DIY: Front Strut Replacement
- Thread starter 46runner
- Start date
Bumping this thread to say thanks. I installed KYB quick struts in my 2008 yesterday. The knowledge gained from studying these directions helped me do it myself and save a ton of money. My truck rides awesome now. I put Bilstein 4600 in the rears a few weeks back. I'm thankful for everyone who has taken the time to write up DIY directions.
Nice diy. I'm looking forward in installing mine too.
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camp332
New member
Ok, to remove it I will agree. However when you go to put the new setup back in, you're going to be removing the sway bar. I'm guilty of trying to do this without removing the sway bar. I learned my lesson upon the installation part.
*This is a great thread by the way! Wish I saw it about a month ago LOL
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I couldn't get mine out without taking the swaybar bushings out and moving the bar.
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rando
Senior Member
Great pics and write up - was happy not to mess with spring compressors!:reddance:
As other have noted, I wasn't able to get the lower control arm to drop far enough without loosening the alignment/bushing bolts. One small add for anyone replacing stock equipment. The strut top nut is 17mm and you'll need a 7mm open wrench to hold the shaft. If you're installing 5100, the included top nut is 19mm.
As other have noted, I wasn't able to get the lower control arm to drop far enough without loosening the alignment/bushing bolts. One small add for anyone replacing stock equipment. The strut top nut is 17mm and you'll need a 7mm open wrench to hold the shaft. If you're installing 5100, the included top nut is 19mm.
GalacticSynthos
New member
I've been looking into buying a similar setup for my 07 limited with 96k miles. The bilstein 4600's front and rear with moog springs vs. going with oem genuine Toyota exact replacement parts vs. using the cheaper Monroe quick struts and shocks. I would like to hear an opinion of how the bilstein and moog setup feels now compared to how the oem ride used to feel back before they wore out. I know bilstein is considered the best but do they ride as smooth and comfortable as the oem or are they more for off road and feel stiff and ride rough on the street? Also would the monroe's ride as nice as oem or do they give a less smooth feel? I'm probably overthinking it and should just buy oem parts but I hate to spend a grand on shocks and end up unhappy with how it rides. Any input is welcome and very appreciated.
4Rnr4Evr
New member
I'll be installing my 6112s tomorrow and I have a question about the strut top nut - has anybody ever actually torqued it to spec with a torque wrench and if yes - how? I've been thinking that the only proper way would be with a crow's foot attachment for the torque wrench so the top of the shaft is free to hold with vice grips or another wrench.
I mean, I "can" eyeball 20ft/lbs of course but would like to do it the right way if at all possible.
I mean, I "can" eyeball 20ft/lbs of course but would like to do it the right way if at all possible.
General Kornilov
New member
Go ahead and eyeball it. I wouldnt worry about torquing it per spec. If you're really anal, the proper way to do it is to use a crows foot socket with the strut assembly on a bench. But again, this isnt a critical component that needs to be superbly torque, just get the nut nice and tight and its not coming loose.
ekywildcat
New member
Great thread. I changed my struts and rear shocks this week, thought I would add my two cents. I used the KYB shocks and complete strut units. Struts were pretty easy, I only dropped the sway bar, didn't remove end links. Had no problem removing or replacing the struts. Long bar to press LCA down, pretty tough. Also, that inside nut on the top of the strut, if you bend the wheel well in a little, a socket and ratchet works great.
Now the bad. The passenger side lower ball joint was bad! What had been a easy job had just turned into a nightmare. Got the ball joint from Autozone. Everlast brand but the BJ was a TRW though, very pleased. Rented their ball joint press, $200 deposit, was a great kit though. Had everything to press out the old one and install the new one.
Went much better than I had imagined. Pressing out the old one, I had so much pressure on it, and it hadn't moved, and yes, I had removed the snap ring, I took a hammer and hit the LCA a few times and that mother cracked like a canon and shot completely out. Relief! Cleaned up the bore and applied some Anti-Seize and the new one went back pretty easy. Will take the press back tomorrow and do some rust control and be done.
Now the bad. The passenger side lower ball joint was bad! What had been a easy job had just turned into a nightmare. Got the ball joint from Autozone. Everlast brand but the BJ was a TRW though, very pleased. Rented their ball joint press, $200 deposit, was a great kit though. Had everything to press out the old one and install the new one.
Went much better than I had imagined. Pressing out the old one, I had so much pressure on it, and it hadn't moved, and yes, I had removed the snap ring, I took a hammer and hit the LCA a few times and that mother cracked like a canon and shot completely out. Relief! Cleaned up the bore and applied some Anti-Seize and the new one went back pretty easy. Will take the press back tomorrow and do some rust control and be done.
Great post and thank you for the information. I have a 2005 4Runner with 112K miles on the clock. Just took mine in for a 5K service and the stealership told me that I needed new struts and shocks. I haven't noticed any ride quality issues and I was wondering if someone could tell me how we know when the time has come for this replacement service.
