2018 4Runner SR5 Premium 2WD

Hi all!
First time 4Runner owner but not new to Toyota's at all...we have 3 others ('21 Tundra, '20 Tacoma and a '25 Land Cruiser).

The previous owner added a 2" spacer to lift to the front and it's racked a little more than we like.

What's the best most economical way to lift the rear about 1.5" - 2" inches?
I am very familiar with the Bilstein 5100 shocks but have only used those in the front on some of my other trucks.

Is there just a new adjustable rear shock I can add or do I need to replace both shocks and springs?

This 4Runner will mostly be driven on-road.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cornfed makes rear spring spacers. Stock shocks will be fine. I have 2" spacers on mine with the factory shocks.
https://cornfedsuspension.com/5thgen4runnerkits/

 

Welcome from the LBC,

If you’re just driving it on-road, I would just take out the front spacers. Lowering the center of gravity will give you the best on-road performance IMHO

Btw, I agree with NE Runner, the cheapest way to lift the rear end is adding Cornfed spacers

 

Just remove the spacer lift in the front. That big of a front spacer lift risks over-extending and binding upper ball joints (and CV's on 4wd models.) They also render your bump stops useless which risks damaging your shocks during hard compression.

I'd suggest only .25" spacer in the front which would result in a .5" lift. This is a safe limit in the front.
The rear is more forgiving with spacers. But if you lift more than 2" you'll risk over-extending your stock rear shocks. Making the ride terrible....

Best way to gain lift is springs and shocks to match... But I'd probably just start with replacing the front spacer lift with something more mild. Like these:
https://exitoffroad.com/product/dob...w15dTwLNuXDUH-1QE0VBzgoJqedWlglzWplWSaM&gQT=2

Edit: This post is me trying to keep it simple... There a lot of reasons not to lift this thing... especially with cheap spacer lifts. Someone "bro truck"ed this 4Runner. You should de-Bro Truck it. Lifting the rear is not the way of doing that imho.

 

I would agree with all the above, with the exception of replacing the front spacer with a .25". I would (and did, albeit with Eibach shocks instead of a spacer) lift the front 1" or so with a 1/2" spacer, it levels it out very nicely, and doesn't stress any other components.

 

Do you have any photos of the front of that 4R? It just doesn't look like a Limited, unless the PO did a front bumper, grille, and rocker panel swap, which is highly unlikely (but not undoable).

On the other hand, all bets are off on a 2WD 4Runner, as they are pretty rare.

 

So I guess my next question is how do you know it's a Limited model? I'm not saying it's not, I just did not know the 2WD versions looked different, if they do.

 

you are right...It's a SR5 Premium not a limited.
I just looked at the original window sticker.
thanks for catching that.
See I don't know much about 4Runners yet.

 

No problem, glad you found out what you really have. Very nice 4R regardless, congratulations. Now to level it back out!

 

Have you ever disconnected the sway bar and jacked one wheel up to see if you’ll still smoosh the bump stop before bottoming out your shocks?

From what I’ve learned the .5” spacer (1” lift) is acceptable if you get larger front bump stops. If you do not, a hard compression will in fact stress your shocks. They’re not meant to be bottomed out internally.

Bump stops are supposed to limit up travel, not your shocks.

 

I don't disconnect my sway bar, I have KDSS, and it is not easy to disconnect.

 

It's two bolts.


You should disconnect the driver sider and jack that wheel up all the way. See if you can fully smoosh that bump stop before bottoming out the shock internally. For science!

 

Consider also that I replaced the stock shocks with the Eibach version, which were designed to be used with the different clip heights. I did not use a spacer with the stock shocks.

 

I think I am just going to remove the spacer and go with either the Eibach or Bilstein adjustable to level.

 

This is the way!

Sorry to take you off topic talking about spacer lifts so much!
Friends don't let friends run spacer lifts

 

Welcome