Driving without a rear shock?

[Clark27]

:ybrick:

Alright guys, I spent last weekend installing new Bilstein 5100 shock and OME 906 springs in the rear of the 4Runner, everything went fairly well aside from having to cut the old shocks out and the VERY limited access to the upper shock mount.

While working on the car, I clearly saw the right upper control arm mount had rusted around the base (where it seems to have been welded previously) and would need to get that fixed. Called a local shop who was willing to take a look and do the work but I was unable to get there for roughly a week.

Get to the shop, crawl under the vehicle and sure enough, the right rear shock upper nut had come off, lost all the bushings and the spring had compressed at some point and came out of the upper mount location and ripped the boot open :wow:

So I have been driving for a week or so with no right rear shock. Will/has this harmed the coil? I would assume they are intended to work with shocks and wouldn't be made to take the full weight of the vehicle. I made an appointment to fix the mount for the control arm but it is another week away, am I safe to continue driving without a shock? I contact Bilstein who gave me a part number for a bushing set but I can't find the bushings online and will need to try part stores locally I suppose.

Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm pissed and embarrassed to say the least.

 

[HOJeepster]

:ybrick:

Alright guys, I spent last weekend installing new Bilstein 5100 shock and OME 906 springs in the rear of the 4Runner, everything went fairly well aside from having to cut the old shocks out and the VERY limited access to the upper shock mount.

While working on the car, I clearly saw the right upper control arm mount had rusted around the base (where it seems to have been welded previously) and would need to get that fixed. Called a local shop who was willing to take a look and do the work but I was unable to get there for roughly a week.

Get to the shop, crawl under the vehicle and sure enough, the right rear shock upper nut had come off, lost all the bushings and the spring had compressed at some point and came out of the upper mount location and ripped the boot open :wow:

So I have been driving for a week or so with no right rear shock. Will/has this harmed the coil? I would assume they are intended to work with shocks and wouldn't be made to take the full weight of the vehicle. I made an appointment to fix the mount for the control arm but it is another week away, am I safe to continue driving without a shock? I contact Bilstein who gave me a part number for a bushing set but I can't find the bushings online and will need to try part stores locally I suppose.

Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm pissed and embarrassed to say the least.

Driving without a shock is fine in short durations, such as coming off the trail to a garage... but I would not continue to drive it like that.

 

[St Runner]

The coil is simply a piece of metal. Yes the coil is designed to carry the entire weight of that corner of the vehicle plus more. Your biggest danger is changing the handling characteristics of the 4runner and putting extra stress on the other shock. As long as you are cautious driving it you should be fine. Did you throw the old bushings away on the old shocks? you could use those until you get some new ones. There are literally thousands of vehicles driving around in this world with useless rear shocks

 

[Mark_BC]

Well mine are shot so it's like I'm driving around with no shocks, biggest concern is losing control when you hit a bump. Be careful at speed.

 

[octanejunkie]

You will likely pogo on the springs if you've got no shocks to dampen the impact - but you may damage the vehicle as it's not designed to drive without a shock. Shocks often limits the suspension travel, like you've already seen (spring jumped it's seat)

Put your old shock in if you can until you get it fixed and drive conservatively

 

[UnderFire]

No big deal, be cautious.

 

[Clark27]

The coil is simply a piece of metal. Yes the coil is designed to carry the entire weight of that corner of the vehicle plus more. Your biggest danger is changing the handling characteristics of the 4runner and putting extra stress on the other shock. As long as you are cautious driving it you should be fine. Did you throw the old bushings away on the old shocks? you could use those until you get some new ones. There are literally thousands of vehicles driving around in this world with useless rear shocks

I believe I cut through the bottom rubber bushing when cutting off the old shocks. The part is ~10 bucks to replace but I couldn't easily find it plus it will take a few days of shipping so I would be without a vehicle for the week if I can't drive. I figured it would be safe enough for slow, cautious, on-road driving but wanted opinions. I drove for a few days like this without known and did feel a little unstable over a set of "wash-board" bumps on the shitty pavement in MA.

 

[St Runner]

just take the best two bushings out of the 4 and throw them on no matter how beat up they are they will work fine for a week

 

[shahsmerdis]

we drove ours 6 months without it. dont worry. =P.

 

[slomatt]

I broke a weld on a rear shock one time on a trail, so I removed the shock and drove the rest of the trail and then 4 hours home.

In a properly designed suspension setup your shock should not be the limiter for either compression or extension, and not having a shock should not effect the lifespan of the spring, especially in the short term. The spring carries the weight of the vehicle, the shock is just there to damp the motion of the spring. That said, your truck will handle differently and you should get a shock on the truck soon to make sure it drives safely.

- Matt