Rear Suspension on 2WD Daily - Anything Smart Beyond Shocks/Springs While I'm at it?

[5horizonsrr]

Hi all,

My wife's daily is a 2001 2WD, stock suspension since she is quite short and it is 2WD anyways. We are starting to see a little rear sag, and the shocks are prehistoric anyhow, so its time to replace the lot.

I'm planning on using OEM springs (no good/quality aftermarket at stock height?) and probably KYBs for shocks

After a little searching I thought I'd ask since I didn't see much in the way of pro tips for a stock-replacement job like this: Are there any small/rubber/related components I should swap in the process, or general "while you are in there" jobs I should be doing while I'm at it for efficiency- rear suspension or in that geographical area of the car?

Thank in advance for any insights!

 

[phattyduck]

New OEM '99 talls in the rear (that can then sag up to 1" and still look good) will be fine, as would correct/matching year rear springs (that would last another 20+ years, just like the current set).

New front top-hats and stem bushings will be a good idea.

New front (OEM only!) lower ball joints are highly recommended - that is the only catastrophic failure point in the gen3 4Runner, pretty much.

All the bushings, front and rear will be old/shot - which causes uncomfortable but not dangerous suspension harshness. Whether you want to change them is up to you.

New shocks+rear springs+front lower ball joints will get you 85% of the way there - whether you want to do the last 15% is up to you...

-Charlie

 

[5horizonsrr]

Thanks [MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] ! Apologies for the delay but work inhaled me the last few weeks and I haven't had a chance to get this moving.

Doing rear only for now, then will move to front the next free weekend.

I'm going to order KYBs, is it worth the $20 for an energy suspension (or similar) poly bushing kit?

 

[Twisted Sid]

Rubber bushings are noticeably smoother and have a better ride than poly bushings. I had poly in the rear link bars for a few years and went back to rubber and am glad I did. I still have poly in the panhard bar but that doesn't really effect the ride and front lower control arms that I still want to change back to rubber.
Also look at the sway bar bushings and endings while you are in that area

 

[5horizonsrr]

Just a note to say thanks everyone! Between your tips, the FSM, and the Timmy video this was far easier than I was expecting. Total time for the rear including lots of fidgeting and cleanup was 3 hours. Those top nuts were a good 45 minutes of that

I went KYB and OEM springs, its my wifes daily and Im trying so hard not to open pandoras box with mods that will turn it into a project truck for me

I did notice my stabilizer bar bushings (the ones connecting the vertical to the horizontal bars) are totally destroyed. Will need to order those, the rest looked surprisingly good down there for 185K miles!

Thanks again guys- you are always a huge help!