rear trailing rods

[gtojimbo]

i was wondering how trailing rods with "jonny joints" are for highway cruising?
i want to refresh my rear suspension but i dont want too harsh of a ride. i know you can get replacement poly bushings from whiteline or energy suspensions. the rokmen or opt offroad bars look pretty amazing. i was wondering if they are of any benefit for a 4runner thats driven mostly on the highway? i would appreciate some opinions, thx.

 

[Devbot]

Unless you have pinion angle issues i highly doubt you'll see any benefit. The joints help with flex specifically.

 

[RandyBobandy]

Those joints are going to give a harsher ride than poly bushings, bushings on those arms are easy to replace and poly in the rear doesn’t add nearly as much ride harshness as it does in the front, I’d just pull the arms out and put some energy suspension bushings in.

 

[Bad Luck]

For mostly highway driving OEM rubber is the way to go. Both poly and johnny joints can be harsh and transfer more vibrations.

 

[gtojimbo]

ok thanks i would like oem bushings but i'm being told they are only available for the lower trailing rods -not the uppers. i was just kicking around what my options are.

 

[Bad Luck]

ok thanks i would like oem bushings but i'm being told they are only available for the lower trailing rods -not the uppers. i was just kicking around what my options are.

Are your uppers in bad shape? They typically don't see as much strain as the lower control arms. If it were me I would buy OEM upper control arms to replace them with.

 

[gtojimbo]

Are your uppers in bad shape? They typically don't see as much strain as the lower control arms. If it were me I would buy OEM upper control arms to replace them with.

thats what i'm going to do. replace the upper rods and new bushings in the lowers. thanks for advice

 

[Devbot]

thats what i'm going to do. replace the upper rods and new bushings in the lowers. thanks for advice

Why wouldn't you just replace the bushings in both the upper and lowers... if anything you would want to buy new lowers since they're the one with captive bushings and a much bigger pain to swap out.

 

[Bad Luck]

Why wouldn't you just replace the bushings in both the upper and lowers... if anything you would want to buy new lowers since they're the one with captive bushings and a much bigger pain to swap out.

OEM bushings for the upper control arms are not available separately.

 

[gtojimbo]

OEM bushings for the upper control arms are not available separately.

i have 210,000 miles on my 4runner and nothing is really bad, but i really like the vehicle {i'm the original owner} and it just seems a little tired. so i started with the front suspension and replaced

upper/lower arm bushings with new bolts for the arms
upper/lower ball joints new bolts
spring pads
bilstein shocks front and rear
new end links with sway bar bushings front and rear
new steering rack with the hose assy and outer tie rods
misc other things

now i'm just trying to decide what to do with the rear suspension and so far i've been able to do everything with oem toyota parts, until i bumped into no available oem bushings for upper trailing arms. it seems weird that they wouldnt be availble but i'll just get new arms and call it a day!

 

[spartacus]

i have 210,000 miles on my 4runner and nothing is really bad, but i really like the vehicle {i'm the original owner} and it just seems a little tired. so i started with the front suspension and replaced

upper/lower arm bushings with new bolts for the arms
upper/lower ball joints new bolts
spring pads
bilstein shocks front and rear
new end links with sway bar bushings front and rear
new steering rack with the hose assy and outer tie rods
misc other things

now i'm just trying to decide what to do with the rear suspension and so far i've been able to do everything with oem toyota parts, until i bumped into no available oem bushings for upper trailing arms. it seems weird that they wouldnt be availble but i'll just get new arms and call it a day!

Toyota doesn't sell the bushings for rear upper trailing arms. Not sure if they are replaceable. The stock oem rear upper trailing arms are super strong and hold up to twisting real well. so if your bushings are good just leave em.

 

[Joshv4runner]

If you're just going to do normal driving and occasional off-road, I would go with Whiteline bushings for the rear upper/lower trailing arms. I changed mine this summer and boy does it ride better. Make sure you get a torch to burn out the old bushings, set of punches and a handsaw to get the outer metal sleeve out on the bottom trailing arms.

 

[gtojimbo]

If you're just going to do normal driving and occasional off-road, I would go with Whiteline bushings for the rear upper/lower trailing arms. I changed mine this summer and boy does it ride better. Make sure you get a torch to burn out the old bushings, set of punches and a handsaw to get the outer metal sleeve out on the bottom trailing arms.

yea, i was thinking if things were tightened up in the back, overall it would handle better.

 

[vegask]

I've built and ran a few different rear LCA setups over the years.

Running rear lowers with flex joints/heims on both ends creates an odd feeling when you are turning. Almost like the truck is not returning back to center or where it is supposed to be after you finish the turn. On the freeway not much of a difference except for some added noise.

Running rear lowers with one poly bushing (axle side) and a heim (frame side) I have had zero issues with. It feels like it is stock until you go offroading and everything flexes better. Plus with this setup there is no fear of a jam nut loosening and having the ends un-wind.