MikeMc709

I have a 1999 4Runner and the ride can be very bouncy at times. Are there any easy/simple tips I can do to help this. Change out the rear shocks?

I have 22 inch rims with little tire, and I know that having a beefy-er tire would help out some but is there anything else?

boristheblade

Shocks might be worn out, but those 22's with rubber bands are doing you no good as far as ride quality goes.

MikeMc709

thanks

crolison

yeah shocks

SoCalPaul

Springs & shocks probably need replacing. Low profile tires suck for ride comfort, remember your truck suspension was designed for 70 or 75 series tires not 45 or lower tires.

MikeMc709

Any suggestions for good/fair priced replacement shocks for strickly street use?

MikeMc709

My step mom has a 2000 4Runner Limited that is WAY worse in the ride roughness with stock 16" rims with 70 profile tires on it

Godzilla

Well, best thing to do is set a max price to weed out the many options of shocks. For street wise are you looking for a firm ride or a middle type of firm ride. For a firm ride many go with Bilstein, but with those 22's that may require extra padding on your seat. To throw some names out there to get you reading, look at tokico trekmasters, OME (old man emu). It really depends on budget when it comes to suspension and "fair" price is different for different folks. But, you do usually get what you pay for.
And a 2000 will bounce since the coils on the rear are pretty thin and mushy.

SoCalPaul

The springs & shocks need to be replaced. The OEM springs are too soft & as they age, they will bottom out on the bumpstops causing a very rough ride.

2000 & later 4Runners got shorter springs & cone shaped jounce stops in the rear coils were added to reduce the chance of rollover. The problem is that now the distance to the bumpstops is shorter causing the suspension to bottom out on even small bumps & dips.

There are many threads regarding this, try searching. You can read my opinion here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/p...pplers-148116/

MikeMc709

Thanks for all the help guys..I'll start looking into some brands and different choices for replacement shocks.

As for the 2000 4Runner, that is just an extra dog/sams/mulch/etc. vehicle so the ride comfort isn't that important...my 1999 4Runner is my everyday car so the bouncy ness can get annoying at times and I would like to address it

tj884Rdlx

if you're bouncing, your shocks are not dampening the up/down travel. if you're bottoming out, as in, you feel the "bam" of hitting your bump stops, then springs need assistance, either thru replace or helper techniques, which you have some options. you said bouncy, so i'm assuming you just need shocks.

bilsteins have always been my favorite, but any decent GAS shock will do you right. look for a good deal at your local underbody shop if you're not self installing.

and make sure you monitor your tire pressures running those big wheels. check 'em anytime there's significant change in outside temperature, or every other gas fill up.

MikeMc709

Def bouncy, not bottoming out

SoCalPaul

Check your bumpstops. If the point they contact is clean & shiny, likely you are bouncing off the bumpstops. In the front you need the same labor to install just the shocks or springs, so I would replace both. In the rear you could replace one or the other, no big deal. Replacing both springs & shocks will make a world of difference & you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

MikeMc709

I will check it out in the morning and see about the bump stops....if it is indeed just the shocks, how much labor is involved? It seems like a semi-simple process to change them out...I have a little mechanical experience...me and a friend took out and replaced shocks and leaf springs in his Ram with just simple tools and little knowledge.

SoCalPaul

The rear shocks & springs are easy except for the top shock stud. About an 1-2 hours. The fronts depend on the quality of your spring compressors. I ended up taking it in to have the fronts done. Do a search, many threads on the procedure.

JC_ez

I know this might sound counter-intuitive, but I would suggest Bilsteins (not the trd ones). For most, the Bilsteins are a stiffer shock and I personally like them, but in your case, I think they would yield a softer ride because the weight of your rims+tire would very likely be more than stock. The Bilsteins would control the heavier rims+tire better while the stock shocks might not have enough damping ability to get rid of the bounce. I think the stock rim weighs around 22.5 lbs and the tire around 40-45 lbs (guess). If you can, compare the weight of this combo to yours. If yours is heavier, then the Bilsteins may be a good choice.

MikeMc709

I believe the shipping label on each of my rims+tires said 112 lbs...

I have about an extra 180-200 lbs worth of audio and misc stuff in the trunk also...

So maybe the stiffer shocks would be a wise choice

Damn adding up all that weight, no wonder my gas mileage blows..lol

SoCalPaul

Since you obviously drive on the street, I would look into some rear air bags. They will level the rear without sacrificing ride comfort.

MikeMc709

Air bags seem a little extreme and expensive..plus I don't really have room for a compressor and all that wiring/air hoses unless I take off my spare, which I don't want to do.

The shocks are only like $130 on ebay and they seem like I can do them myself, so that will be my first move when I get around to doing it

quattro

An interesting note - I just pulled the stock front dampers off and replaced with the Bilstein HD's in an effort to erradicate the "jouncy" front feel. My phrase attempts to describe the feeling of uncontrolled rebound over multiple high-frequency bumps vs. rolling large ones. The truck felt as though it would skip over these things and was generally annoying.

Comparing the OE '97 Tokico dampers to the new Bilstiens by hand: compression damping is estimated 15% more force per my compression by hand technique. The Tokico was still very much gas charged and not-blown; but it was rebound where the difference was huge. Tokico valving after the 123k miles for rebound was very, VERY slow to respond. The Billy would return to fully extended 5x faster and seemingly felt more responsive to multiple compression/rebound pushes & pulls. The same test on the Tokico found it wanted to continually compress more and rebound less. Essentially it felt "stiffer" on rebound. Also the lower damper-eye bushings were 5mm offcenter compressed from long term use. I suspect much of the uncontrolled feeling came from just that part - but it's not easily serviced with new bushings so replace the unit totally.

After buttoning up the truck and reviewing the starter contacts threads (yep I've got the dreaded click...) I drove the truck with just the new front dampers on 8miles highway to the dealer for the contacts. Transformed would be an appropriate word. I still have the Gabriel Airshocks in the back as I am waiting to put the Billy's back there for my AirRide airbags which evidently won't be here until Monday (darn!). So running 25psi in the rear Gabriels and the Bilstein HD's upfront was a very nice ride.

Most notable change were no front end hop over freeway expansion joints, or even those dreaded lane marker turtles! The transient response of the Billies were a huge improvement over the old OE Tokicos. To be fair new Tokico's might offer a similar improvement - but with the heavier tires (265/75-16 Definity Dakota MT's) I wanted something designed for more unsprung mass. The Billies did not disappoint!

The fronts took me about 35mins a corner. I've got some heavy-duty old spring compressors that dealt with the OE springs just fine. I used the stock bottle jack to force the upper control-arms down far enough to unload the lower bolt and it was like butter.

I should have done this YEARS ago...