DrewNukesEm

Hello everyone,

I have a 1990 stock 4runner 4x4 with the 22RE, 31x10.50 tires. Some buddies and I have been hitting trails pretty often (almost every weekend) and my runner seems to do just fine for the most part. However, I have been doing research to make my stock suspension better, without putting a lift on it, or sacrificing road drive ability. I like where it sits right now at stock height, but I'd like to upgrade to some better shocks (a boot type nitro). Through the research I have done I have narrowed it down to 3 companies. 1. Bilstein - Great reputation, but not sure what model to choose, or if there is a size available for stock height? 2. Old Man Emu - Read great things about them, but they seem to be even more expensive than the bilsteins, and I can only seem to find shocks that will work with a 2" lift. 3. Skyjacker - Although much cheaper, I have read many good reviews from lots of people, and also found that these will fit stock height. I would love to hear opinions and what people have to say. Are the Bilsteins, and OME's that much better than Skyjacker that it is worth spending the extra money on them? Would they even fit? Would I even see better performance from them, seeing as I am going for stock height? As far as other upgrades I am also looking into, and curious about what people have to say (and problems that I may encounter) are sway bar disconnects for the front, and low profile bump stops. Would these things help me "upgrade" my suspension? Or would it be a waste of time and money?

Thank you for your time.

rattlewagon

Get a locker. Not a huge sacrifice for the road. Will make a world of difference on the trail. Best bang for your buck upgrade. or possible look into ball joint spacers, they relaxing your torsion bars for more flex out of your front end. They run about $100 for a set.

Also, invest in some recovery gear. Straps, shackle, highlift....always come in handy.

bobby_duce

yep he said it. good tires and lockers are great! i go alot of places my lifted friends go, you just have to take a different line.

DrewNukesEm

Thank you for the quick response. Definitely hear ya on the recovery gear. I have a sweet "Xtreme" Hi-Lift, and some of the accessories that you can get, basically makes it into like 3 or 4 different tools, pretty good as far as that goes (at least for now!). Locker is going to happen in the near future for sure, but as far as suspension, say I went with ball joint spacers, along with low pro bump stops, sway bar disconnected, and relaxed the torsion bars. Do you think the CV's would be alright at full flex? Any suggestions about the shocks?

4bangercraig

If you got rock sliders, you can take the same line and worry less than they do...

rattlewagon

Your CVs will be fine. DO you have auto hubs? Your cvs will last longer if you switch to manual hubs.

DrewNukesEm

Awesome, thanks. Still have auto hubs, was actually going to change those out the same time as the rear locker. Do you know a good brand ball joint spacers to go with? Anyone know about the shock questions I had?

MudHippy

SDORI.com has been, and continues to be, the major supplier of ball joint spacers on the market. There's others out there, but I don't know how many people would recommend them. I'm sure they would work just as well though. There's a machinist in my home town that's been making some for about a year now(no hardware included)and selling them on craigslist.

NOT recommended by SDORI are low profile UCA bumpstops for use with their 1.5" BJ spacers. Use the stock bumpstops, or shim the low profile ones by .5".

From SDORI's website.

http://sdori.com/SDORI_4WD_Spacer_Install.html

See their recommendations on which shocks are compatible with 1.5" BJ spacers(link below).
http://sdori.com/4WD_Spacer_Shocks.html

Rancho RS9000s if you have the money for sure. Adjustability makes them far superior to any of the brands you've mentioned.

DrewNukesEm

So basically I could go with the extra 1.5" of travel from the ball joint spacers which would also lift the front end up that much as well, or I could just go with the low profile bumpers that would give me roughly an inch, and keep it at stock height..? Was looking into the Rancho RS 9000, noticed there was also a XL version. Both are adjustable, are these ones just more heavy duty? I have read some bad things about the RS 5000's. How about Pro Comps? It seems from everything I've read, Bilstein or OME is the way to go.. Anyone know of a good place to get them from? Can anyone clarify whether either of them will work for stock height? Or if they are just for lifted applications? Part numbers would be much appreciated if possible. Thank you!

DrewNukesEm

Anybody?

MudHippy

Ball joint spacers won't add lift, unless you want them to. They will provide atleast an extra 1.5"+ of suspension travel, whether lifted or not above stock height. The down side to that is extra strain on the CVs which weren't engineered to take the extra down travel. And that can be an issue that may lead to their failure. The other upside, besides opening up the travel window, is the extra 1.5" of lift that can be achieved if desired.

Low profile bumpstops will give you maybe an inch or so more suspension travel if used for both the LCAs and UCAs. But will only allow for about .5" of extra torsion bar lift. The upside there is the CVs can usually take the extra .5" of down travel without suffering any undue strain on them.

On the shocks issue, they're all going to be pretty similar ride wise. Some may be built a little tougher than others. And most aftermarket shocks will generally outlast stock ones. But as far as how well they perform, your not going to notice a huge difference over the stock shocks. Doesn't matter which brand/type.

