New 2000 4WD T4R owner needing some advice

S

ScoobyStew

New member
Hey, I'm completely new to this forum, so I hope you can forgive me if I ask any repeat questions.

My wife and I just purchase her parent's 2000 Toyota 4Runner Limited, and drove it home from Arizona to Oregon. It has 127,000 miles on it now, and so far it's been great. I can see why so many people love their 4Runners.

The only thing I'm curious about improving is the ride. It tends to ride rather stiff, and I'm interesting in finding a way to improve that. It doesn't need to be like a luxury car, but just something that's a little less noticeable.
I've heard you can get new springs, new shocks, new struts, and new bushings, but what is it that I would really need, and what can I go without?

I'm far from being a mechanic, but I'm also someone who is willing to learn, and if I don't have the means or the tools to do something, I'll find a friend who does.

So how can I improve my ride? As far as I know, everything is stock, but it's the nicest model Toyota made that year.

OH, and for bonus points, I am looking to find some replacement headrests. We have two for the front seats, but they look like someone just put them in as a temporary replacement, because they're fabric and not leather. The back seat doesn't have any headrests. It's a bummer, but I'm sure I can find something. Any recommendations?

Thanks!
:bravo:
 
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Thats a tough one to answer, ride quality and how you want/expect it to ride is so subjective. Also, 4runners by design ride stiffer than a lot of other SUV's.

Do you know when the shocks and struts were last replaced, if ever? I would start there.

As far as headrests, I would check eBay.
 
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It may need new shocks at that mileage. Also, check and make sure you are not running large amounts of air pressure in the tires.
 
If it rides stiff it's not blown shocks, that would make it ride soft and bouncy. It's probably normal unless her parents put different coils in there at some point. What are you used to driving? Maybe it just feels stiff compared to another car?? Like GoFaSSter said, tire pressure can make a big difference. What kind of tires does it have? The tire rating (ply) makes a big difference too. "D"s ride softer than "E"s for example or they might say "8 Ply" or "10 ply" in which and 8 ply would ride softer than a 10.
 
It could be like our 4runner where my gf unknowingly let some grease monkey install KYB shocks. Now I must change them out just like I had the tires changed to something more civilized. Getting rid of the load range D tires helped immensely. Now all I have to do is install some rear shocks with a bit more give to them. I'm leaning toward Monroe Sense-matics.

You need to verify what is currently on the vehicle first. Who knows what was done to it.
 
Tires can certainly play a big role. No need for a 10 or 8 ply. Go for a 6 ply ( or you might even be able to go less). Also the type of tire. You can have a tire that have bigger lugs for off road like a BFG All Terrain that will run stiff because of a 3ply sidewall (rock protection) and it wont roll as smooth because of the heavy lug pattern. Michelin makes a lot of really smooth 'over the road' type tires that have nice soft side walls designed for comfort. However they usually cost a little more. Oregon gets lots of ran so I'd check out the Michelin M/S or Cross Terrain. Smooth tires with lots of siping. Hope that helps.
 
Also check to see how fresh your current tires are. When I bought my runner I had P rated tires with date code of 2003. Although the tires seem to be ok I did notice that the tires had dried crack in between the grooves. Those tires rode a lot stiffer than my current tires toyo mt E rated!! So probably changing your tires may solve your problems, I would go this route first if your tires are old.
 
Wow guys,
thanks for all of your awesome input!
I'm pretty sure that everything is stock. I know my in-laws didn't do any upgrades, but my father-in-law did just get new tires on there, and he said they improved the ride from what it use to be, but I still think it's a bit stiff. And my previous vehicle was a '96 Toyota T-100, which I think rode a little nicer, ironically enough.

I doubt that the shocks and springs have ever been replaced, so I'm almost certain everything is still stock. My in-laws only owned it for less than a year, and offered to sell it to us because my wife and I are expecting our first baby in April. The people who owned it before my in-laws are personal friends of theirs, and they seem like good people, but perhaps not the type to go all custom-crazy.

I know that the tire pressure is at 35 PSI right now, which is the max for the tires. I suppose I could try to take it down to something more around 30 PSI, and see what that does. What do you guys think?
 
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my bro has a 2000 with 137000 miles and his was rough we found it was riding on the bump stops he did the old man emu for less then $1000 installed and it rides so great now.
ScoobyStew said:
Wow guys,
thanks for all of your awesome input!
I'm pretty sure that everything is stock. I know my in-laws didn't do any upgrades, but my father-in-law did just get new tires on there, and he said they improved the ride from what it use to be, but I still think it's a bit stiff. And my previous vehicle was a '96 Toyota T-100, which I think rode a little nicer, ironically enough.

I doubt that the shocks and springs have ever been replaced, so I'm almost certain everything is still stock. My in-laws only owned it for less than a year, and offered to sell it to us because my wife and I are expecting our first baby in April. The people who owned it before my in-laws are personal friends of theirs, and they seem like good people, but perhaps not the type to go all custom-crazy.

I know that the tire pressure is at 35 PSI right now, which is the max for the vehicle. I suppose I could try to take it down to something more around 30 PSI, and see what that does. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
 
I have a 97 T4R with 140,000 miles and I always ran A/T tires on it. The last ones I had were the Brigestone Revo's. I found them to be good tires, but they gave a rough ride and they got hard in cold weather.
I switched to General Grabber HTS tires and man what a difference in ride comfort. They even had a write up in Four Wheeler Magazine. So far I am very happy with them.

General Grabber HTS Tire Test - Four Wheeler Magazine

General Grabber HTS Tires - Tire Size & Price Details - 1010tires.com
 
I just put on a set of Michelin LTX M/S tires. Really transformed the ride.

newtires005-2.jpg~original
 
Gonna try to lower the tire pressure

I had a friend advise me about the ride on my 4Runner, and he said I could probably drop the tire pressure from 35 psi (which is the max for my tires), down to something more like 32-33 psi. I'm gonna give it a shot and see if it takes a little bit of the bumpiness out.
 
I have a friend who has those Michelin LTX M/S tires on his truck and on his wife's 2001 4runner; he swears by them. I think his wife's 4runner has close to 90,000 miles on her tires, and they still have maybe another 5k - 10k left on them. They are a really good long lasting tire, I prefer a more aggressive tire, but if not I would buy them.
 
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