2002 Sequoia Limited 4WD
- Thread starter Sal R.
- Start date
Sal R.
Active member
jarrodreno
New member
I can only imagine. haha I get so anxious.
What length did you go with?
- Bilstein 5125 10" Shock, 110007-1
- Bilstein 5125 12" Shock, 110008-1
- Bilstein 5125 14" Shock, 110009-1
Sal R.
Active member
None of those. I went with 33-230375.
Sadly, it does not fit out of the box. The lower shock eye mount needs to be bored out from 5/8" to 3/4".
Gonna need a big ass drill bit...
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Sal R.
Active member
MODIFICATION: Rear Limit Straps
GOAL:
Limit the downward articulation to keep the rear coils from falling out.
PURPOSE:
With the advent of longer shocks, it donned on me that without a swaybar connected, the rear suspension with the Califab rear control arms has more droop travel than the length of Dobinson coils. Left unchecked, it could prove problematic.
MATERIALS:
Clevis (qty. 2)
10" 3-Ply Strap (qty. 2)
Steel Sleeve (qty. 2)
Grade 8, 1/2" diameter bolt, 4-1/2" long (qty. 2)
Grade 8 1/2" washers (qty. 4)
Grade 8 1/2" bolts (qty. 4)
DURATION: 4 hours
COST: $100
HOW-TO:
Set the length down to the absolute lowest limit to keep the spring from falling out. It's kinda the point, right?
All in all, straightforward.
Basically:
Droop down to lower control arm
To mount onto the lower control arm, I replaced the lower control arm bolt with a longer grade 8 1/2" bolt and sandwiched it to the control arm retaining bolt.
GOAL:
Limit the downward articulation to keep the rear coils from falling out.
PURPOSE:
With the advent of longer shocks, it donned on me that without a swaybar connected, the rear suspension with the Califab rear control arms has more droop travel than the length of Dobinson coils. Left unchecked, it could prove problematic.
MATERIALS:
Clevis (qty. 2)
10" 3-Ply Strap (qty. 2)
Steel Sleeve (qty. 2)
Grade 8, 1/2" diameter bolt, 4-1/2" long (qty. 2)
Grade 8 1/2" washers (qty. 4)
Grade 8 1/2" bolts (qty. 4)
DURATION: 4 hours
COST: $100
HOW-TO:
Set the length down to the absolute lowest limit to keep the spring from falling out. It's kinda the point, right?
All in all, straightforward.
Basically:
- Remove rear coils
- Cycle suspension up and down to look for an open spot to mount sleeve
- Prep the area
- Tack sleeve on frame
- Install clevis
- Install strap
- Bolt to lower control arm
- Set height limit on the clevis
- Cycle suspension up and down to check for interferences
- Finish welds
- Re-assemble
Droop down to lower control arm
To mount onto the lower control arm, I replaced the lower control arm bolt with a longer grade 8 1/2" bolt and sandwiched it to the control arm retaining bolt.
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GoodEnoughforGabe
Adventurer
I am very curious as to where you got your hardware from. Looks very nice and heavy duty. Could you give us some additional information about that clevis bolt, steel sleeve and strap holder? Thank you!
Sal R.
Active member
This mod was rather unplanned and last minute. So I didn't do too much research on them.
A local shop I frequent, which also caters to the off-road community, had the clevis and sleeves in stock so I purchased it from them not really knowing who made them.
The straps have "DJS-Safety" sewn into it.
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Sal R.
Active member
I wasn't comfortable with fixing the spring with tabs of some sort and I wasn't comfortable drilling into the perch of the axle housing.
Plus, I have in-coil bags which complicates things.
I need to safely test a shock fitment that has an extended length of 28" for the greater community. Based on my measurements, this shock is best suited for a 19" coil. The Dobinson coils are only 16.7". So straps were a must.
I'm not losing travel. The strap length is set so that the spring will not unseat with one side stuffed and other drooped. However, if I give it a good "ungh," I can move the spring by twisting it back and forth ~1/2".
So it's tight enough to keep the coil in place, but loose enough to be moved by hand.
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ExplorerTom
Explorer
Awesome build thread. Very well laid out. All mods have a purpose and have been thought about.
And I'm secretly loving that it's not a Taco or Land Cruiser.
Guess it's not a secret anymore.
And I'm secretly loving that it's not a Taco or Land Cruiser.
Guess it's not a secret anymore.
