Once the top of the Sway-A-Way...
Once the top of the Sway-A-Way coilover was secured, the trusty pry bar came back into action. Brian moved the shock's lower mount into position on the lower control arm.
If the sway bar will be retained, it needs to be spaced forward to avoid contact between the sway bar and the new coilovers. To avoid mixing them up during installation, the stock mounting brackets are clearly marked. Leaving the sway bar off of the front will net better bump absorption because the sway bar attempts to force both sides of the front end to work in unison. When negotiating slow-speed trails, leaving the sway bar off will let the front end articulate much better. The downside to leaving the sway bar off of the front is noticeably increased body roll in the turns. We snapped some photos of the Sway-A-Way sway bar spacers, but ultimately chose to leave the sway bar off. No matter what you do with the front sway bar, it's best to leave the rear sway bar in place.
The sway bar spacer bolts...
The sway bar spacer bolts to the stock mounting holes, and the sway bar mounts to the holes in the spacer. Too easy.
Done. After the front coilovers...
Done. After the front coilovers were bolted up, the tie rods were re-fastened to the steering knuckles. Don't forget about the cotter pins; new ones are always best.
The spring preload, which...
The spring preload, which determines lift height, is adjusted using the supplied wrench. This should only be done with the vehicle supported on stands; never with the vehicle weight resting on the springs.
After the desired adjustment...
After the desired adjustment is obtained, it is locked into place using an Allen-key setscrew. Turn the set screw 1/4 to 1/2 a turn past snug. Gorilla-style over-tightening is not necessary.
With the front end done, it...
With the front end done, it was time to get the rear shocks and springs replaced. The XREAS system was already drained, so disconnecting the shocks from the XREAS plumbing didn't spill any fluid. Non-XREAS 4Runners won't have to worry about this because their shocks' fluid is self-contained.
Save the lower shock bolts;...
Save the lower shock bolts; they're application-specific and need to be re-used.