Downey Coils and Bilstein Shocks - 2nd Gen 4Runner
01-14-2006, 08:12 PM
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Downey Coils and Bilstein Shocks - 2nd Gen 4Runner
Downey Springs and Bilstein Shocks - 2nd Gen 4Runner
By UKMyers
UKMyers shows you how he replaced his sagging stock rear springs with some Downey HD springs as well as Bilstein shocks on all 4 corners.
Tools Required:
˝” drive metric and standard socket set with sizes up to 22mm
Breaker bar
End wrenches
Standard toolbox stuff
BFH
Floor jack
Jackstands
Something to catch brake fluid in
Dot-3 Brake Fluid
A strong buddy
6 pack of your favorite brew
Desirable but not needed:
Spring compressor
Pipe wrench or very large channel locks
Flare nut wrenches
Time Required: 4 to 5 hours
Installation:
I bought my Downey HD coils part # 48290 and Bilsteins from Central 4WD. I was lucky enough to have access to a 4-point vehicle lift for the install, which made it very nice.
The first thing you should do is measure from the top of the rim to bottom of the fender so you can compare once your done. Also don't forget to take a good before pic as well. I also made a mark on a scrap piece of wood at the bumper height so I could compare it later after the install.
Always use caution when working on your rig. If your not familiar with brake bleeding procedures or your not very mechanically inclined this is probably not a do it yourselfer mod. For those comfortable turning wrenches it wasn't all that hard. I will go along with Downey’s instructions that come with the kit and add how we did it and snags we encountered along the way.
Many Thanks go out to Rich for dedicating a whole Saturday helping me with this little project. Here's how we did it:
Start out with removing the spare tire. I also pressure washed the underneath with the tire removed the day before the install to get rid of road grime. I hate working on dirty stuff. It is also a good idea to soak everything, especially all the shock nuts and bolts with some kind of penetrating oil. Once you've got the spare out it makes a lot more room under the truck to work on it.
Jack up the rear and support it with jackstands. Take off the back tires. Support the axle under the diff with your floor jack. Start by removing the old shocks. The bottom is a 17mm bolt and the top has a 14mm nut on it. When you try and turn the nut the whole top of the shock will rotate we found out. To hold the shock you can do two things. On the top of the threaded stud is two flat spots you can get a hold of with a crescent wrench or you can do what we did and grab a hold of the shock with a pipe wrench. This will screw up the shock housing but since I was throwing them away anyways I didn't really care.
The passenger side one is kind of a tight fit with the gas tank but not too bad. Make sure and keep the 4 cupped washers that come off the bottom of the shocks, as you will be re using them.
Once you've got the shocks off remove the four 12mm brake line mounting bolts on the axle. There is one to on the right of the diff, one on the diff, and one on the left of the diff. Next undo the two 12mm Bolts for the LPSV (Load Proportioning Sensor Valve or something like that). Finally disconnect the ABS line from its bracket on the rear of the gas tank. It looks like a brake line and attaches to the top of the diff.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE THE PANHARD ROD. IN FACT THE DOWNEY INSTRUCTIONS SAY DO NOT REMOVE IT!
After you are sure you have everything on the axle disconnected slowly lower the jack from under the diff. Have your trusty buddy push down on the brake drum and you should be able to coax the old coils out of their places.
One of mine was stuck to the rubber that it sits on and needed some additional coaxing from a BFH. Twisting them helps to roll them out of position. After removing the old coils I took the rubbers that they sit on out and cleaned everything up real well in preparation for the new coils
Putting the new coils in is a bit tougher than pulling the old ones out. We were able to do the passenger side without the spring compressor thanks to Rich. He basically just manhandled them things in there while I stood on the lug nuts and pulled down with all my might underneath the fender.
On the drivers side we probably could done it without the compressor but we had access to one and I like to work smarter not harder so we used it. Make sure the new coils are seated properly on the bottom. They only go together one way. Once you've got the new ones jack the diff back up a little bit to take the strain off everything.
Next you need to install the two included drop brackets. One is for the ABS wire and uses a nut and bolt to bolt the bracket to the frame. Put the old bracket in the bottom hole and bolt the new bracket to the frame using the elongated hole end. Install the LPSV bracket using the middle two holes. The top two are for the 3 inch kit. The last thing to do install the new braided brake line. This thing was a PITA!
The new line goes from the Upper Hard brake line to T fitting on the diff. Start off by popping the clip off the top of the line that holds it in the bracket. The clip has a small raised edge on the end that you can use a screwdriver blade and a hammer to tap it off.
Once you have done this you can push it forward through the bracket exposing the 10mm nut that connects the line. Disconnect it and then disconnect the bottom half. Have a rag handy to catch the dribbling brake fluid. It won't spray out or anything but it will continuously dribble.
