Howdy, long time no post.

Long story short, not much has changed, still daily driving my 2000 4runner without boost :-(. Besides the radiator going out last year nothing really to say about it except that I am still so glad I got this 4runner over the jeep I was considering 13 years ago.

So I was going down a street I am not used to and it has a bump sign for the next cross street, looked ahead and it did not look that bad so figured I would hit it without slowing down for giggles.

Turns out that sign might of been put there for a reason.

The first dip in the intersection was at just the right angle to basically turn the berm in the street into a ramp and then the second dip amplified this effect. So I ended up coming completely off the ground at one point and bouncing all over the place. Thankfully no one else was around (I checked before deciding to not slow down) but I could tell something broke as soon as things settled down.

Which is strange because while the truck was airborne the landing was actually much more gentle then I expected. No loud sounds and could hardly even hear the suspension bottom out on the bump stops. I have hit things in the past harder off-road.

Limped in the few more blocks I needed to go and looked under the car, at first could not see any damage and just drove it home but after a bit of driving I start getting this BAD whole car vibration. Still not entirely sure what is causing it.

I did a more in depth check after I got home and noticed that my strut bushings in the front are completely gone, so that explains some of it. Also a CV boot is torn, which is strange since that one was replaced a few years ago but the other is much older.

While the timing sucks for sure since I most certainty do not have this in the budget it is not shocking since these are the factory suspension parts (I did all the joints several years ago when my ball joint broke). It was already leaning to the drivers side a bit just sitting in the driveway.

So I am looking for the cheapest possible option to get everything back together. Was looking on ebay and see a bunch of kits that are really cheap, anyone tried these? These are just the first one I found, there are many more to pick from in this price range.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Struts-Spri...nd!76116!US!-1
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Set-of...QAAOSwzixdAKTU
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Front-Com...QAAOSwX0VdLoeH
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-Set-2-...rd!76116!US!-1
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-96-97-9...ry!76116!US!-1

In the mean time I actually bought a 2006 ford escape 4wd for $200 yesterday that is in shockingly good condition. Battery, window, tune up and fluid changes and looks like it is basically good to go. Should be able to keep it under $500 total I think. So this will be my daily driver for the time being. Only downside is that being from Texas this is the first car I have ever had with real rust. I am told it is not that bad but it has rust at all, so not sure how best to deal with it since it now lives in Texas and I don't want it to get worse. Any good options for stopping the rust from spreading?

TLDR

Ignored warning sign, hit "bump", jumped 4runner completely airborne, Broke strut bushings and CV boot on landing. Trying to fix for cheapest possible money. Also have bad whole car vibration when driving now and not 100% sure what is causing it besides the dead struts.

Considering ebay strut combo deals for less then $150 since I could use new springs anyways and even that is a stretch for my budget right now.

OT, purchased Ford Escape for $200 with some rust and no idea how to deal with it being a Texas Boy.

 

since you have another car, id recommend saving up for something more reputable. you may end up having to do the suspension twice if the cheap ebay stuff fails.

i would even try to find stock suspension thats in decent condition before i buy no name ebay parts.