Workman

My 4runner had a form of SAS that nobody wants (Saggy Ass Syndrome). I know that my springs are weaker than what they were nearly 20 years ago but they're also kinda pricey to replace. I was also in need of a pair of shocks in the back. A couple days ago, I got my hands on a new pair of Sachs rear shocks from an '01 Tahoe. First thing you'll notice is that the top mount of the shock is the wrong style and the diameter of the Sachs shock is much larger. What I did with mine was cut the mounts off of the new shocks and weld on a 3/8x2 grade 8 bolt in it's place. You can reuse the toyota rubber bushings or, in my case, use new ones that I had lying around. Getting the new shocks in place is a bit of a chore since they are so stiff, but I simply removed the wheels and used a floor jack to compress the shock until it would fit on the lower mount. Even with the larger diameter of the new shocks, there is still enough room around them that there is no rubbing. I should have taken pictures but I was too lazy. But to show how much it lifted the rear, before the new shocks, I had 33.5 inches from floor to the highest point of wheel well. Now it sits at 36 inches and it gives a much better ride in my opinion. Just figured I'd post this info in case someone's looking to pick up their ass and be able to haul heavy loads without rubbing their quarterpanels off. I'm not sure how much these shocks cost in comparison to others but I was able to get by only spending $2 for the bolts on mine. So, $2 for a little over 2 inches seems ok to me.

camo31_10.50

i'd take the cuss words out of your post and title before a moderator comes along and deletes your account..lol

iamsuperbleeder

lol, could be worse camo... at least he kept it PG13

abecedarian

Umm... okay.
I wonder how someone can get so frustrated about, and post complaints with, using non-Toyota parts on a Toyota....

(where's that facepalm emoticon we all wish we had?)

camo31_10.50

uhm..abe?..i don't think he was complaining was he???...seems like he was pretty happy with the 3" he gained.lol i know i would be

and i was just warning the guy.....i got hit 3 times for it...so im just tryin to help everybody else lol

theAuthority

READ THIS ... shocks aren't suppose to 'raise or lower' suspension

http://www.4x4review.com/Features/Te...7/Default.aspx

camo31_10.50

LOL..that's the same thing i was thinkin authority....but ohh wellll..if it gave him 3"s of lift and it doesn't ride like a chuck wagon...then BINGO..you're good to go..lol

abecedarian

"First thing you'll notice..." Notice about what? I don't see a pic. Tahoe shocks that had to have the ends cut off and a bolt welded to the end...
... and now there's 2.5" of lift just from the shocks. Just suddenly more lift from installing shocks.

theAuthority

Well, it'll be one of the following

1> stiff - kidneys, back, sore butt
2> too long - when compressed will pound into the shaft
3> too short - will extend and pop the brackets

well w/e he gets the idea, it's his rig

abecedarian

In my opinion, if the first thing you notice is the shocks don't have the right mount on the end, you get shocks that have the right end.
And I'm still trying to figure out how lift came from the shocks.

abecedarian

Before shocks @ 33.5", after shocks @ 36". No mention of springs.

iamsuperbleeder

it really doesn't make any since...

the ONLY shocks that should give any lift are those air-adjustable shocks; the ones you can use to help carry heavier loads; the ones that allow you to mount an air fitting like a tire inflation valve and add air to the system when needed

like these:






the only thing a shock does is dampin the movement of the vehicles suspension; without the shocks, the vehicle would just constantly bounce up and down while driving


but I'm sure all of you know this, so I don't even know why I bothered to type it...


that being said, I don't see any way how just shocks raised the truck 2.5"... I call BS...

yoterr

well if their WAY stiffer they would ammount to a little bit of lift, its not lifting the whole weight of the runner just whatever the springs have worn out, you can lift the back of your truck with like 60 pounds of force right? specially if you have worn out springs....dunno how its so hard to understand, like doing a zuk mod

abecedarian

Nope. Stiffer shocks do not amount to lift. They amount to more resistance when the suspension collapses or extends quickly. It's all about fluid flow through valving assemblies.
Soft shocks allow the fluid to pass through the valve(s) more quickly than stiffer shocks do. The resistance to movement of the fluid within the chambers of the shock body is what determines how soft or stiff it is.
If you get lift from a shock, it is because positive pressure is built up on one side of the shock, as you would get from air-assist shocks.

camo31_10.50

exactly..therefore a shock that is valved for an EXTREMELY HEAVY SUV(tahoe) is gonna be prettyyy stiff...correct?

therefore whenever you put it on a lighter weight vehicle (4runner) then it will give a slight amount of "lift" because the 4runner isn't heavy enough to compress the shock like the tahoe does..

at least that's how i look at it..

abecedarian

Again, NOPE!
The weight of the truck will cause the shock to compress, and therfore reach an equilibrium, where fluid is not flowing within it, and therefore the weight of the truck will be carried by... are you ready?... the springs... which having succumbed to fatigue will sag in spite of the stiff shocks.

abecedarian

And before anyone pops off with 'gas charged' shocks... 'charging' shocks is only meant to reduce the tendency of the fluid within the shock to 'foam' or 'cavitate'. In spite of the ability of the 'charge' to increase pressure within the shock in the direction of lift that is not the intent or purpose for that. Eventually, the shock will lose that ability.

90RunnerRed

No where in his post does he indicate this but it could have been a spring over shock. Guys use them on old Mustangs (65 and 66) to fix a sagging year end because they're too lazy to replace the leaf springs (I say too lazy because a new set of 5 leafs for a 65 mustang only cost me $160 bucks and I think those spring over shocks are about the same price). What usually ends up happening on the mustangs is that they blow out the upper shock mount.

abecedarian

Yup. Nowhere in the post is it indicated that a 'spring-over-shock' was used. However it was mentioned that shocks from a Tahoe were used which are not 'spring-over-shock'.

90RunnerRed

LOL! Fair enough...I think we've all given this one a little too much thought at this point.