Tyler James Inc's OEM+ '97 Limited

[AssBurns]

These fvckers better be so perfect! Haha

Hahaha I'm reading this just laughing. I know the pain of trying to do such a simple task that just can't be done simply. Sometimes you gotta just stop, relax and come up with a new solution. It's much harder than it sounds though haha.




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[UnderFire]

Lol, I just had one of those WTF goddammit moments trying to get the ADD gear out of my new diff. MF'r would not budge and it's only held in by a snapring.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Hahaha I'm reading this just laughing. I know the pain of trying to do such a simple task that just can't be done simply. Sometimes you gotta just stop, relax and come up with a new solution. It's much harder than it sounds though haha.

I almost died, for sure! Haha
It was on there so tight dude. After pounding screwdrivers in from all angles, FINALLY getting it separated, stacking screwdrivers and using all sizes I have at all angles, I STILL had to use the puller all the way up until it was all the way off. I can't believe how tight it fits.

Lol, I just had one of those WTF goddammit moments trying to get the ADD gear out of my new diff. MF'r would not budge and it's only held in by a snapring.

Haha oh I hate that too.
My radiator cap had broken sometime along the way, and I noticed it this summer. Yes, I am human and procrastinate on important things sometimes.
Anyway, finally ordered a replacement a couple days ago.
New Genuine cap next to the broken OE cap-

The OEM TRD Tundra rear shocks are definitely softer than the 5100's. It's nice over certain things, but overall I miss the tighter valving of the 5100.
I mostly only swapped them on to see how that length shock would work for where I want my travel to be. It only cost my the price of the bushings, so no big deal. If they happened to be valved nice, awesome, but I was planning on them being a stepping stone.
I'd like to know the dimensions of the OEM 4th gen Tokico black shocks, and also how their valving is- compared to 4600's and 5100's. Obviously the 4600 and 5100 valving changes for application too.
The 5100's I pulled off are what ToyTec/Bilstein recommends for the Superflex coils(or any 3"+ lift on a 3rd gen), and is also used for 4th and 5th gen 4Runner/FJ with a 2" lift. So I'm thinking a FACTORY length 4th/5th gen shock might be a good length for me.
I'm gonna go floor-jack-flex the 4Runner, and go from there.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Don't have the crazy droop that a lot of guys here love, but I got my up-travel I wanted back!
Tire is jammed against the bumper, so it's not letting it go up any further. Thinking about pie-cutting it and re-welding it to make clearance. Hide the cut behind the flare piece and it should look stock [emoji1360]
The compressed shock still has ~1 1/2" left of compression, so that should be perfect for being able to stuff the tire without bumping out the shock.

My poor end links

And I'll still need to lower the bump stop some. I want to keep it a hard stop, so I can have as much up-travel as possible without bumping out my shocks or jamming the tire into the quarter

To summarize-
These shocks seem to be the perfect length for me. As far as I've found, they're 14" collapsed, and 22.5" extended.
I think I'd like to get the 5100's to tighten the rear back up([emoji15]). Not sure if I want to deal with trying Tokico blacks or not. Sonoran seems to think the Tokicos are better for on-road handling... which should imply they're tighter than the 5100. But again, I'm sure valving is different for different application, and he was referring to the LC shocks.

 

[fourfive]

For everyone reading this- DO NOT force your lower 5100 sleeves onto your lower mounts. I would sand the mounts nice and smooth with some 200+ grit, and then apply anti-seize. Snug fit is good, but I remember pounding these on, and I fully regret that decision.

How much shorter are the new shocks? How do you like them compared to the 5100s you had on before?

I think just about everytime I've installed the lower shock mount I've had to tap it on with my 1lb plastic hammer and for removal had to use a long pry bar.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

