2013 TE problem with rear Bilstein 5100's

[CaliTE]

Hi Guys,

I've been lurking for a while and finally bought a 2013 TE. There's tons of great info on the forum so thanks to all for the contributions, the information is helping me decide on the route I am going with my modifications. Love the 4R so far, not missing my Tacoma as much as i thought I would. Unfortunately my first post is because of a little problem and I can't seem to find any similar info using the search bar.

So right off the bat I decided to go ahead and do a leveling lift with the intentions of raising it more in the future (wife has kinda hijacked the 4R and likes it "the way it is"). So I went with Toytec Coilovers up front and just 5100's at the rear with stock springs, and have a set of Countersteer X's and Duratracs ready to go on next week. Yesterday I take it to the shop to do the install and ask for the suspension to be set level or preferably with about a 0.5" - 1" of rake. When I pick it up the front is about 1.5"- 2" higher than the rear (no biggie, it can be adjusted), but I decide to ask if everything went smooth with the install. The owner tells me they had to cut the stock rear bushings to fit the shocks on because there was not enough thread on the top of the shocks and the correct bilstein bushings were too fat. Look at the pics, left side rear, right side rear, and the last pic of what a stock bushing looks like.

This does not look right! Anyone else have problems with this? I'm not happy with the way this is, I barely have 1500 miles on the 4R and they go ahead and half-ass the install. Are there any tricks or tips to getting the bushings to fit? I'm kind of at a loss of what I should do here, I was contemplating doing the install myself but haven't had much time for anything else but work lately. I didn't do the install so I can't tell them they are wrong...yet. Any advise?

 

[Qjake]

Got any pics of the shock before it was installed?

Where the washers and bushings on the shock when you received them? Did they fit then? It almost looks like they cut the thread off of the shock.

If it were me I'd pull off one of the shocks to have a good look at the threaded end mount to see if it was cut.

 

[CaliTE]

Thanks for the suggestions Billy. It doesn't look like they have been cut, but I can't tell for sure. After the new bushings arrive I will unbolt the shocks and have a good look at them. I checked the part numbers with Bilstein and they are the correct model, so there shouldn't be any issues. Not letting that same shop do any more work on my 4runner.

Not too happy with them after all of this, they should have called me before making the decision to cut up the stock and Bilstein bushings to try make something work. That and the nose is sitting 2" higher than the rear. Feels very twitchy on the freeway. I'll be adjusting the front height this week too.

 

[CaliTE]

Can someone with 5100 rear shocks on their 5th gen please post pictures of the upper mount bushing? I'd like to see how its supposed to look.

Thanks.

 

[homeyclaus]

Can someone with 5100 rear shocks on their 5th gen please post pictures of the upper mount bushing? I'd like to see how its supposed to look.

Thanks.

I would, but mine are really really muddy.

But since I installed them myself I can tell you the Bilstein-provided rear bushings fit fine if you use the metal discs provided and are willing to pre-load the suspension a little.

If you're cutting up bushings, you're doing it wrong. Simple as that.

 

[KCcarguy]

Mine went right on with no problems. I honestly can't remember if I used aftermarket or OEM bushings. I'll post a pic if I get a chance.

 

[SC0TT]

I'll be installing 5100's front and back on my 5th gen this weekend. I'll take some photos...

 

[filip727]

Can someone with 5100 rear shocks on their 5th gen please post pictures of the upper mount bushing? I'd like to see how its supposed to look.

 

[CaliTE]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I actually spoke to Toytec today and they are sending me new bushings at no charge after I told them what happened. I told them I wanted to pay for the bushings but they are just charging me for shipping. They've been a pleasure to deal with.

I also spoke to Dillon in technical support at Toytec and he pretty much said the same thing as you recommend homeyclaus. Mount the lower bushing and then lower the car to pre-load the suspension before placing the top bushings on and securing everything.

