Brand-new owner with some questions

[Vivers]

Just bought a shiny new to me 1996 4 x 4 SR5 3.4 L with 215,000 miles on it but in pristine shape as a fireman was the only owner and gave me a novel of maintenance and you can see from the pictures.

Bear with me because I want to explain what I'm finding. I have switched from a Ford F-150 4 x 4 5.4 L

The Toyota forerunner has an old man emu suspension with 880 Springs I believe he told me, I can confirm

Here's the things that I notice I would like fixed if possible, but believe me I love my 4Runner

1. Main thing I notice is suspension is a little jerky or sway left and right if you know what I mean from my other truck. He did say original ball joints but wanted to see what you guys thought?

2. Breaks are kind a week and wondered if anybody switched out to rear discs all the way around or what have you done? I believe it's disc front and drum back

3. Finally steering is more difficult and I believe this is rack & pinion and I'm used to power steering on the Ford truck so is that changeable or your guys thoughts on that?




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[fblainen11]

It does have power steering.

Also, you're better off doing the Tundra Brake Upgrade on the fronts.
Look at the alternate search in the top links. The Google search works awesome.

 

[ColtonAdkison]

If they are original ball joints they probably need replaced! When I purchased my 4Runner it jerked all over the road as well. I replaced ball joints and it straightened it up. I've heard the OME setup can be alittle stiff to some people but that's by opinion. I have the Bilistein 5100 shocks with OME coils in the rear Tundra coils in the front and love the ride! I also run without the sway bar links, also by opinion.
As go for brakes, mine need replaced as well and will be doing that soon but I'm thinking about upgrading to the Tundra Brake upgrade. I've heard it worth the money.
Good luck!

 

[thegipper]

1. Definitely change out your lower ball joints. They are known to randomly fail with no warning signs. That should be your number 1 priority, it is not hard to do and only buy Toyota OEM LBJ's. It also may just need an alignment or the rack bushings are worn. Inspect all other front end components too.

2. Search "tundra brake upgrade". Plenty of information out there, no need to go to all disc brakes (it's a total PITA and not needed). I have the stock brakes on my 4R and I think it brakes just fine with no issues. Your's may just need some new rotors/pads and rear adjustment.

3. The 4R does have power steering and yes, it is a rack and pinion. I would replace the fluid in PS reservoir. The steering IMO is a little stiffer in general on the 4R but it shouldn't be "hard".

Read/search about "pink milkshake" and "rear axle seals". Both are known issues with the 4R. Replacing the radiator with reputable replacement (denso ect) is the easiest way IMO to avoid a pink milkshake which could destroy your tranny at a moments notice.

Rear axle seals are known to leak on these trucks. First, inspect through the abs sensor port to see if there is oil on the ring gear. Doing the rear diff breather mod is always a good idea and super/cheap and easy. If they're not leaking, this is the best way to make sure they don't in the future. The repair can be expensive.

As my own personal rule of thumb, I like to replace all of the fluids when I get new vehicle. Unless you have a record showing "X" was done recently, spend a couple hundred bucks and replace it all. Fluids are cheap, way cheaper than a new tranny/diff/transfer case ect.

Definitely read the stickies as they have just about everything you need to know. All in all, these are VERY solid trucks.

Welcome!

 

[kolelt]

:worthless

 

[Vivers]

If they are original ball joints they probably need replaced! When I purchased my 4Runner it jerked all over the road as well. I replaced ball joints and it straightened it up. I've heard the OME setup can be alittle stiff to some people but that's by opinion. I have the Bilistein 5100 shocks with OME coils in the rear Tundra coils in the front and love the ride! I also run without the sway bar links, also by opinion.

As go for brakes, mine need replaced as well and will be doing that soon but I'm thinking about upgrading to the Tundra Brake upgrade. I've heard it worth the money.

Good luck!

That's exactly how it feels, it's jerking around real easy if you slightly turn the steering wheel. They are original ball joints the gentleman I bought it from told me but he did put in an aftermarket suspension called old man emu with I believe he said 800 Springs.
Right now I'm not real happy with the ride


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[Vivers]

1. Definitely change out your lower ball joints. They are known to randomly fail with no warning signs. That should be your number 1 priority, it is not hard to do and only buy Toyota OEM LBJ's. It also may just need an alignment or the rack bushings are worn. Inspect all other front end components too.



2. Search "tundra brake upgrade". Plenty of information out there, no need to go to all disc brakes (it's a total PITA and not needed). I have the stock brakes on my 4R and I think it brakes just fine with no issues. Your's may just need some new rotors/pads and rear adjustment.



