I accidentally carolina-squatted my 4runner

[aemravan]

So I think I accidentally ended up with a variation of the carolina squat on my 03 v8 4runner after installing the "bilstein 5100/OME 3" lift"

I went with
-5100 bilstein shocks (fronts set to the maximum 2.5" lift setting)
-885 front springs (stock weight 2.5" lift V8 or v6)
-895 rear spring (stock weight, 2.5" lift, over 30% stiffer than stock)

I also purchased the 1/2" spacers to either correct the lean, or raise the front up another 1/2 inch if needed, I did not use the spacers (didn't feel like pressing out the studs on the factory hats and they were going to be too short with the spacer)

Granted the car has only been on the ground for 12 hours on the front springs and 24 hours on the rear, but I don't believe it will do VERY much settling.. maybe a half inch, but not a full inch for sure.

Here are my current measurements, full tank of gas, prinsu rack with smittybilt overlander tent sitting over the rear axle:

Driver Front:
39.75" ground level to fender
8.75" top of tire to fender

Passenger Front:
40" ground level to fender
9" top of tire to fender

Driver Rear:
38.25 ground level to fender
7.25 top of tire to fender

Passenger Rear:
38.75" ground level to fender
7.5" top of tire to fender



so there approximately 1/4" lean which I'm ok with.. however, my front to rear difference is 1.25-1.5".. I have the victory 4x4 blitz winch bumper (68lbs) and a 9.5k winch (maybe another 70ish?) going on the front in the next couple of week, but even with that and removing the tent I cant imagine the bias will equal out much?

Yes, the fronts are adjustable and I could come down 1 retainer ring setting.. but 2 issues with that... why go lower? and also... it was a pain the arse to get the springs compressed and everything buttoned back in and i REALLY don't want to go through the reverse process..

so what are my options to try and get the rear up a little? I have to replace the rear sway bar links when they come in so i'll be in there any way and have thought about maybe going to the OME 896 spring for the added weight but I'm not sure if it will lift the rear any more. Would doing a minor body lift just in the rear be an option?

 

[aemravan]

Here is what it looks like

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[Heffernan]

Have you thought about throwing a 1-1.5" spacer in the rear?

 

[riceandpho]

when using ome springs, you have to keep the bilstiens at the 0 setting.
also ome are lift springs.
did you make sure the spring clip is installed correctly,

you might want to use the ome shocks instead of the bilstiens.

well im no suspension expert, but read enough to understand what is a good combo. so you really dont need to read what i have to say.

 

[aemravan]

Or am I just being crazy here.....?

I know its not a 100% accurate thing but a few horizontal lines show that at least visually it is fairly level...? I mean I know the tape measure doesn't lie but neither to horizontal lines ? Lol

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[aemravan]

Have you thought about throwing a 1-1.5" spacer in the rear?

I'm assuming you're talking about a body spacer, or..? And yea, thats basically what I am contemplating right now as I really don't want to go lower (mainly for the sake of being too damn lazy after spending 2 days working on it). I think if the rear came up another 1", even a bit less really, it would look the way I envisioned.

 

[y=mx+b]

a lot of kit options are sold as 2.5/1.5 or 3/2 lift options. A difference of 1 inch seems to be the way to level or leave slight rake. With the bilsteins on the top perch, you essentially have 5/2.5. A 2.5 difference in front to rear is most likely giving the slightly squat look. I would bring the bilsteins down

Also look at your CV angles. With 5" of lift up front, those babies are probably not too happy

 

[aemravan]

when using ome springs, you have to keep the bilstiens at the 0 setting.
also ome are lift springs.
did you make sure the spring clip is installed correctly,

you might want to use the ome shocks instead of the bilstiens.

well im no suspension expert, but read enough to understand what is a good combo. so you really dont need to read what i have to say.

Thanks for the input, I guess I probably should have done a bit more reading before diving in. I just assumed this being a "kit" carried by yotamafia.com (don't get me started on them at the moment, I'm still a little sour) that something would have been mentioned as far as which settings should be recommended for the necessary lift. I mean hell, they even offered an additional 2 spacers (for 70 extra bucks) to either correct lean or get an extra lift out of them, so I assumed that even with the maximum setting I would be looking at a little rake possibly.

The clip on the shocks is seated nicely, yea, I made sure of that when lining everything up before compressing the spring and throwing that on. No wonder I had a hell of a time compressing those damn springs and then after they were on a hell of a time getting my tool from inside of them lol.

As far as ride quality, the combination feels very good, not too stiff, not too soft, much better than anticipated. Is there a risk of running the OME springs on the higher lift settings with the 5100 shock? If so, obviously I need to just make some time and re do the work, if not.. i'll either live with it or get the rear up another 1/2-1".

 

[aemravan]

a lot of kit options are sold as 2.5/1.5 or 3/2 lift options. A difference of 1 inch seems to be the way to level or leave slight rake. With the bilsteins on the top perch, you essentially have 5/2.5. A 2.5 difference in front to rear is most likely giving the slightly squat look. I would bring the bilsteins down

Also look at your CV angles. With 5" of lift up front, those babies are probably not too happy

so if I understand correctly.. the OME 885 spring alone is good for a 2" lift, plus the bilstein 5100 on the top perch is good for a 2.5" lift? If that's the case I really wish it was spelled out better instead of a kit being marketed " 3" lift kit"

I may have to just suck it up and pull the front end apart at some point, as much as i would hate it.., and see about coming down a perch or two. I definitely wasn't looking for more than 3" and honestly thought I'd be sitting closer to 2.5" higher after it was on and settled.

