Seeking advice on shock and rear spring replacement... no lift

[MissouriLC]

I just swapped over to the Bilstein 4600s recently. I've put about 1K miles on them so far and they're great. Had both OEM and KYB previously.

I've got OEM LC rear springs, and no lift. I do use the TIMBREN SES system (Front and rear) to aid with towing and added weight.

Timbren SES

Haul and tow without sag, sway, and roll. Enjoy a controlled, smooth ride — loaded or unloaded — with our SES kits for vehicles.

timbren.com

So, I received my OEM shocks today (ended up buying them at the local dealer, which ended being about exactly the same price as buying them online and having them shipped), and I just want to confirm the correct order in which the retainer plates are installed. The retainer plates on my Monroe shocks are quite a bit different. I'm sure it will make more sense when I actually start installing them on the truck, but any guidance is appreciated.

FRONT SHOCKS:

First, non-flanged retainer plus cushion.

Second, flanged retainer with thick flange.

Third, flanged retainer with thin flange.

Finally, non-flanged retainer and nut.

(Continued below...)

 

[MissouriLC]

REAR SHOCKS:

First, small retainer, non-flanged, with small hole.

Second, small cushion.

Third, small flanged retainer.

Fourth, small non-flanged retainer with large hole.

Fifth, small cushion, small retainer plate with small hole, and nut.

Do I have all that right? Thanks!

 

[AlabamaLX]

Somebody posted a nice cushion retainer diagram somewhere in the 100 series forum, but I can't find it currently.

Here's the one that came with the Bilstein's. The Bilstein's are made just like the OEM ones, just Zinc plated.

The Monroe's you mentioned at the beginning of the thread are not made the same.

You'll be looking at Type 8 for the front and rear.

 

[MissouriLC]

Somebody posted a nice cushion retainer diagram somewhere in the 100 series forum, but I can't find it currently.

Here's the one that came with the Bilstein's. The Bilstein's are made just like the OEM ones, just Zinc plated.

The Monroe's you mentioned at the beginning of the thread are not made the same.

You'll be looking at Type 8 for the front and rear.

View attachment 2432421

Awesome, thanks!

The one thing that is confusing me is this... the smaller diameter retainer plates, which go on the rear shocks (based on the size of the cushions that came with the shocks) have only one of the four plates that have the protruding flange on the center hole. Basically, it appears as though there are two types of retainers for the fronts (cup with no flange, and cup with flange), and THREE types for the rear--cup with no flange and small hole (X2... these are the top most and bottom most), cup with large hole and flange (X1) and cup with large hole and no flange (X1). I am assuming that these are the middle two--the inner two. However, I am not sure which one goes on the bottom (shock side) and which one goes on the top (nut side).

 

[MissouriLC]

Got everything installed this weekend and, man, what a difference! I didn't realize just how shot and saggy everything was.

Just to recap, I ended up installing four (4) new OEM Toyota Tokico shocks (purchased locally from the dealer) and Old Man Emu 2860 springs in the rear. This replaced original rear springs (w/ 252K on them!) and Monroe Reflex shocks with at least 30K on them.

Overall, it was easier than I was expecting and fearing. The fronts were a piece of cake, and I did these Friday night. The Monroe shocks have a hex-shaped bung UNDER the mounting cushions, so it is super easy to put a wrench on the shocks to keep them from rotating. The only hiccup is the weird 15/16" top nut that the fronts use. I didn't have a 15/16" wrench, so I needed to use an adjustable crescent wrench, which was not ideal.

I tackled the rears on Saturday morning. I (mistakenly) assumed that rear retainer nuts were also 15/16", so I bought a 15/16" flex-head ratcheting wrench, in addition to a 22mm for the new shocks. Well, the rear Monroe's were 19mm! Luckily, I head enough room to get a standard 19mm box wrench up there, although it was tight.

Second hiccup came when the P/S sway bar bolt broke. Luckily, I had a couple of spare 8.8 M10 bolts lying around, so that was an easy fix.

