Time to upgrade the suspension. Where to start?

The stock suspenders on my '03 xcab 4x4 have about had it. I'm looking into options. Leveling kits have been suggested by a few folks. I'm not opposed to a little more height, but I'm not interested in doing it at the expense of reliability. I'm not really that interested in spending more cash to add height either. I'm just saying that it was a consequence of installing better shocks & a leveling kit, then my feelings would not be hurt

I figured I'd be replacing all the springs? Or would that be premature at 135,xxx miles?

I was thinking something a little nicer than stock would do as well. Maybe something adjustable if it didn't make that much of a price difference?

Something that would tame washboards would be ideal. I wind up driving a lot of them in the Summer. I'm guessing that's a reasonable expectation?

I would like to do this well under a grand if possible. It appears to be, but I've never rebuilt a truck suspension before and don't know exactly what to expect in the way of replacing little bits here and there.

Here's how it sits now - with a bit of camping gear and water in the back



Thanks in advance!

Oh, and just for giggles...what's the scoop on cockpit adjustable stuff? Is that crazy expensive or within the reach of the average joe?

 

Heres a good start

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/258245-old-man-emu-questions-answers-pictures.html

 

Ohh and welcome to TW

 

Wow - lots to take in there. Thanks for the link!

 

So this got put on the back burner, but I'm back to thinking about it again. I looked into the OME stuff, but it appears that stuff is just for lifting and it appears to be kinda expensive.

I've decided to just replace the shocks with something approaching original equipment for now, but there are quite a few choices out there that would fit.

For giggles, I stopped by the local Midas shop and asked them to quote the job - parts & all. They wanted right at a grand to do it - with Monroes - charging over 3x what I found them for on Amazon. They wanted a nice slice for labor too - around $75/quarter and then want to charge $45 for 'shop fees'.

I'm reasonably confident I can do the swap myself, but I'm stuck on which equipment to buy. I can get out pretty cheap going with Monroe, KYB, Gabriel, Raybestos, FCS, etc. It's all uphill from there, but I'm thinking one of these cheaper options might be just fine for restoring the OE ride & handling characteristics. Under 300 bucks to replace shocks comes across as appealing.

Any thoughts on doing this and staying pretty cheap with it? Any good reasons to choose one of the above brands over the others? Any I'm forgetting?

 

Buy this:

http://downsouthmotorsports.com/i-9...5-series-rears-95-5-2004-pair-front-rear.html

Do this:

http://www.customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138312

Save this: $$$

Drink this:


You won't regret buying bilsteins... trust me. Better than OEM ride plus can adjust front without screwing up front geometry and having alignment issues. You can do AAL to rear later if you get the urge.

 

i went the cheap way with kyb mono max off Amazon. they do well but i can already feel them start to sagg i guess. they have taco lean like a bad mf. but they worked till i can do LT

 

Cool! I didn't realize the Bilsteins were in the same ballpark. Thanks for the heads up!

And thanks for the word on the KYBs Juans. Looks like Bilstein may be the way to go.

 

Ya I wish I would have done those first but hey you learn right

 

I bought that setup from Downsouth for my Tacoma. Ride is fantastic.

 

try this:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/162870-suspension-replace-question.html

 

Quite the essay you wrote there james . Found it to be quite helpful as i'm in the same boat as the op. Thanks.

 

Thanks for all your input on this folks. I let the different options bounce around in my head for a good while and finally ordered some suspension...went with the Bilstein 5100/5125 kit from Down South. It seems to be far and away the best option for the money.

I'm still teetering on exactly how I'm gonna get 'em on there though. The rear should be easy enough, but I kinda wanna have a shop swap my factory springs for me. I took the truck by a local 4x4 shop yesterday and was quoted $187.50 per corner for the 2 fronts. I'm thinking I could almost buy a hydraulic spring compressor for that. Any advice on what this job is really worth? I was thinking more like $100/corner or maybe a little less - to do all the work. Am I way off there? 'Cause if near $200/corner is the going rate, Ima just buy myself a decent spring compressor and try to sell it when I'm done.

 

Are they also removing them off the vehicle, or are you doing that your self and taking the coilover units down to the shop?

Did you get new bushings for the top of the front shocks? Or new coil isolators?

 

Well, I could do it either way. But I had them quote removing and replacing everything.

I know this kit comes with some bushings, but wasn't thinking I needed more than would come with the kit. Think I should get some extra parts on the way? From Down South's order page: This set of "4" shocks will have the Bilstein 5125 Series 8" and 8.5" Travel Shocks for the "Rear" in it along with the correct 3/4" Urethane Bushings we will put in the shocks for you at "No Extra" Charge so they will bolt right into the factory location using the factory hardware

 

Your good on the rears. But the fronts do not come with new bushings for the stem (where the top of shocks attaches to top-plate).

 

Awesome. Thanks for the heads up! I just found out that the boots are on backorder, so it may be a little while before I get my care package . Guess that gives me time to collect these other parts though.

 

If you remove the shocks from the vehicle and bring them in to get swapped with bilsteins it should be about $30

 

That I can do! Now to find the shop that will give me that number...

 

I finally got a little free time to work on this and over a couple of days, I got it knocked out! This could have been a shorter job, but I did it solo and I've never worked on a truck suspension before. So I took my time.

The rear took about 3.5 - 4 hours. The bottom shock mounts were corroded pretty badly and had sort of fused with the old factory bushings. So I spent some time cleaning everything up. Getting the old shocks off was a bit of a bear because of the corrosion. Getting them back on was just as much fun.

The fronts were much easier. I'd been reading they would be the time-consuming part, but my experience was much different. It took at most 10 minutes to remove each front assembly with hand tools. I found a shop 200 yards away to swap the springs for $55, so I walked those over. The longest part of the job was the 3 hours I waited to get them back. I think my part of the job was about 1.5 hours up front.

I'm trying not to drive it much 'till I get the alignment done, but I wanted to check my handywork, of course. First impressions are dreamy! It's a little stiffer than I thought it would be, but that's probably because I went with the center notch and picked up the front. The truck's perfectly level now!

In case anyone local was wondering, D&A auto on 44th in Wheat Ridge did the spring swap for me. Roughly $55 for both and they seem to be a solid shop.