Need new front shocks '87 4wd

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Originally Posted by TheCrippler

I got the front bilstiens in over the weekend. What a difference. The van handles better and rides smoother than it ever has.

The front shocks weren't hard but did require a little grinding to narrow the bottom mounts. I had fun using the angle grinder in the bathroom of my apartment while my wife held the shock with an oven mit :) i also struggled a little gettingthe shock on the vehicle cause it was a little long. I ended up compressing the shock all the way and using some nylon strapping to hold it in the compressed state while i bolted it on.

The brakes suck after the lift. I really noticed a difference. I'm going to make that bracket for the proportioning valve tonight.

The rear springs were really hard to install in the back. I had to get some really good spring compressors and a friend to help. And it barely went on. We almost disconnected all the brakes etc to drop that rear end even father but managed to muscle them on in the end

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that is pretty much identical to my experience :dance2:

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Originally Posted by mistershmi

that is pretty much identical to my experience :dance2:

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Hopefully that included the bathroom angle grinder experience!

Does anyone know the actual specs for the front shocks? I’m wanting to upgrade to some higher quality off-road shocks and need the stock shock info to do so. My goal is to have them be plug and play so to speak. There are tons of off-road companies building shocks and I want something with better performance than what’s available over the counter. Thanks for any help 👍🏻👍🏻

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Originally Posted by hunziker87

Does anyone know the actual specs for the front shocks? I’m wanting to upgrade to some higher quality off-road shocks and need the stock shock info to do so. My goal is to have them be plug and play so to speak. There are tons of off-road companies building shocks and I want something with better performance than what’s available over the counter. Thanks for any help 👍🏻👍🏻

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a member here, coronan told me he had some Rancho shocks up front. Another member VanCo has some skyjackers up front. im not sure what the part numbers are on those, but they both have told me they like them. maybe they can chime in with a part number and information about that ride.

It looks like the Gabriel ProGuard 61545 is discontinued. If I wanted to order a pair of the KYB shocks from a Durango (for the front of my '87 4WD) which part number am I looking for? Or which year Durango and is it the 2wd model? Thanks.

The Toyotas OEM front are KYB's made, SK25 part#48500-28090. Fully compressed: 265 mm or ~10 5/8", fully extended: 390 mm or ~15 5/8".
I purchased the Durango one based on researching this site, (too much to digest).
I got the Bilstein 4600 series for the 2000 Durango 4x4 part# 24-185233.
Turns out they are made for a 2" lift. I do not know about the KYB, I assume it will be the same, be aware of that. I didn't see it noted anywhere so I think it is worth mentioning here.
They will fit at normal ride height/spring, but they are pre-compressed. So I got the Daystar KT09100BK coil spacer for the rear and will crank the front bars to lift the van an extra 1.25"(it came with the Mr Gasket 3/4 inch spacer). Not what I really wanted.:(:
Shopping for suspension parts is very frustrating,:wall: technical support is inexistant beyond "what the computer says", and never ever mention that the part is not for the intended vehicle, they will smell the lawyers and not even want to talk to you.

I thought there would there still be an advantage to running the larger Durango KYB shocks, even if it wasn't lifted.

There are rubber bump stops mounted to the control arms, those are supposed to limit the travel of the suspension, not the shocks. In pre-compressing the shock you run the risk to let the shock bottom out before the control arm reaches full travel and stops against a rubber bumper. The piston then absorbes the shock load, something it is not designed to do. If that makes sens :dizzy:

That being said, yes I would agree that running the over sized shock is better than running these:

Three days like that, are they dead?:roflmao:
Attachment 7005

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a try.

Can anyone comment with the correct part number for Durango Bilsteins for the front?

series 4600
Attachment 7021

Thanks Carbonized, I saw you mentioned 4600 series already but I was confused if they didn't work well for you? If my torsion bars are cranked up some, the 4600's should work well? And also you had to grind the mounts on these?

Thanks, my head was spinning reading through the 4 pages of this thread trying to figure out which ones to get

The van suspension travel from full compression to full droop is 4", the bilsten travel is ~ 5" and need to be compressed somewhat to fit . Lots of people are using the Durango mod without complaints that we know of. If your head is spinning after one thread imagine what it will do after going thru all the related threads :rol: I was :cnfsd: :dizzy: :shock::confused::wall:.


Yes you do have to narrow the lower mount of the shock by 6.5 millimeters. I used an angle grinder and patience. Grind a few seconds then dip the chock mount in water to prevent the rubber bushing from melting, mesure, and repeat on the other side until you have removed over 3 millimeters from each sides.

Attachment 7025

Attachment 7022

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so helpful as usual carbonized, thanks

Nice insights.

Got them in, pretty easy job altogether

Thanks again for the pointers
Attachment 7117

Let us know how they feel. I havent driven mine yet as I am rebuilding the whole front and rear suspension, and a lots of other things.

I installed the Bilsteins a few months back to replace the pretty much brand new KYB's that came with my van. With the KYB's it was obvious that the front was underdamped, and over big bumps the front end was almost uncontrollable. With the Bilsteins installed the difference was night and day. The front is much more controlled over large bumps and the overall handling is greatly improved. A must do upgrade IMO!

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Originally Posted by Duke

I installed the Bilsteins a few months back to replace the pretty much brand new KYB's that came with my van. With the KYB's it was obvious that the front was underdamped, and over big bumps the front end was almost uncontrollable. With the Bilsteins installed the difference was night and day. The front is much more controlled over large bumps and the overall handling is greatly improved. A must do upgrade IMO!

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Where the torsion bars cranked all the way with the KYB's? How much lift are you set at now?