Help identifying previous owner's suspension mods

[TORCH]

I bought this truck about a month ago and am still working on getting it back to where it should be due to some previous owner neglect. I am having trouble identifying what suspension setup it currently has. The front sits at 36.5" from floor to fender flare and 38" in the rear. It appears to have a spacer kit on the front and rear but I'm not sure if these springs are original or not for a 2003 limited. I plan on switching out the XREAS and would like to know what exactly I have on here before I start collecting parts. Any help would be great. Thank you!

 

[wkeryder4]

Judging by the colored marks it looks like FJ springs on the stock XREAS shocks. I'd have to see some more pictures of the spacers you are talking about but the coils definitely look like FJ coils.

 

[TORCH]

Judging by the colored marks it looks like FJ springs on the stock XREAS shocks. I'd have to see some more pictures of the spacers you are talking about but the coils definitely look like FJ coils.

Thank you. I uploaded a few more images, hopefully that will help.

 

[NOVA46]

I can't tell if those are FJ coils or not, but those are the stock shock absorbers. Looks as though there is a daystar spacer kit in there (I used to have that kit).

Also, the tie rods and CVs look somewhat new.

Actually, I think that FJ springs are more tightly spaced coils than that. The springs may be stock as well. Can anybody confirm?

 

[TORCH]

I can't tell if those are FJ coils or not, but those are the stock shock absorbers. Looks as though there is a daystar spacer kit in there (I used to have that kit).

Also, the tie rods and CVs look somewhat new.

Yeah they are. I replaced the driver's side CV and both the inner and outer tie rods a few weekends ago.

 

[wkeryder4]

I'd have to check my stock coils when I get home but I'm almost certain they don't have colored markings on them. The only coils I have seen with colored markings are the FJ's. It looks like they just swapped the front coils and did a daystar spacer lift. probably the 1.5/2.5 spacer lift.

 

[TORCH]

if the front is at 36.5" and rear at 38" on 275 tires, would the spacer kit on stock components put it up that high or would it have to have different coils?

 

[hearno]

I just pulled my stock coils off and can confirm those are the same markings I had on mine.

 

[preacher35]

Suspension looks entirely stock, save the spacer kit.

 

[TORCH]

Thanks guys for the help. I guess I can start collecting parts now. If I were to run FJ coils front and rear with bilstein 5100s, would I get about the same amount of lift as the current set up now?

 

[preacher35]

Thanks guys for the help. I guess I can start collecting parts now. If I were to run FJ coils front and rear with bilstein 5100s, would I get about the same amount of lift as the current set up now?

No. You will absolutely get more height. Your spacer kit gives you about 2.5" over stock ON RELATIVELY NEW OEM SPRINGS. I have no idea how many miles are on your Runner, but I can tell that it's an '04 or '05. So, I am assuming that you are near or even past, a hundred K miles. Your springs are sagging. THEY ALL DO by a hundred K. OME coils/Bilstein 5100's should give you an extra 1" to 1.5" over what you currently have, depending on what setting you choose for the Bilsteins. In fact, if you opt to go that high, it would be a good idea to go ahead, bite the financial bullet and get UCA's as well.

 

[TORCH]

No. You will absolutely get more height. Your spacer kit gives you about 2.5" over stock ON RELATIVELY NEW OEM SPRINGS. I have no idea how many miles are on your Runner, but I can tell that it's an '04 or '05. So, I am assuming that you are near or even past, a hundred K miles. Your springs are sagging. THEY ALL DO by a hundred K. OME coils/Bilstein 5100's should give you an extra 1" to 1.5" over what you currently have, depending on what setting you choose for the Bilsteins. In fact, if you opt to go that high, it would be a good idea to go ahead, bite the financial bullet and get UCA's as well.

If I ditched the spacer kit though it would be about the same height (or slightly lower) or are you saying an extra 1-1.5" even without the spacer kit? It's an 03 with 180K miles so the coils have definitely lost some height. Thanks for your help, I looked through the FJ coil thread and was having a hard time figuring out exactly what kind of height I would be getting compared to what I have now.

 

[preacher35]

If I ditched the spacer kit though it would be about the same height (or slightly lower) or are you saying an extra 1-1.5" even without the spacer kit? It's an 03 with 180K miles so the coils have definitely lost some height. Thanks for your help, I looked through the FJ coil thread and was having a hard time figuring out exactly what kind of height I would be getting compared to what I have now.

What I am saying is that if you remove the spacer kit, and install OME's (884's or 885's) and bilstein's, YES, you will be about 1 - 1.5" over what you are at right now, depending on what you set the Bilstien's at. Check out Momo.75's build thread and you will see what I am talking about. He went from stock to Daystar 2.5, then to OME 884/Bilstein's in the front. He has before and after pics, side by side, of all three stages. Hopefully, [MENTION=165]momo.75[/MENTION] will not mind me posting a couple pics off of his build thread. Check it out:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/113207-momo-75s-03-sport-4-7l-v8-build.html

... and Momo, if you are reading this, just let me know if you want me to delete your pics/link.

 

[TORCH]

exactly the info I was looking for. I appreciate it.

 

[wkeryder4]

Thanks guys for the help. I guess I can start collecting parts now. If I were to run FJ coils front and rear with bilstein 5100s, would I get about the same amount of lift as the current set up now?

I ran this exact setup for a few months with the bilsteins set at the 1.75" setting and it was exactly 36" on all 4 corners. You will lose height in the rear because the FJ coils are mainly for leveling the front and don't provide much more lift in the rear. If you left the rear spacers in and ran FJ coils with bilstein 5100's up front you would be close to what you're at now.

 

[JB40]

I'm at 35/36 F/R with 5100s at .85 + 2010 FJs. It's reasonable to think you would be near 36/36 with them at 1.75.

Protip: don't do Moog FJ springs, they don't seat in the rear in most cases. You can search for more info but I'd never ride like that.

 

[momo.75]

What I am saying is that if you remove the spacer kit, and install OME's (884's or 885's) and bilstein's, YES, you will be about 1 - 1.5" over what you are at right now, depending on what you set the Bilstien's at. Check out Momo.75's build thread and you will see what I am talking about. He went from stock to Daystar 2.5, then to OME 884/Bilstein's in the front. He has before and after pics, side by side, of all three stages. Hopefully, [MENTION=165]momo.75[/MENTION] will not mind me posting a couple pics off of his build thread. Check it out:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/113207-momo-75s-03-sport-4-7l-v8-build.html

... and Momo, if you are reading this, just let me know if you want me to delete your pics/link.

Nope, it is all good. That is why I made the comparison pics.....hope they helped!

 

[TORCH]

I ended up purchasing some 5100's, OME 885 for front, and Icon springs for the rear.

I have a few Questions if anyone can help me out:

With this setup will I need to use any spacers in the front or rear to end up with a small amount of rake or should this combo work? Should I expect to see 3" front, 2" rear with this setup if set at the "standard height" on the front bilsteins?

I've seen other people use a 1/4" spacer on the driver's side, is this necessary?


Finally, Can anyone help me make a list of the additional parts I need to that I can just swap the struts out when I install without having to disassemble the current struts and reuse parts? Is there a complete top plate kit that includes the bushings/spacers that I need?