19 year old with no idea about shocks!

[prodigy2k7]

My friend is 18, he has a pretty nice truck, it it a '91 Toyota Pickup with rancho shocks and its a pretty smooth ride and can handle turns pretty well.

Monkey see monkey do, except I have no idea what kind of shocks. I kind of want rancho's and I hear a bunch of good stuff about rancho.

I also dont know about compatability.
Like what shocks will even fit. Are there different size shocks or lengths for liften trucks or are they all the same as long as its not an extreme lift.

Also I forgot what it is called but is it easy to install the shock on the steering assembly? and the frame? or whatever.

Sorry I am 100% amature.

I forgot to mention, I have a 1986 Toyota 4runner. How do I know if the truck is lifted already? I mean like 1-2 inches or anything. I do have bigger tires than stock, They arent much bigger though. I will get the tire size later. I will show pictures later too if you guys want. Just ask me what to take pictures of.

Sorry for the long post im just a really big noob!

I tried searching the forum but I need like newbs terms and havent found everything i really need to know.

If anyone can help, thanks a whole lot!

 

[obex26]

Shocks would depend on what your driving habits are.. If you are sticking to the road I would get a gas shock by monroe or edlebrok if you do mild wheeling, you can do rancho pro comp bilstien or something of the sorts. You can put up to a 31 inch tire with no rubbing issues 32 will cause a bit of rubbing. another thing is to see how much gap you have between your frame and the bottom of your body this will determine if you have a body lift. Someone may have also cranked the torsion bars ( tubes on top of the frame rails) in the front or even reindexed them to add a bit of front lift. This is not good for the truck but people do it anyways (guilty of doing it myself on an old truck) The downfall to that is damaging cv joints and ball joints..

Oh and all a shock really does is dampen the recoil of the suspension. A quick way to test to see if your shocks are bad are by pushing up and down on the front or rear of the vehicle a couple times if the vehicle keeps mocing after 2 motions untouched you need new shocks lol..

Handling is more comprimised of torsions and suspension. The shock is to absorb impact. Also if you feel vibration try rebalancing your tires before assuming you need an alignment.

 

[prodigy2k7]

I am mostly on the road but we go to mild off roading. (basically dirt roads that go up a mountain; and there are some bumps on the way perpendicular and come out of nowhere so its a bumpy ride lol; probably due to water and rain etc.)

Ive had this truck since the beginning of summer of '07 so just a few months so far. The guy we bought it from was older and I remember him talking about the way to lift it is to mess with the torsion bars.

In order to increase stability, what exactly do I need to replace?

Shocks, Torsion Bars, and what else?
Hopefully not new leaf springs? Im assuming those are expensive.


Edit: I cant even find those shocks you were talking about on the rancho website.
Can I get the exact name of it?

Example: "Rancho RSX" or
"Rancho RS9000X Pro Series Remote Reservoir"

 

[fourwd1]

... I also dont know about compatability.
Like what shocks will even fit. Are there different size shocks or lengths for liften trucks or are they all the same as long as its not an extreme lift.

If you have a generic 2-3" susp lift, you'll need shocks sized for that. Monroe, Gabriel, etc make those.

A more serious susp lift with lots of flex and travel will need shocks with more travel. My long travel Ranchos are like 14" or so of travel, and it's really not enough, they're acting as droop limiters right now. You don't need remote resevoirs unless you have a serious pre-runner/high speed trail runner.

Also I forgot what it is called but is it easy to install the shock on the steering assembly? and the frame? or whatever.

It's easy to install a replacement steering stabilizer, but you may need to borrow a ball joint fork to break one end free.

I forgot to mention, I have a 1986 Toyota 4runner. How do I know if the truck is lifted already? I mean like 1-2 inches or anything. I do have bigger tires than stock, They arent much bigger though. I will get the tire size later. I will show pictures later too if you guys want. Just ask me what to take pictures of.

First off, is there anything underneath that doesn't look stock?
Do the shocks have any names/stickers on them? Are they a color other than black? Do they have rubber boots on them? Are there any names painted on the springs?

As far as stability, is the sway bar still connected?

 

[prodigy2k7]

I believe there is no lift, shocks may not be stock, they arent black they are yellowish whitish...pretty dirty and old im assuming lol. I got my truck back today Ill take pictures and post tomorrow.

Sway bar, if i think what it is, is it, its connected to the frame goes from side to side and then connects to the wheel part pointing down. fairly narrow circular bar.

Yes ive looked online for "sway bar" yes I have it...In the front anyway, im not sure if there is one in the back, never looked lol