Shocks or Springs first?

[gilp]

Hey all, lovin the he11 out of this forum. :thumb3:

my newly purchased 98 limited with 128k on it is feeling a little soft in the rear end. It does not appear the springs are sagging as the car sits very level but I can tell going over speed bumps and the like that its pretty soft.

The question is what should I do first? Shocks or Springs or Both at the sametime? Everything is on a budget for me on this car so doing both is unlikely.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance as usual!

 

[Gerdo]

Both!

The front shocks are assembled inside the coils so there is the same labor to build with new coils and shocks or reusing old parts.

The rear is different. If the rear bounces and keeps swimming or it just feels spongy then It's probably shocks. Weak coils will also feel soft.

I replaced my shocks years ago with Monroe shocks, bad mistake. When I went around corners and hit a bump it would feel like it was about to roll. Down right scary. I replaced them with Bilsteins and all is good.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

I did a full swap of just shocks and struts about a year ago. The rear was way bouncy but i put some kyb monomax's in there and there is no more bounce or spongyness. Im pretty sure there the same coils since 01? it rides really nice though.

 

[gilp]

yeah, I'm looking at just the rears only right now. The fronts feel really good, stable, not mushy - I think they are in pretty good shape.

I'm thinking possibly the bilsteins as thats what is in there now and I really like those shocks. Monroe, yes crap. Wore out after 1 year on my old sequoia and that was my wifes car.

 

[Gerdo]

Bilsteins have a lifetime warranty. Take them to a dealer and they will replace them.

 

[gilp]

Sorry for the late reply back here. Thanks for all the info. Interestingly enough, I had the 4runner out for our first trial dirt run up in a local canyon here. We had good rain in the last few days so there was definitely some fun to be had, took my kids as this was the reason to get this in the first place!

Interestingly enough, the rear end was surprisingly stable. No bounce, no long recovery time, really stable at higher speeds on the dirt. I actually thing my shocks and springs are in really good condition. I think this may have really been its first time off road, where actual 4wd was used. 98 with 128k...just getting started.

I think I'm just getting used to its road ride and for some reason it just felt soft to me. One less expense for the near future. Btwy...these trucks are so awesome. My runner is just so solid, like its been off roading for years, didn't miss a beat today through some fairly deep mud(for southern california that is!).

A few fun picks:

 

[Ron Helmuth]

check first to be sure your new to you ride ever had it's rear springs replaced under the recall notice. 98s were covered.

Have a dealership scan in your VIN and you might be surprised that you can still get this done-for free!