88chaveztoy

hey all i have an 88 4runner i just bought and the rear sags a bit. Im not looking to give my runner a lift or anything just want to get the back higher than the front. I've done research and some say Add-A-Leaf and others say dont. Some say new downey springs and some say they tend to sag after a while. I rather buy new springs which will be the best out there?

Paul H.

OME will give you that raked look.

dcg9381

The "best" springs out there are probably Alcan springs. You didn't mention budget.

With the stock length, regardless of what you get, you'll always be somewhat limited in regard to flex. You'll have to go longer to get more flex.

Decide on price range, ease of install, and purpose of springs... It'd be easier to give advice! Fixing the sag can be done with $<40 for a set of add-a-leafs.

88chaveztoy

within a $250 dollar budget im hoping. Im not planning on flexing at all. I've heard that add a leafs will last for only so long and then start to flatten. Just wanted somethign i can install and be done with without having to worry about replacing for a while.

88chaveztoy

ill be riding some trails here and there for camping and stuff, but no xtreme rcokcrawling or anything

eightduceyota

My friend used air bags in his that you air up with shop air, no on board compresssor. It seemed to work pretty good. It got rid of the sag and seems to ride good too.

liferunner2

To the OP, Elripster a member on here uses air bags to get rid of the sag and still retain a good amount of flex on the trail from what he says. Personally, I went with the OME 891 (not sure about the PN, whatever one is the beefier of the two) and I like them a lot. Really, I just wanted something simple and a new coil seemed like the easiest route, though possibly not the cheapest. The on-road ride quality is great, but I have not really had a chance to see if flex is limited very much by the stiffer springs or not. I you get the OME's though, you need to get a longer shock as you will be near the end of the stock shock's travel. Oh, Elripster also said that the air bags were good on price compared to the springs.

Chris

Edit: Just read again and realized you have an 88 with leafs of course, mines a 95, my bad.

DCYota

If you want quality and durability out of a leaf pack, just go with the Old Man Emu leaf packs. You'll do it once and probably won't have to replace them for a long, long time...if ever. I've had their full leaf packs on a couple of different trucks now, and they're great. I plan to put them on my rig in the next couple of months. I put on a Toytec AAL for now just to give it some lift and cure the sag, but I know they'll only last for so long..especially with trail riding. Old Man Emu/ARB stand by their products, and you can find them many places.

About the longer shock thing. If your current shocks are in good shape, you can get the shock mount tabs that you weld/relocate on to the axle, essentially raising the lower mount a couple of inches, and you can get the u-bolt flip kit as well. I've done both on my rig and my existing shocks work great. You can get both of those items from All Pro.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

I have Downey. I just looked up my install thread here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/n...stalled-48400/
and see that it has been just over 2 years use now. I have no complaints. They settled about 1 inch after a couple months and stayed right there. I've wheeled them pretty hard over the past year or so and they seem to be taking it without any troubles. Good luck.

Belize Off Road Team

Performance Products 1" lift progressive coil springs. they are cheaper than others such as Downey or other BIG names. cheaper coils are Napa or other no name. i have over 20,000kms on mine and i love them, bigger than stock so they wont sag for many a year if at all. But it is just personal preferance for brand name.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

The '88 has leaf springs

Belize Off Road Team

the 88 does? i thought it was the older 85-86 that did? my bad, sorry

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

It's all good. Yes, coils started in '90.

motorhead

You could always try the method used here...

http://www.gearinstalls.com/dc.htm

About halfway down is a shot of a set of coils simply put in between the bumpstop on the axle and the bumpstop pad on the frame. I found what I think are used VW struts, cut the springs out and used Princess Auto (sort of a Canuck Harbor Freight) spring compressors along with the bucket on my buddy's Kubota and a bottle jack on the springs to install them. Lifted the pickup back to level, approx 3" from what it was. Cost was 10.00 for the compressors (on sale).

Djlarroc

Yes, that will work, but don't do it if you plan on 4wheeling. I had the same setup from the previous owner. Look up my thread "how can I get some rear flex?" I got rid of that crap asap.

captain_howdy

I'm pretty sure they all sag, and I'm lookin at the rear 'bagged suspension, or this crazy S-10 swap... but yeah I'd go bags.

88chaveztoy

oh man thank you all for the support and suggestions! im really looking into the Old Man Emu leafs springs. Hopefully get them and complete the rear in teh next couple of weeks. Also, get some before and after shots of the truck! oh and abouthe shocks they are pretty worn out, how do i know what size to get after the swap? can i use the same size as the ones it had before?

bigarms23

or you can take your current set of springs and send them to either alcan or atlas springs and have them rearched

elripster

Just to clarify, I'm running Gabriel Hijacker air shocks and 2" coil spacers. The air shocks could be used here. You run 30 PSI in them min so they always give a little lift.

Frank

dcg9381

Again, 1988 = leaf spring.
No one makes air shocks for the rear of the 1st gen, I've dug and dug on it.. I actually considered making a kit at one time just to deal with this issue.

Get the add-a-leaf, I've had mine on for 6 months - no sag, it actually rides better now that the spring isn't sitting on the overload.

It's cheap, it works, and it rides well.

For more ambitious 4wd, you'll need to do something else - something with a longer spring. The entry level recommendation would be 1/2 ton Chevy springs, with an add-a-leaf. They're longer, flexy, and will lift you a few inches.