2wd TRD Prerunner basic shock/coil questions

Figured I'd wrap this thread up for anyone with the same questions. I did a lot of research and correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like for stock height you're pretty much limited to your standard auto parts store or rockauto junk or OEM (which costs about 2x the quality aftermarket stuff). I went with Old Man Emu 880 coils and General Spring HD (heavy duty) leafs with Bilstein 5100's all around. Coils and struts from Wheeler's Offroad who were awesome to deal with, leafs direct from General Spring who were also good. Forgot to take a before measurement but total lift is maybe 1.5," I barely notice it. The rear looks a little higher maybe but it doesn't bother me. The 5100's are adjustable in the front which you need for the OME 880's, if you're keeping stock height you can use the Bilstein 4600's which are almost the same spring but cheaper.

Oh also for first timers like me here's a little rundown on parts, this was a little hard to figure out when I was researching.
Shocks: Each shock has a pair of rubber bushings top and bottom, plus two washers and a bolt. Wheeler's shipped the shocks with new bushings but not washers or bolts, my truck is rust-free so I was fine but most people are going to want to get at least the washers.
Leafs: General shipped the leafs with bushings installed. Front attachment is a bolt/nut/washer, again if you've got any rust you prob want to have a replacement on hand, much of the time these have to be cut off. Rear is the leaf spring hanger it's a two-piece dealy also often needs to be replaced. Leaf spring to axle attachment is 2 u-bolts per side. Mine were fine but I replaced for peace of mind, they're $10/ea from general spring which seemed a little steep to me until I saw them. Real heavy duty stuff and worth paying a couple extra bucks for.

 

It looks great. That is my favorite color. From what I understand, I think the rear will settle some. I'm grappling with what to do about my rears at this point.

Thank you for reporting back and showing the finished product.

 

So incredible to find the exact information I came for, dated TODAY. I haven't logged on for two years and here you are.

Looks great.

So what was your approximate overall cost?

 

Ha, glad it's helpful to someone! I think I paid about $1100 total, including around $140 in shipping, that's with new u-bolts but not any other new hardware.

This is a pretty decent deal too if you need shackles and everything

 

Thanks!

 

blackpiglit, Just joined and reading threads.. wanted know what you finally did. I replaced my shocks with 4600's, everything was great except I didn't realize front and back springs needed to be changed as well and shortened the life of the 4600's.

 

I went with the bilsteins, general springs HD springs and the OME 880 coils. The suspension feels awesome, it's pretty stiff when unloaded but it can carry some serious weight. There is one big problem though which is that now I fishtail real bad whenever it's wet. Like dangerously bad. I think it's because the new springs are so stiff that they're not keeping traction as well. At some point I'm going to put the topper back on and build a rack so I'm hoping a few hundred lbs will help. Overall I'm happy with it but if I were to do it again I think I would go with the bilsteins and OME but in the back put on some cheap auto store leaf springs and airbags.

 

I'm currently running with 300 lbs of sand bags (double bagged in contractor plastic bags) in the back of mine for the winter with the AAL. It really improved the ride and leveled it out.

 

Yeah I've been meaning to do that. Thanks.

 

Very helpful thread, I’m looking to do a slight 2 or 2.5 inch lift soon. If I do the front I’m assuming I’ll have to replace the leafs in back to gain a little more lift? I’m liking the 5100/eibach coils from wheelers. I’m clueless about the rear options though.