mcglsr's 1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited

OP
OP
mcglsr2

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
And also started swapping out the body mount bushings. The first thing was removing the running board:

IMG_6249.jpg



I loosened up all the body mount bolts - there are 10 total, 5 on each side:

IMG_6254.jpg


IMG_6255.jpg



As it turns out, one of the mounts in this kit is incorrect - the 2nd from the left. It's supposed to be the Position 2 mount, located behind the front wheel. The bushing provided in the kit is not even remotely close to the OEM bushing in that location. I have sent an email to Energy Suspension explaining the issue. Not sure what they will say, but I'm pretty bummed out that I could not replace all the bushings. This kit is not cheap either.


I removed the bolts on the driver side, and then gingerly jacked up the body to enable replacing the bushes:

IMG_6256.jpg



I have not tightened any of the bolts on the driver side, as they are to stay loose for when the passenger side is done. Once both sides have been swapped, I will torque down all of the bolts.


Position 1 bushing installed, located at the front bumper:

IMG_6257.jpg



Position 2 bushing installed, located behind the front wheel (note that this is the OEM bushing as the one provided in the kit is wrong and would not fit):

IMG_6258.jpg



Position 3 bushing installed, located in the middle of the truck, between the front and rear doors (note: this bushing is supposed to have a big gap, it has not been installed incorrectly):

IMG_6259.jpg



Position 4 bushing installed, located in front of the rear wheel:

IMG_6260.jpg



And lastly, Position 5, located at the rear bumper:

IMG_6263.jpg



I still need to complete the driver side. I will be curious to see how this thing drives.
 

DKblue98GT

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
1,406
Reaction score
333
Nice! I did that on my truck, it made it a lot smoother and quieter.
 
OP
OP
mcglsr2

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
I bet all those will make it feel a lot tighter!

Nice! I did that on my truck, it made it a lot smoother and quieter.

I really hope so! I did a bunch of Googling and couldn't really find any posts where people have documented the results of this - pretty much all of them were swapping out with intent to install a lift kit - they aren't trying to keep the stock lift. So it's always interesting going through a bunch of work without knowing yet if the end result will be worth it. So fingers crossed!
 

DKblue98GT

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
1,406
Reaction score
333
I did a 1" body lift when I did it. Just getting rid of the worn out rubber bushings should make a big difference.
 
OP
OP
mcglsr2

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Alright, got it all finished up Tuesday night. Except for the backup camera. That was being difficult and it was getting late and I didn't want to dick with it anymore. So I set that aside for another day.

I will need to snap some pics of where it sits now. But overall...it's good. It drives much better. Much smoother. And the steering wheel doesn't vibrate anymore, so that's nice :)

The only issue is that I installed the rear springs on the wrong side. They are side specific, and I looked it up online, and the directions I found (as none came with the springs) were actually the opposite of what they were supposed to be. Which is kind of funny - if I just installed them how I thought without looking anything up, I would have installed them correctly. But I didn't. So now there's a lean to the left side lol. The truck rides just fine, it's just more of a cosmetic thing. So in the next couple days or whatever I will swap them around.

And for reference, not that people would be looking here for the info, but just in case:

If you are installing OME 906's on your 3rd gen 4Runner, the spring labeled "A" goes on THE DRIVER SIDE. The US driver side. NOT the Aussie driver side. And by logical deduction, spring "B" goes on the US passenger side. And there it is.
 

g36 monkey

Post Whore
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
14,081
Reaction score
596
Location
Orlando, Fl
Bwahaha, that's great!

Glad it mostly worked out for you :) I may need your help with a back up cam once you figure that one out!
 
OP
OP
mcglsr2

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Bwahaha, that's great!

Glad it mostly worked out for you :) I may need your help with a back up cam once you figure that one out!

Sure thing ;) I installed one in the STI with no issue - not sure what the deal is with this one. I'll get around to figuring it out though ;)
 
OP
OP
mcglsr2

mcglsr2

Well-Known Member
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
3,410
Reaction score
40
Location
Orlando
Alright, quick update on the truck. It rides great. Tremendous improvement over how it drove before. The shake in the steering wheel is gone, the truck rides pretty smooth for a truck, I swapped the rear springs so no more leaning to the side in the rear, and the shocks/struts/springs combo work great. I can take corners at pretty scary speeds and the truck feels nice and planted (for a somewhat lifted truck), no severe body roll or lean or anything. Great suspension upgrade.

The radio though...not so happy with it. There's nothing wrong with it (other then some engine whine that has been slowly introduced, from a bad ground I suspect) - I just don't like the radio. It sounds good, but I just like the controls and the way the Pioneer work better then the Kenwood. I love the Pioneer unit I have in the STI and I also have a Pioneer in the Mustang that I like a lot. I'm just not in love with the Kenwood. So I picked up a new Pioneer unit that I will be swapping in, and taking the Kenwood out and selling it. I'll get that done in the next 7 days or so.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
77,438
Messages
1,502,135
Members
14,918
Latest member
Diabolic2010

Members online

Top