New Front Shocks- Spring Compressor???

[clemson4rnr]

I hope this isn't too stupid of a question, but I am about to purchase a pair of adjustable 5100 Bilsteins for the front of my SR5 and was wondering whether or not during the install I would need a spring compressor.

I have installed a few lifts on some older trucks, but never on a car with IFS. I know sometimes you can get away without having to deal with the spring pack.

Any of y'all spent enough time around the front suspension to know how big of a PITA the swap would be?

 

[Jesse1983]

yes you will. If i were you i would take the stock shocks/coils off. take them into a little shop with the new shocks and ask them to just put your new shocks in the stock coils, then go home and reinstall. They should only charge you like $20, if that, because it should take them less then 5 minutes each. definitely not worth paying them for the whole job you can easily do yourself. i wouldn't recommend buying or renting a handheld spring compressor though.

 

[clemson4rnr]

Awesome... Thanks for the input. I was thinking that would probably be the best option as well. I will be sure to post a few pictures of the process. Cant wait for these things to come in!!!

 

[borgzman]

I will rent a spring compressor. Because I will experiment with the settings.

In FJ Forums, setting it to .85" gave them more than 1" of front lift.
Possible front suspension lift/levelling option using Bilsteins 5100’s with adjustabl - Page 9 - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

I set mine also to .85" and expected a 1" since V8 is heavier engine, but then it is lifted 1.25"..

Since you have a 5th gen, I think you will be the first one going to that setup, nobody knows if it is only .85" in the 2nd notch or more. You might want to move the spring to the 1.75" after a day of driving and need the compressor. :thumb3:

 

[Jesse1983]

Even if they need adjusted after install i would still take them back to a shop for compressing. spring compressors you rent can be very dangerous for the user. i've read horror stories.

 

[clemson4rnr]

Even if they need adjusted after install i would still take them back to a shop for compressing. spring compressors you rent can be very dangerous for the user. i've read horror stories.

^^^^^ Im with you on that one.

I'll probably start with them on the 2nd notch (the .85" setting) and worst case scenario I can take them back to the shop and spend another $20 to move them up to the 1.75" if its not enough.

Better off spending a couple bucks rather than getting knocked out :boxer: by a runaway spring.

http://www.bilsteinus.com/leveling/downloads/E4-WM5-Y323A00.pdf

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

^^ Agreed!! when I was installing the 5100's in my Tacoma, I rented a spring compressor from Autozone, Didn't even compress an inch and the darn things started to bend on me. I called up a few places and Pep Boys said they would do it $20 per shock assembly. Well worth it IMO!! I ended up going back at a later date and had them raise the snap ring to the 3rd spot for 1.75" of lift I Believe.

But yeah, when the compressors started to bend, I knew is was a matter of time before they would snap and hurt someone. I also didn't want to buy them from Auto zone for $50 either if they broke!!

 

[clemson4rnr]

iDRiVaT4R-

Did you do anything to the rear of your Taco after the 1.75"? I kind of want to start with them at 1.75 but i dont want it to be taller in the front than the rear afterwards...

 

[borgzman]

about the spring compressor: Ya Safety First ..and always..Though there are safer techniques,I admit not worth the risk.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

Since your doing all this to the 4Runner, I would guess the front would either be level with the rear or just be a little lower then the rear. From what I have read on the 4Runner's, the rear is around 2" taller then the front. Best way to determine what to do is measure from the ground or middle of hub to the middle of the fenders both front and rear, see what the differences are and determine how much higher the rear is to the front. Then up front just add your lift amount 1.75" and then see how close the rear is to the front. This is how I always determined if the Tacoma was level.

To answer your question about my Tacoma, I added 3-leaf progressive add-a-leafs, it was still higher in the rear, but the Tacoma's are very light out back. The 4Runner's are more equally distributed as far as weight goes compared to the pickup truck.

 

[clemson4rnr]

Thanks, Ill take measurements tonight and post the results up for all those that are interested...

 

[sandcrawler]

Thanks, Ill take measurements tonight and post the results up for all those that are interested...

oddly enough, in an idle moment earlier today i measured myself and found the distance from the ground (even, level garage floor) to the lower lip of the fender to be 36.5" in the rear and 34.5" in the front. both measurements taken at the center of the wheel, spanning the hub, to the middle of the fender well.

personally, having already invested in new tires, i would just like to get an appropriately sized spacer in the front to level it out with the rear (to the eyes). when these tires wear out in a few years, i'll likely be enthusiastic about dropping the coin on a lift with new coils/shocks to go with a bigger set of tires.

 

[7harper]

I used a spring compressor to compress the springs in the wheel well so I did'nt have to disconnect the hydraulic lines on my X-Reas shocks when I put the Toytec spacers in.

It is definitely doable but one of the biggest pains and I would'nt advise anybody to do it on truck springs which have a higher spring rate. No local shops wanted the liabilty of disconnecting the X-Reas lines so I had no choice.

