Ok, now speaking about shocks... I did some searching earlier and Bilstein are pretty expensive, so I know they're good stuff. I wana shoot for the Bilsteins, but in case I can't, what opinions do you all have on these?

Skyjacker

Skyjacker 3-4" lift

Rough Country

And here's where I found the Bilsteins the cheapest:
Bilstein

 

IME experience Skycracker, Superstiff, Pro-flop, Wancho, Bluff-Country etc. are all pretty comparable. Personally none of them bother me but some people really enjoy the cush ride that Bilsteins provide. Another real decent shock is Doestch Tech (sp?). Downey sells them and I had a full set of them on a solid axle truck years ago with a Downey lift. They were a nice cushy ride. Monroe actually does make a decent shock as well imo. Nothing wrong with skyjackers etc. though. Old man emu also makes really decent shocks.

I've also heard some good things about edelbrock shocks, but I've never personally ran them.

 

PS. rip those stupid coils out of there and stick in a new pair of shocks and go from there. I think shocks alone would make you a lot happier. The only way you are really going to get a LARGE difference in flex is to get a good spring like OME or better yet longer springs such as mazda, marlin, chevy etc. The rear of these trucks just plain need longer springs to flex like crazy.

 

Thanks, when you say longer springs.. u mean coil or leaf? and are those bilsteins the right length? Or where is a good place to look for the OME shocks? When I'm reading about collapsed length, compressed length, I'm like WTF?

 

By longer spring I mean leaf spring which means you have a torch and cut off your old hangers, then measure, weld new hangers on and install new longer leaf springs. Those coils do not belong on your 4Runner and are the very reason you aren't happy with the rear flex. Remove them and go to Carquest, Napa etc. and order the cheapest shocks they have for the rear of a stock 4Runner and you will be a lot happier, trust me. If the rear is sagging and you just want a little height without ruining flex, get a shackle set from trail gear for $75 and install it. Just saw how close you live. If you want I will help you throw some new shocks on and get all that un needed coil crap off the back. I can help you install the shackles as well.

 

WOW! Are you serious?? I really appreciate that! Ok, sounds great. I was thinking of getting some decent shocks so, I'll get a game plan going on what to buy, order it and let you know when it should be in so we can plan on getting all the crap off my truck. Does anyone know if I can install the Bilstein Heavy duty (blue/yellow) in the front and 5100's in the back? Would that work?

So, now what leaf springs should I look for? Are those mazda leafs easy to get? Can I buy some online instead of Toyota's? Or should I just get the shackles and keep the current leaves? I've seen AAL's cheap, but have read they will break soon?

 

Forgot to add... what if I just get the Downey suspension deal? #48086-S for $339. Downey Is that a decent deal? Does anyone have that setup? ....or the 48686-SPD. I'm tryin to figure out which will give me the most for my money. Thanks!

 

That looks to be a high quality kit, but you will need the $2600 dollar package to retain your 4wd and keep from breaking e. All the stuff listed under the arms you gave a part number for are still needed to some degree, especially if you want 4wd. Lets just start with the rear of the truck for now...pm me if you need help getting the parts. I PROMISE you won't need to spend all that much money to get the thing working better. Let's just get shocks in the back of it for now and rip all that crap out that shouldn't be there.....

 

Yeah, that kit will cost you quite a bit more than 399.

just fix the rear first. you can order for the front later. The yellows would be fine in the rear too.

 

Hmm... Ok. I'm trying to understand. Just to make sure we're lookin' at the same thing:

48086-S Torsion Bars 48186
86-88 Economy 2" Rear Springs 48279-2 $339.15

OR:

48686-SPD Torsion Bars 48186
86-88 Pro-Desert 2" Rear Springs 48279-2
Front Shocks (two) 8434D
Rear Shocks (one each) 8166D & 8231D $528.96

So, I wouldn't be able to buy these and bolt them on because they will change the angles of something else causing me to break/buy more stuff? Like A-ams, BJ's, etc. So when I use 4WD, it will mess stuff up? Is that what you guys are saying? I'm not quite understanding yet. I thought T-bars could be installed w/no adverse effects or were actually recommended when going to bigger tires. The rear leafs, I thought would not make a change except fixing sag. Reason I was looking at this set, was I thought I could maybe get a better deal this way. Here's prices I have found so far:

Bilstein HD: $249/set shipped
OR:
Bilstein 5100: $299/set shipped
Downey 2" leaf: $199 plus SH
Downey T-Bar: $158 plus SH
Total: $606-$656 plus SH for leafs & Tbars vs. $528 plus SH.