Sal R.
Active member
It'd be nice to take advantage of the allowable, unrestricted travel the links provide, but I don't want the ride height or high CG, as a result. (That'd make an awesome #flexfriday shot though).
The mounting means it'll have to custom built ($$$). I doubt the lower pin can take the shock (?) loading.
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Sal R.
Active member
Thanks! It's a nice feeling that I stand apart.
Although, I do get a chuckle when I get the occasional "nice 4runner" compliments.
Sal R.
Active member
MODIFICATION: Bilstein 5125 Rear Shocks
GOAL:
Verify shock dimensions before getting spendy with custom rear shocks for the Sequoia.
PURPOSE:
This is research and development. Custom shocks are expensive and before I drop the cash on it, I want to make sure I've got the right numbers.
Given the details already laid out in some previous posts, I was guided by helpful FB TSOR members towards the Bilstein 5125s, specifically 33-230375 and 33-230429.
Both shocks have:
Shock travel: 11.2"
Compressed length: 17.1"
Extended length: 28.3"
Cost per: $72
The difference between the two lies in the valving.
x375 is valved 255/70
x429 is valved 360/80
This means is that x375 is valved similar to the popular "Sequoia" shock upgrade, FJ Cruiser 5100, 33-187174, and x429 is invariably stiffer.
I had no basis to determine which would be the better valve rate, so I err'ed in the side of conservatism and selected the x375. I chose the x375 because I wanted a plush ride. This is not a race car.
MATERIALS:
Bilstein 5125, model number 33-230375 (qty. 2)
Prothane Pivot Bushing Kit 19-601
Washers with 3/4" ID (qty. 12)
DURATION: 5 hours
COST: $170
HOW-TO:
First let's highlight the differences between the 5100 and the 5125.
Other than the length, the lower shock eye mounting for the 5125 is noticeably different from the 5100.
Out of the box, the 5125 eye opening is 5/8" compared to the 5100s 3/4" and will not work.
Additionally, The shock lower eye bushing is smaller on the 5125 vs 5100 (width 1-3/8" vs 1-3/4", diameter 1-3/8 vs 2-1/8").
To mount the 5125, the shock eye needs to be modified to accept a 3/4" pin.
Initially, I tried to bore out the rubber bushing, but that didn't work out. So, now enter the Prothane bushings.
Comparing the OEM 5125 bushing to the Prothane bushing, you'll find that the OEM bushing tapers toward the center.
To be able to use the Prothane bushing on the 5125, it, too, needs to be tapered down.
5 minutes on the belt sander and voila:
Because the 5125 shock mount width is less than the 5100 width, you need the washers to fill in the width of the axle mounting pin.
There are lots of documentation in rear shock installation, so I'm not going to cover that here.
Comparison 5100 vs 5125 max droop.
All buttoned up with limit straps dialed in.
25 mile drivability test results:
I hate to say this, but the 5125s actually rode pretty nice, even with all the armor and additional 300 lbs of gear over my EDC gear. I took it down the worst roads I know of nearby at 50 mph and it actually felt controlled, relatively speaking. The jarring feeling was gone. The compression/rebound was comfortable. The difference was night and day. I was so disturbed about how "good" the ride quality was, I made multiple passes to check fade and whatnot. I was shockingly (hehe) surprised how well it handled the washboard-like street.
Some installation notes:
Given my setup, I've knew already that the panhard (aka lateral control bar) was the limiting component to my downtravel. Considering that I have more travel than the Dobinsons can allow, it didn't bother me all that much.
However, I realized on this install as I was cycling the suspension w/ the 5125s installed w/o rear coils, is that the panhard bar was limiting my uptravel on the driver's side. I could not hit the bumpstop with on the drivers side with the 5125 completely drooped. To fully cycle upward on the drivers side, I had to either raise the passenger side shock or disconnect the panhard bar.
I guess that's a problem for another day...
GOAL:
Verify shock dimensions before getting spendy with custom rear shocks for the Sequoia.
PURPOSE:
This is research and development. Custom shocks are expensive and before I drop the cash on it, I want to make sure I've got the right numbers.
Given the details already laid out in some previous posts, I was guided by helpful FB TSOR members towards the Bilstein 5125s, specifically 33-230375 and 33-230429.
