Sway Away Suspension lift installation

[HiVel-JR]

Wow, nice looking runner, Redondo Beach is a nice area, been there several times. (I have a sis-in-law that lives there) Again looks great, you put alot of work into it, and it shows...

 

[Run'n'Gun]

Thanks, I just put some new tires on it and it looks much better. I got the big o bigfoot x/t's. They are a mix between a mud terrain and an all terrain so they aren't super lound, can barely notice them and perform really well. I should post some new pics. Thanks for the compliment though. Redondo is great, I love it down here, it doesn't feel like I'm in LA at all.

 

[Run'n'Gun]

New Shoes

Finally broke down and bought some new shoes.
275/17/70 Big O Bigfoot X/T's I really like them so far.
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[MAC4Runner]

The Bigfoot XTs look like Nitto Terragrapplers on roids! :bigok:

 

[00328]

How is the SAW susp doing after running it for a couple months?
Are you getting any rubbing with the 275s?
What are you doing about a spare?
Do you need to disconnect the shocks to adjust them?

4R looks awesome, trying to decide on OME or just bite the bullet and go with the SAWs.

 

[Falls]

Looks very sweet !! Nice job

 

[T4Rfun]

Great writeup and your Runner looks good. I also prefer the Racerunner Coilovers and will probably go with the Camburg 2.5" (Swayaway) and the Camburg Engineering UCA's. www.camburg.com Your tech writeup has guilted me into doing the install myself.

How about an update on their performance off-road, as well as street manners? Have you been out wheeling with them yet? Can you give a comparison to the stock suspension? We basically have the same vehicle. I have an 06 V8 4x4 Sport with Xreas.

Again, excellant post. Thanks for the clear and concise tech tips and great photos.

 

[Run'n'Gun]

After running the SAW's for a few months I have to say they are great. They have great street manners and soak up the bumpy concrete on the free way. There is the same or less body roll than the xreas so that is great too. Off road they are awesome. I was going through a really rough section of a road in the desert that was all whooped out about 35 or 40 with no problems. As for the 275 tires, I don't have any rubbing, I had to trim a bit but after that there is none. Good luck with putting on the SAW's you won't be dissappointed. If you have any questions about it let me know.

 

[MAC4Runner]

:iagree:

I've been runnning the SAWs on my front-end for a while now and LOVE them. They perform great on and off-road. The difference is night and day over stock and the Cornfed 3/2 I had prior to this set-up. As you can see in my sig, I have SAWs up front and OME in the back, while both are an upgrade in handling and performance over the spacer lift, the OMEs are a bit stiffer than the SAWS. I plan to upgrade to the SAW rear shocks in the future to balance out the ride.

 

[00328]

Sounds great guys!
Do you need to get your alignment checked everytime you adjust the fronts up or down?
Or is it more a matter of running them for a week or so after you first install them to get them to settle a little, then adjust for evenness and then get an alignment and forget it? Hope that makes sense.
Do you need to disconnect anything to adjust them or can you just crawl underneath and put the wrench on them and turn the adjuster?

 

[Run'n'Gun]

yes and no. You will need to everytime you adjust your suspension. Some places will do it and gaurantee it for a year so you could just take it back to them I guess. As far as adjustments, there is a small allen screw in the ring that holds the coil in place that needs to be loosened first, it keeps the ring from spinning while driving. Then you take your wrench out and get after it. make sure the vehicle is jacked up. Also I took off the handle of my floor jack to put the pipe over the adjustment wrench cause you will need the extra leverage. Once you have it level and where you want it, then get an alignment and you should be set until you change it again.

 

[MAC4Runner]

yes and no. You will need to everytime you adjust your suspension. Some places will do it and gaurantee it for a year so you could just take it back to them I guess. As far as adjustments, there is a small allen screw in the ring that holds the coil in place that needs to be loosened first, it keeps the ring from spinning while driving. Then you take your wrench out and get after it. make sure the vehicle is jacked up. Also I took off the handle of my floor jack to put the pipe over the adjustment wrench cause you will need the extra leverage. Once you have it level and where you want it, then get an alignment and you should be set until you change it again.

x2

 

[00328]

Ok, thanks.
One last question.
Was the alignment shop able to get the alignment to Toyota specs or could they only get it close?

 

[Run'n'Gun]

I don't know, I think it was to specs. It was the laser alignment machine so it is pretty accurate.

 

[00328]

Thanks for answering all my questions.
Your post with all the pics of the installation makes me think I will just install them myself. Looks pretty time consuming but not really all that hard to do.

 

[Run'n'Gun]

It's not that hard. It was time consuming, but part of that was figuring out some things like using the bottle jack to push down on the control arms front and rear to pop out and in the old and new springs/shocks. I could probably do it now in about 3 to 4 hours by myself. Just be careful not to screw up the tie rod threads. Also, I was unsure about disconnecting the xreas stuff too so that took some time. Good luck, you'll be fine, it's really not as complicated as it seems.

 

[00328]

Yeah, I would probably try to rent a tie rod end puller from one of the auto parts places. Don't really think I want to pound on it with a mallet. I have a habit of over-doing it sometimes, especially if I get pissed.

 

[boss]

i really like my x-reas because i feel it is stable on the highway. does it feel like your driving a Cadillac or are the stock characteristics still present?

i like the set up very nice. i just wish i went off road more to actually use it. I checked the prices now. they're $1524. tough to swallow

 

[Run'n'Gun]

honestly I don't miss the xreas at all. I think it handles better now than it did with it, but I haven't driven with xreas for a long time. I got ran off the road by a truck one night doing about 75 on the free way out in the middle of nowhere. There was dirt and small shrubs etc. on the side of the road, it was in the desert, I hit the brakes the truck went back into his lane and I got back on the pavement. I guarantee that the suspension and tires I have on that thing saved my life, and 3 others. I don't know if the guy fell asleep or was just being a ****, but it was scary none the less.

 

[SConnors]

I've been wanting a set of these since I first read about them in this thread. Just received them and will install tomorrow!