Even before purchasing this vehicle I knew I would have to lift it.
The 4th Generation 4Runners (2003-2009) are the lowest 4Runners to date.
Here is some comparison information.
The 1st Generation 4Runner had a stated running ground clearance of 10.6".
The 2nd Gens had a running ground clearance of 10.2".
For the 3rd generation there were a few different heights.
1996 had a stated running ground clearance of 9.5" according to the Toyota literature at the time.
1997-1998 stated 11.1". If you check the part sheets though, the 1996-1998 list the same part number for their
4WD 3.4L coil springs. 1999-2002's brochures all state 11.0" ground clearance, but the part sheets tell a different story.
1999-2000 share the same part number and 2001-2002 share another part number. It is well known that the 2001-2002 4Runners
and even the 1996-1998 are noticibly lower than the 1999-2000 models.
All 4th Gens state 9.1" running ground clearance.
Having owned, and become accustomed to, a 1999 4R (99 is believed to be the highest year ever) for 8 years,
the 2007 looks and feels just way too low. The 2007 is a full 2" lower than the 99. Hence the desire to lift.
The 1999 was a height that I was comfortable with and did not want or need to lift. So my goal for the 2007 was
simply to get it up to the same height as the 99.
Basically there are three types of lift you can do.
1) A spacer lift, 2) new coils and shocks, 3) an adjustable coilover system.
My vehicle, being a Sport Edition, came with the XREAS Sport Enhancement Suspension System as standard equipment.
It is availlable on the SR5 and Limiteds as optional equipment as long as you do not get the 3rd row seating option.
XREAS stands for "Cross Linked Relative Absorber System".
X-REAS was designed to help improve vehicle on-road handling performance.
This technology links each of the vehicle's shocks to it's diagonal counterpart via a gas hydraulic chamber.
During cornering or when traveling over bumpy surfaces, the gas hydrauilc chamber acts like a bank "borrowing"
fluid from the cross-linked shock bearing the least amount of force and "loaning" it to the shock sustaining the
greatest amount of force. This exchange of fluid helps the 4Runners wheels maintain contact with the driving surface
and helps lessen vehicle body sway, pitch and roll, making for a more comfortable ride.
XREAS Sport Enhancement Suspension System
I chose to go with the spacer lift kit made by
Daystar. Daystar Products part # KT09115BK is the Daystar Comfort Ride spacer lift kit compatable w/ X-REAS and
is marketed as a 2.5" front lift and 1.5" rear lift.
Things I considered when evaluating which lift to get, prioritized with my highest concerns at the top.
XREAS compatability
Allocation of overall spacer height between "preload" and "topout" spacers
Size
Material
Compatability with factory inside the coil bumpstops
Xreas compatability - Since XREAS is something I wanted to retain, I could not change out the shocks. The XREAS system
can be removed but that is something I did not want to do. If you have been to my 4R website anytime since 1999 you may
have read my writeup of the 3rd Gen Addco Sway Bars. I installed them so as to flatten out
the ride, reduce body roll, around corners. XREAS does just that for the 4th Generation, but without limiting suspension
travel and without the increase in ride harsness caused by the addition of heavy duty sway bars. Therefore, for me, the
choice was clear, do a spacer type lift. Though spacer type lifts are much cheaper than coilover technology, price was
not a deciding factor here. I simply wanted to retain the XREAS system. I do go off-road on occasion, but on-road
performance was a higher priority.
Allocation - There are numerous spacer lifts available. I am not going to attemp to detail every kit out there in
this write up as you can, and should, spend time researching them and their differences. Each kit provides varying
amounts of lift. In terms of the front end of the vehicle that lift is provided via either a topout spacer, a preload
spacer or a combination of both. Each kit varies in it's size allocation between topout and preload creating it's
own combination of benefits and drawbacks.
The topout spacer is a spacer that sits on top of the strut assembly. It creates lift by forcing the suspension downward
thereby lifting the vehicle up. The drawback of a topout spacer is that they put the strut assembly lower than the
factory designed it to be, thereby creating the possibility of overextension especially the ball joint.
The preload spacer is a spacer that goes inside the coil assembly. It creates "preload" to gain lift, the drawback being
that they limit coil spring compression. Preload affects the spring rate, more preload equals a stiffer ride.
While I wanted a kit with a combination of topout and preload, I wanted the preload to be smaller than the topout
spacer as I wanted to minimize the change in ride harshness. The Daystar (DS) kit includes a 0.5" preload and a 1" topout spacer
(due to suspension geometry you need to double the spacer size to determine lift height and yes the DS kit gave me
closer to 3" than the 2.5" of front end lift that the kit is marketed as providing). The 1" topout does not concern me.