To install the new line screw it to the fitting at the T-junction first. You have to turn the entire new line to tighten it to this fitting. This is easier if you re- install the four 12mm bolts that hold the brake line to the axle. Hold the new line straight out and twist it in your fingers. Use an end wrench (flare end if you've got them) to tighten it down fully. Make sure and get this sucker tight! When we were bleeding the brakes it started leaking and needed tightened again.
Next is the top fitting. Slide the included washer over the new line and then push the new line through the bracket the old one came out of. Reconnect the 10mm fitting. Be careful not to cross thread it it's tough to get lined up properly.
Once the new line is in place you have to reconnect it to the bracket you pushed it through using the included circle clip. Use a flat bladed screwdriver and a hammer to tap into the groove on the new line.
The last thing to do is reinstall the new shocks. Read the instructions to get the rubber pieces in the right place. The bottom is simple but the top is kinda tricky. It should go washer, rubber piece, frame, rubber piece, washer. The rubber piece with the raised lip goes facing up on the bottom below the frame. Bolt the bottoms on first then the top.
The new shocks didn't’ turn when tightening them. Use caution when tightening this bolt because it wont’ get tight. Watch the rubbers and we they just start to squish it's tight enough. The nuts have plastic in them so you don't need to be worried them coming loose.
Once you have the new shocks in place bleed the brakes and your done. We bled right tire, left tire, LPSV. I am not an expert on this but I do know you should go farthest from the reservoir first. There may be a better method but this worked fine for me. Don't forget to top up the reservoir when you're done!
Removal of the front shocks is pretty easy. The bottom nut and bolt is 22 mm and required some major force to break loose! The impact gun wouldn't even phase it. I used a 3 foot long breaker bar and a ˝” drive socket to break it loose. On the top there are two nuts. One is a lock nut. Just hold one still and turn the other to get them loose.
The Bils were a little tight fitting them into the bottom brackets. I sanded the paint off the eye of the shock and then tapped them in place with a ball peen hammer.
Reinstall the 22mm bolt on the bottom. For the top to keep the shock from turning there is an Allen wrench fitting in the top of the stud. Hold the shock with the allen wrench and tightening down the included lock nut. Again be careful not to totally smash the rubbers.
Put your tires back on and enjoy your new mod!
The hard parts on this project were removing old nasty rusted bolts. I highly recommend soaking everything the night before with WD-40 or penetrating oil. Other than that read the Downy instructions and this and you should be able to accomplish this mod. The Downey warning sticker fits nicely in the visor if you want your passengers to know you have modified your truck.
By UKMyers
UKMyers shows you how he replaced his sagging stock rear springs with some Downey HD springs as well as Bilstein shocks on all 4 corners.
Tools Required:
˝” drive metric and standard socket set with sizes up to 22mm
Breaker bar
End wrenches
Standard toolbox stuff
BFH
Floor jack
Jackstands
Something to catch brake fluid in
Dot-3 Brake Fluid
A strong buddy
6 pack of your favorite brew
Desirable but not needed:
Spring compressor
Pipe wrench or very large channel locks
Flare nut wrenches
Time Required: 4 to 5 hours
Installation:
I bought my Downey HD coils part # 48290 and Bilsteins from Central 4WD. I was lucky enough to have access to a 4-point vehicle lift for the install, which made it very nice.
The first thing you should do is measure from the top of the rim to bottom of the fender so you can compare once your done. Also don't forget to take a good before pic as well. I also made a mark on a scrap piece of wood at the bumper height so I could compare it later after the install.
Always use caution when working on your rig. If your not familiar with brake bleeding procedures or your not very mechanically inclined this is probably not a do it yourselfer mod. For those comfortable turning wrenches it wasn't all that hard. I will go along with Downey’s instructions that come with the kit and add how we did it and snags we encountered along the way.
Many Thanks go out to Rich for dedicating a whole Saturday helping me with this little project. Here's how we did it:
Start out with removing the spare tire. I also pressure washed the underneath with the tire removed the day before the install to get rid of road grime. I hate working on dirty stuff. It is also a good idea to soak everything, especially all the shock nuts and bolts with some kind of penetrating oil. Once you've got the spare out it makes a lot more room under the truck to work on it.
Jack up the rear and support it with jackstands. Take off the back tires. Support the axle under the diff with your floor jack. Start by removing the old shocks. The bottom is a 17mm bolt and the top has a 14mm nut on it. When you try and turn the nut the whole top of the shock will rotate we found out. To hold the shock you can do two things. On the top of the threaded stud is two flat spots you can get a hold of with a crescent wrench or you can do what we did and grab a hold of the shock with a pipe wrench. This will screw up the shock housing but since I was throwing them away anyways I didn't really care.
The passenger side one is kind of a tight fit with the gas tank but not too bad. Make sure and keep the 4 cupped washers that come off the bottom of the shocks, as you will be re using them.