Unless, you get the adjustable Ranchos. They will out-perform all of them. Because you can make them as stiff or soft as you desire. All the others rely on very similar valving technology, and hence react similarly to road conditions regardless of the brand name/type.

You can get ANY brand/type of shock these days for lifted or non-lifted applications. And from so many different sources it would be impossible to compare them all to see where is better to buy them from. If you're looking to get a good deal price wise, then find who ever is selling the ones you want for the cheapest price.


Man...this is sooooo newbie tech! Wrong forum entirely to be posting this type of material...just so's you know...and try using the search feature before posting threads in there too please.

Thanks!

DrewNukesEm

Thank you very much for your quick response, your suggestions about the RS 9000's, and all your help. I really appreciate everything. I'd like to think that I am pretty decent at doing research, and this is the main reason I joined this forum. Before joining, I would always scour the site as a guest. Out of all the searching I have done, I haven't been able to find the exact information I was looking for. Obviously I wouldn't be asking some of these questions if I knew the answers to them. That being said, I apologize for the "n00b" questions. I am usually able to find good deals on parts, I just wanted others input, and thought (or hoped..) that someone on the forum might have some suggestions. You have definitely helped me, and I'll keep updated with what I decide on. I'm sure that I'll have more questions in the future, however I will try to make sure they are not newbie-tech. (If they are, I'll post them in a newbie tech thread!)

Junkers88

Shocks~ As Mudhippie said there are so many out there that you almost just have to do the research (which you've done) and then just pick one. I run Monroe Synsatracs (spelling?) on mine just because they are cheap and easy to get locally.

I noticed you're running 31" tires. Did your rig come with that size from the factory? If so, and you have the auto tranny, then you'll probably be running 4:88 gears front and rear which will make things nicer than running 4:10's.

Upgrades~ Well there are a lot of little things you can do.
1) Sway bar disconnect- good idea for a little more flex up front.
2) Low Pro bump stops- again not a bad idea.
3) 1.5" Ball Joint Spacers- Great idea if you install them and then relax the t-bars back down to stock height. One of the members on here called Matt16 did that with his and had great things to say about it.
4) A locker in the rear- Matt16 also did this at the time of his BJ spacer mod and said it helped a ton with off roading.
5) Armour- If you're going to stay stock height then I'd recommend a Bud Built Transmission plate. It really cleans up the underside of the rig and provides both better clearance and more protection. Trust me on this one, I slammed my stock cross member hard enough to make my mouth bleed... bought the Bud Built the next day. I'd also recommend maybe a rock bumper or two and perhaps some rocker panel protection.

You'll be very surprised how far your rig can go, even with no lift, with just a few minor mods.

Have fun and keep the rubber side down!

LGcrawler

i run 4crawler 1.5" ball joint spacers with procomp es9000s and i love them for the price, but the rancho RS 9000s are much better from what i hear i just didnt have the money haha

DrewNukesEm

Thank you for all the suggestions! No it's not a auto, it's a 5 speed. For now I don't think I'm gonna go with the ball joint spacers, as I don't want to start having to mess with the idle arm, and cv issues that may occur. I think eventually, everything else you listed I am going to do. Right now plans are to just keep it a daily driver - weekend warrior. It has served me well just being stock with 31's, but hopefully better with these things I intend on doing. Does anybody have suggestions on a good source for sway disconnects? I have found a few different brands getting reviews, but the only ones I have been able to find for sale are 4crawler (which seem nice, but haven't found reviews on them). Also quick question about the 4crawler ones, there are version 2's and version 3's.. Am I correct that the version 2's are for the front sway bar, and version 3 is for the rear? Or do they both work for either? As for the locker, being that my rig is a DD-WW, I would want something that would allow for decent drive-ability on road, as well as off. From what I have found - detroit, yukon grizzly, aussie, or lock right are all advertised as lockers that achieve this. I would like to hear what people's opinions and suggestions are. This is something that is still a little down the road for me, but eventually I intend on doing it. As far as armor goes, I am definitely on the same page there, protection and looks. Can't really go wrong with that combo!

Junkers88

I've got an Aussie in the rear on mine and although it did take a little getting used to it's pretty easy mannered on the road.

I noticed you said yours is a 5 speed. If you plan on keeping with the 31" tires then it might do you well to regear to 4:56's. I did this and it did make an improvement both on and off road.

yoder519

i have procomp es9000 shocks and ill NEVER buy them agian. they're extremely rough riding.
if you buy any armour at all, do like BBP said and get a trans/tcase skid, and rocksliders. the sliders will save your doors and bed from gettin alot of damage, they also allow you to pivot on trees really well. i have 4crawler bj spacers and love em. also have his body lift. great guy to do business with and has super qucik shipping. ive had the spacers fro about 3years now with no problems. first with 31s, then 33s, now 35s. 0 problems. and i used them to lift my truck. hope this helps and good luck!