Swapping Out XREAS suspension

Hey guys, I’m looking to replace my XREAS system with a (quality) standard setup.
I’m looking for any tips on the removal of the original system. Concerned about any lights that may pop up on the dash or sensors?
Any tips will be great.
I’m a decent tech. Just never dealt with this particular system before. Thanks.

 

I removed mine about 5mo ago. No lights.

 

Daytonaviolet,
Looks like you installed OEM TRD Bilstein shocks and springs - correct? How does the ride and handling compare to the stock XREAS?
Thanks!

 

The system is 100% purely mechanical. There are no electrical sensors, components, or connections. With the suspension being cross linked the only thing you really have to be aware of is you can’t do the front one day and the tears another day. You need to remove everything and replace it all at the same time. Don’t bother saving the old stuff, pull the lines and the accumulators on the frame rails as well. You can swap it with anything from used OEM take offs from any non-Limited model from 2010-2020 to as big as you want to go.

I went custom length, extended travel, custom valved remote reservoir Kings with JBA upper control arms and Icon rear springs.

 

Thanks Guys !
Great Input. I’m not going as far as DaytonaViolet or Agent_Outside. Although, that looks REAL nice. But I’m looking for a simpler solution. I picked up a set of 4 Bilstein 1500’s. Going to keep the OEM coils.
I plan to set the front set, a notch or two higher than factory. I hear 1.75 is “almost” level, but I think I’d rather be slightly lower in the front than slightly higher. Any thoughts on that ?
I’m not looking to add lifts or brackets anywhere.
Did you have to remove the skid plate to remove the XREAS tubes or did you just pull them through ?

 

You're going to want the 0.85" setting if you'd rather be slightly lower in the front than the rear. There is no 1.5" setting on 5100's, so that won't be an option for you.

 

Ok. Thanks nimby. I haven’t even looked at the box yet. I assumed the settings were set by quarters because of people talking about settings of 1.75 and 2.
Now... is .85, one click up from the factory setting ?

 

to me it's much firmer. but my xreas had over 60k miles when i changed it. i rode in my buddies '18 trd pro and wanted the same type of ride in my limited at the right cost. i also added 2/1.5 cornfed spacers to level/lift. i dont see much change in the ride compared to a stock '18 trd pro.

 

this is the setup i want to get some day. how do you like the UCA? do you have an installed pic

 

Ot downing the swap but isn’t the xreas suspension a several thousand dollar upgrade? Seems crazy to get rid of it

 

It comes standard on every single Limited, it’s not an optional upgrade. (You might be thinking of KDSS?) It's also insanely expensive to replace it with OEM stuff when it wears out.

 

I’m happy with them. You’ll never see a vendor a recommend them, because with zero authorized retailers they can’t profit off of them, but JBA control arms are the best way to go in my opinion. There’s no holiday sales, no Black Friday deals, no group buys, it’s just a great product at a fair everyday price. They are stout, proven reliable, high quality arms with caster built in. They have a cerakoted high articulation ball joint (90 degree range of motion, more than a uniball but without the noise and constant maintenance. They are low maintenance, they don’t make noise, easily greased, and the ball joints BOLT in. They are caster corrected, I had no problem getting 4.5+ degrees of caster on both sides with the rest of the alignment angles exactly where they should be. I’ve never heard of one of their ball joints failing, but IF something did happen to go wrong and you break a ball joint on a trail it’s nice to not need a press and a specialty part to get it going again, in a pinch you can replace it with an off the shelf readily available Moog K6292 (used on GM trucks from 1988 to 1996) from any parts store while you order the proper JBA replacement. I don’t think there’s an easier more convenient setup for when things go wrong, and you won’t better customer service.

There’s pictures in my adventure thread somewhere.

 

Oh I know it’s not kdss kinda cool. Just surprised to see people toss it if it’s still functioning.

 

I just replaced my suspension (coils and struts) on my limited and I'm super happy.

There's no lights that will go on or problems you'll have.

As far as ride - I like it better now. I can take turns just as hard as before with XREAS and, I'm not positive, but it seems like the suspension is softer over bumps. That could just be the tires. I know that with the tires aired down a bit that it's definitely a softer ride.

This is all with the coils doing the lift, though, and not the struts, so I can't say how it will feel if you replace Xreas but only change the struts.

 

1) The XREAS comes standard with the limited and fails quickly if your not on perfect roads. Once one shock starts to leak, you have to change the opposite corner shock and corresponding tubing that connects the two. Which means you should change ALL 4 and system if you want to be balanced. $3500 + only done at Toyota.
2) I always felt like it rode too hard anyway and there is much better out there for cheaper.

 

thanks for the feedback. these uca were suppose to be my next mod.. but i ended up getting the t9 head unit. these will be my next mod as i need a better alignment

 

Yes, there are 4 settings. The lowest is stock height with 0" of lift. The second setting from the bottom is 0.85" of lift.

 

Yea Tex, I still have the original 20” rims on mine. Keeping the coils and I’ll take any cushioning I can get. Especially on the rear axle. Hard as all hell.

 

Do I need to remove the skid plate to remove the XREAS tubing? Or can I just pull it through ?

 

Well that sucks! That’s a lotta freaking money for a shock repair lol at that point I’d rip it all out as well.

never put any attention into the xreas since I don’t have it but that dumbs it down pretty good.

 

i removed mine so i could see better during the xreas extraction

 

Yup. That’s why I’m here brother. I’ll never buy another truck with it.

 

Thanks Daytona. Appreciate your feedback.

 

From what I’m hearing I’ll never buy a truck with it either hah

 

Hell I used the shit out of the truck with XREAS. I went more places than most and rocked the stock suspension until I destroyed it (major shock failure, to long on washboard dirt at too high of a speed, eventually the shocks overheated and faded bad then one of the front blew out the seal and started smoking as it puked fluid all over) near 100K miles. I wouldn’t hesitant to buy another vehicle with it, especially when that’s the only way to get full time 4WD.

 

Lol yeah the stock rear is bad. I heard the softest suspension on 4Runners is the stock fox shock TRD Pros (2019-20) so maybe you could get your hands on some of those from someone who's replacing theirs for a lift

 

Sorry yours crapped out, but this is a bit of an overreaction. True, if one fails, the entire set of four is basically failed, but there are plenty of 4G and 5G drivers with stock XREAS pushing 150k to 200k. Almost everyone agrees to replace it with something else, unless you get full warranty replacement.

 

Mission Complete ! I removed the entire system. Easier than I thought it would be. Installed the Bilstein 1500s with OEM Coils. Rides MUCH better! Both Front and rear improvement. Although my fronts were leaking, the rear axle used to hit really hard on potholes. It used to rattle my spine! This has greatly improved. I am so glad I did this. I wish I did it earlier. Turns are tighter too. Much less lean. I highly recommend this setup.
Thanks to everyone for their advice!