thezentree

It's still on jackstands, but mostly due to me being indecisive. I thought about it more and decided to keep the RC leveling block and drop the spring seat down to the lowest groove. This way I keep the same amount of lift and don't have to add a bunch of preload to the springs and stiffen the ride a bunch. Unfortunately the cheap spring compressor kit I had turned out to be basically disposable, so I'm waiting on an OTC clamshell strut spring compressor to get here to take it all apart again. Also I neglected to order jounce bumpers with the KYB top hats (you'd think they'd be included), and it would bug me forever to not have those installed, so those are on the way too. Thankfully I'm working from home and have the 4Runner to get around in, so I'm not too jammed up. I'll follow up when I get all the parts and have time to take another stab at it.

Yes, the upper control arm is resting on the bottom of the frame mount.

Welp, got the springs swapped to the new front shocks, but it's looking like I'm going to have to separate the upper ball joint so the lower control arm can drop far enough to get the bar pin on top of it. That means pulling the CV out of the hub so I can get a puller on the bottom of the ball joint. Anyone run into this before?

#overlandAF haha My Sierra has been relegated to a second vehicle since I got the 4Runner, but eventually I plan to cut up a 1st gen Tacoma as a dedicated trail rig so I don’t ruin the 4Runner or the Sierra. The Sierra is going to be the tow pig for that and won’t see much dirt other than trips to the beach or forest roads, so a skinnier tire is appealing to me from a MPG perspective. Right now I’ve got my eye on a set of Falken AT3Ws in 255/80 since I loved the set I had on the 4Runner. Gotta get new shocks first so I can get it aligned after it’s (re)leveled.

Hah sorry, I come from the land of 4Runners where “285s” means either 285/75R16 or the 17” equivalent. I’ve got 285/70R17s on factory wheels. My next set of tires will likely be 255/80R17s but if the 285s fit, the 255s should too. I think you’re right about holding off on doing anything to the rear (other than shocks). And good call on new hardware. I’m sure the existing stuff is a little crusty.

Hey all, new here and have a 08 Sierra 1500 V8 4wd that needs new shocks. It's currently got a RC 2" strut spacer leveling kit and 285s on it, but the shocks are factory and it's got 210k miles on it. They are done, to say the least. I think I have an idea of what I want, just wanted to run it past y'all in case I'm about to order the wrong parts. Before anyone jumps my sh*t, I did search and couldn't find a thread that cleared this up, but that's not to say I didn't miss something. Front: Bilstein shocks P/N 24-186940, with the spring seat clip set in the top groove, factory springs, and no RC spacer. I want to keep it as low as I can while still clearing the 285s with no cutting, so if I can get away with a lower groove, let me know. Rear: Bilstein rear shocks P/N 24-293082. Maaaybe and ORD zero rate in the rear to add an inch to the rear so it's not squatted when loaded? I am assuming that the rear shocks I listed above will work with 1" lift in the rear? Thanks in advance.