3. The 4R does have power steering and yes, it is a rack and pinion. I would replace the fluid in PS reservoir. The steering IMO is a little stiffer in general on the 4R but it shouldn't be "hard".



Read/search about "pink milkshake" and "rear axle seals". Both are known issues with the 4R. Replacing the radiator with reputable replacement (denso ect) is the easiest way IMO to avoid a pink milkshake which could destroy your tranny at a moments notice.



Rear axle seals are known to leak on these trucks. First, inspect through the abs sensor port to see if there is oil on the ring gear. Doing the rear diff breather mod is always a good idea and super/cheap and easy. If they're not leaking, this is the best way to make sure they don't in the future. The repair can be expensive.



As my own personal rule of thumb, I like to replace all of the fluids when I get new vehicle. Unless you have a record showing "X" was done recently, spend a couple hundred bucks and replace it all. Fluids are cheap, way cheaper than a new tranny/diff/transfer case ect.



Definitely read the stickies as they have just about everything you need to know. All in all, these are VERY solid trucks.



Welcome!

Such a good post, let me tell you that the firemen I bought it from literally had everything changed verbatim to the manual. All fluids, full synthetic oil from day one and everything in anything that needed to be fixed was fixed.

That being said I don't like the current ride, he put on old man emu suspension with 800 springs I believe he said

The steering seems a little off to me but it just could be that's how these are

And the breaking is a bit of an issue and I definitely will get that tundra set up

And on a sidenote he did have a K&N filter and from what my mechanic says they can dirty up the throttlebody, fuel injection and the O2 sensor from the oil they put on those filters. Your thoughts?

Thanks again for all the help


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[thegipper]

I think that is a myth more than anything about the K&N filters. Just clean it and re-oil properly with the kit and it will be fine.

If the radiator hasn't been replaced, I strongly suggest you replace that right away. That, and the LBJ's.

Make sure you read the stickies and ask if you are not sure what to do.

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[gamefreakgc]

Just bought a shiny new to me 1996 4 x 4 SR5 3.4 L with 215,000 miles on it but in pristine shape as a fireman was the only owner and gave me a novel of maintenance and you can see from the pictures.

Bear with me because I want to explain what I'm finding. I have switched from a Ford F-150 4 x 4 5.4 L

The Toyota forerunner has an old man emu suspension with 880 Springs I believe he told me, I can confirm

Here's the things that I notice I would like fixed if possible, but believe me I love my 4Runner

1. Main thing I notice is suspension is a little jerky or sway left and right if you know what I mean from my other truck. He did say original ball joints but wanted to see what you guys thought?

2. Breaks are kind a week and wondered if anybody switched out to rear discs all the way around or what have you done? I believe it's disc front and drum back

3. Finally steering is more difficult and I believe this is rack & pinion and I'm used to power steering on the Ford truck so is that changeable or your guys thoughts on that?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1. Ball joints are an issue but that's not what you are feeling. You just need new sway bar bushings and sway bar end link bushings. Look into OEM ones or ones from Energy Suspension. Will get rid of the "sway", that's what the anti-sway bar is supposed to do and it's not doing it. There's one in front and one in the rear with 4 end links total.

2. Others covered this, the Tundra brakes are easy to install and require little work. Lightyears ahead of the stock 4Runner brakes. Also look into adjusting your rear drum brakes or check the pads, if there's too much travel to get the brakes to contact the drum then the fronts are doing all the work.

3. The steering is a bit stiff, much more than other SUV's. Fluid exchange might help but it's really to hard to tell if/when the power steering fluid is bad, since it's brown in color when new.

I've heard that OME suspension is stiff and harsh. If you want, switch it back to stock Toyota suspension parts. It'll ride real nice if you use new parts.

 

[Vivers]

1. Ball joints are an issue but that's not what you are feeling. You just need new sway bar bushings and sway bar end link bushings. Look into OEM ones or ones from Energy Suspension. Will get rid of the "sway", that's what the anti-sway bar is supposed to do and it's not doing it. There's one in front and one in the rear with 4 end links total.



2. Others covered this, the Tundra brakes are easy to install and require little work. Lightyears ahead of the stock 4Runner brakes. Also look into adjusting your rear drum brakes or check the pads, if there's too much travel to get the brakes to contact the drum then the fronts are doing all the work.



3. The steering is a bit stiff, much more than other SUV's. Fluid exchange might help but it's really to hard to tell if/when the power steering fluid is bad, since it's brown in color when new.



