Suspension suspension

[twchapel311]

I am pretty confident in my ability to replace the shocks/struts on my 2000 SR5. Question is this, are there any other components I NEED to replace when I put the new shocks/struts on? Also, any recommendations on shocks/struts that do not involve a lift?

 

[Running4life]

To answer your question sort of...Maybe Maybe Not.
You should visually inspect every part of your suspension. Before you remove the tire jack the vehicle up and try to shake the tire (put your hands a 12 and 6 o'clock). Put them at 9 and 3 and do the same. The 12/6 will tell you if your LBJ's are showing wear and the 9/3 your steering rack/bushings.
There are plenty of options that do not involve a lift. Price will dictate what you are comfortable with.
I am sure you will get recommendations from this site but it does help to list as many details as possible like mileage, 4x4 or 2x4, etc. That way members can give you information based on what you have.

 

[mom]

In my case, once I knew the trick, replacing my struts was literally trivial!

I am pretty confident in my ability to replace the shocks/struts on my 2000 SR5.

You 'could' inspect (and replace if necessary) the rubber stops on the lower control arm, and you will likely replace the upper shaft nut and the lower seat & the lower shock bushing (all of which came with my Bilstein shocks last week).

In hindsight, I 'wish' I had also thought ahead (as you are) to replace the various washers and rubber bushings that I transferred over from the old strut assembly to the new strut assembly.

Likewise, as Running4life already suggested, the suspension, as a whole, should be, at least, inspected.

BTW, as a novice, I just completed my front struts on my 1997 4Runner (2WD) and, it turned out, even after performing extensive research (references are quoted in the threads so you don't have to perform the same research twice!), the first strut was difficult (hours), the next strut was pretty easy (30 minutes), and the third was a piece of cake (20 minutes from start to finish).

The difference, other than taking pictures for the team, was, for me, one single trick that I had to figure out on my own.
Note: The trick may or may not work exactly the same for you as it did for me depending on WHICH 4Runner you have ... specifically the 4WD vs 2WD geometries of where to place the bottle jack - however, this is already detailed in those threads below.

So that others newbies benefit, if possible, what I did, as a newbie, is explained in excruciating detail in the threads below for the benefit of the team:

1. How I replaced my front struts in my 3rd-generation Toyota 4Runner
   
2. How I went about choosing the replacement struts for my 4Runner
   
3. How I went about choosing the spring compressor for the job

Personal note: I hope these links help you! But please realize ... for some strange reason, some people here get overly vehement about newbies helping others by explaining what worked for them and why ... so please, either graciously accept the advice or simply skip it - but, if you do respond in those threads, please stay technically on track and resist the urge for unhelpful personal attacks (you'll see what this is about when you read the threads).