 

[CaliTE]

So i ended up taking my 4runner to the local toyota dealer and have one of my cousins friends who is a mechanic there swap out the cut bushings. He said the original shop cut the stem of the passenger side rear Bilstein and shortened it by about 10 threads. Wasn't too happy about that but managed to get them to refund me for their work. Anyway, it shouldn't make any difference now but they should never have done that in the first place.

I got my countersteers with duratracs mounted and am loving it. There is slight rubbing on the rear of the front fender, the front part of the fender is fine after doing the fender liner mod. Noticeable mainly in reverse at close to full lock. I removed the mud flaps and the tire touches the body mount on the frame. I will be having alignment done with full caster on stock UCA's next week so hopefully that will fix it. I'll also be getting my bud built bump out sliders next week so everything should be how I want it by the end of next week. Hopefully!

Attached are pics right after a nice car wash!

 

[Qjake]

Looks great!:bigok:

Curious what their reason was for cutting the shock, or cutting anything for that matter? I hope they at least paid for the new shock :boink:

I'm baffled as why they would even consider cutting it nevermind actually cutting it. :redbrick:

 

[KCcarguy]

Looks great!:bigok:

Curious what their reason was for cutting the shock, or cutting anything for that matter? I hope they at least paid for the new shock :boink:

I'm baffled as why they would even consider cutting it nevermind actually cutting it. :redbrick:

I guess anyone can open a shop?
:roadkill:

 

[CaliTE]

I think they cut it because there wasn't much clearance from the wheel well. Laziness is probably what it was. It probably took too long to do the other side so they thought it would be quicker to cut it. That's what I assume. The side that was cut had the bushings that they ended up having to trim so it must have taken longer in the end.

It was interesting how the shop owner's attitude changed from when I asked if the shock was cut in the beggining of the conversation to telling him Toyota technicians confirmed it. From getting mad and acting offended to immediately offering a refund...

I'm going to order another shock, I'm a bit of a stickler with things like this. I want it to be 100% correct. I guess anyone really can open a shop.... I just wish there was a better way to know how good a shop is before having work done. The original shop is supposed to be the best place in town for Toyota according to yelp and personal referrals... So much for that.

 

[kip dyno-mite]

Are you just running only the 5100s in the back (no spacers)? Did you get any lift in the rear? It looks pretty level now...How much did you lift it in the front?

Your setup looks real good - glad you got it all resolved.

 

[CaliTE]

Are you just running only the 5100s in the back (no spacers)? Did you get any lift in the rear? It looks pretty level now...How much did you lift it in the front?

Your setup looks real good - glad you got it all resolved.

Thanks kip. Just running 5100's in the rear with stock springs and no spacers. The rear is stock height. I plan on possibly lifting it more in the future and also wanted to get rid of the crazy dive under braking so I went with the Toytec front coilovers.

After initial install with the coilovers at the toytec pre-set height the front of the vehicle was sitting almost 2" higher than the rear. I adjusted the front coils to the lowest lift setting and that's where it is now. I love how it rides, I just need to get the alignment done for max caster to get rid of rubbing. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Definitely quite a bit taller than stock but feels very stable on high speed sweeping mountain highway roads which is important to me.

 

[Sputnik]

Love your tire/wheel combo man, looks awesome!

 

[CaliTE]

Love your tire/wheel combo man, looks awesome!

Thanks Sputnik! Yea, i'm really happy with the way it turned out. Its exactly what I was hoping for. I know that having a "full lift" would look better but its a huge improvement just the way it is. The offset of the countersteer X's with the 285's gives a much more aggressive stance that really makes the most of the 4Runner's design in my opinion. You can see where the outer rim of the tire and wheels are with respect to the fender in the picture. Don't pay any attention to the garbage cans, I took this pic in the back parking lot of the office....

 

[CH 123]

Thanks for posting. I am interested in your same setup and was interested in an update. Did alignment resolve your rubbing issue?

 

[toyslug]

CaliTE:

Your truck looks great! See you around town if you bought your TE locally!

I have a 2010 TE Black- stock with Cooper A/Ts and have yet to see another black one in town!