There are kits with all topout spacing and while they are much easier to install as they do not require the use of
a spring compressor, the possibility of overextending components would concern me. On the other hand these all topout
kits would not have an increase in spring rate at all though. If the 1" topout spacer sizing concerns you, a Cornfed (CF) 3/2
kit reverses the DS allocation methodology and uses what appears to be an approx 1" preload spacer and a 0.5" topout.
Size - 2.5" front and 1.5" rear lift fit my needs perfectly. The sizing was at a height that would meet or
slightly exceed my goal of matching the 1999 4Runner without lift factory height.
You will notice that the front lift is 1.0" higher than the rear, that is due to the fact that the 4th Gens rear end is a
little over 2" higher than the front from the factory. I do believe that having the rear higher than the front is a good
idea, remember all those 2nd and 3rd gens with sagging rear ends? By having the front spacer provide 1.0" greater lift
than the rear, the kit will provide a leveling effect and will lessen the "raked" look while still leaving the rear 1"
higher than the front. The stance turned out to be perfect. Personally I wouldn't mind the the rear being a half to one
inch higher as in the long term 4R's in general tend to sag a little regardless of adding a spacer. Keep in mind that
With a CF kit you can custom order any size you want, but since you cannot use the factory rear inside the coil
bumpstop with CF, I choose against it.
Material - Polyurethane was my choice here. I have heard from some people who needed to use rubber isolaters when using
a aluminum spacer to reduce noise or something along those lines. Didnt want to be bothered with corrosion either.
Compatability with factory inside the coil rear bumpstops - DS is compatable, CF is not.
Color - DS is black poly, no need to paint (and subsequently re-paint and re-paint later on). Didn't want the spacer
to stick out, but rather to blend in and be unobtrusive.
Price - The DS kit at approx $265 is a fair value. Similar in price if not lower than many other lifting options out
there. Install it yourself or you will spend more getting it installed that the kit costs.
Pitman arm puller (Autozone #OEM27016) or ball joint puller or tie rod end puller
Locking (Vice Grip) Pliers
Work Platform to rest XREAS strut assembly on
12mm socket
14mm socket
17mm socket
19mm deep socket
Socket Cap (used with wrench to turn sockets in low clearance access areas)
14mm open/closed end wrench
17mm open/closed end wrench
19mm open/closed end wrench
6mm hex socket
Installation:
Although I do as much work on the 4R myself as possible, both maintenance and mods, Working on the suspension
is not really something I wanted to do. Through my research on lifting the 4Runner, I found that it is pretty
straightforward without XREAS, but having an XREAS equipped 4R makes the job a different ballgame, one in which
your local shop has most likley not encountered. You cannot disconnect the XREAS hydraulic lines connected to the
shocks at all. Once fluid leaks out and air enters in, the system needs to be entirely replaced.
There is no way to flush or recharge the system. So this job requires working in the wheel well with handheld spring
compressors. Additionally there is the Skid Control Sensor wires right there that cannot be stretched or damaged.
Same goes for the brake lines.
Various shops I spoke with would have nothing to do with a job like that, with them taking responsibility
for potentially runing an expensive XREAS or ABS/Traction/Skid Control system, and not being able to use their
wall mounted compressors. Actually, after talking with a bunch of shops, I did not want them to touch my vehicle afterall.
I would have to stand over them to make sure the job was done to my specs and guide them through the job,
paying for many hours of labor. So I decide to do it myself.
Front Install:
Begin the front spacer installation process by first removing the front and rear engine skid plates. Each skid plate is
attached with 4 12mm bolts. An extension bar will be needed for your ratchet to reach some of the bolts. These bolts
are of the self-tapping type, so when re-attaching later be careful not to cross thread. These bolts are M8x1.25mm 23mm
long. If you would like to you can replace them with regular machine bolts M8x1.25mm 25mm long, which is a common size.
Remove the front sway bar. Especially with XREAS, you are going to need as much room to work within the wheel well as
possible, so just remove the entire sway bar. Undo the 17mm nut attaching the 2 sway bar links to their respective
steering knuckles. If the ball joint turns together with the nut, use a 6mm hexagon (allen) socket wrench to hold the stud.
Remove the 2 14mm bolts on each of the 2 stabilizer bar brackets. Set the sway bar aside.
Loosen the lug nuts on both front wheels. Place floor jack under the front crossmember. Jack the vehicle up high enough
so that both front wheels are around 5" off the ground. Place jack stands under the frame rails behind the front wheels.