 

[7harper]

oddly enough, in an idle moment earlier today i measured myself and found the distance from the ground (even, level garage floor) to the lower lip of the fender to be 36.5" in the rear and 34.5" in the front. both measurements taken at the center of the wheel, spanning the hub, to the middle of the fender well.

personally, having already invested in new tires, i would just like to get an appropriately sized spacer in the front to level it out with the rear (to the eyes). when these tires wear out in a few years, i'll likely be enthusiastic about dropping the coin on a lift with new coils/shocks to go with a bigger set of tires.

That's about what mine was stock.Check both sides as mine was 1/4" higher on the pass. side.Don't remember if the gas tank was full or not .
The Toytec 2 inch lift spacer in the front gave me 1 3/4 inch front lift to make it just about level.

 

[sandcrawler]

That's about what mine was stock.Check both sides as mine was 1/4" higher on the pass. side.Don't remember if the gas tank was full or not .
The Toytec 2 inch lift spacer in the front gave me 1 3/4 inch front lift to make it just about level.

you just have the 2" Toytec spacers in the front only, harper? your rig looks lifted front and back, but i take it that's just a trick of the eye?

 

[7harper]

you just have the 2" Toytec spacers in the front only, harper? your rig looks lifted front and back, but i take it that's just a trick of the eye?

Yep ,just the 2 inch Toytec spacer lift in the front only with stock rear.The Toytec 2 inch lift is actually a 1 inch CNC'd aluminum spacer that fits on top of the springs to get the lift.
Little or no difference in ride quality but you will need an alignment as it throws the camber/caster out.

I'm also running 33 inch tires which give about another 3/4 inch lift front and rear.

 

[sandcrawler]

thanks, harper. :hatsoff:

 

[clemson4rnr]

oddly enough, in an idle moment earlier today i measured myself and found the distance from the ground (even, level garage floor) to the lower lip of the fender to be 36.5" in the rear and 34.5" in the front. both measurements taken at the center of the wheel, spanning the hub, to the middle of the fender well.

personally, having already invested in new tires, i would just like to get an appropriately sized spacer in the front to level it out with the rear (to the eyes). when these tires wear out in a few years, i'll likely be enthusiastic about dropping the coin on a lift with new coils/shocks to go with a bigger set of tires.

Hmm... Interesting, when I measured from the center of the wheel to the top of the fender I got about 35" in the front and 36.5" in the rear... Close enough for me

I am running stock sized BFG A/T's, but I wanted to level out the 4Runner without adding spacers. I'm sure spacers work just fine, I just haven't had the best of luck with them in the past (that and for some reason they just dont sit well with me)... Hence purchasing Bilsteins and not spacers.

Coilovers were a little overkill because I hardly ever do anything crazy off road other than driving to go camping, fishing or hunting. :hunter: I figured that the 5100's were the best option for me.

I am thinking about setting the shocks at 1.5", but am scared the tires 265 BFG's might look way too small.... Anyone have two cents to spare?

 

[sandcrawler]

Hmm... Interesting, when I measured from the center of the wheel to the top of the fender I got about 35" in the front and 36.5" in the rear...

i measured to the bottom of the fender... are we saying the same thing?

Close enough for me

do you mean that the stance doesn't look raked to you? or that our measurements are close enough?

I am running stock sized BFG A/T's,

stock size 265/70/17 Goodyear Duratracs on mine...

but I wanted to level out the 4Runner without adding spacers. I'm sure spacers work just fine, I just haven't had the best of luck with them in the past (that and for some reason they just dont sit well with me)... Hence purchasing Bilsteins and not spacers.

i hear you re: spacers insofar as a true lift goes, but i consider this simply leveling it out front to back. if i were truly lifting it i'd go with new shocks and coils at all four corners.

Coilovers were a little overkill because I hardly ever do anything crazy off road other than driving to go camping, fishing or hunting. :hunter: I figured that the 5100's were the best option for me.

I am thinking about setting the shocks at 1.5", but am scared the tires 265 BFG's might look way too small.... Anyone have two cents to spare?

if you're just leveling out the front the tires shouldn't look any smaller than the rear ones look presently, no?...

 

[4RunnerTrail]

Lift in front

What do you all think of this. I really don't want a big lift. Looks cool but I really drive on road. But hate stock tires. I'm going to upgrade and i also like the look of the red coils and leveling the truck out. I think you will be able to see the red coils through the fender gap. So i may get toyotec Front adjustable coil over kit with Bilstein 5100's. Looks so good. Run stock rear. And when and if i move to mtns i can raise the front and get rears. I also want to run a more aggressive tire like the MT/R in 275s because they won't rub. So stock rears... Front adjustable coil over kit with Bilstein 5100's and 275 MT/Rs.

Also don't like the way the truck squats so much under braking and acceleration. of course accelerating would prolly need the rears stiffer.

but i'm sure the coilovers would help.

here is pic.