Questions about improving ride

szekany

szekany

New member
I own a 1998 4Runner LTD. I bought it 1.5 years ago with 106k miles. It's now got 127k miles on it. As of late I've been very happy, with the exception of one thing: the comfort of the ride.

Driving on perfectly flat pavement is fine, but hitting bumps or cracks is a relatively jolting experience. Driving on unpaved dirt roads is also very unenjoyable. On some surfaces, the truck actually makes an audible (and relatively loud) squeaking sound when hitting bumps. That, more than anything, doesn't strike me as being normal behavior.

I'm guessing that this is a problem with the shocks, and they need to be replaced. Or could it be something else? How can I tell for sure before I spend hundreds of dollars on getting new shocks installed?

Also, I do mostly city and highway driving, so if I do have to replace the shocks I'd probably go with the Toyota OEM model. I've read some previous posts on this forum and found suggestions that these can be found online at much less expensive prices than at a dealer. But then can I install them myself or do I need to find a repair shop to do it? I'm a relatively technically inclined person, but my car repair resume is limited to changing my oil and installing a stereo or two.

I know it's a lot of questions, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
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i dont know if yours is the same as mine, but my squeaking over bumps is due to shot swaybar bushings.

you also have to keep in mind that this is a truck youre driving, not a car, so "jolting" over bumps is pretty normal.

id go for softer shocks than oem if youre looking for a more plush ride... i have no experience in softer shocks though so I cant point you in the right direction... hopefully someone else will.
 
shocks is a good idea, you may even need new one's after 127k...another thing to look at is the type of tires you have on the 4Runner. Tires can make a huge difference on the quality of the ride, check with your local tire shop and see what they say about the tires and make sure they are inflated proporly and definitly not overinflated.

Good luck.
 
I second the thought on the tires; not only is tire type important (LT vs. P-rated) but as tires age and lose their tread compound, they stiffen and don't provide nearly as much ride comfort. If the tires you have are LT-rated and/or older with high mileage, new tires would make a world of difference. And, I was also beaten to mentioning the pressure issue; make sure you're between 30-34 all the way around; 30 for max comfort, closer to 34 if the tires are older or you're doing a lot of freeway driving.

For max ride comfort, I'd go with Toyota factory shocks and OEM Goodyear tires or comparable P-rated Michelins. I run Bilstein shocks and LT-rated BFG All-Terrains on my 4Runner, but I actually prefer the firmer, more truck-like ride.

If you have a mechanic you trust- or if you're willing to crawl on your back under your truck- check the condition of the bushings and ball joints. I'm guessing their fine, though; my bushings look very solid (1997my,152k/mi) and the ball joints test out perfectly, and I have an older model with higher miles than yours.

Good luck! Tires & shocks are expensive but your truck will ride like new...
 
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szekany said:
Great, thanks for the advice everyone.
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There was a TSB to replace the rear springs and cones. This might apply to you. Check out yotatech.com. They had quite abit of info about it.
 
bmanning said:
I second the thought on the tires; not only is tire type important (LT vs. P-rated) but as tires age and lose their tread compound, they stiffen and don't provide nearly as much ride comfort. If the tires you have are LT-rated and/or older with high mileage, new tires would make a world of difference. And, I was also beaten to mentioning the pressure issue; make sure you're between 30-34 all the way around; 30 for max comfort, closer to 34 if the tires are older or you're doing a lot of freeway driving.

For max ride comfort, I'd go with Toyota factory shocks and OEM Goodyear tires or comparable P-rated Michelins. I run Bilstein shocks and LT-rated BFG All-Terrains on my 4Runner, but I actually prefer the firmer, more truck-like ride.
Click to expand...

The tires I have right now are "Michelin LTX M/S" according to the large writing on the side. Does the "LTX" part of the name imply that these are LT tires, or is there some other way to tell?

The tread doesn't look look too worn, but they're not new either.

Thanks again.
 
It's probably shocks. These go out at about 100k miles. One way to tell is if your tires are cupping, your suspension is out of whack. If you can't tell, bring it to a tire shop and they'll tell you right away if your tires are cupping.

I also upgraded to Bilsteins and would not recommend them for what you want. From what I've read, OEM, tokiko trekmasters, or KYB's are the way to go to stick closer to stock and softer ride. If you wanted to lift the truck, there are other alternatives.

Good luck.
 
Ok, I've established that my tires are P-rated, properly inflated and not excessively worn, so I'm going to look into getting the shocks and possibly the swaybar brushings replaced. Thanks for the help.
 
My truck has the same insane sqeaking noise. Did the swaybar bushings help?

My rear springs are also sagged a little too. Does that happen to anyone else?
 
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