Suspension Refresh Opinions

Hello,

I'm a newbie here and tried some searching but there is so much darn information and acronyms, I have no idea what I need.

2000 Prerunner with 132k miles
I'm starting to hear some clunking in the front end, which could be my control arms (I think)
I'm pretty sure the shocks need to be replaced because the truck feels like a boat on dirt roads.

I like the stock lift with the Prerunner, but coming from sports cars, I want to tighten up the suspension.

My budget is under $1000 with labor, so I'm sure that rules out coilovers.

The list of items I think I should replace are:

Front End:
Control Arms (or joints if available)
bushings (control arms, sway bar)
tie rods?
shocks/springs (Bilsteins? Does Bilstein sell springs?)

I'm not sure if the rear end needs work, but I figured I should replace the shocks.
Do leaf springs need to be changed?

I think I covered it all. I'm sorry for the "stupid" questions.. please no trolling... i know the other forums would flame me for this post

cheers!

-Peter

 

Before doing anything else, I'd go through and check your tie rod ends, ball joints (upper and lower), steering bushings and UCA/LCA bushings. Replacing most of this stuff isn't that expensive but is very important to keep your rig on the road.

(Changing my steering rack bushings made a HUGE difference for me, when I first bought my truck)

After you've taken care of that, look into Bilstein 5100s for shocks. You can set the ride height on them, depending if you want a little lift or if you don't.