Front quick strut defect?

Compressed length of the coilover being shorter than how much the suspension will compress is actually good, so that the suspension bottoms out before the shock does which might damage the shock. Unless you are jumping the truck, I wouldn't worry about the little bit of extra down travel you measured. I've had to lever my lower arms down a bit to get the bottom bolt in, so it has to go down some or else you have to compress the coilover to even get them installed.

Monroe and Gabriel are just awful. Minimum I would go with are KYB Gas-A-Just. For a little more you can get 4600's, and for a little more than that 5100's. The challenge is with the springs. Since you have a stock truck, you want to get as close to stock as possible. I'm not sure I trust what the Monroe quick struts come with.

Your best bet may be to call one or more of the vendors on here and let them know what your truck is and that you just want stock 4600 replacements with stock-like coils installed. Most can send them assembled like the quick struts. Easy peasy to pop them in.

 

This is why going cheap on components that handle a lot is a bad idea.

 

Ok. So the final general consensus seems to be that installing a decent coilover, that is stock length, 18.4 (4600’s) into a space in which the recommended length is 20.25 is all good. Correct?

 

Works fine on my truck. Ride height and quality are both good off and on road.

Saw that you used Summit’s measuring template to determine what you think you need. Just curious, have you been able to find measurements of actual OEM shocks? I doubt your truck came special from the factory in need of something longer than OEM, despite whatever results Summit’s measuring suggestions are giving you.

 

Yeah, Summit has been around for a long time, supplying aftermarket parts for custom and modified vehicles. They provide that guide mainly for people that have customized their vehicle (or even built their own chassis) and need custom-length shocks.

I looked at various specs on RockAuto, and they are all around the same for stock replacements. Unless you have done some extreme modifications, you should be fine going with a quality set that is sold as an OEM replacement.

Believe me, there is a HUGE difference in performance and ride/handling quality between the low-end Monroe and Gabriel shocks and something a bit better quality. Sure, you don't need Kings or Fox, but don't skimp on the things that keep you connected to the earth and in control, like tires and suspension.

And keep your chin up! You're almost there.

 

That information has been around for many years. It took multiple people repeating it

 

Outside perspective here: Good questions for understanding but the key point of this thread is mounting Monroe shocks on your truck is not worth your time and will handle worse than stock and may even be unpredictable vs how a truck should drive. A nice thing about Bilstein 4600 is they make a kit for your truck, so you don't need to measure anything. They just bolt on and work as advertised. 120k mi on mine with absolutely no problems.

 

I have not found OEM measurements. I am going off what other suppliers, bilstein, Monroe, KYB, etc, state as OE or OEM. They come in pretty close to each other, give or take.

I would be interested in what someone else has come up with. Of course why, if stock, would someone bother measuring. This was my case until I started having issues.

 

I got the struts from a 2016 Tacoma for free cut them down and welded the stud at the bottom and have been sending them daily for a little over a year now... You're overthinking this

 

That different suppliers have different min/max lengths is an indication this is not a critical measurement. To take a step back, your dampers should not set your ride height-- that comes from the distance between spring perches and the spring that sits between them. The dampers just need to be long enough to not top out when unweighted, and not bottom out internally within the cylinder before the bump stops hit. Your dampers just expand/contract for the riide but are not necessarily what sets minimum amd maximum excursion.

In brief all the dampers should do is control the speed of movement by having more resistance (typically) the faster they are forced to move. If you look at a simple spring system, it will oscillate at the same rate regardless of the size of the oscillations. Because dampers damp at a non-constant rate, they specifically break the 'bouncy' 1st mode of a spring ststem. That is all they do, the endpoints do not set ride height nor min/max excursion unless they are the wrong size.

That is, different OEM dampers have different lengths because these endpoints just need to be in a range, not a particular value.

 

Fuck me! I'm curious, too.

I've been battling coil over assembly swaps as well.

I can not find assemblies that are the same ride height as factory.

I've tried 3 different venders assemblies and they are all giving me a 1.5" less ride height than factory!

My next try is to install 4 runner assemblies.

 

What combinations have you tried?

The 4600’s seem to be a pretty proven formula at this point: I used them on all four points, put cheap moog coilovers up front, whatever stock height leaf springs in the back (I used Dayton HD to compensate shell weight and outdoor gear) and am all set. I’ve hardly even got any of the famous first gen Taco Lean going on anymore. Even with a full tank of gas.

 

Return that crap and get some real coil overs. Good luck with your truck.

 

I don't know. Last seen July 18th according to his profile thingy. I shot him a message a few days ago. Haven't heard back....

 

I read in another thread he got at least a temp ban for some reason. His user name has a line through it, so likely accurate.

 

Out of curiosity how are you measuring "factory height". Interestingly, most people end up above what they call factory after replacing suspension components...

And after you've tried all these various vendor assemblies, wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy a good pair of adjustable and rebuildable coilovers? King, etc.. Then you don't have to play this variation game. You can use the adjustable collar to set your ride height to whatever you want. They are unlikely to change height when you have them rebuilt (unless you change the spring or spring rate) but again you can just adjust them. I've had my Kings rebuilt about every 50k. This last time I also replaced the springs- the first times without the new spring it went back in at the same height, with the new springs, I had to take some preload off to get it where like it- I am sure that I will have to adjust them as they settle in.

 

Measuring fender to ground with original, factory springs, with worn craptastic Monroe shocks.

New, quick assemblies installed resulted in a ride height that is 1.5" lower. I've tried 3 different suppliers. Hence my next attempt will be with 4 runner assemblies.

FWY, the original springs had been on 2 different Tacoma V6 4 x 4 excab trucks. Roughly 400k miles and they still rode at normal height.

I did buy some Billy adjustables. I installed them in my latest aftermarket springs. The ride is a bit too harsh for me. Not bad, just not what I want.

A can rebuild assemblies in 45 minutes. I've done it a lot over the years. I just wanted to be done with it quicker by using assemblies. This has but me in the ass. I've lost a lot of time as well as the extra money assemblies cost.

I'm also pissed I scrapped out the original springs

 

What evidence/logic makes you think that 4 runner coilovers are going to be the magic ticket?

How can you call them "original springs" if they have been on 2 different trucks prior to yours, and why would think they hadn't sagged since then? It looks like you can still buy the OME TRD/Non-TRD for $140/$130 respectively, so if you think those are going to solve your issue- they are the same price as the Monroe "assemblies".

You know you can get kings, fox, etc, and have them re-valved to something you consider less harsh right? I did specifically mention adjustable and rebuildable earlier.

It seems like a lot of guesswork to keep throwing money at cheap shocks and hope they suit your expectation when you could probably pay less (overall than 4 sets, which by my quick research would have cost $1120) by just getting a good set of coilovers and tailor them to your specifications. You could probably call one of the suppliers and get them ordered with softer valving and spring rates outta the box.

 

You can't go by the various measurements from the different shocks and compare them across brands, especially down to 1/100th of an inch.

Guaranteed that monroes and 4600s (that are both designed to be "stock replacements") will have different measurements.

 

"100,000,000 fans can't be wrong" ~ Bon Jovi

Except in this case, all 100 million are

The suggestion of 4600s has been beaten to death and even though there are hundreds of threads, with thousands of people using the suggested shocks, all that is moot based on a 3rd party vendor's site