The biggest pain came when I realize that the old P/S shock was firmly seized on the bottom stud. I used a torch, beat the hell out of it with a brass drift, and nothing would make it budge. I finally decided to cut it at the weld with a sawzall, hoping I wouldn't rupture the reservoir. Well, I DID rupture the reservoir and ending up spraying myself with hydraulic fluid! More cutting and forcing with extreme prejudice and I finally got that off.

Wrestling the springs in was a little bit of a challenge, but not too hard. The D/S--between the longer spring length and the brake hoses being on that side--was considerably harder that the P/S. I'm glad I decided to do the D/S first. Then, getting the rear shocks bolted in was a snap. Regarding my question above, I put the retainer with the flange UNDER the frame, and the retainer with the large hole but no flange on TOP of the frame. This made the most sense once I got under there.

The new shocks raised my front end by almost an inch, and I got nearly 3 inches in the rear with the new shocks and springs! Again, I didn't realize how badly she was sagging. My wife comes out as I am taking it off the jackstands and says "are you going to be able to fit out the garage door? Well, I did, with only about a half inch of headroom to spare!

Ride and handling is great! Much more controlled, no floatiness, and much more confident over bumps, especially at highway speeds. Thanks to all for the advice and technical input along the way!

 

[bobcatag2006]

So, I've been working on my suspension since purchasing in February 2020. Since then I have done the following:

replaced front ball joints, sway bar links, wheel bearings, and brakes
Added Spidertrax 1/25" wheel spacers
Replaced all four shocks with Toyota OEM
Recently replaced my stock shocks which were super saggy fully loaded that we were bouncing all over the place on trips to the OME 2860 (pics below). They gave me lift when unloaded which I love and we are taking a trip in two weeks camping so I'll update on the ride and sag (or lack thereof) afterwards.

Now with my suspension in a pretty decent place, I'm going to add a roof rack and either a rear bumper or hitch tire carrier (depends on $$$) soon to get my spare out of my third row.

Pics of before and after spring replacement:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

 

[graveling]

Following... I just bought a 99 with original shocks . Fronts were so bad that the tops portion of the shocks were rusted thru. That said, I bought 4 new OEM shocks from Toyota and they were surprisingly cheap at around 50$ per. I don't have any sag, but I"m not hauling large loads around. The new OEMs seem soft to me, but I'm guessing my springs worn as well. Next year, I'd like to make make some suspension mods.

I do have the Bilstein 4660's on my gen 1 Tundra. I've never had an issue and love the ride.

 

[DalX470]

@bobcatag2006 - curious about the ball joint replacement job, thinking about doing the same on mine - what were the issues leading you to swap them out, and did new ones make a big difference? Wondering if I just do ball joints (upper & lower), or whole new control arms w/ new bushings.

 

[bobcatag2006]

@bobcatag2006 - curious about the ball joint replacement job, thinking about doing the same on mine - what were the issues leading you to swap them out, and did new ones make a big difference? Wondering if I just do ball joints (upper & lower), or whole new control arms w/ new bushings.

I did them based on my PPI I had done before purchasing the truck. The front sounded awful and was rough riding. I took it to a a LC specialist and they suggested the Ball Joints instead of the whole control arm(s). The Ball Joints were the 555 ones and they made a huge difference. No more front end noise and in conjunction with the front shocks it is a great ride.

 

[awesomeissquid]

Recently replaced my stock shocks which were super saggy fully loaded that we were bouncing all over the place on trips to the OME 2860 (pics below). They gave me lift when unloaded which I love and we are taking a trip in two weeks camping so I'll update on the ride and sag (or lack thereof) afterwards.

Do you have any shots of what it looks like loaded up? I am looking to add either the 2860 or the 2865 with a mostly stock rig. Thanks!

 

[aging fleet]

Do you have any shots of what it looks like loaded up? I am looking to add either the 2860 or the 2865 with a mostly stock rig. Thanks!

