4RUNNER LIMITED BUYER BEWARE X-REAS SUSPENSION FAILS

Be careful with the company, suspension lifts. They were extremely hard to deal with after an order screw up. Turns out they don’t talk or understand english. All communication was through texts and emails and tedious to say the least. I ordered 4, 5100 shocks and received a 3” spacer lift kit instead. It was literally over a month to straighten out and it still cost me $44 in shipping to return parts I never ordered.. Anyone but , suspension lifts.

 

That's not what I keep hearing...its $4,000 and up to rip out x-reas and replace it.its a big job and expensive.plus i don't wana leave my 4runner overnight at somebody's place I love it too much.lol.buying the replacements is not the problem is the labor cost that stresses me.i don't know anyone who's reliable enough to do it for me and I don't have mechanic knowledge to do it myself like some of you do.now about the those shocks I know of the bilstein brand...you mentioned lift.im all for it but what's the negative side to doing lifts ? Thanks for all your advice I really appreciate the help.

 

If you don't know how to do this, yes, it's going to cost you money. It's not that big of a job. FFS. I did it by myself in on a Saturday. Find another mechanic. And you don't have to put a lift on it. You can maintain stock ride height with aftermarket shocks, springs and struts.

 

I would like to get it to TRD Pro height. From what I understand is a 1" lift all around.

 

Find a mechanic outside the city, don’t have to lift. And I bet it will cost more than 4K to step up to another runner.

 

The Pro is only 1" higher in the front.

 

I did research on this. you can disconnect the shocks from the Schroeder valve without removing the whole system and dripping oil. You can remove the shocks and leave the whole system on the car as is..
Remove the strut with shock, replace with another shock and put it back in for front.
the rear, just remove the shock the same way and replace it.
why 4k?

 

I agree with @catbrown357. Ripped out x-reas and replaced it with aftermarket parts in an afternoon on my last 4R. Not too hard to do. Grab a friend for help. Maintained stock ride height. Save a bunch of money and move on.

 

I replaced my X-REAS with new parts. Replaced at 170k, now at 200k. $24 a month.

 

$24 a month for…?

 

The X-REAS lasted 156 months and it cost around $3600.

 

@catbrown357 @Jack Morrow @leftyfire Can you please tell us what you replaced it? Still deciding but having a harder time finding a mechanic who will do the work. All I get is crickets. Still trying to decide which suspension but not until I can find a mechanic. Above my pay grade. Thanks!

Norm

 

I replaced with OME Nitrocharger struts and shocks with OME 884X springs on the front, and OME 889X springs on the rear. Due to the increased lift, I also had to replace the UCAs. Take your pick on these, but I went with Rocky Road Outfitters upper control arms. This suspension is stiff, but handles really good. No dive whatsoever. If I had to do it all over again I would probably go with Bilstein 5100 struts and shocks.

 

" This suspension is stiff, but handles really good." - 100% accurate. Great setup to abuse off pavement including some jumps.
I only had it for short time and change it to ELKA 2.5 dual adjusters.


"I had to do it all over again I would probably go with Bilstein 5100 struts and shocks." - Had it for short time and changed to Ironman FCP with 1.5in rear springs. Front set at 2.25ish. Much better comfort than 5100s.

 

My Ironman setup has been great for me so far, I do some off-road trails/gravel/logging roads. I have about 15k on the suspension, and just about a year.

 

This issue is over exaggerated..

Leave the entire system intact on the car, only disconnect each shock from the Schroeder valve,, done

replace with any strut that you want (like every other 4Runner)

 

I had my local Toyota dealer replace my entire X-REAS system with OEM parts. My 2010 4Runner was at about 150k miles. Today it’s over 200k and doing great. My vehicle lived a sheltered life and was in great shape otherwise. I think the X-REAS system is great for how we used it - a dozen or so trips to and from the beach every year.

Also note that leaks are so small and usually only occur when driving so it’s unlikely you’ll ever notice a leak on your driveway. The vehicle will not be rendered inoperable, your ride will come to resemble that of a farm wagon.

 

Can anyone verify that the rear springs on the limited are different from the other trims. I have read it more than once that they are different. Thought they are all the same across all trim levels. These threads are older (2020-2022) so now maybe they are all the same but not positive. Thanks!

Norm

 

https://wholesaledirect.moderntoyot...GV-3LFE2fTo14rz1z4jQ1zfBmaxLJIrL0BJRv_g1MRPm-

 

Mine was leaking and I didn't replace until 200k. I never had any dripping., just got clunky in cold weather from low fluid I assumed. I replaced with $500 worth of Bilsteins and I like better. 400k is nothing to complain about. Probably better than anyone else with Xreas. I would have liked to try Xreas with 17s , but Bilsteins ride and handle better. I liked to push my Limited, once I realized it couldn't hardly come off the ground with Xreas, Trac and AWD. I actually impressed how well a jacked up refrigerator/freezer will take a curve and you can't sling it out. It even drove good with slick tires.

 

Who purchases a Toyota to only last through the end of the warranty? If that's all I expected I'd drive a Dodge/Ford/Etc. and skip the high price tag.

 

Those warranties usually mean nothing on Toyotas. Technology is creating lots of new problems and it eats the dependable reputation. I buy 100k+ 4runners for half price, and get the same thing as new. It's the most dependable 4wd I have ever driven. Older were more reliable, but less tech. Only thing I have owned you can drive 300k and do virtually nothing with just a little smart maintenance. Don't have to replace engine or transmission, they will go 1 million miles with a little maintenance. I owned everything else. I like Dodge tricks, I was driving them when it wasn't cool but it's always replacing something. Usually transmission and front end rebuild a little over 100k. And other things. I only stop at parts stores for washer fluid and I'm embarrassed to do that. Have to wade through all the domestic brands having parts thrown at them. I was there doing that years ago when parts were cheap for Dodges. I had an 2006 Ram. Ran great, liked the Hemi, 25 mpg, RCSB 2wd with tow. They made 5 different transmissions then and none of them were any good. Rebuilt front end on a 2wd that never hauled around 100k. Haven't done any of that with a 4runner. They aren't right for everyone and less is more. People buy on reputation, when they really needed to drive a car. It's a real truck and drives like a 4wd. If you have to compare, then it's not for you. It's a truck that drives like a truck in a world where trucks are 4 door cars now and drive like cars. Jeep guys compare them to jeeps and its apples and oranges. If I wanted to replace stuff, I would buy a jeep. They make neat everything for them and you're going to have to replace it soon anyway. It's still a jeep. I think the new Bronco is pretty cool. So retro. It's only problem is the Ford stuff bolted to it and the number of recalls. Technician driving it more than the owner. If the frame is like the other Ford frames, it should rust into eventually.

 

Mine was leaking and lasted 200k until I replaced with $500 worth of Bilsteins.

Yep. If it has 3rd row. That's why it's jacked in the rear, levels with weight.

 

I got mine from Shock Surplus for less than $500. They are about the same price everywhere. No phone, no contact information is a red flag. The Bilsteins ride and handle way better. If you have Limited sway bars, it's not going handle good. I would have liked trying 17" wheels with my Xreas and the 20s with the Bilsteins. My Xreas leaked, but no serious drip. It was working when I replaced it. Only in cold weather it felt a little clunky like low cold fluid level getting affecting it. I researched that aspect before buying, but I knew it was going to be replaced and not with $4500 worth of Xreas. I just made sure it wasn't integrated into a system first.