XREAS shot, what are my options?

[offshorebear]

Hello All,

My 2004 limited w/ 110k miles finally had an xreas shock go bad. All of a sudden had lots of fluid leak out and it drives like it has a bad shock. I don't really have any interest in fixing xreas because of the cost, and I think I will take advantage of the situation and install a mild lift. I would like to still fit in parking garages.

After a night of googling and searching 4Runner forums, I am a bit lost. I would like a 2 inch lift. I drive mostly on the road, with an occasional off road trip for hunting. I am in Western PA and legal offroading is limited.

I don't want to spend a bunch of money, so I like the idea of an OME or Blistein lift as offered by Toytec. Is there anything else I should look at?

Can anyone point me to DIY threads that still have pictures and good instructions? I've never done suspension work before, and I am willing to pay someone else to crank on rusty bolts - how many hours will a shop normally charge for this? I have the next 2 weeks off, so I can also buy whatever at harbor freight if this is an easy job. Thanks!

 

[MACT4R]

Now you have options after xreas. You can pair bilstein 5100 with fj 4wd coils. You can see on my signature for set up. I did the suspension myself which wasn't bad. Took me 6hrs to change. I just read through suspension thread on 4th gen section and youtube. Rented suspension tools such as torque wrench and coil spring compressor at O'reilly auto parts for free.

Here's a link: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/102272-4th-gen-suspension-options-faq.html

 

[Parker1938]

Now you have options after xreas. You can pair bilstein 5100 with fj 4wd coils. You can see on my signature for set up. I did the suspension myself which wasn't bad. Took me 6hrs to change. I just read through suspension thread on 4th gen section and youtube. Rented suspension tools such as torque wrench and coil spring compressor at O'reilly auto parts for free.

Here's a link: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/102272-4th-gen-suspension-options-faq.html

Hey, post some pictures of your ride with the new suspension. I am sure it would be helpful to anyone looking to do the same. Thanks.

 

[Mushroom_Cap]

I'm in the same boat. XREAS is shot on my 2008, 4x4, V6 sport.

Several options to consider depending on how much $ you want to spend and the quality of ride you want to achieve.

After doing a lot of reading on this site I was between replacing the coils with used FJ coils from a 07-09, and going with the Bilstien 5100 shocks/struts. Yes, you can use the stocks coils but I did not want to add spacers, I wanted all my lift to come from coil height.

I decided against this option as I could not find any used FJ coils. 4 new ones from the Toyota Stealership were like $100 bucks!

I decided to go with all Old Man Emu (OME). There are some good discussions on this just search for them on this site.

 

[KPZVR4]

I went with 5100s and Daystar leveling kit. The truck sits where it should be (in regards to the height) IMO and rides nice. Less than 400 for parts and not too difficult to do. Make sure you buy new strut mounts also. A sway bar relocation and diff drop would also be a good idea, but may not be needed.

 

[KYBubblehead]

Not being one who will go 'wheeling', I'm thinking about the KYB GR-2 Gas Adjust shocks/struts....on road driving (travel trailer pulling)only.
Any one have experience using these???

Lemme know what you think.

Merry Christmas!

 

[MACT4R]

Not being one who will go 'wheeling', I'm thinking about the KYB GR-2 Gas Adjust shocks/struts....on road driving (travel trailer pulling)only.
Any one have experience using these???

Lemme know what you think.

Merry Christmas!

I had the KYB's prior to upgrading to Bilstein 5100 and FJ Coils. KYB's is better than stock shocks and lasted longer as well. I opted to changing all for shocks and springs because I wanted to do some light trail offroading. It's stiffer than KYB's but I like that ride. KYB's will put back the stock ride or better.

 

[brianhuntRVA]

Not being one who will go 'wheeling', I'm thinking about the KYB GR-2 Gas Adjust shocks/struts....on road driving (travel trailer pulling)only.
Any one have experience using these???

Lemme know what you think.

Merry Christmas!

I have KYBs and I'm happy with them for the most part. I don't have anything to compare them to aside from the old Xreas though. Previous Xreas: hit bump/dip then bounce a few times before smoothing out. Now: hit bump/dip with one bounce then it is stabilized.

Only complaint is they don't seem to do well on the rutted/choppy/neglected roads in the part of town I now work in. Oil tankers (tons of weight) go up and down non-stop. So its like driving down a wash board. They seem to get upset and out of balance from that if that makes sense. But again, nothing else to compare it to especially in terms of these roads where I never came when the Xreas was still on.

 

[freeflight]

I also want to know the labor charge for installing OME kit

 

[Chicago]

Xreas in my opinion is bad

I am happy to replace the Xreas in my car ...1 year ago , for Binsteins and FJ coils
the suspension is more firm but not harsh ... its more sporty and better for cornering and highway ....

 

[offshorebear]

I ended up ordering the Toytec OME setup, with the "Light" OME upfront and the Toytec coils in the back. I will post pictures once it is installed.

 

[scd969]

Now you have options after xreas. You can pair bilstein 5100 with fj 4wd coils. You can see on my signature for set up.

Post some pics! I'm thinking of the same setup.

 

[MACT4R]

Post some pics! I'm thinking of the same setup.

Will do

 

[offshorebear]

An update:

Lift is installed. I went with The OME kit from Toytec. 883 light springs in front, and the Toytec superflex with 60020 shocks in the rear.

Hub center to fender measurements:

Before:
Front 19.5"
Back 22"

After:
Front 22"
Back: 23.75"

New alignment numbers:

Left front:
Camber: 0.9
Caster 0.9
Toe: 0.02

Right Front:
Camber: 0.6
Caster: 1.2
Toe: 0.04


The lift changed something with the steering, it was extra stiff with the wheels straight ahead. At first I thought this was an alignment problem, but I've narrowed it down to the intermediate steering shaft. I guess the lift exasperated the already old part. For now some lithium grease has fixed the steering problem.

The rear end bounces A LOT on a 55 mph concrete highway near me. There is some resonant bouncing between 55 - 65. I aired down my tires from 40 - 30 PSI, and that helped some. I will throw some weight in the back to also help. I hope the suspension wears in and this problem goes away. It drives fine on asphalt highways, its definitely a resonance problem with the concrete expansion joints.

 

[MACT4R]

Post some pics! I'm thinking of the same setup.

Sorry took so long but here you go.