View Single Post
Old 04-28-2011, 04:38 PM
foyaboya's Avatar
foyaboya foyaboya is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bedford, TX
Posts: 114
foyaboya is on a distinguished road
foyaboya foyaboya is offline
Member
foyaboya's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bedford, TX
Posts: 114
foyaboya is on a distinguished road
Thumbs up Replacement of Front Struts, Rear Shocks, Rear Springs, and Bushings

I am starting this post for those wanting "Advice" "Tips"on Strut/Shock/Spring replacement, and just cause I want to so I can post pictures of it as well!

anyway here goes...I welcome more experienced guys to jump in anytime I did alot of research and reading before starting this Job, both times!!! I'll explain...

I have a 1999 SR5 4wd 4Runner with the p265 70 R16 tires and I just replaced my struts (front of vehicle with COILOVER springs) and shocks plus new SPRINGS in the rear. Also replaced swaybar bushings and end link bushings front and back. Did all the work last night 4/28/2011 (all night LOL!)

I bought this Runner used in 2009 10 years old it already had 236k miles but it did not bother me cause I have friends that swear by Toyota especially Runners...well needless to say I was disappointed with the ride right off the bat, but since we got a good deal on it I just promised myself to upgrade the ride later. Well to my utter disappointment due to LACK OF EXPERIENCE and ignoring advice from attendees of the SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS I went out and bought the best shocks available at sigh...Autozone they sold me Gabriel Ultra's front and back...thought about the Monroe's but decided against it since they swore by the Gabe's...bad idea they wore out in less than 6 months...and i mean wore out...not started to ride bad...that happened after about 3 months (i did light off roading occasionally maybe like a total of 4 times in the 6 months.) the middles of the struts were completely torn up and the backs hit hard all the time. I kicked myself in the grass and swore to never buy cheapies again! I paid a whopping 35 for the fronts and like 20 something for the rears. This was in fall of 2010...

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Finally saved and bought up supplies from http://www.toyotapartszone.com

and also Summit Racing

I decided to go OEM (original parts) since they were exact matches on all the bushings and washers as well as the 99' rear springs and the rear shocks which I found out are brand name TOKICKO which are put on all Toyota 4Runners i believe and they were a good price for the rear shocks 35 dollars I know cheap but they are a good brand, if i don't like them I'll upgrade to the Bilstein's. From Summit I bought the Bilstein 24-187244 - Bilstein Heavy-Duty Series Struts, plus Brake Roters and Brake Pads.

I installed the front struts first (tip I did not make it to my mechanic but would recommend taking the entire strut assembly with your new struts and have them take the coils of the old and put on the new...he would have charged me 15 bucks a piece! instead due to time constraints i rented the strut spring compressor tool from Autozone for 50 bucks which they refund when you bring it back. I ended up needing it though to compress the springs in the back anyway so keep that in mind) once i got the struts installed I immediately took it for a spin with my neighbor who came by to help...holy crap what a difference! On top of that the Bilstein's raised the front like 2.5 inches alone! Very impressed! That was 11:30 pm.

Next I installed the rest of the stuff and finished umm....at 5:30 am! Do not underestimate the rear springs/coils holy crap that was a heck of a job! Also I have a major complaint with Toyota regarding the rear driver side shock top nut and washer! What the !#@*%^? were they thinking you have to be some kind of contortionist to get your freaking hand up there much less get a socket and a ratchet on it...there is all kinds of stuff in the way...contrastingly it took me all of 10 min to swap out the rear passenger side shock and an estimated 1.5 hrs to get the driver side rear! Ok i feel better for saying that!

All together with shipping I spent a little over $500 bucks on parts, and a priceless amount in blood sweat and tears, with a little learning and praying thrown in for free!

What's the verdict (Sorry to give it to you last) Do not get anything less than OEM (which i think stands for Original Engineered Manufacturer) parts or Bilstien or above/better...like Icon etc...PERIOD!
__________________
99' 4Runner SR5 4WD, Bilstein's, BFG LT265/75/R16's, Airlift 1000
foyaboya is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.2

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:16 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
***This site is an unofficial Toyota site, and is not officially endorsed, supported, authorized by or affiliated with Toyota. All company, product, or service names references in this web site are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Toyota name, marks, designs and logos, as well as Toyota model names, are registered trademarks of Toyota Motor Corporation***Ad Management plugin by RedTyger
 
Copyright © 2020