[MENTION=116877]fourfive[/MENTION]
The passenger side came off with a couple blows and a block of wood- as to be expected.
The driver side was on so tight, a pitman arm puller and pounding wedges in the joint still took hours. I shouldn't have forced it on when I originally installed it.
New shocks? I hate them.
SUPER soft and uncontrolled.
After flexing it this morning with the new shocks, I'm now questioning myself if the old shocks were even limiting my up-travel.
These shocks are 13.8" compressed, and the 5100's I just took off are 15" compressed. That's 1.2" difference. I had almost two inches of shock travel left this morning when my bumper stopped my up-travel. Now I'm thinking my bumper was stopping my up-travel, when I thought the shocks were bumped out. Really annoyed at the whole situation, but I'm cleaning up the rig and garage for the week, and I'll re-visit the whole shocks situation next weekend.
I was also tired of looking at my super mis-matched front end, so I put the chrome grill back on, as well as the one '99+ corner light I do have. Looks much better. Hopefully I can grab the passenger side soon, and I should be able to get the grill sprayed soon too.
Still don't like the fat lip much, but am excited about the winch setup. Also like having the nice OEM fogs. I took the bumper off two weekends ago, to see if I could easily shorten the brackets to sink the bumper in more- no luck. I'll have to build my own brackets, because I definitely want to shorten it.
Took the in-coil bump stops out while I had the rear ended apart, in hopes the 1/4-3/8" difference would be noticeable- I think it is. I'm happy with how it's currently sitting [emoji1360]

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Current state photo dump.
For anyone skatin through- this is '99 tall front coils on Tundra adjustable Bilstein 5100's on perch 3 of 5.
Rear is Superflex coils with no coil isolator/center bumps.
17x9 wheels with 5" backspace.
Tires are BFG K02 in the 315/70R17 flavor.

The tree creases aren't TOO bad, and even hard to try to get a picture of-

On the other hand, some lighting and angles make it very obvious-

So [MENTION=90352]UnderFire[/MENTION] I'll take you up on your offer- I'd love it if you let me know if you run across a Limited Anthracite door. PDR might be the best option though. I need to get a quote.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Those end links need some help - I'm new to the 4 wheel game but I come from the muscle car world...

I would make a bracket fork to mount in the original hole then use a heim joint on the end of the factory rod --- should give a lot of play and no deflection --- just a thought

 

[MarkamisPrime]

It amazes me how much lift those superflex coils differ from truck to truck
Your not running the internal bumps and are getting more lift than I am with them in.
My truck sits so perfectly level but I'm looking into getting the OME 10mm trim packer to get my stance like yours.
Idk if I'll have to remove the internal bumps and just add the packer or combine the two but I just need that little bit more in the rear.
Also I'm pretty sure the billies were limiting your up travel cause I have tons of droop but not really any up travel with them, I can't stuff my tire but Im also only running 265/75s.
When these go bad I think I'm just going to go with a basic non resi fox shock because they are rebuildable and stiff for on the road but not too crazy off road. They sell them in a lot of different lengths and valving and at $125 a shock not too bad. They have a chart on there site of collapsed and extended lengths, icon shocks are also a thought I read on here somewhere that they are shorter collapsed but the same length extended as the extended length billies.

I also copied your center cap look.

 

[Chuckles89]

Looks like you had a lot of fun with the shocks this weekend :rofl:

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I would make a bracket fork to mount in the original hole then use a heim joint on the end of the factory rod --- should give a lot of play and no deflection --- just a thought

They do! I'm making my way around everything, and those will be getting attention soon. Not a bad idea at all with the heims. I have a buddy I can source FK rod ends from, so maybe I'll give that a shot.

Looks like you had a lot of fun with the shocks this weekend :rofl:

Yeah...fun...that's one word for it *

Also I'm pretty sure the billies were limiting your up travel cause I have tons of droop but not really any up travel with them, I can't stuff my tire but Im also only running 265/75s.
I also copied your center cap look.

I'd say you copied the original OEM TRD cap more than you did mine. If you like those colors, the OEM cap would probably work awesome for you! I just didn't want those colors on my wheels/rig.
Really? They differ in height huh? What is your center-of-hub to fender measurement? I believe mine was right at 24" when I first measured. Should be about 23.5" now- assuming the coils have settled just a touch, and now I have the 1/4" isolators out. I'd be interested to know what yours is though. That would be strange if they aren't consistent. I know pictures can be deceiving sometimes too.
That's good info about your 5100's limiting your up-travel. I mean, not really good, but makes me more confident they were my limiting factor. Have any pictures stuffed with the shock bumped out? How close can you get to the stock hard axle bump?

On a separate note, I REALLY like the new Ridge Grappler. I looked at their sizes, and they make a 285/75R17! I've never seen that size before, and that would be a sick size for me. I would like to lose a little width, but not height. That's exactly what the 285/75R17's would do for me. Not gonna happen, but I can dream. It would also allow me to keep the 5" BS wheels I have, and not rub my frame or UCA. What a sweet deal those would be.

