Hey there everyone! I usually just lurk on these forums, but have ran into an issue as of recent and could use some advice on how to proceed with rectifying the issue.
First off, what I'm working with is a 2008 4WD V6 SR5, which was bone stock before the below listed parts were added.
About 15k miles ago, I had an overhaul of preventative maintenance done under the hood (belts, pumps, hoses, radiator, fluids, brakes, etc.) by a very good friend of mine who used to be a longtime mechanic for BMW/Lexus/Toyota before he joined the Army (we met in basic training, haha). The 4Runner had about 100k miles on it at the time.
I figured that while he was at it, I'd go ahead and get some new suspension parts thrown on, the stock suspension was beginning to feel "worn out" as compared to when the truck was new. I went with a minimal lift and OME parts, as I don't do any offroading (my driving is 80% highway, as I make the round-trip drive from NC to NJ about 1-2 times per month). I chose to go with OME because I've heard nothing about fantastic things in regards to the quality and how satisfied most people are with the product.
I went ahead and purchased this kit from ToyTec: OME full suspension -- Click here for details
Specifically, I went with:
- Front Shocks: OME 90000
- Front Coils: OME 884 Light
- Rear Shocks: OME 60020
- Rear Coils: ToyTec Superflex Light
Here's my issue:
I've just changed all 4 tired to brand new Michellin LTX M/S2's about 650 miles ago, and have noticed that the driver side of my 4Runner is sitting lower than the passenger side. I don't remember if I noticed this within the past 15k miles at any point before changing to new tires; I have a feeling I did once or twice, but figured it was my eyes playing tricks on me and never gave it another thought. It certainly wasn't as noticeable as it is now, with all 4 tires having brand new, even tread depth. After noticing this, I went and took measurements from the bottom lip of each wheel to the top of the wheel well to confirm my suspicions. All measurements were taken with the 4Runner completely empty, and about 5-6 gallons of gas in the tank. The measurements are as follows:
- Front Driver Side: 80.2cm
- Front Passenger Side: 81.2cm
- Rear Driver Side: 82.8cm
- Rear Passenger Side: 84.4cm
Clearly, the driver side is indeed sitting lower than the passenger side.
I've done some looking, and it appears we probably installed the suspension pieces I bought incorrectly. We did not know that within the kit, there were specific springs for the passenger and driver sides to account for driver weight, etc. We just threw the front pieces on the front, and the rear pieces on the rear.
I'm not very mechanically inclined, so when the parts came, I just trusted my buddy to throw the parts on properly seeing as how he's worked on Toyota's for the better part of a decade in many different capacities. He did a great job and didnt have any problems, but I'm guessing that he just wasn't used to working with aftermarket suspensions or lift kits in general since most of the work he did was at a dealership and probably dealt with OEM parts.
I don't believe the kit came with any instructions at all, so he just did his thing. I don't believe he took any measurements pre or post install from the the wheel to wheel well.
Now that I've identified the problem, I need some advice with how to retroactively identify which springs go where (they're not labeled on the parts themselves, are they?). Surely its not as simple as throwing what I have on the passenger side onto the driver side, is it? I unfortunately do not have any of the boxes that the suspension parts came in, so I can't go back and look at which spring came out of which box (labeled A or B, or DS or PS). I'm planning on giving ToyTec a call tomorrow as well, to see if they have any suggestions.
I'm checking out the page on ToyTec's site where I bought the lift kit, and also noticed this at the bottom of the page:
"Includes (1) OME Trim Packer to be installed on the driver side front. "
I don't remember seeing or working with this piece, but I had everything shipped directly to my buddy's house and he may have just missed it. I'm pretty sure we didn't use/install this.
I've brought the issue up to him and we plan on getting the truck up on the lift this Sunday to see what we can do to correct the driver side lean.
Any advice on how to troubleshoot/go from here in order to rectify the issue is greatly appreciated!
First off, what I'm working with is a 2008 4WD V6 SR5, which was bone stock before the below listed parts were added.
About 15k miles ago, I had an overhaul of preventative maintenance done under the hood (belts, pumps, hoses, radiator, fluids, brakes, etc.) by a very good friend of mine who used to be a longtime mechanic for BMW/Lexus/Toyota before he joined the Army (we met in basic training, haha). The 4Runner had about 100k miles on it at the time.
I figured that while he was at it, I'd go ahead and get some new suspension parts thrown on, the stock suspension was beginning to feel "worn out" as compared to when the truck was new. I went with a minimal lift and OME parts, as I don't do any offroading (my driving is 80% highway, as I make the round-trip drive from NC to NJ about 1-2 times per month). I chose to go with OME because I've heard nothing about fantastic things in regards to the quality and how satisfied most people are with the product.
I went ahead and purchased this kit from ToyTec: OME full suspension -- Click here for details
Specifically, I went with:
- Front Shocks: OME 90000
- Front Coils: OME 884 Light
- Rear Shocks: OME 60020
- Rear Coils: ToyTec Superflex Light
Here's my issue:
I've just changed all 4 tired to brand new Michellin LTX M/S2's about 650 miles ago, and have noticed that the driver side of my 4Runner is sitting lower than the passenger side. I don't remember if I noticed this within the past 15k miles at any point before changing to new tires; I have a feeling I did once or twice, but figured it was my eyes playing tricks on me and never gave it another thought. It certainly wasn't as noticeable as it is now, with all 4 tires having brand new, even tread depth. After noticing this, I went and took measurements from the bottom lip of each wheel to the top of the wheel well to confirm my suspicions. All measurements were taken with the 4Runner completely empty, and about 5-6 gallons of gas in the tank. The measurements are as follows:
- Front Driver Side: 80.2cm
- Front Passenger Side: 81.2cm
- Rear Driver Side: 82.8cm
- Rear Passenger Side: 84.4cm
Clearly, the driver side is indeed sitting lower than the passenger side.
I've done some looking, and it appears we probably installed the suspension pieces I bought incorrectly. We did not know that within the kit, there were specific springs for the passenger and driver sides to account for driver weight, etc. We just threw the front pieces on the front, and the rear pieces on the rear.
I'm not very mechanically inclined, so when the parts came, I just trusted my buddy to throw the parts on properly seeing as how he's worked on Toyota's for the better part of a decade in many different capacities. He did a great job and didnt have any problems, but I'm guessing that he just wasn't used to working with aftermarket suspensions or lift kits in general since most of the work he did was at a dealership and probably dealt with OEM parts.
I don't believe the kit came with any instructions at all, so he just did his thing. I don't believe he took any measurements pre or post install from the the wheel to wheel well.
Now that I've identified the problem, I need some advice with how to retroactively identify which springs go where (they're not labeled on the parts themselves, are they?). Surely its not as simple as throwing what I have on the passenger side onto the driver side, is it? I unfortunately do not have any of the boxes that the suspension parts came in, so I can't go back and look at which spring came out of which box (labeled A or B, or DS or PS). I'm planning on giving ToyTec a call tomorrow as well, to see if they have any suggestions.
I'm checking out the page on ToyTec's site where I bought the lift kit, and also noticed this at the bottom of the page:
"Includes (1) OME Trim Packer to be installed on the driver side front. "
I don't remember seeing or working with this piece, but I had everything shipped directly to my buddy's house and he may have just missed it. I'm pretty sure we didn't use/install this.
I've brought the issue up to him and we plan on getting the truck up on the lift this Sunday to see what we can do to correct the driver side lean.
Any advice on how to troubleshoot/go from here in order to rectify the issue is greatly appreciated!
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