 

[y=mx+b]

so if I understand correctly.. the OME 885 spring alone is good for a 2" lift, plus the bilstein 5100 on the top perch is good for a 2.5" lift? If that's the case I really wish it was spelled out better instead of a kit being marketed " 3" lift kit"

I may have to just suck it up and pull the front end apart at some point, as much as i would hate it.., and see about coming down a perch or two. I definitely wasn't looking for more than 3" and honestly thought I'd be sitting closer to 2.5" higher after it was on and settled.

Ealier you mentioned trouble with a spring compressor, there is a method to compress the spring with the LCA and a jack which is a tad safer than the screw type compressors imo. I believe its covered in this thread here: Changing front shocks and springs without a compressor

Another thing to consider is that with 2.5" springs and the 2.5" perch, you probably have limited the down travel with the shock extended that much.

You can justify getting back in there by thinking about all the CV axles you'll probably save by bringing down the 4.5-5" up front to 2.5-3"

 

[aemravan]

Ealier you mentioned trouble with a spring compressor, there is a method to compress the spring with the LCA and a jack which is a tad safer than the screw type compressors imo. I believe its covered in this thread here: Changing front shocks and springs without a compressor

Another thing to consider is that with 2.5" springs and the 2.5" perch, you probably have limited the down travel with the shock extended that much.

You can justify getting back in there by thinking about all the CV axles you'll probably save by bringing down the 4.5-5" up front to 2.5-3"

yea I decided I won't be lazy and will go ahead and head back over to the garage to get them taken apart and dropping it down. Not sure if I want to go down all the way, or just maybe coming down 2 perchs?

as far as the other method, i will definitely check that out, however, when i had the jack under the lca it lifted the entire car off the stands so I'm not sure if ti'll compress much with those springs right now..

 

[4runnin4mylife]

yea I decided I won't be lazy and will go ahead and head back over to the garage to get them taken apart and dropping it down. Not sure if I want to go down all the way, or just maybe coming down 2 perchs?

as far as the other method, i will definitely check that out, however, when i had the jack under the lca it lifted the entire car off the stands so I'm not sure if ti'll compress much with those springs right now..

You will definitely save some wear and tear on other parts by just going in and setting it lower for sure... you won't be sorry. Lazy now will cause huge headaches down the road. I know these are lift springs and the bilsteins are supposed to be set at 0 for this, but by the look of your 4runner, you may be pretty "rakey" toward the front if you go to 0. I would go down 2 perches and call it a day. That's just my 2 cents from looking at the rake of your vehicle and how it seems you want your stance from reading previous posts.

 

[aemravan]

Thank you guys all for the feedback.

I decided to go ahead and see if I can get it knocked out. Surprisingly the second time around it was MUCH quicker. 1 hours 50 minutes start to finish on both sides, wheels up to wheels down.

Factory was raked quite a bit forward, plus I'll have the bumper/winch going on, and once the tent comes up that'll take off almost 140lbs from the rear, so I decided to not go with the 0 perch setting, but i went up to the first one.

Needless to say the spring is much happier, as well as my cv axles.


The passenger boot already start oozing grease just from the few miles I rode around with the almost-6" lift lol. It isn't torn, but looks like the factory clamp just got a little stressed and it was oozing from around the rear of it. I replaced that clamp but now is looking like I'll probably have to do the same on the smaller front clamp as well.

2 hours of work well worth it. Here is a picture of what it is sitting like fresh off the jack stands

 

[aemravan]

Here it is

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[duffdog]

Here it is

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It looks like its already overloaded in the rear. I had the same problem and went with the OME899's to correct it. Never looked back and I like how stiff the rear is when jumping the truck. The 895e's used to feel soft and bottom out all the time.

 

[aemravan]

It looks like its already overloaded in the rear. I had the same problem and went with the OME899's to correct it. Never looked back and I like how stiff the rear is when jumping the truck. The 895e's used to feel soft and bottom out all the time.

Yea I wish I just went with the heavy duty spring for added weight. It's easy enough to change and I have to get in there any way to change out the sway bar links so I think that will be the route I go next month..

 

[luke2]

Here it is

Looks really good man! woulda loved to see the angle on those cv's before you dropped it back down :laugh:

 

[aemravan]

Looks really good man! woulda loved to see the angle on those cv's before you dropped it back down :laugh:

:scared:< that is almost exactly what they looked like prior to coming down almost 2 inches lol. It wasn't pretty but they didn't pop the boot or anything.

We replaced the driver's side boot clamp during the lift because the axle popped out a bit and we just couldn't get it back into place without sliding the boot back to guide it back into the cup, so that worm clamp held up like a champ, the passenger side that still had the stock clamps did not do so well.. but after a day of spewing a bit of grease I replaced those 2 clamps as well and so far after about 250 miles it's looking like it not leaking any more.. I guess that could also mean the boot is completely dry with no more grease left but time will tell :guitar3:

Just as a precaution, I'm doing the 1" diff drop this weekend along with a sway bar relocation to better flatten the angle some more with hopes that once the victory 4x4 blitz bumper with the RC9500 winch go on the additional 150ish lbs will suck the front end down another 1/4" or so.

 

[Monty87ls]

I Just did this to mine, had a 1.5 spacer in the rear and the 1/4 in the front. Still wasn't happy so tried a 1inch spacer in the front. Now the front is an inch higher then the rear! Trying to figure out my next step..

 

[aemravan]

I Just did this to mine, had a 1.5 spacer in the rear and the 1/4 in the front. Still wasn't happy so tried a 1inch spacer in the front. Now the front is an inch higher then the rear! Trying to figure out my next step..

What is the rest of the suspension set up? Are you just on spacers or shocks/springs as well?