I used a pair of 6-ton safety stands which I prefer as their height range goes up to 24". Remove one front wheel and
work on one side at a time. Remove the floor jack from the crossmember and place under the lower control arm
on the side you just removed the wheel from.
Next we will seperate the upper ball joint. Remove the cotter pin. Remove the castle nut. Then seperate the joint
using a puller type tool. Do not use a pickle fork type tool as they may tear the ball joint boot. I used a
pitman arm puller that I took out on loan from Autozone. With their tool loan program, you pay full price for the tool
up front and then have 90 days to return it for a full refund. You don't need to buy anything from them when taking
a tool out on loan either.
Remove the three 14mm upper strut tower nuts. I used an open ended wrench on a
Socket Cap
attached to a 14mm socket. By doing this you can make quick work of removing the rear nut which is impossible to use a
ratchet on due to limited clearance, and also tough to use a wrench on as the turning radius is limited as well.
You put the 14mm socket on the rear nut, then put the socket cap in the socket. Then using an open ended wrench
becomes easier as the wrench is elevated above the center strut bolt but still has enough room below the wheel well
to turn in a wide arc.
Remove the lower strut bolt. A 19mm deep socket would be best. I didn't have one on hand so I used a 19mm
open ended wrench. It worked but you need to be careful as you may need to angle the wrench slightly
to get clearance to turn the wrench without hitting the rotor and the wrench can slip and strip the nut.
Once the nut is off, pull down on the upper control arm by hand and slide the lower part of the strut off the
mounting stud.
There is a bracket holding the XREAS line to the vehicle. Remove the bolt from the bracket so as to have a little more
slack in this line. I decided to not disconnect the XREAS hydraulic line so as to not take a chance at loosing any
unreplaceable hydraulic fluid. Make note of how the strut assembly is mounted in the vehicle. The lower end of the
coil spring faces rear side of the vehicle. Note how the lower shock absorber bushing faces relative to the three upper
mounting nuts. Now push up on the upper control arm and pull out the strut assembly from the upper mount.
Maneuver the assembly on to your work platform. All the while be extremely careful to not put any tension on
the XREAS line, brake line or sensor wires.
Attach the coil spring compressors to the spring. Crank them down using a 19mm open ended wrench. Compress the spring
until there is approximately 3/4" space. This part really is not hard to do. You do not need air tools at all.
Now that the strut has no tension on it, hold the upper shock absorber rod with the locking pliers (vice grips) and
using a 17mm open ended wrench undo the nut.
Remove the upper mounting plate. Discard the rubber coil spring isolator. Remove the three bolts from the upper mounting
plate. This can be accomplished in either of two ways. Place a deep socket over the bolt and 1) press the stud out
using a vice (see pic). or 2) hammer the stud out. Then press or hammer in the new 10mm longer bolts.
Install the M03273 preload spacer (1/2" thick) where the rubber coil spring isolator was. Put back the upper mounting
plate now that it has the longer bolts in it. Put the nut back on the shock absorber rod while continuing to hold the
rod with the vice grips. Release tension on the coil spring compressors, making sure to align the lower end of the coil
spring into it's seat and that the alignment of the lower shock absorber bushing faces properly relative to the three
upper mounting nuts.
Place the M03532 top out spacer (1" thick) on top of the assembly, over the three 10mm longer bolts.
Now install the strut assembly back into the strut tower on the vehicle. This step takes a lot of time to get the
now longer assembly back into place. Obviously install the top end first. To do this you will need to push up on the
upper control arm using a pry bar. Try to catch a nut as soon as a stud goes in the tower so that you can have
your hands free and not worry about having tension on the XREAS line. Again, you must be real careful to avoid
having tension on the and XREAS line, brake line or sensor wires. Not a simple task especially if you are one person
working alone, but it can be done.
You will need to use the factory bottle jack upside down with the bottom side pressing
on the upper wheel well and the top side pushing downward on the upper control arm. Sorry I don't have more real world pics
of stuff like this but since I was doing the install myself, alone, I lost track of pic taking and was real concerned with
not overextending the lines at this point. This step takes a lot of time to get the now longer assembly back into place.
You will need to raise and lower the floor jack (lower control arm), as well as extend and contract the
bottle jack (upper control arm) multiple times to get the assembly in place. In order to get the lower shock bolt back in you
will need to pry the lower eye into place using a large screwdriver, then hammer the bolt into place and secure the nut.
Tighten the three nuts to the upper strut tower. Remember to use the nylock nuts Daystar provides. These nuts are
larger and now require a 17mm open/closed wrench. You can use the socket cap on the back nut to make the job easier.
Put back the castle nut on the ball joint and tighten it enough so that you can insert the cotter pin.