Once you've got the shocks off remove the four 12mm brake line mounting bolts on the axle. There is one to on the right of the diff, one on the diff, and one on the left of the diff. Next undo the two 12mm Bolts for the LPSV (Load Proportioning Sensor Valve or something like that). Finally disconnect the ABS line from its bracket on the rear of the gas tank. It looks like a brake line and attaches to the top of the diff.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE THE PANHARD ROD. IN FACT THE DOWNEY INSTRUCTIONS SAY DO NOT REMOVE IT!
After you are sure you have everything on the axle disconnected slowly lower the jack from under the diff. Have your trusty buddy push down on the brake drum and you should be able to coax the old coils out of their places.
One of mine was stuck to the rubber that it sits on and needed some additional coaxing from a BFH. Twisting them helps to roll them out of position. After removing the old coils I took the rubbers that they sit on out and cleaned everything up real well in preparation for the new coils
Putting the new coils in is a bit tougher than pulling the old ones out. We were able to do the passenger side without the spring compressor thanks to Rich. He basically just manhandled them things in there while I stood on the lug nuts and pulled down with all my might underneath the fender.
On the drivers side we probably could done it without the compressor but we had access to one and I like to work smarter not harder so we used it. Make sure the new coils are seated properly on the bottom. They only go together one way. Once you've got the new ones jack the diff back up a little bit to take the strain off everything.
Next you need to install the two included drop brackets. One is for the ABS wire and uses a nut and bolt to bolt the bracket to the frame. Put the old bracket in the bottom hole and bolt the new bracket to the frame using the elongated hole end. Install the LPSV bracket using the middle two holes. The top two are for the 3 inch kit. The last thing to do install the new braided brake line. This thing was a PITA!
The new line goes from the Upper Hard brake line to T fitting on the diff. Start off by popping the clip off the top of the line that holds it in the bracket. The clip has a small raised edge on the end that you can use a screwdriver blade and a hammer to tap it off.
Once you have done this you can push it forward through the bracket exposing the 10mm nut that connects the line. Disconnect it and then disconnect the bottom half. Have a rag handy to catch the dribbling brake fluid. It won't spray out or anything but it will continuously dribble.
To install the new line screw it to the fitting at the T-junction first. You have to turn the entire new line to tighten it to this fitting. This is easier if you re- install the four 12mm bolts that hold the brake line to the axle. Hold the new line straight out and twist it in your fingers. Use an end wrench (flare end if you've got them) to tighten it down fully. Make sure and get this sucker tight! When we were bleeding the brakes it started leaking and needed tightened again.
Next is the top fitting. Slide the included washer over the new line and then push the new line through the bracket the old one came out of. Reconnect the 10mm fitting. Be careful not to cross thread it it's tough to get lined up properly.
Once the new line is in place you have to reconnect it to the bracket you pushed it through using the included circle clip. Use a flat bladed screwdriver and a hammer to tap into the groove on the new line.
The last thing to do is reinstall the new shocks. Read the instructions to get the rubber pieces in the right place. The bottom is simple but the top is kinda tricky. It should go washer, rubber piece, frame, rubber piece, washer. The rubber piece with the raised lip goes facing up on the bottom below the frame. Bolt the bottoms on first then the top.
The new shocks didn't’ turn when tightening them. Use caution when tightening this bolt because it wont’ get tight. Watch the rubbers and we they just start to squish it's tight enough. The nuts have plastic in them so you don't need to be worried them coming loose.
Once you have the new shocks in place bleed the brakes and your done. We bled right tire, left tire, LPSV. I am not an expert on this but I do know you should go farthest from the reservoir first. There may be a better method but this worked fine for me. Don't forget to top up the reservoir when you're done!
Removal of the front shocks is pretty easy. The bottom nut and bolt is 22 mm and required some major force to break loose! The impact gun wouldn't even phase it. I used a 3 foot long breaker bar and a ˝” drive socket to break it loose. On the top there are two nuts. One is a lock nut. Just hold one still and turn the other to get them loose.
The Bils were a little tight fitting them into the bottom brackets. I sanded the paint off the eye of the shock and then tapped them in place with a ball peen hammer.
Reinstall the 22mm bolt on the bottom. For the top to keep the shock from turning there is an Allen wrench fitting in the top of the stud. Hold the shock with the allen wrench and tightening down the included lock nut. Again be careful not to totally smash the rubbers.
Put your tires back on and enjoy your new mod!
The hard parts on this project were removing old nasty rusted bolts. I highly recommend soaking everything the night before with WD-40 or penetrating oil. Other than that read the Downy instructions and this and you should be able to accomplish this mod. The Downey warning sticker fits nicely in the visor if you want your passengers to know you have modified your truck.
Last edited by Bob_98SR5; 01-14-2006 at 08:22 PM.
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