Buying Bilstein 5100s and FJ Springs NEED HELP

hgill

hgill

Member
Hey guys,

So I went to get the tires rotated on the truck today and find out that my struts are leaking in the front (XREAS :frusty:)

The place quoted me $699.00 to replace them. Without going further into it, I cant justify that kind of money just on the front struts knowing that the back ones may give out anytime soon tooand then they may go out again in another 50 to 75k.

From everything I read on the forum, most people seem quite happy with the Bilstein 5100's paired with FJ Springs.

I only drive my truck on the weekend as its my wifes DD. My budget is trying to keep this under 1,000.00. Dont have any plans for a big lift and its hardly driven off road. Only a few snowboarding trips for now and that all the action it gets to see.

Since I dont plan for any major lift, i was leaning towards Bilstein 5100 with FJ Springs. If someone has a better option, I am all ears.

My question is which Bilstein's to order. I found a few sites recommended on the forum and there are ones for: FJ Cruiser, Tacoma and Tundra. I have heard most people suggest the Tundra one over tacoma, but if I am going with FJ Springs, wouldnt the FJ Cruiser one be the better fit?

I am not very hands on (i can do an oil change and I am planning on attempting to work on brakes next weekend), but not sure If this is something I can tackle. How difficult is the swap from Xreas?

Links to the correct part number and any advice on where to order is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hardeep
 
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hgill said:
My question is which Bilstein's to order. I found a few sites recommended on the forum and there are ones for: FJ Cruiser, Tacoma and Tundra. I have heard most people suggest the Tundra one over tacoma, but if I am going with FJ Springs, wouldnt the FJ Cruiser one be the better fit?
Click to expand...

I believe it's 24-186711 for the front and 33-187174 for the rear. Just use those part numbers, they're the models for 4runner/FJ. Neither the taco or tundra rear shocks will fit at all. Never seen anyone use any Tundra suspension parts on a 4th gen 4runner, just the 3rd gens.

edit- It's not terribly difficult to swap the suspension. There are several writeups, if you search here and toyota120.com, that show how to do everything with common tools. When I lifted my 4Runner it was the first full suspension I'd installed.
 
Thanks bro. I am going to look for a good deal for those.

Appreciate the help. I think i had the tundra ones from a 3rd gen thread i read and just got it confused. Thanks for clarifying that.


Found the bilsteins on autoanything.com for 361.96 for front and rear. seemed reasonable. Now just need to find the darn fj springs.

Anyone know of the part number for the fj springs. If the price difference isn't significant from new vs used ones from the fj forums, then I rather have new set on since I plan to keep my truck until it dies on me.
 
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yeah, that's the perfect combo, 5100s with FJ springs. Search ebay, there are always sets for sale. I bought nearly new ones for the fronts and rears for $85 including shipping. Install the 5100s with the 0.75" setting on front if you don't want much lift. That will level the truck a bit.
 
I picked up the rears on ebay for $140, not sure what prices you're finding but that's the best I could find. I sourced the front elsewhere though so I can't vouch for prices on those anywhere... I got them really cheap from shockwarehouse.com a few years ago but I think their prices have gone up.

As for the springs, just post a thread in the wtb section of fjcruiserforum and watch the fs section and you'll find some relatively quickly.

Don't know about part numbers, best to check toyotapartszone or elsewhere and just find the part numbers in the suspension sections.
 
hgill said:
Thanks bro. I am going to look for a good deal for those.

Appreciate the help. I think i had the tundra ones from a 3rd gen thread i read and just got it confused. Thanks for clarifying that.


Found the bilsteins on autoanything.com for 361.96 for front and rear. seemed reasonable. Now just need to find the darn fj springs.

Anyone know of the part number for the fj springs. If the price difference isn't significant from new vs used ones from the fj forums, then I rather have new set on since I plan to keep my truck until it dies on me.
Click to expand...

[MENTION=49274]hgill[/MENTION], Don't be in a rush as leaky Xreas will not do any damage, I had one for a while before I did my swap. I feel that I got lucky, but searching pays off, I got used (in great condition) 4 5100's and 4 FJ springs and spacers (I only used the rear spacers) for $75 on Craigslist. I did the whole swap myself with no help and no specialty tools in about 6 hrs. (taking my time and not rushing) I took out all the Xreas the next day. Good luck!
 
thanks for the help guys. I am going to put on a WTB in the fjcruiser forum and see if I can get some slightly used ones.

I found the rear 5100 for 159.00 new and front 5100 for 200.00. Free shipping and no tax so total is 359.00 for front and rear.

Im going to look for the price for new fj springs as well, just to see the difference. I like to get new if the difference isn't too much.

I just want the xreas replaced since I am due to take a 2500 mile road trip end of August from Bakersfield CA to Vancouver Canada. I figured it would be best to have all items up to date on the truck.
 
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Check out AJUSA.com. Enter your vehicle info and it will pull up the correct 5100's. They're about the cheapest place I know of, right now looks like $343.50 shipped.
 
I have posted a thread in the classified on fjcruiser, so hopefully get a hit soon.

Thanks for all the help guys.

I am trying not to rush it to find some good deals. I am going to read up on some DIY for it to see if someone of my caliber (absolutely no mechanical skills) will be able to do the install himself.
 
So i called toyota today (out of curiousity) and asked them the price to just install (only install, not parts) the bilsteins and fj springs.

Total install for BillWright Toyota in Bakersfield: $980.00.

Just the bilstein install was $451.00
I laughed, thanked him and hung up the phone.

From all the threads I have read, people have installed them in between 4-6 hours.

Seemed outrageous to me.
 
If you get stuck, I have a pair of FJ rear springs with 10,000 on them (from the orig. owner, I never installed this pair)......
 
I could make that money on the side. It took me longer than that, about 8 hours. I still want to write a thread with some tips. What helped me a lot was to disconnect the lower A-arm. That was the only way I found to fit the strut. If I would have known this, I would have disconnected it from the beginning which would have saved time when pulling out the original struts. It is only two bolts, but you will need at least a 2' breaker bar to unscrew and a torque meter that goes up to 166 ft-lb to tighten. In any case, I think I can do it all again in 3-4 hours. Buy the OEM spring compressor from Auto zone, the heavy one, and it works like a charm.
 
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tony_4r said:
I could make that money on the side. It took me longer than that, about 8 hours. I still want to write a thread with some tips. What helped me a lot was to disconnect the lower A-arm. That was the only way I found to fit the strut. If I would have known this, I would have disconnected it from the beginning which would have saved time when pulling out the original struts. It is only two bolts, but you will need at least a 2' breaker bar to unscrew and a torque meter that goes up to 166 ft-lb to tighten. In any case, I think I can do it all again in 3-4 hours. Buy the OEM spring compressor from Auto zone, the heavy one, and it works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips bro. Yea I am definitely not that mechanical and I can use all the help i can get.

I found this really nice DIY on toyota120.com

OME Install - no spring compressor - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

This guy did it even without the compressor.
 
So took my truck to my local mechanic and he removed the xreas and the entire lines (I have no intention to go back to it) and installed all 4 bilsteins for $210.00.

I thought that was a fair price after I saw how much of a pain in the ass it ended up being at times.

I ended up install the bilsteins and kept the stock springs. I adjust the front to .85 as that is what most people recommended to level it out. It looks almost perfectly leveled. Will try to take a picture later today.

My tries are fairly new so will probably put in the fj springs when i get new tires again.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. Love this forum.

btw, I have the rear non leaking xreas in case anyone needs them. I have no use for them.
 
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