Both shocks have:
Shock travel: 11.2"
Compressed length: 17.1"
Extended length: 28.3"
Cost per: $72
The difference between the two lies in the valving.
x375 is valved 255/70
x429 is valved 360/80
This means is that x375 is valved similar to the popular "Sequoia" shock upgrade, FJ Cruiser 5100, 33-187174, and x429 is invariably stiffer.
I had no basis to determine which would be the better valve rate, so I err'ed in the side of conservatism and selected the x375. I chose the x375 because I wanted a plush ride. This is not a race car.
MATERIALS:
Bilstein 5125, model number 33-230375 (qty. 2)
Prothane Pivot Bushing Kit 19-601
Washers with 3/4" ID (qty. 12)
DURATION: 5 hours
COST: $170
HOW-TO:
First let's highlight the differences between the 5100 and the 5125.
Other than the length, the lower shock eye mounting for the 5125 is noticeably different from the 5100.
Out of the box, the 5125 eye opening is 5/8" compared to the 5100s 3/4" and will not work.
Additionally, The shock lower eye bushing is smaller on the 5125 vs 5100 (width 1-3/8" vs 1-3/4", diameter 1-3/8 vs 2-1/8").
To mount the 5125, the shock eye needs to be modified to accept a 3/4" pin.
Initially, I tried to bore out the rubber bushing, but that didn't work out. So, now enter the Prothane bushings.
Comparing the OEM 5125 bushing to the Prothane bushing, you'll find that the OEM bushing tapers toward the center.
To be able to use the Prothane bushing on the 5125, it, too, needs to be tapered down.
5 minutes on the belt sander and voila:
Because the 5125 shock mount width is less than the 5100 width, you need the washers to fill in the width of the axle mounting pin.
There are lots of documentation in rear shock installation, so I'm not going to cover that here.
Comparison 5100 vs 5125 max droop.
All buttoned up with limit straps dialed in.
25 mile drivability test results:
I hate to say this, but the 5125s actually rode pretty nice, even with all the armor and additional 300 lbs of gear over my EDC gear. I took it down the worst roads I know of nearby at 50 mph and it actually felt controlled, relatively speaking. The jarring feeling was gone. The compression/rebound was comfortable. The difference was night and day. I was so disturbed about how "good" the ride quality was, I made multiple passes to check fade and whatnot. I was shockingly (hehe) surprised how well it handled the washboard-like street.
Some installation notes:
Given my setup, I've knew already that the panhard (aka lateral control bar) was the limiting component to my downtravel. Considering that I have more travel than the Dobinsons can allow, it didn't bother me all that much.
However, I realized on this install as I was cycling the suspension w/ the 5125s installed w/o rear coils, is that the panhard bar was limiting my uptravel on the driver's side. I could not hit the bumpstop with on the drivers side with the 5125 completely drooped. To fully cycle upward on the drivers side, I had to either raise the passenger side shock or disconnect the panhard bar.
I guess that's a problem for another day...
Last edited:
Sal R.
Active member
TECH: Sequoia Rear Shock Dimension and Data
RESULTS:
I've cycled the suspension from droop to stuffed with the 5125s fitted and verified that the following dimension data are the proper shock dimensions for those using OME 286x (2860, 2861, 2862, etc.) rear coils (up to 480mm free height), even with OEM rear control arms.
At stuff, you're not bottom out and at droop, you're not over-extending the shock.
Data:
Shock travel: 11.2"
Compressed length maximum: 17.1"
Extended length minimum: 28.3"
Mount Style: Stem-eye w/ 3/4" opening, 1-3/4" wide, 2-1/8" diameter
Using the Dobinson rear coils as a basis, the following are the supported load used for proper valving:
Carried Load per spring: 1300 lbs
Spring Rate: 212 lb/in
RESULTS:
I've cycled the suspension from droop to stuffed with the 5125s fitted and verified that the following dimension data are the proper shock dimensions for those using OME 286x (2860, 2861, 2862, etc.) rear coils (up to 480mm free height), even with OEM rear control arms.
At stuff, you're not bottom out and at droop, you're not over-extending the shock.
Data:
Shock travel: 11.2"
Compressed length maximum: 17.1"
Extended length minimum: 28.3"
Mount Style: Stem-eye w/ 3/4" opening, 1-3/4" wide, 2-1/8" diameter
Using the Dobinson rear coils as a basis, the following are the supported load used for proper valving:
Carried Load per spring: 1300 lbs
Spring Rate: 212 lb/in