Upper and Lower Control Arms Plus Bilstein 5100s

CutthroatSlam

Senior Member
Replaced Upper and Lower Control Arms and Bilstein 5100s on our 2014 4R with 412K miles. Control arms were original and were replaced with Toyota OEM. Had to cut the rear bolt on passenger side and the upper ball joint on passenger as the castle nut stripped on me.
 

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What springs are you using with front 5100s? And what perch setting are they on(lift?)?!?
I’m swapping out my Xreas for 5100s…..torn on what springs to use with fronts(stock with higher perch or longer springs with bottom perch). Did you go with stock rear spring or different one?!?

Steve
 
What springs are you using with front 5100s? And what perch setting are they on(lift?)?!?
I’m swapping out my Xreas for 5100s…..torn on what springs to use with fronts(stock with higher perch or longer springs with bottom perch). Did you go with stock rear spring or different one?!?

Steve

I used the OEM originals on the lowest perch setting. It’s my wife’s vehicle and she does not want any lift.
 

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If you look closely at the pics, I initially had the spring perches installed upside down. Though the height clip was at the lowest setting, the front end was lifted like 2+ inches. Truck was squatted in the back with a full on pre-runner bro lean. No way was this going to work on my wife’s truck.

I slept on it and woke up in the middle of the night to grab the old shocks out of the trash and measure the distance to the spring perches. Then I went to measure the same on the new shocks installed on the truck. The error was immediately obvious. I went to bed knowing that I’d get up at first light and correct this. Got them out, corrected, and back installed in 2 hours. The learning curve is real. The bro lean was eliminated and my wife is happy. She has already drove the truck back to Montana and it performed flawlessly and now has over 413K miles.
 
The lower spring seat is height adjustable via the grooves/circlip arrangement right? Not having seen these in person, I'm curious how strong this is. Has anyone ever had a failure?
 
The lower spring seat is height adjustable via the grooves/circlip arrangement right? Not having seen these in person, I'm curious how strong this is. Has anyone ever had a failure?

I have never heard of a failure. C-clips are used in high stress areas throughout vehicles including transmissions, transfer cases, CV axles. I would not expect a failure on a shock.
 
Sits a lot nicer now with the new suspension and correction.

Just confirms my attitude towards DIY: I can F it up just as good as the next guy, but I can also self-diagnose and quickly correct.

P.S. I treated myself to a Yamaha 4 hp four stroke outboard for my Clackacraft drift boat in Montana with the savings. Happy birthday me!
 
The lower spring seat is height adjustable via the grooves/circlip arrangement right? Not having seen these in person, I'm curious how strong this is. Has anyone ever had a failure?

They break here before the snap ring breaks.
 

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Just confirms my attitude towards DIY: I can F it up just as good as the next guy, but I can also self-diagnose and quickly correct.

P.S. I treated myself to a Yamaha 4 hp four stroke outboard for my Clackacraft drift boat in Montana with the savings. Happy birthday me!

I'm a firm believer that if you know what you F'd up, then you didn't really F it up, you just taught yourself a small lesson. If you got some sense, DIY is the way to go. Also, Google and YouTube are your best friends for DIY projects.
 
What springs are you using with front 5100s? And what perch setting are they on(lift?)?!?
I’m swapping out my Xreas for 5100s…..torn on what springs to use with fronts(stock with higher perch or longer springs with bottom perch). Did you go with stock rear spring or different one?!?

Steve

If you’re going to use bilstien coils go with the 600lb coils. This should give you the right height. For every extra 100-150lb of front weight increase the coil rating by 50lb. If you’re going for stock height then OEM is fine.

Note a Bilstien set up will be a firmer ride but will handle like a sports car.
 
Replaced Upper and Lower Control Arms and Bilstein 5100s on our 2014 4R with 412K miles. Control arms were original and were replaced with Toyota OEM. Had to cut the rear bolt on passenger side and the upper ball joint on passenger as the castle nut stripped on me.

Impressive. I currently have the full Bilstein setup. Did something break and that’s why you changed it or was it just simply time to replace it?
 

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