Need some expert help - installed Bilsteins (pics) but have issues

[harper7]

Good work there detective Antman. It makes sense now with that bolt missing and the original installer must have forgot to put it back in. And I thought you were the only one crazy enough to take the LCA loose at the ball joint to do a CO change. lol JK!

rkiller ,your lucky that wheel just did'nt break right off at the lower ball joint as the stresses going around any curve or turn had to be up there.You really need to have them inspect everything on that side.

Had a friend in high school with an old Dodge Charger who was just changing lanes on the highway and his lower ball joint let loose. The car made an immediate turn to the right and went thru guard rails and rolled down over an embankment. He survived but was busted up and in the hospital for awhile.

 

[robotkiller]

Good work there detective Antman. It makes sense now with that bolt missing and the original installer must have forgot to put it back in. And I thought you were the only one crazy enough to take the LCA loose at the ball joint to do a CO change. lol JK!

rkiller ,your lucky that wheel just did'nt break right off at the lower ball joint as the stresses going around any curve or turn had to be up there.You really need to have them inspect everything on that side.

Had a friend in high school with an old Dodge Charger who was just changing lanes on the highway and his lower ball joint let loose. The car made an immediate turn to the right and went thru guard rails and rolled down over an embankment. He survived but was busted up and in the hospital for awhile.

Yeah - thinking back to this weekend and remembering how it was so incredibly unsteady- pretty disturbing to think about that wheel dragging around like that. In fact, I remember when it was driving well, and when slowly turning into a 90 degree turn and the wheel suddenly flopped. That might have been when the bolt dropped.

Now that I think back to the binding and clunking I would hear when reversing full R lock - it makes me sick. R full lock in reverse probably put the maximal lateral strain on the lower ball joint. Who knows what was actually clunking.

Ugh.

 

[11TEBLK]

Thanks 4 keeping us all posted man! I was thinking of doing this myself w a buddy that used to work at Camburg but after everything you've been going through I've stepped back and reconsidered. Might just have to suck it up and pay the Toyota dealership the $500 they quoted me. Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully it's just a couple bolts and resetting a system or two. It's pretty baffeling that the shop and you're dealership missed such vital and key components!!

Look on the bright side, now you know a ton about you're 4RUNNER!!!

 

[Antman]

Now that I think back to the binding and clunking I would hear when reversing full R lock - it makes me sick. R full lock in reverse probably put the maximal lateral strain on the lower ball joint. Who knows what was actually clunking.

Ugh.

I hope not- but I think the clunking was the CV joint being forced to turn at an angle it wasn't designed for. I would definitely drive around on some dirt in 4wd, and get on the throttle pretty hard with the wheels turned in both directions before I called this "fixed"!

 

[4RunningDetroit]

I wouldn't trust the Toyota Dealership to do any aftermarket work. The mechanics at the dealership near me couldn't even figure out how to install rear Bilsteins...pathetic. You really need to find a competent 4-wheeler shop. I'm not a huge fan of chain shops but 4wheelparts near me did a great job on my suspension for a fraction of the price of the dealership.

Good Luck!

 

[Yota_Tech87]

I wouldn't trust the Toyota Dealership to do any aftermarket work. The mechanics at the dealership near me couldn't even figure out how to install rear Bilsteins...pathetic. You really need to find a competent 4-wheeler shop. I'm not a huge fan of chain shops but 4wheelparts near me did a great job on my suspension for a fraction of the price of the dealership.

Good Luck!

Dude your dealership sucks then... We install a ton of lifts and bilis all the time... Sometimes stuff doesn't fit perfect but we do the right stuff to make it work... That's a low blow to us... Aftermarket places are all about selling you stuff you don't need... 4 wheel parts here in denver didn't even know what a rear diff pinion flange was... Like WTF... You want to gear a rig but don't know what a diff flange is??? Go pounce sand.

Sent from my HTC MYtouch 4G

 

[harper7]

Dude your dealership sucks then... We install a ton of lifts and bilis all the time... Sometimes stuff doesn't fit perfect but we do the right stuff to make it work... That's a low blow to us... Aftermarket places are all about selling you stuff you don't need... 4 wheel parts here in denver didn't even know what a rear diff pinion flange was... Like WTF... You want to gear a rig but don't know what a diff flange is??? Go pounce sand.

Sent from my HTC MYtouch 4G

Sup Yota_Tech87!

You could be one of the forums greatest assets.Feed our heads then about the easiest way to do a lift with KDSS. I read the factory repair manual and it says to disconnect the 2 front stabilizer control tubes off the KDSS system control tube(actuator)and remove the sway bars. Then re-install bars after CO/shock change and replenish(suspension fluid AHC) and bleed the KDSS system with the special tool SST 09760-60020(which according to others is rarer then hen's teeth)

Is that the way your dealership does it?Have they done any lifts with KDSS? Eventually somebody is going to make history and say"hey,this IS the easiest way to do it"step 1 thru whatever!
I might have it figured it out from some others install remarks(showing what/why made it hard for me) but we'll see what the dealerships way is and when another is done and documented.

Another question.....Do you think the OP's dealership tech should have caught this within 10 minutes of being up on the rack. When I look up under there at mine it would be so freakin obvious that a bolt that big is missing(or loose),and corresponding empty hole, especially the way the wheel was off camber and toe and that's why it was brought in. You still wonder why dealerships get low blows?

 

[robotkiller]

Ok guys...it's fixed. Hallelujah.

Toyota replaced the bolts and aligned the truck. TRAC system at that point allowed the tech to zero it out. Turns out the 4runner was smarter than anyone and wouldn't let them calibrate a screwed up truck. The tech checked out the CV boots/joints as well as KDSS and they said everything looks good. 4WD engages fine. I have not had the chance to let it rip in the dirt or try to activate the KDSS. That's something I will need to do. Luckily the 4runner seems to be a pretty tough vehicle and was able to tolerate this mistake without any long term damage (knock on wood)

You can see the two bolts on the LCA now replaced.