 

[JayRolla]

Funny my OEM radiator cap did the same thing the other day. I have always lost a little coolant in the overflow but never had any over heating issues. Replaced the cap with a non OEM till I could get one and when topping off I drove away without replacing cap and had to go buy a second!!!

Then when doing my belts last week I found the old cap in my scrape plate. Now I have two non OEM's and decided two non OEMs may last as long as one OEM so I will just keep it in the back. HAHA.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

[MENTION=50342]JayRolla[/MENTION] [emoji23]
Yeah, without the cap sealing properly, the overflow system doesn't work right at all. That said, I also had no issues getting hot at all. I was like 1/2" gallon low on coolant too. Whoops.

 

[JayRolla]

[MENTION=50342]JayRolla[/MENTION] [emoji23]
Yeah, without the cap sealing properly, the overflow system doesn't work right at all. That said, I also had no issues getting hot at all. I was like 1/2" gallon low on coolant too. Whoops.

I remember pressure testing the cap years back when I was trying to find the leak and it tested good after I fixed some other leaks. So I just skipped the cap until it fell apart in pieces forcing me to replace it.

 

[MarkamisPrime]

I'd say you copied the original OEM TRD cap more than you did mine. If you like those colors, the OEM cap would probably work awesome for you! I just didn't want those colors on my wheels/rig.
Really? They differ in height huh? What is your center-of-hub to fender measurement? I believe mine was right at 24" when I first measured. Should be about 23.5" now- assuming the coils have settled just a touch, and now I have the 1/4" isolators out. I'd be interested to know what yours is though. That would be strange if they aren't consistent. I know pictures can be deceiving sometimes too.
That's good info about your 5100's limiting your up-travel. I mean, not really good, but makes me more confident they were my limiting factor. Have any pictures stuffed with the shock bumped out? How close can you get to the stock hard axle bump?

I wanted the caps to match my AP UCAs, the oe caps are a little to shiny for my taste.
I measure 23.5 with the factory isolator in center of hub to bottom of my fender.
And from floor to bottom of my fender I'm 39' exactly front and rear.
I don't have any stuffed pics but can get some.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Okay, [MENTION=144752]MarkamisPrime[/MENTION] It looks like it's just the pics making the height look different. I just measured mine, and- as close as I can see- I'm right at 23 1/4" with no coil isolators/center bumps. 39 3/4" fender to ground- which is 1/4" down from the 40" I was with the isolators last weekend. That's on 315/70R17 tires, obviously.
For reference, my front is at 38" even fender to ground, and 21.5" center of hub to fender. So the front is pretty low. That may be making the back look higher.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I don't know if they're the same valving as the standard Tundra 4600 shocks- or 4Runner 4600, for that matter- but these 20k mile 2004 Tundra TRD rear shocks FVCKING SUCK ASS!
Super under dampened, super soft, I come to a stop and my back end typically bounces a time or two, anything remotely close to an e-stop and it looks like I'm in a hydraulic hop contest. Now I see why my FIL said Toyota specs them way too soft, and went to 5100 rears. I don't know what I'm gonna try next, but I can't wait to get these off. Just wanted to post in case anyone happened to come across this and were considering these shocks for the rear of their 3rd gen.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I'm a horrible 4Runner dad, and I don't know why I'm exposing all my weaknesses, but here I am.
Finally got a new air filter-

The boys needed to get out, so we went and threw the ball-

Happy kiddos-

There's a set of front and rear 2016 4R Trail suspension(coils and shocks) for sale locally for $200. Basically no miles on them. Maybe he'd take $60 for just the rear shocks [emoji12] Wondering if it's worth trying some Tokicos.

 

[Chuckles89]

There's a set of front and rear 2016 4R Trail suspension(coils and shocks) for sale locally for $200. Basically no miles on them. Maybe he'd take $60 for just the rear shocks [emoji12] Wondering if it's worth trying some Tokicos.

[MENTION=106527]Erickson[/MENTION] is running some 5th gen Tokicos and he really likes them... especially for free lol

 

[Tyler James Inc]

[MENTION=106527]Erickson[/MENTION] is running some 5th gen Tokicos and he really likes them... especially for free lol

He's running the 5th gen shocks with the LC coils? Seem to be a good length- do you know?
Free is cool, but I'm more after the best fit for what I want. Sonoran steel talks about the Tokicos being much better than the LC Tokico blacks for highway handling- implying to me they are valved tighter than the 5100. Curious if your buddy has much to compare them to with the same coils.