I've heard that OME suspension is stiff and harsh. If you want, switch it back to stock Toyota suspension parts. It'll ride real nice if you use new parts.

Amazing. You guys are awesome! I am not a wrench and to busy to do it anyway so I literally will pass all this on to my mechanic and I thank you guys so much for all the tips. I'm in love with this truck but I know the ride, steering and breaking can be improved greatly


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[rallypoint_1]

Suspension comfy level is a matter of opinion. I have OME 880 w/ .25" spacer on KYB Gas Adjusts and the ride is great. Not harsh at all...for a truck. What kind of shocks do you have?

 

[gamefreakgc]

Suspension comfy level is a matter of opinion. I have OME 880 w/ .25" spacer on KYB Gas Adjusts and the ride is great. Not harsh at all...for a truck. What kind of shocks do you have?

I also have KYB's, I think he probably has OME shocks too or something similar. KYB's are firm but not overly so. Decent road behavior with above decent off-road, in my opinion.

 

[Vivers]

Suspension comfy level is a matter of opinion. I have OME 880 w/ .25" spacer on KYB Gas Adjusts and the ride is great. Not harsh at all...for a truck. What kind of shocks do you have?

Thanks for your reply

I am at work so I can't take a look but I know the suspension upgrade he did was old man emu. When he bought this originally he didn't like how soft the suspension was as he bottomed out after a bump he said with it loaded down on a snowboard road trip so he put on heavier leave springs or whatever and he told me it was all old man emu

He mainly used this for 6hr road trips to the sierra Nevada mountains


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[Vivers]

I also have KYB's, I think he probably has OME shocks too or something similar. KYB's are firm but not overly so. Decent road behavior with above decent off-road, in my opinion.

Not sure what I have as I'm at work but the guy I bought it from out old man emu suspension on the truck


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[Vivers]

Suspension comfy level is a matter of opinion. I have OME 880 w/ .25" spacer on KYB Gas Adjusts and the ride is great. Not harsh at all...for a truck. What kind of shocks do you have?

Just was confirmed from the guy bought it from they are OME


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[MONTYMTB]

Thanks for your reply

I am at work so I can't take a look but I know the suspension upgrade he did was old man emu. When he bought this originally he didn't like how soft the suspension was as he bottomed out after a bump he said with it loaded down on a snowboard road trip so he put on heavier leave springs or whatever and he told me it was all old man emu

He mainly used this for 6hr road trips to the sierra Nevada mountains


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It's quite possible that he only replaced the rear springs - the OEM are notorious for sag, especially with any weight on them. If he gave you a ton of records, he should've also had a receipt for the suspension work.

 

[Vivers]

It's quite possible that he only replaced the rear springs - the OEM are notorious for sag, especially with any weight on them. If he gave you a ton of records, he should've also had a receipt for the suspension work.

He just text me back that all suspension including shocks is old man emu


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[Vivers]

1. Ball joints are an issue but that's not what you are feeling. You just need new sway bar bushings and sway bar end link bushings. Look into OEM ones or ones from Energy Suspension. Will get rid of the "sway", that's what the anti-sway bar is supposed to do and it's not doing it. There's one in front and one in the rear with 4 end links total.



2. Others covered this, the Tundra brakes are easy to install and require little work. Lightyears ahead of the stock 4Runner brakes. Also look into adjusting your rear drum brakes or check the pads, if there's too much travel to get the brakes to contact the drum then the fronts are doing all the work.



3. The steering is a bit stiff, much more than other SUV's. Fluid exchange might help but it's really to hard to tell if/when the power steering fluid is bad, since it's brown in color when new.



I've heard that OME suspension is stiff and harsh. If you want, switch it back to stock Toyota suspension parts. It'll ride real nice if you use new parts.

So he just got back to me and told me that he actually has a panhard bar Sonoran steel as good as they get. And he texted me the complete set up here -

Suspension is for a 4Runner with stock bumpers etc....Springs are 880/w 5mm trim packed up front.
". " 890 in the rear. I had 906's but needed capacity so that's why the heavy rake. All OME


Thanks



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[rallypoint_1]

Ah ok, then it's possible that the OME shocks are giving you a more stiff ride. Just assuming because not sure if which OME shock is on the truck. A 890 should give you 3" of rear lift. So with the 880 and 5mm up front that's about a difference of 1 inch or so. Def would have some rake.

We are pic whores around here so post up a few pics of your ride!!!

 

[GetZPayd]

Just bought a shiny new to me 1996 4 x 4 SR5 3.4 L with 215,000 miles on it ect ect

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Welcome to the club!