brandonhedberg

2003 4Runner Sport Edition - Front Leveling Kit Findings

FYI

I installed the Daystar 1" Budget Boost aka Front Level Kit. Purchased from Wheelers Off Road which advertised as 1.25" front lift. BTW, Wheelers was great to work with and answered all my emails promptly... thanks.

The installation requires strut spring compression in order to install the longer strut plate bolts. Also required is removal of anti-sway bar and upper ball joint. In my case, with Xreas, I needed to compress the spring while the strut was attached to the vehicle. This wasn't difficult at the time, but aches and pains are noticable days later.

The poly urethane spacer is nicely formed to fit inside the strut tower. Well designed IMO. However, the spacer measured 1.125". This was confusing since lift is typically ~1.8X the spacer thickness. I measured the suspension dimensions several times and calculated a 5/8" spacer is more appropriate.

Out of curiosity, I installed the 1.125" spacers anyway. They provided 1.75" of lift! Not what I wanted and definitely not what I expected based on the sales information.

I removed the spacer and considered returning... then had an idea. Why not cut the spacer to my calculated thickness??? Worse case, I'm out $40 and several hours of my weekend. Best case, I have exactly what I was looking for. Not having many cutting tools at my disposal, I opted for the tried and true table saw.

After a custom fence and many careful passes on the table saw I cut the spacer to my calculated thickness of 5/8". Now the spacer looks very much like the ToyTecLifts metal spacer, just made of poly. Seemed reasonable.

I installed the spacers, reassembled the truck, test drove, then measured. I have a solid 7/8" of front lift. After 100 miles, a spin through Broken Arrow, and an alignment the lift still measures 7/8" and it drives just like stock.

I don't know if this will be the case for all 4th Gen 4Runners, but it was the case for me. My hope is that someone looking to level their 4Runner will find this post... and get the lift amount they are looking for.

Thanks for reading. Oh, camera battery died... I'll post before and after pics soon.

2003 4Runner SE v8, 32" KM's from Rubicon (255/75/17), Modified Daystar Leveling Kit

ohioyotaguy

I was confused when my tuff country spacer lift showed up too. It was a 3" front, 2" rear lift. The front spacers on measured 1.5" or 1.75", I forget. But it ended up lifting the front only 2.5" and the back a nasty 3.5". So instead of leveling the truck with the lift, it raised the back EVEN HIGHER. Also, the hardware that came with the lift was junk. The center pins for the leafs both stripped out and the packs both flew apart. And the rear brake line extension bolt wasn't the right thread. I'm happy with the added height, but hopefully if the budget and wife allow, will be going with a pro comp or fabtech 6" lift this year or early next during layoff.