Bilstein 5100 - 0.85 or 1.75? Pics?

[juice4luc]

Just wanted to confirm, I am picking up a set of used 5100's this week. The rear 5100's with stock spring do not offer any lift correct?

For the front adjustables, if they are already preloaded with coil overs, do I have to compress and remove the shock to adjust the setting?

 

[Sportznut]

Question...I am getting 5100's installed on all 4 corners (2005 Sport) this week. X Reas will be deleted. Reusing stock springs

Rig has 165k on it.

Going to set fronts at .85

Is there anything I should be concerned about? Or anything else I should have replaced at the same time?

Thanks !!

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[05mike4R]

Same here stock spring. Looks identical

 

[Sportznut]

Well I got my Bilstein 5100's installed on all four corners today. I have a stock 2005 Sport V6.

My mechanic disabled the XREAS system (w/166k miles - was handling kind of squirrely) then installed the new Bilstein's.

He has plenty of experience working on these 4Runners so I felt good about that. Some other places just looked at me like I was from another planet when I started talking about disabling or removing the XReas.

He did not add anything like spacers or coils. Just reused the stock springs.

Set the front Biltstein's at .85 in. ( one notch up from the bottom) then did an alignment.

This raised the rear by .25" and raised the front about 1.50 ".

I started with about 2.50" of rake and after he was done it left me about 1.25"of rake.

It has only been a few miles but I am real pleased with the look and the ride! Definitely handles bumps better, reduced the amount of roll significantly, feels real solid.

The old XReas was shot and a couple of the shocks were leaking.

The before picture is on the right, the after picture is on the left. Sorry the rig is dirty (raining)

I am not quite sure what to make of the alignment specs in the picture? Are they good? Bad?

This is the vehicle my wife drives so I wasn't going to get crazy with a lift or big tires. Hope this information helps somebody that is thinking about doing the same thing.

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[ChrisInAZ]

Front shock installation procedure Q

Hi folks,
I need a pointer, or a summary. I have a set of 5100s ready to be installed, but I can't find any info on the procedures for the fronts, specifically with regard to getting the springs in place. Must I pull out the shock/spring assembly and use a spring compressor to remove then install the 5100 shock, or can I use the weight of the vehicle and a jack? Funny no videos on Youtube, and nothing on the Bilstein page.

I gotta believe that this has been asked dozens of times, but searching this forum for "front shock installation" produces 491 page hits. A pointer to a thread would be much appreciated!

cjn

 

[mjotrainbrain]

Hi folks,
I need a pointer, or a summary. I have a set of 5100s ready to be installed, but I can't find any info on the procedures for the fronts, specifically with regard to getting the springs in place. Must I pull out the shock/spring assembly and use a spring compressor to remove then install the 5100 shock, or can I use the weight of the vehicle and a jack? Funny no videos on Youtube, and nothing on the Bilstein page.

I gotta believe that this has been asked dozens of times, but searching this forum for "front shock installation" produces 491 page hits. A pointer to a thread would be much appreciated!

cjn

You can use a jack to lower the LCA in a controlled fashion to dissasemble the shock. It's called the no spring compressor method, I'll try to find the how-to and link it for ya.

 

[mjotrainbrain]

Hi folks,
I need a pointer, or a summary. I have a set of 5100s ready to be installed, but I can't find any info on the procedures for the fronts, specifically with regard to getting the springs in place. Must I pull out the shock/spring assembly and use a spring compressor to remove then install the 5100 shock, or can I use the weight of the vehicle and a jack? Funny no videos on Youtube, and nothing on the Bilstein page.

I gotta believe that this has been asked dozens of times, but searching this forum for "front shock installation" produces 491 page hits. A pointer to a thread would be much appreciated!

cjn

OME Install - no spring compressor - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

 

[ChrisInAZ]

OME Install - no spring compressor - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

Thanks mjotrainbrain. This is clear that I can remove and install the shock and spring assembly. Can I use this same technique to remove the spring from the old shock and install it on the new Bilstein shock?
This YouTube video shows working with the shock/spring assembly. Is the top of the spring not attached to the top of the shock? Perhaps I just need to leave the 3 top nuts in place and take the nut off of the top of the shock shaft, with the jack under the bottom of the shaft so that the shock doesn't launch into the floor (and my foot)?

 

[nicheel8]

OME Install - no spring compressor - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

Here's a great video of the "no spring compressor" method.

Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E6u7dC7EHg

Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo0FJSi-KYs

Couple of notes.
1. What part of AZ do you live in? If you're in a dry climate area, you probably don't need to worry about rust. I installed my mod at 135k and had no issues with LCA cam bolts, nuts, etc. Ended up taking all the parts back.
2. Buy new top hats.
3. Make sure you have the right tools. Impact wrench was my best friend.