While you're waiting for a 2860 photo, here's one with 2865s. This is unloaded, no third row, hub to fender around 22".

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Not a great photo example but here’s 860s fully loaded in the trunk with a fully loaded cargo trailer attached.

 

[aging fleet]

Not a great photo example but here’s 860s fully loaded in the trunk with a fully loaded cargo trailer attached.

Ride height looks almost identical to an 865 unloaded.

 

[awesomeissquid]

Appreciate it! @aging fleet / anyone have pictures of 865 loaded so I can see the difference?

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Ride height looks almost identical to an 865 unloaded.

That’s because the 865s are shorter than the stock springs.

 

[bobcatag2006]

Do you have any shots of what it looks like loaded up? I am looking to add either the 2860 or the 2865 with a mostly stock rig. Thanks!

Sorry for the delay. Had it in the shop yesterday but will get a picture this weekend for you.

 

[bobcatag2006]

Here’s a couple from the soccer fields this morning. It’s not fully loaded for a trip but I’ve got probably 60-70lbs of tools and gear in the back along with the tire carrier.

 

[Nightbrew]

In an effort to not start another thread, I may highjack, but my intentions are good. I apologize. I have been looking through the seemingly never ending threads on this and couldn't find anything. If you know of a thread for this please post a link. My question is how light do I have to be, to stay on stock springs/shocks? Is there a certain amount of additional pounds for front/rear, that is reasonable. Or another way of asking is can I add front/rear bumpers as long as they are aluminum? Second, can I get away with a winch in an aluminum front? Can I have a swing out on an aluminum rear?
Basically, how much additional weight necessitates the need to go to aftermarket springs/shocks? Hope all this makes sense, and thanks much for advice.

 

[awesomeissquid]

In an effort to not start another thread, I may highjack, but my intentions are good. I apologize. I have been looking through the seemingly never ending threads on this and couldn't find anything. If you know of a thread for this please post a link. My question is how light do I have to be, to stay on stock springs/shocks? Is there a certain amount of additional pounds for front/rear, that is reasonable. Or another way of asking is can I add front/rear bumpers as long as they are aluminum? Second, can I get away with a winch in an aluminum front? Can I have a swing out on an aluminum rear?
Basically, how much additional weight necessitates the need to go to aftermarket springs/shocks? Hope all this makes sense, and thanks much for advice.

For our 100 series the front is actually supported by the torsion bars and not by the shocks. The OEM (none AHC) torsion bars can be adjusted to support a good amount of weight. Note that vehicles with AHC have a lighter weight torsion bar that can not support the full weight of the vehicle. People typically switch to thicker torsion bars (which means a higher spring rate) when they add a bumper and a winch.

On the rear, the springs support the weight so again not the shocks.

In both cases, the OEM shocks can work, but people typically switch to Ironman Foam Cell Pros, Tough Dog Foam Cells, or many of the other shock brands (Dobinsons, Icon, and Radflo to name a few of the higher end ones) to get the firmer feel from a shock that has different internal valving from stock.

At the age and mileage of our vehicles the original suspensions are typically worn. If you are still on the original springs it is likely that they have sagged a few inches. For springs, new OEMs are typically double the price of new aftermarket so people usually go that route since it also means they can handle more load. For shocks, new OEMs are super cheap so it is typically recommended to give new OEMs a try to see how you like them before diving into the aftermarket.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

My question is how light do I have to be, to stay on stock springs/shocks? Is there a certain amount of additional pounds for front/rear, that is reasonable. Or another way of asking is can I add front/rear bumpers as long as they are aluminum? Second, can I get away with a winch in an aluminum front? Can I have a swing out on an aluminum rear?
Basically, how much additional weight necessitates the need to go to aftermarket springs/shocks?

You can run OEM shocks with steel bumpers and other bolt-on paper weights. You’ll probably want to swap the rear coil springs for something with a little more load carrying capacity, but you can keep the OEM torsion bars.