So depending on shipping for Downey shocks ($20?), I'd save about $80-$130. I'm trying to understand what I'm missing here. Thanks for the help guys.

 

AHHHHHHH....Okay. Our bad.

We didn't scroll to the bottom of the page...LOL

Sorry to freak you out. No, the kit you listed will be fine. Those torsion bars are pretty stiff, so you may want to reconsider, but they will work fine. You just may find it more difficult to flex out the suspension fully up front. But, no extra money.

We were referencing the long travel kit at the top. That is a very expensive kit. We didn't look at the economy kit at the bottom.

 

Ah ok! Good news then! LOL.... Well then maybe I can skip the Downey T-bar then as flex is what I'm after. Economy, one of my preffered words lol.

 

if you really want good flex at a cheap price i would say do a chevy swap, with new shocks and ball jiont spacers up front, also with new shocks, totaly you will spend about $700-$800 depending on the shocks you get and it will perform BETTER than any lift you could for the same price

 

If you want to do a chevy swap we can do that too, but I do have to give my boss a small fee for using his welding equipment and shop so it may run you a little more, and we will definitely have to change the shock mounts from stock. How about we just do shackles and shocks for now....You will be plenty happy, we'll stuff some chevies under there later on if you really think you need them. But just removing the "helper" shocks and extra coils in the rear without even installing shocks would be an improvement over what's there already.

 

AC, get on with it dude , you are killing me. jump out there and spend the money so i will know what route to go. i am either gonna have to get off this forum, or put my wife to work. not being able to spend money on my junk to keep up with you guys is making me

 

Lol... Ok dude, I promise! I will get on it. You can live vicariously through me. I have been selling all my junk on Craigslist and I think I'll be able to pull the trigger on the parts soon.

 

what locker have you picked for this junk of yours

 

Well like we had chatted.. I was thinking of Aussies.. then read how bad lunchbox lockers are in snow/ice/wet roads, so I decided on E-Locker, THEN.. I re-read some info saying I can install a lunchbox in the front, lock 1 hub to safely drive in 4WD on those conditions and lock both fronts for all the traction on the trail.. SOOOO.. now I'm back to square 1 and researching.. Help me out buddy, don't leave all the work on me. I know you only lock your hubs every 3 yrs and all, but do something lol.

 

That isn't the best way to do that. Some claim to have had success. As with many of these concocted ways of surviving snow with an auto or spool up front, I have tried this, since my front locker goes on and off with a button.

Here is the deal with snow and lockers that don't turn off.

In snow, around a turn, these lockers will sometimes unlock, and sometimes not, depending on whether you are powering, and if the tires are slipping enough. When they don't, you are spooled. When I lock my ARB, I am spooled as well. So, in an empty, icy parking lot, in 4wd at about 5mph, i tried this. Going straight. i then turned the wheel....kept turning....kept turning....and I hit full lock on the steering, fully to the left. My truck was still traveling straight. No deviation. So, to be fair, i performed the same test in 4wd, same speed, but this time with the locker unlocked. Turned immediately.

on a separate occasion, I locked only one of my hubs, in both 4wd open and 4wd locked. Both ways, the truck pulled HARD to the side that was locked in. I could control it, but it wasn't easy. The truck DID turn however, but as traction changed the truck would buck pretty hard. I drove down the street by my place. On ice/snowpack, it was okay, i could keep the wheel canted over, and stay straight on the road. As soon as I hit anything else, say, gravel, or a clear spot, the truck would jerk hard to the side that was locked. Almost lost it once, when the clear spot was on the hub locked side, and the other 3 tires were on snow, truck spun sideways slightly, but i was going slow enough to correct.

As I said, there are a few folks who've said they've done this, and been okay. I'll never do it again.

 

Yup, I'd say if you are going to lock it at all, start in the rear.