KYB Suspension: Will it settle?

[Montego Murph]

Hi all,

It was time to replace the suspension on my '03.

Went with KYB SR4130 and SR4131 Strut-Plus in the front and KYB 344410’s in the rear. All were listed as OEM replacement.

At the last minute, I added a Daystar leveling kit in front. At first I was afraid of looking like a poser with a lifted truck that is only used on the road, but I changed my mind. (This is why I didn't go straight to 5100's.)

Anyway. I noticed that now the front is sitting significantly higher than the rears. Should I expect the new suspension to "settle in" and go down a bit, or am I stuck in a pop-a-wheelie pose now?

 

[Morphyne]

Did you replace the rear springs? If not, then that is the look you are going to have. If original your stock suspension will be 15 years old and will have sagged a bit. Good news is that replacing the rear springs with some new Moogs (or other brand) is not that expensive, and if you take you time and have all the right tools, not that hard to DIY.

 

[Montego Murph]

No, I didn't. I left the rear springs as-is. But this has to be the biggest "duh" I've done to myself in a long time. That makes perfect sense. Thank you!

Is there a favorite write-up somewhere for replacement?

 

[Morphyne]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/223051-rear-coil-spring-replacement.html

Message me if you run into trouble. I've done this a few times now.

 

[hinmo24t]

i think i have those KYB replacements on my truck.
They give a leveled look, the fronts are higher than stock,
which i just recently found out (see my recent thread 'does my truck look stock height?')
I dont really understand how you didnt want the lifted street cruiser look
then you added a lift spacer, on top of aftermarket suspension
that already give you a lift compared to stock. Maybe put that daystar spacer
on the rear and youll have some rake - or ditch it altogether.

 

[Morphyne]

I doubt that KYB replacements would be built to give a higher than stock look. I think what you are experiencingis what i just described. The stock springs sag over time. so that when you put in stock height replacements it makes it look like you leveled it. I always replace all 4 springs when I do shocks.

 

[hinmo24t]

I doubt that KYB replacements would be built to give a higher than stock look. I think what you are experiencingis what i just described. The stock springs sag over time. so that when you put in stock height replacements it makes it look like you leveled it. I always replace all 4 springs when I do shocks.

yeah...so why would he have added a spacer then, if he wanted to avoid the lifted urban wheeler look?

 

[Montego Murph]

The KYB's were advertised as OEM replacement size with no indication of lift or improvement.

As for the didn't want/did it anyway... I was indecisive. The KYB's were bought from RockAuto nearly a year ago but it took me all this time to finally install. Over time I realized that I preferred the "leveled" look to the "hunkered down" stock look, but it was too late to return the KYB's and upgrade to 5100s, so I went with the Daystar leveling kit as a compromise.

I REALLY hope that ditching the daystar isn't what I have to do since it involved trimming the studs and installing adapters.

 

[hinmo24t]

The KYB's were advertised as OEM replacement size with no indication of lift or improvement.

As for the didn't want/did it anyway... I was indecisive. The KYB's were bought from RockAuto nearly a year ago but it took me all this time to finally install. Over time I realized that I preferred the "leveled" look to the "hunkered down" stock look, but it was too late to return the KYB's and upgrade to 5100s, so I went with the Daystar leveling kit as a compromise.

I REALLY hope that ditching the daystar isn't what I have to do since it involved trimming the studs and installing adapters.

here it is with that suspension - no spacers...gives a nice even height
and great ride. id say ditch that spacer or put it out back. mine has about 75lb in the hatch area and no spare under it in this pic.

 

[Morphyne]

Something is not right about that pic. Either you were giving the wrong strut up front or it was installed wrong. You are correct, that is higher than stock, but KYBs should not do this.

I'm glad you like the look and the ride, and Im not trying to be a stickler here but the info on this board has to be correct for others looking for education on the topic. KYBs should be stock height. I wounder if they put a set for a tunder in there or something. something with a slightly longer spring...

 

[hinmo24t]

Something is not right about that pic. Either you were giving the wrong strut up front or it was installed wrong. You are correct, that is higher than stock, but KYBs should not do this.

I'm glad you like the look and the ride, and Im not trying to be a stickler here but the info on this board has to be correct for others looking for education on the topic. KYBs should be stock height. I wounder if they put a set for a tunder in there or something. something with a slightly longer spring...

heres another angle...someone said they are adv. as FJ/4runner replacements
but sit a bit higher than stock. for me it doesnt matter (i actually think it looks and rides great
right now) i am lifting with Old Man Emu and bilstein within the next month or two.

 

[Montego Murph]

For what it's worth, this is a conversation I had just now with KYB Tech Support:

Me:
Will you please confirm that the KYB products I installed (Note: part numbers discussed in previous message) are equivalent in lift/height/etc to the OEM issue, or does the KYB some degree of lift? Going by new product measurements, of course. I realize that my old ones would be droopy from use.

KYB:
Our shocks and struts are designed to match OEM ride height specifications and when they are installed on your vehicle, the ride height will be within 10mm of the factory specification. Unless you buy a shock/strut for a lifted application, they will not change the vehicle ride height by a significant amount.

 

[Morphyne]

heres another angle...someone said they are adv. as FJ/4runner replacements
but sit a bit higher than stock. for me it doesnt matter (i actually think it looks and rides great
right now) i am lifting with Old Man Emu and bilstein within the next month or two.

Yeah it looks good!

 

[Montego Murph]

Epilogue

I wanted to take a minute to follow up on this for the benefit of future searchers.

Turns out Morphyne was right on the money. It was the rear coil springs. I replaced them this afternoon with Moogs and love the way they turned out.

Replacing them was unbelievably easy. The only difficulty I had was my own fault -- I should have lifted the truck up a little higher than I did. Somehow I thought I could raise it "just enough" to get the wheel off, and the downward axle travel at that height would be sufficient.

Thank you all for good discussion and taking the time to help me solve this minor mystery.

hinmo24t, if you don't mind me asking... did you ever determine if you did have a spacer in your fronts?

 

[jrm]

Id

remove the spacer lift and buy some fj moog coils/kyb shocks for the back..

 

[07V8]

The front still looks far too high. The rear should be higher than the front for improved driving characteristics and the fact that it will settle with any weight in it.

 

[gaber6]

I have the same Daystar kit and KYB and yes the front is a twinge too high but not really noticeable if you aren't picky. In a couple years, I bet it levels out.