 

[ChrisInAZ]

Awesome nicheel8. Just what I was looking for. I'm in Gilbert, and my 2007 has been garaged and pampered. Should I just buy stock/oem top hats, or is there a better option? I'm planning to use the 2nd (0.85") clip position on the 5100 so as to not risk not being able to get the alignment done.

 

[WI_4Runner]

Currently set at .85" but bumping up a notch early next week.
The first notch was great fresh out the shop but with a V8 it settled down enough that I'm going to bump up one notch to 1.75" to try and restore that leveled look.

Pics to follow.

 

[nicheel8]

Awesome nicheel8. Just what I was looking for. I'm in Gilbert, and my 2007 has been garaged and pampered. Should I just buy stock/oem top hats, or is there a better option? I'm planning to use the 2nd (0.85") clip position on the 5100 so as to not risk not being able to get the alignment done.

I started the job and needed the strut mounts, so I ran down to autozone and picked up a pair of the KYB. T4R members gave it good reviews. I have not had any issues with them.

Anytime you mess with the struts you need to get an alignment. Firestone had a deal for lifetime adjustments. I think I paid around $120. Went back 3 times within 2 months. Worth every penny.

I used the 5100s with moog FJ springs. 1st front took forever, 2nd front was fast. Rears I thought was going to break the brake lines. Just take your time, torque everything to spec and you should be good to go.

 

[mjotrainbrain]

Thanks mjotrainbrain. This is clear that I can remove and install the shock and spring assembly. Can I use this same technique to remove the spring from the old shock and install it on the new Bilstein shock?
This YouTube video shows working with the shock/spring assembly. Is the top of the spring not attached to the top of the shock? Perhaps I just need to leave the 3 top nuts in place and take the nut off of the top of the shock shaft, with the jack under the bottom of the shaft so that the shock doesn't launch into the floor (and my foot)?

You can just remove the nut from the top of the shock, lower the LCA with a jack, and the shock will be separated from the coil just like that, leaving the shock mount bolted to the shock tower.

 

[ChrisInAZ]

You can just remove the nut from the top of the shock, lower the LCA with a jack, and the shock will be separated from the coil just like that, leaving the shock mount bolted to the shock tower.

Update. No Spring Compressor method worked fine. I put in new KYB SM5640 strut mounts, but the old ones were still serviceable. (I'm not suggesting they need not be replaced.) I did have to cut off one of the nuts off the top of the original shocks with a Dremel cut off wheel since I could not get it loose. The factory original shocks should have been replaced years ago. Much better ride now. :>

 

[mjotrainbrain]

Update. No Spring Compressor method worked fine. I put in new KYB SM5640 strut mounts, but the old ones were still serviceable. (I'm not suggesting they need not be replaced.) I did have to cut off one of the nuts off the top of the original shocks with a Dremel cut off wheel since I could not get it loose. The factory original shocks should have been replaced years ago. Much better ride now. :>

Good to hear that it worked! Honestly it's so easy once you've done it for the first time.

 

[scootermcrad]

Hey all!

Found this thread useful (as well as many others on here) and thought I would give back. Just did a 5100 install with new OEM type (AC Delco from Amazon) FJ 4WD springs. I have a 2WD SR5. I just set mine to .85 up front and nothing out back. Springs took care of the rear for me. I got quite a bit more than I figured I would. I love it! Rolling on TRD Pros wrapped in Cooper AT3 LT's. 265/70/r17's. Also, I did this install with no spring compressor, as suggested in other threads, and it was as slick as could be.

Running boards are very close to level. And this thing rides and drives amazing!

Before:

After:
(sorry about this first picture)

With the new wheels and tires

 

[schwein]

265/70R17 tires Bilstein 5100s, Front @ 1.75, 2017 5th Gen 4runner coils front and rear. sits nearly perfectly level.

<a href="https://ibb.co/PxRNBG5"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/rkgmn2Z/IMG-4905.jpg" alt="IMG-4905" border="0"></a>

 

[LT1coupe]

2006 V8 Sport with FJ/Moog springs all the way around on 5100's set at 1.75" and a 1" spacer in the rear. It settled about 3/8" lower than this pic. Alignment was able to get 2 degrees of caster with the stock arms

 

[NorthWesty]

Here ya go ... actually I was wrong, I guess I'm at .85" not the 1.75" ... keep in mind these are still stock coils all around as well... 265/70/17 tires too.

2nd setting from bottom up...

I'm surprised that your 5100's came with that nice perch. I just installed some and the perch they came with seems pretty flimsy compared to that one.

 

[dcTR4]

I'm surprised that your 5100's came with that nice perch. I just installed some and the perch they came with seems pretty flimsy compared to that one.

How is the ride compared to stock? I'm going to put on 5100s and reuse the coils.

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