Front suspension questions

Hello everybody, I’m back here to pester you fellow 1st gen intellects with more questions. Anyways, so I am replacing the front shocks on my 2006 Sequoia V8, 2WD. Right now it has some shitty Quik struts, and I’m not sure whether to reuse the coil springs from those. I can’t seem to find any new coil springs, OEM, or aftermarket ones that retain stock ride height. The only OEM ones I could find (48131-AF370 for LH) (48131-AF380) are listed for 4wd sequoias, mine is 2WD. I’m not sure if those would fit right. I’m not looking to lift it, at this time, as this thing barely clears the garage door, but I digress. Btw, new shocks are Bilstein 4600s, already installed the rear ones.

 

Do the coils have any markings on them? Any paint? Red/Yellow?

 

Here is the pics of driver side, sorry I’m afavnace if the quality is lacking

 

Here is passenger side. Yes it is also a quik strut (the sticker is just on the back side)

 

I did a quick Google search for "135000615T" and find that it's the spring pre-loaded in the Monroe Quickstruts.

Whether or not it'll be compatible would depend on the circumference of the coil, top and bottom, and the strut you're replacing it with.

I can tell you, with semi-high confidence, @whodatschrome has experience on this very topic, and if my shitty memory has that much correct, I think I'm also correct that the top of the coil was too small a diameter to work with the OEM top isolator, or something to that effect.

Hopefully he can chime in and say. If it were me, I'd just go get some some OME 2883 springs to go with those Bilstein 4600s, and get the necessary new isolators (and tophats if you don't have any OEM on-hand), assemble or have someone assemble them, and be good for another 80k-120k miles. The 2883 shouldn't provide much (if any, ½" - ¾" max, which is nothing) lift on your Sequoia.

 

So does that mean I should start looking for OEM coils? I would rather not play mix n match with the crappy quik quak strut coil springs that might not fit, and all the trials and errors that come with it…

 

OME, not OEM. (Old Man Emu. 2883 is the part number. You need the KYB isolator part number?)

 

Old man emu makes front coils that match stock spec? I’d definitely look into that once I get home

 

Yes, the OME 2883 is as close as you’ll get to stock. Just enough lift to take the edge off the atrocious rake from the factory. But it does require a different isolator (the rubber cushion) at the top of the spring. And if you don’t have factory top hats to go on top of the 4600s, you’ll need those too, I believe.

 

I'm glad it's not just my eyes. I have weight in the back too.

 

Bmf’s OG front springs (dont remember if they were monroe or not) wouldnt fit on my stock shocks or the 6112’s. The tighter bottom coil just isnt big enough.

*they were ‘reflex’ brand.

 

Oh boy...yeah. I'm trying to remember just what all i did to fit the OEM toyota coils onto my monroe quickstruts and my Foghat tophats. It involved a fair amount of cutting off existing stuff then welding and fabbing up new coil retaining sleeves to capture the toyota coils over the top of the monroes. It also then created what feels like too much preload on the struts damping ability. I did all of this knowing that it was (is) going to be a temporary farmer hack until i figured out what my plan was for a heavier aftermarket steel bumper and winch. I don't recommend doing what i did unless you live in a third world country and have an M60 machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck. I don't think the quickstruts are garbage. They are inexpensively decent for a stock height highway cruiser with stock sized tires. If someone is wanting anything more out of their suspension, then definitely go with all new struts, top hats, and coils.

FYI, the part number for both the 2wd and 4wd monroe quickstruts are the same. I think for a top heavier vehicle like a sequoia a firmer, quality aftermarket struts and coils would be an upgrade. A monroe strut doesn't not fit that description.

 

Ok so I’ll give the 2883 a try then. As far as the insulator/top mount. Would this work? It’s listed for my 06 sequoia on Rockauto. Or am I’m gonna need a beefier one for the upgraded springs? Like I said, I don’t really have a problem with the stock rake on this truck. I think it’s the tundras (especially double cabs) who got it worse.

 

Went ahead and pulled the trigger on the springs. Guess now I have bragging rights that I have an old man emu setup on my “off-roading rig” (forgetting it’s a 2WD) nonetheless, can’t wait to give it a shot

 

That's the tophat you need and that kit comes with rubber isolators IIRC. Per another member, this KYB set has the spring isolator you'll need, to seat the OME spring to the isolator.

You can buy the isolator from anywhere. But if you're ordering from Summit already ...

 

Update: ok so I ordered the tophat plus isolator,

$31 KYB SM5442 - Mount and Insulator

KYB SM5442. Everything (including the OME 2883s) won’t get here until next week so now I just got to play the waiting game. Other than that, I thank you all for the input, and hopefully the assembly/install goes smooth

 

The forged (instead of plate) spring compressor i used wouldnt fit between the coil & shock body. Had to get creative to make it work, i keep telling myself i’m gonna buy a wall mount when it comes time to change my clip height.

 

So the harbor freight one (Maddox) I just got might not work?

 

Also, I was originally not gonna do this job myself, but decided what the hell, I got a garage full of tools. When I first called the shop, they quoted me $470, including an anligment. They said after changing the struts, I need an alignment, is that true? I’d assume if that is true, it’d be even more so after installing these new coils…

 

4600 & 5100 have much more room than the 6112’s. Just thought that i’d mention the dangerous cheap tools might not be adequate.

well, dangerous enough i dont look forward to using it to raise my spring foot up a clip.

 

Let us know either way!

 

Yeah, you should align after suspension/geometry changes. Alignments around here range, I think like $125-275 depending where you get them done, but I'd need to revisit numbers I'm too lazy to lookup.

So in that respect, $470 to assemble, install, and realign isn't prohibitively bad. How much is your time worth? I think that's what it boils down to. But if you had intention of being LBJ, or LBJ & UBJ. or anything else that would involve disconnecting the knuckle, honestly, it's 4 ore bolts at that point to swap out an assembled strut. Still gotta pay for alignment though ....

 

I dont know what the current price is, but firestone has a lieftime alignment plan. The last time I bought one, it was twice the price of one alignment. So at the third alignment its free for life...that was years ago, though.

 

Tophat is getting here tomorrow. But I just wanna make sure, the OME 2883s are not gonna make this thing do a Carolina squat, are they? I don’t wanna install them and then realize I look like I’m living an alternative lifestyle. Idk, just having 2nd thoughts lmao

The springs are expected to ship out Thursday *sigh

 

Have a pic of what you just got? If it's what I think it is I'd definitely avoid it.

 

Is your rear currently higher than the front like a crewcab 1st gen?

If yes, it shouldn't.

 

This is the way it sits now. This is with the third row out, I have no use for it as a single 20 year old without kids lmao

 

Here's another option for stock ride height front springs.

https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store/p940/DobinsonsC59342FrontSpring.html#/

 

Measure it on level ground? Either tire to fender or hub to fender.

I can't 100% tell from a pic, as I'm on my phone. Though the front does look 1/2" to 1" lower.

 

These specifically say stock ride height, might cancel the 2883s and get these instead. I don’t wanna mess with the ride height for personal reasons. And also the fact that it barely fits in my small garage as is