4runner Off-Road vs Landcruiser 1958: Axles and front suspension

Yeah, these would be more like piggy backs. Or resevoir shocks. Or non-remote reservoirs (that one doesn’t roll off the tongue though).

 

I watched the Lil and Jake video about the suspension failure. They said the dealer replaced all of the suspension components and were shipping the old parts to Japan for analysis.
I bet we see either a recall or TSB about those bolts soon.

 

The irony of someone who claims to have two 2023 4Runners but doesn't drive them. Do you keep your living fossils in climate controlled plastic bubbles? Are they even real? 330 posts in 2025, most spent trolling in the 6th gen section, and not a single picture of anything done to the 5th gens you purportedly own. The armchair quarterbacking here is incredible.

 

Bigger tire would also provide additional damping, especially if it is aired-down and softer offroad tire. The worst case scenario would be Limited with bigger and heavier rims and street tires with harder sidewall.

 

Oddly enough I do think the foot operated parking brake on the 5th gen and Toyotas in general cheaped out on the mechanism and could have used a little improvement. The 1st-push-on-2nd-push-off instead of a release handle means you do need to use some effort to push the pedal down the first time to hold the vehicle. On other brands like older Fords, you can keep pushing on it to get it tighter and not have it release.

But boy howdy I have never seen people this angry about a routine part that just requires a semi-firm "step" to engage. Then the name calling. Yeesh.

 

Damn. Those tie rods look like toys. Thickness of a pinkey finger

 

The 5th gen parking brakes are capable of holding the vehicle on an incline, but in my case it was essentially useless off the show room floor.

It took a fair bit of adjustment to get mine to work right so I could trust it to hold on an incline (without settling into the parking pawl). I had to adjust at the drum, and inside under the center console. I was the one that had to do it, because the dealer was useless (they said it’s normal for parking brakes to not work, sigh). Most people would be on their own at that point, and just assume it actually doesn’t work.

 

I use mine on my inclined driveway but haven't given much thought about how well it holds vs it just resting in park. I feel like it rolls back after I set it and then put it in park (meaning it may be on the pall?) but also feel it move when I take it off. I do miss the hand brake from my '04 JGC - it just felt like where the parking brake/emergency brake should be, even if I wasn't doing J-turns. Don't get me started on the electronic parking brakes - maybe there is enough SW intelligence to slowly stop a runaway vehicle but I wouldn't want to test it. I'd rather have a brake that I can feel and have control over

 

Yes I tightened mine a touch on one, but more as an OCD than anything else.

 

That's kind of why I set mine while still in N so I can see if it is rolling when I take my right foot off the regular brake. It does take a deliberate shove of the left foot but generally mine holds on our driveway on first try before I put the transmission in park. On really steep hills I have had to set it where it does get a little close to the floor, but it still works up to the ones I tried it on.

It's a heavy SUV so all that is just physics with a mechanical connection, it won't hold as easily as my 2600-3000lb Toyotas' hand brake, that's for sure.

 

Same experience with my 2018. Had to adjust it quite a bit to work.

My sister has a '22 and hers worked great from the factory. She parks on a very steep incline daily and it holds no prob.