My original complaint of L wheel rubbing and R wheel collapsing w/reverse is resolved. The car handles as it should - no wandering, no floatiness and it is rock solid up to 85 MPH.

R full lock in reverse

Previously looked like this:

As it stands now

I was quick to blame the whole thing on KDSS, when it was in fact a crap installation. KDSS makes installation more complicated, but the basic problem here was a completely unprofessional job. In hindsight, I think finding someone who is really dedicated to doing the job right is more important than anything else. I don't think that taking it to the dealer for installation is an absolute necessity. Finding a great shop is.

Toyota probably should have picked up the mistake the first time around, but I'm not going to belabor the point. I've talked to the first shop yesterday and they agreed to pay the bill. We'll see if they honor their word.

Thanks guys. This forum is an awesome resource and I've learned a lot. All your advice has been incredibly helpful and I truly appreciate it.

:thanks:

 

[Narkhelek]

Glad you got it worked out. That must have been a very frustrating experience.

I look at the pics of your truck and remember back when my truck looked all shiny and new without all the scratches all over it from wheeling.. *sob*

 

[4ShoreRunner]

arty:

Woo hoo! I know how frustrating and terrifying this can all be, esp with a new truck. I'm glad everything worked out for the best with minimal damage to the truck (and the wallet)!

 

[11TEBLK]

Congratulations man!! You're rig looks great, thanks 4 all the updates!!

 

[Airwolf]

Back working... COOL!
It even looks like it's more level now.
Glad it worked out. I have been following and feeling your pain!
:cheers:

 

[homeyclaus]

Glad you got it worked out. That must have been a very frustrating experience.

I look at the pics of your truck and remember back when my truck looked all shiny and new without all the scratches all over it from wheeling.. *sob*

+1...

on both points.

It was nice to look at shiny underside bits of a 4RTE though.

 

[chmura]

I am glad you got this resolved and it was not an expensive fix!

Nothing is worse then a broken new vehicle from a aftermarket modification!

So what are you going to do to the shop that installed your lift? Give them the bill that you paid Toyota for the repairs? You should definitely contact that shop!

 

[FERAL 4R]

I agree with all the positive comments and luckily it didn't do any major damage.

Now what you need to do, is go back to everyone who touched your truck, and give them a good "Hello...McFly?"......Morons!

 

[Jtraskell]

Antman to the rescue again. Dam, this is getting really repetitive!

 

[4RunnerTrail]

How does it ride with the 5100 front and back? you also have daystar 1.5 on rear correct? how much did that lift the rear? Thanks!

 

[Antman]

Antman to the rescue again. Dam, this is getting really repetitive!

...stalker. :cheers:

 

[proquip]

Ok guys...it's fixed. Hallelujah.

As it stands now

I was quick to blame the whole thing on KDSS, when it was in fact a crap installation. KDSS makes installation more complicated, but the basic problem here was a completely unprofessional job. In hindsight, I think finding someone who is really dedicated to doing the job right is more important than anything else. I don't think that taking it to the dealer for installation is an absolute necessity. Finding a great shop is.

:thanks:

I'm stoked for you! Glad to see that it all worked out. Like you mentioned, we tend to question that which we don't fully understand, and KDSS fits the bill. In the end, the problem was far more simple than that, the mechanic who did the install did sloppy work, making for a truly dangerous situation.

Again, glad to hear it got sorted. BTW, the truck looks bada$$!!

How did you fare on the alignment? How much caster were they able to dial in? I'm going in for an alignment next week after I installed the lift and I'm a little worried I won't be able to get enough caster added back.

 

[robotkiller]

How does it ride with the 5100 front and back? you also have daystar 1.5 on rear correct? how much did that lift the rear? Thanks!

I have 5100s on both ends. It's a superior shock. I wasn't expecting the ride to actually be smoother - which it is. Small bump compliance is better and the truck feels better controlled over larger dips. The center of gravity is higher, so cornering is not better. Haven't taken it off road yet, but I'm really happy with the ride quality. I have Daystar 1.5 rear spacers. I'm not exactly sure what the total lift is on the back - I think it probably came out to around 1.5 inches. I use a 40 pound bike rack, so I knew I wouldn't be able to go 1.75 in the front without a spacer in the back. Didn't want the nose to be in the air. It does have a rake (less than stock), but the frame is pretty much level - which is what I wanted. If you are not using a rack, third row seating or have some other fixed weight in the back then the 1.5 spacer might be too tall. BTW - 1.75 is the least I would personally do for the front lift. I don't think I would have been satisfied with .85, visually.

I'm stoked for you! Glad to see that it all worked out. Like you mentioned, we tend to question that which we don't fully understand, and KDSS fits the bill. In the end, the problem was far more simple than that, the mechanic who did the install did sloppy work, making for a truly dangerous situation.

Again, glad to hear it got sorted. BTW, the truck looks bada$$!!

How did you fare on the alignment? How much caster were they able to dial in? I'm going in for an alignment next week after I installed the lift and I'm a little worried I won't be able to get enough caster added back.

Thanks! No one knows anything about KDSS. This was the take home lesson. Toyota really doesn't feel comfortable dealing with it. But yeah - I'm glad it turned out to be something really stupid. The first shop cut me a check this morning for the repair, so it all turned out ok.

Toyota was only able to get 2 degrees caster when they aligned it. They could get more on one side, but it wouldn't have matched the other. I haven't noticed any overt bumpsteer or wandering. It's pretty solid on the highway. That said, 1.75 is probably the highest you can go without needing UCAs.