Hey yall!

After TDI swapping my 1988 4runner, I decided to lift the rear bit to match the 1.5" lift the front end received from weight reduction (150lbs roughly). I'm sure a similar front lift could be achieved by simply cranking up the torsion bars or adding ball joint spacers but that's beside the point. This rig is my 4th pickup/4runner and over the years I've experimented with bunch of different spring shock combos. For this project however I didn't want more than 2" of lift, didn't want anything too stiff and I wanted to keep the cost down.

I ended up purchasing the following for the build:
$100 Old Man Emu CS009R Springs (slightly used locally from someone who found them too stiff)
$55 Ruff Stuff Bump Stops https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/R1862.html
$85 Napa OE Proformer Shocks (rebranded Monroe "white" bodies)
Total: $240

As many of you probably already know the OME springs are quite heavy duty and will lift your 4runner about 3"-4" so immediately removed the 3rd leaf as well as the last (shortest) overload spring. I've run Bilstein 4600, 5100, Skyjacker and Rancho shocks on various trucks over the years and I decided to go with the OE Napa shocks for three reasons. They have the longest stroke of any shock I've researched for these trucks (13.5"-22.5" roughly, I can't remember the exact spec but you can ask Napa and they'll tell you). They were only $40 a pop and lastly they come with a lifetime warranty. The bumps stops on these trucks tend to be pretty harsh, and more often then not, non-existent. For this build I simply threaded a chunk of 1/2" scrap steel 3/8"-16 and welded it to the old u-bolt perch. The ruffstuff bump stops then thread into the chuck of 1/2" and are easily replaceable. That being said I haven't had any issues with them, they bottom out very gently and I will probably never replace them.

Since the build the truck has been daily driven hard on and off road for 4 years. The suspension settled some and I'm super happy with the height, softness and handling. I've bottomed it out a few times with no issues and the traction in the woods is phenomenal for a basically stock truck.

Attached are some recent photos of the stance on level/non-level terrain. Feel free to ask ANY questions, my goal here to provide info for anyone interested in replacing their clapped out suspension without breaking the bank!

 

This is great because I need to replace the suspension on mine and didn’t want to drop a ton of money.