ZebRuaj
New member
Most obvious is to look for oil leaking out of the shock and strut. That means the seal has blown. You can also do the bounce test to check rebound/dampening.
verman84
New member
With my car its not that I ever just noticed one day. Its a slow progression and happens over a long period of time so it just seems normal when its actually worn out and your shocks don't rebound anymore. On mine, the ride in the front is rough and it seems like it doesn't dampen anything anymore.
I just replaced the rear shocks and its insane how quiet and smooth the rear is now. When I removed the old shocks, I could easily compress them by hand (shouldn't be the case). The one would expand but very slowly, over the course of a few minutes. The other didn't expand at all. The new ones required me to put my body weight on them and even then they would rebound very quickly.
I'll be replacing the fronts soon, bilstein 5100s, along with a new KYB top mount because it has a sound dampening piece of rubber that should work much better than the 10 year old one in there currently as well as new clean fasteners. I will also be replacing the sway bar end links and sway bar bushings because I'll already be in there and it will only help tighten things up a bit. If the front feels anywhere near as smooth as the rear does now, I'll be happy.
fihnguy
New member
Great thread! Registered to pretty much say thank you to the OP. Started working on shock replacement today and this guide really helped a lot. I started late and ran into some problems with the bolts though and didn't even finish the front.
I have a couple of questions for those who did it with Bilsteins 4600. There is a plastic washer that seats on top of the hood when you get the shock out of the box. Does it belong there when I am actually installing the shock? I installed one side without it, but I am thinking maybe I should have. It actually had fallen off and I only found it after I was done. I still did not tie the top nut, so it would really not be a problem to disassemble everything and would only take a few minutes.
One of the Bilstein boxes was missing the bushings and the washers/retainers. Since I only need one of those bushings per side and each box comes (supposed to come) with 2, I am thinking to use two washers that came with the mounts (Moog), say the inner ones. I am right to think that it is not really a problem at all?
Lastly, does anyone have any trick for removing the "not visible" nuts on the mounts? I had some pretty big problems with all three nuts on one side today due to them being nearly seized and especially the one on the inside because of the limited space. It took me about 1.5 hours if not more to only take those three nuts off (no, this is not the first time I was holding a wrench in my hands, lol). I will have do it on the other side tomorrow, so thought I would ask before suffering again
I also had some problems with the bolts on the stabilizer bar brackets, but nothing nearly as bad. Of course the nut on top of the shock did not want to come off either, so I had to cut it off with a reciprocal saw I borrowed from a friend. First time I am doing it on a vehicle where a grinder simply does not fit. It took quite a bit of time to get that nut of as well.
Thank you for input and I greatly appreciate it :yo:
I have a couple of questions for those who did it with Bilsteins 4600. There is a plastic washer that seats on top of the hood when you get the shock out of the box. Does it belong there when I am actually installing the shock? I installed one side without it, but I am thinking maybe I should have. It actually had fallen off and I only found it after I was done. I still did not tie the top nut, so it would really not be a problem to disassemble everything and would only take a few minutes.
One of the Bilstein boxes was missing the bushings and the washers/retainers. Since I only need one of those bushings per side and each box comes (supposed to come) with 2, I am thinking to use two washers that came with the mounts (Moog), say the inner ones. I am right to think that it is not really a problem at all?
Lastly, does anyone have any trick for removing the "not visible" nuts on the mounts? I had some pretty big problems with all three nuts on one side today due to them being nearly seized and especially the one on the inside because of the limited space. It took me about 1.5 hours if not more to only take those three nuts off (no, this is not the first time I was holding a wrench in my hands, lol). I will have do it on the other side tomorrow, so thought I would ask before suffering again
I also had some problems with the bolts on the stabilizer bar brackets, but nothing nearly as bad. Of course the nut on top of the shock did not want to come off either, so I had to cut it off with a reciprocal saw I borrowed from a friend. First time I am doing it on a vehicle where a grinder simply does not fit. It took quite a bit of time to get that nut of as well.Thank you for input and I greatly appreciate it :yo:
Everything is included.
waterskier_erie
New member
Hey jeffrec, had my 2005 SR5 V6 4WD in for inspection yesterday. Has 134k on it. Local mechanic didn't point out any oil leaking from struts, but mentioned that springs were sagging a bit and struts were weak. He pointed out that I had a lot of wear on the inside edge of my driver tire, when compared to the rest of same tire. The rest of the tire is at ~ 6/32" and the inside edge of that same driver side tire is close to the limit at 3/32". I've never had any suspension work done on truck, just do my own oil, and brakes as needed. Crazy thing is the OEM battery is still in there and works fine even through 14 years of Northwest PA Winters!
If you have 112k on the clock you need new shocks and springs. You don't notice it bc the decrease in performance is gradual.
