2003 Toyota 4Runner - Our 'Runner Rides Red

The XREAS accumulator, and all the other XREAS hardware and hydraulic lines, can be removed and disposed of.

The rear sway bar needs to be disconnected in order to drop the axle far enough to remove the coil springs. This can be done at one of a few attachment points. Brian chose to remove the axle bracket hold-down bolts.

Once the sway bar is disconnected, the axle droops far enough and the spring can be removed. It should be noted that spring tension is what holds the coil in place on its upper and lower seats. The shocks act as the limit straps, holding enough tension on the coils to keep them in place.

There's a conical bump stop with an integrated coil-to-coil bucket insulator. This needs to be re-used with the Sway-A-Way coil.

The Sway-A-Way coil goes in place of the stocker and installs the same way. Be sure to get the lower end of the coil rotated into position against the stop on the axle.

The lower shock eye bolts in place on the stock mount. Sway-A-Way includes spacers to be used on either side of the spherical bearing. As mentioned earlier, you'll need to reuse the stock fixing bolt.

Since there was now tension on the coil springs, the best way to get the upper shock mount in place was to compress the coils using a floor jack and a block of wood. Don't compress the spring too far, or you could upset the vehicle on the lift. The spring only needs to be compressed far enough to let the pin-top upper shock mount glide its way home.

The pin-top nut cinches into place, completing the shock installation. Note that the upper shock body is designed so that it can rotate without hitting the low-profile nitrogen-charging valve against the frame. Complete the suspension system installation by reconnecting the rear sway bar and double-checking all suspension fasteners front and rear.

From the sandy washes of Gorman to the rocks of Sedona to all the pavement in between, we've been pleased with our red suspension. The benefits go well beyond the mild lift height. Sway-A-Way's race-bred shocks offer control and consistency that's simply out of reach of the stock items. This is truly a transformed rig. We wanted to cover the custom Desolate Motorsports front bumper and the Mickey Thompson tires and wheels, but there wasn't space enough to properly cover it all. More next time.