we had to stop using the car lately because it has to many problems ... And yes lots of noise. Turns out shock mount also sheered off. Springs are dead ???? Sigh. Thanks for telling me . I guess I'll have to add it to the list
No. There should be 2-3 inches of open space at least. It's unlikely to have rotted or fallen down since it rides/hangs from the the top of the coil. When the coil gets worn out, it starts to compress and the weight of the truck crushes the spring until the bumpstop hits the axle.
Mine were the same way. Here's mine at around 360k I think before I changed them.
For about $100 you can throw in some Moog coils and KYB shocks. It's a simple and inexpensive way to improve the ride and looks (gets rid of the saggy ass look). Obviously, if you plan to off road a lot or haul heavy loads, you would be better suited with some beefier coils and shocks. There are litteraly hundreds or thousands of threads here on the forum discussing different options.
Rear Springs: Moog #81041
Rear Shocks: KYB #kg54317
When I put an elocker axle in my 4runner, I sold my stock rear axle for $225. You could probably find one for even cheaper if you have an automatic transmission (The gearing is more common. I have the manual so my rear axle gearing is rare-ish)
At the same time, you could probably get them to throw in the shocks and springs for next to nothing. They might be saggy as well, but it will be easy to tell just by looking at the ride height of the donor truck. If you shop around, I bet you could find a rear axle, coils and shocks for $200. Its a very straightforward swap too, besides dealing with rusty bolts. I bought my new axle, wire wheeled the whole thing, repainted it, removed my old axle, and installed the new axle all in one day by myself.
