the front depends on whether you buy coilovers with shocks or you plan to assemble them & no for the back, should be plug & play except for Tacoma shocks, which would need to have new bushings installed. That’s all explained in my post.

Where are you located?

The shocks I have are from a 2nd gen Tacoma (2010 TRD OR) and would be maybe going onto a 4th gen T4R (2008) as a temporary replacement for the XREAS system. I could swap on the factory springs from the tacoma (which is now on OME 885s), but with the V8 in the 4runner I'm assuming they're similar or softer than the springs it already has, and since I don't have an extra set of "top hats" I can't pre-build the struts before doing the swap. One other issue is that I thing the RAS bags might be blown (other than the lights on the dash, it didn't seem to react during the test drive), which would put the rear shocks pretty deeply compressed if it's riding on the bump stops; it's possible, but probably unlikely that it's already been swapped to springs.

This would just be a temporary replacement for the XREAS, which may not be working while I wait for backordered parts for a 3" lift to come in.

I ended up getting KYB coil overs front, shocks back, install kits, $380. Will get the install labor, remove X-Reas, install struts, shocks, and alignment for $500.00.

Total = $880 ish

Shop quoted me $1375.00

TOYOTA Dealer service .. didn't even know what X-reas was when I called this am.

Previously bookmarked your Delete post, BlueSky, as it's really helpful. And the location question is a valid one...

Highway and mild, mildly lifted offroad rigs are good with something as responsive as a new X-REAS... Loved the way the X-REAS operated and felt on my former, newly purchased '08 Sport. But in these steep, rocky mountains it definitely had its limitations. Which is why, thanks to this site and CrikeyMike's descriptive posts, I'm lookin' at a full Dobinsons work-over this summer to accommodate my recreational/hunting/fishing road conditions and the eventual addition of a front winch/bumper and a rear swing-out bumper on my current '08.

But I'll tell ya, that new X-REAS on the highway - especially on curvy mountain roads - was really a nice, sport car-like ride.

As far as the whipping smiley goes, Aerostat, it's like someone else has posted on here long before I came along... Buy once, cry once.

good to hear you went with the KYB, you should be happy with them for your needs.

you should not need any other hardware or "install kits", the fronts come with new 3 nuts for the tops & you reuse the factory bolt for the bottom. the rears come with new nuts & washers for the top & you reuse the bottom bolt.

the labor to remove xreas & install new shocks all around should be far less than $1375... if you have the means i strongly suggest doing it yourself, took me all of about 3 hours to remove the xreas completely including the lines & then installing the KYB's, very basic simple process on these 4runners. or call around to a few other shops to compare prices, or maybe a friend can do it on the side or help you do it.