I was all set today to commit to my first major mod for my 4Runner. I decided that I was going to replace the factory coil springs and get rid of the infamous "butt-sag". So I called my more mechanically inclined friend over so we could discuss what would be the best solution and to present to him the things I had learned from this lovely site to figure out what I wanted to do. I was originally leaning towards replacing the coil springs but I wanted to find out from him what would be easiest since he would be helping me with any work that needed to be done.

Long story short, since I have 2 wheel drive he says that anything like that will be a bit more work than he can commit to at the moment. Apparently since i don't have independant suspension in the back I'm supposedly going to have to take off a lot more parts than those of you with 4 wheel drive.

Then he says to me "why don't you just use some of those spacer things to even it out, they'd be way easier to put in." I asked him if he was talking about coil spacers and he said "no, these are different".

So a quick run to NAPA and 11 dollars later I have 4 springload lifers. We put them on in less than 20 minutes and all that we had to do was jack up the ruck and pull off the tires. I'm running 29inch tires on 16inch rims, and I had about 7 inches of clearance between the top of the tires and the wheel wells on the front. On the back tires I had about 5 inches in difference between the two reference points. Now with the spring lifters on i'm still about 1/2 and inch short of being at 7 inches all around, but it's a vast improvement over he way it was this morning.

How come there's no info about these anywhere on the board? Is there any reason that these wouldn't be a an easy solution to the sagging problem? I'm just curious about any more info anyone has about these?

-Keith

 

Anyone ? ? ?

 

I would love for somebody that know's what there talking about, because I have the sagging problem on my pickup.

 

Replacing your stock rear coils with a set of Downey, OME, or Performance Products is really easy...not really sure what your friend was talking about.

However, they do cost slightly more than $11

 

Are you talking about one of these things that you place inside the spring between the coils? $9.95 at JCWhitney:

I had a set of those a decade or so ago and they worked for about two months. After driving the truck fully loaded off road they split and popped out of the springs. It was worth the $10 experiment to learn they didn't really work. New springs are the best solution. Air bags or spacers (that go on top of the spring) are other options. I've never had to deal with leaf springs, but HD leafs or spring helpers should do the trick for the pick-up.

 

The item you put up a picture of looks like it has a similar function, but what I have looks different. Check out the attached file to see a little diagram of what i've got. The hole in the center is there so you can set it at an angle between the coils and use a wratchet to gain leverage and force squeeze it in between them.

I drove my truck a little with them on and didn't seem to notice any stiff handling. I might end up eventually replacing them with a real fix, but I don't anticipate carrying any heavy cargo or towing anything within the next month or two so these have provided a great temporary fix. I'll set some money aside for HD coils and if these things pop out under pressure then I'll go ahead nad have it fixed right.

And although I don't know alot about mechanics, I do agree with my friend that it would be almost impossible to remove the coils on my 2 WD Runner without taking off alot more stuff than is listed in the tech writeups. Is there anyone who has a 2 WD 4Runner that has replaced the coils or put in air shocks? How long did it take you and how much more did you end up removing aside from the shocks?

Thanks,
Keith

 

oops, forgot the picture

 

Airlift makes a set of airbags for the coil spring.They even sell a kit that comes with its own on board compressor.Nice thing is you can adjust the height.Its not to expensive either.I have them on the back of my tacoma .They also make them for leaf spung vehicles.

 

Those do work for a while then they compress/crack and fall out. One day you will have a look and notice they arent there. BTW. You can buy steel ones of those that actually crank up. They dont compress like the rubber/plastic ones. Its a good quick fix though till you can afford a permanent solution.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm just going to leave in the lifters until I can afford something better. Right now I'm thinking I'll probably get a set of air shocks, I like the idea of the flexibility of going up or down as I like to compensate for heavy cargo or towing.

Now I just need to figure out what to add to make my 2wd a little more offroad capable. I'm not planning on going rock-crawling or anything, but it'd be nice to have an ace up the sleeve for when I'm out in the woods back home...

-Keith

 

I have a set thats probably older than you are.If you let them leak down past 10 lbs they will get pinched and tear.They tell you that in the manual that comes with them.The newer ones come with a pressure swithch that keeps them at any pressure you set.They have been on the back of luxury cars for the past twenty years.I have had three sets on the three different trucks.If you do what it says they will last along time. Air shocks are about the same thing.I have an old set of them I bought back in 1982.Even those old crazy things still hold air.

 

I wasnt trying to put you down for being young.Nothing wrong with that at all.Enjoy it an becareful out there.Even if your friend says your truck will go thru it.Let him try it with his first! See if hes still brave.

 

No offense taken, everyone has to learn at some point. Thanks for the adivce...

-Keith