Reinstall the XREAS bracket to the vehicle.
Now that you have completed one side, start the vehicle and look for any trouble lights (ABS) to see if you damaged anything.
The repeat the steps for the other side. Once done, install the wheels, lower vehicle, install the sway bar and install
the skid plates.
This completes the front install. This took me, working alone, 8 hours. 5 hours for setting up and completing the
first side. 3 hours for the second side once I got the hange of it.
Rear Install:
I had planned to complete the rear install the same day as the front. As luck would have it the front install took longer
than planned and the day was shot. I had an appointment the very next day to install my special order
32" Bridgestone Deuler A/T Revo tires as well as get an alignment. So rather than cancel the install and postpone
everything by a whole week, I asked the tire/alignment shop to install the rear spacers. The rear spacer install
is very straight forward so I did not feel I needed to do the install myself like I did with the front.
The shop agreed upfront to allow me to watch over the installation (for peace of mind on my part) as well as charge me
only one hour of labor for the job.
The install took all of 15 minutes with two people working on it. Hours faster than it would have taken me working alone.
The vehicle was lifted using the hydraulic lift. Two screw jacks were placed under the rear axle and the vehicle slightly
lowered to put the weight of the axle on the screw jacks. The lower shock bolt was removed and the lower shocks were
pryed off their mounts. The screw jacks were lowered so as to not touch the axle thereby releasing tension on the springs.
The springs were removed, along with the coil spring isolator bump stops, by hand by pressing down on the axle a little.
Note here that the neither the sway bar nor the panhard rod (rear lateral control rod) was needed to be removed.
Also the XREAS lines don't come into play as you do not unbolt the top of the shock.
The coil spring isolator bump stops were inserted into the M03531 rear spacers (1-1/2" thick). This was then put on top
of the coil and the coil was pryed back into it's perch. This part did take a minute or two. One guy held the
spring/spacer/bumpstop combo in place and the other guy used a long (4 foot) pry bar to shoe horn the spring back into
place. Just be careful to not place the pry bar on any sensor wires in the area. Align the lower coil so it sits into
it's proper place, then use the screw jacks to hold the weight of the axle so the lower shocks can be bolted back up.
Alignment:
Get an alignment as soon as possible after lifting a vehicle. I had my 1" larger tires installed right after the
lift. Then I had the alignment done at the same place.
End Results:
My "after" measurements below reflect both the lift from
the spacer install as well as the larger tires. The upgraded tires I chose were
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo with UNI-T AQII P265/70/R17 p-metric standard load and they measure 31.7" overall diameter.
This is compared to the tires that come as standard equipment on the 2007 4Runner Sport Edition which are
Dunlop Grandtrek AT20 P265/65/R17 and measure 30.6" overall diameter.
The difference of 1.1" will provide a further 1/2" lift to the vehicle. As you will see below, if you subtract 1/2"
from the lift gained from the spacer/tire combo the Daystar kit provided me with 3.00" front lift and 1.625 rear lift.
A little higher than expected. I am very happy with the kit and the lift it gave as It met and slightly exceeded my goal
of matching the height of my 1999 4Runner Highlander with 32" tires while reducing (by 1") the nose high stance
inherent with all 4th Gens.
Follow Up:
I have had this lift installed for over one year now. Nothing negative to report and I do like it very much. The thing to note is that
Daystar's Comfort Ride Suspension Lift Kit #KT09115BK is now an "Easy Install" Kit. What that means is that there is no preload spacer and the
topout spacer is larger to accomplish the same 2.5" lift. The ride quality will remain virtually unchanged as there is no preloading of the coil spring.
And the overall installation is therefore easier as you do not need to compress the coil and remove the top plate.
Stud extensions are included rather than simply longer studs which again would require the compression and opening of the coil pack.
I am sure this marketing strategy will attract more buyers, but if this was the way they made them when I made my decision I may have decided differently.
I prefer having some preload, while minimal to reduce ride harshness, but still enough to reduce the topout size some and the potential for
overextension of the suspension system.
Before and after measurements and variances:
Vehicle & Setup
F/R
Driver Side
Pass Side
Driver vs. Pass
1999 4Runner Highlander 4WD V6 P265/75/R16 (32's, no lift)
Front Rear Rear vs. Front
36.250 36.250 0.000"
35.875 35.875 0.000"
0.375 0.375
2007 4Runner Sport 4WD V8 P265/65/R17 (31's, no lift)
Front Rear Rear vs. Front
32.875 35.250 2.375"
33.375 35.750 2.375"
(0.500) (0.500)
2007 4Runner Sport 4WD V8 P265/70/R17 (32's, Daystar KT09115BK)
