I am in the middle of installing new Bilstein shocks on the front and rear of my new 4Runner and have run into quite a snag not to mention a lot of frustration.

I have a spring compressor and everything but the darn thing is a real pain to reinstall.

Especially when you trying to keep from tearing up your shocks which I'm not sure is possible because the spring compressor digs into it as you try to crank it up.

The angle of the lower shock joint doesn't allow you to get a lot of force to leverage the shock in so you can get the bolt in either.

All insights would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Hey Frederick,
Weird timing. I just placed an order for Bilsteins at Central 4WD in Kent and I'm having them installed there as well. $100 for the installation.

I saw some earlier posts on Bilsteins so you might want to do a search on Bilsteins or search Corey's site.

Good luck,
4R

 

Hey welcome to the boards. Are you compressing the upper A arm when you go to re-install the fronts? If not, that will be a big help. Use a small bottle jack if you have one. If not, they're fairly cheap at a local auto parts store.

Check out Steve's write up for a front spacer install for pics of what I'm talking about.

Good luck!

 

Yes, use a jack to help you.

When I had my coil/shock assembly out, it took 3 guys to put them back in. One to push the A-arms down, one to hold in/line up the lower shock mount hole and the third guy to bolt it in place.