Xreas suspension replacement alternatives?

i drive a 2005 toyota 4runner sport with the xreas suspension system. I live on a remote island in alaska and dont have access to a toyota dealership with the special machine to pressurize this system. i was told by a toyota mechanic in alaska to just tear the whole system out and replace it with basic shocks as its likely to break again somewhere down the road and will cost a fortune to barge my vehicle to the nearest dealership.

Last week I was driving down logging roads and i think a stick got in there and tore the soft hydrolic hose off from the shock to the hard line on the front passenger side of the vehicle. you can see where the hyrolic fluid leaked out and the vehicle is currently bottomed out in that corner. My understanding is i would need to replace the shocks in the front right and back left corner of the vehicle as they are connected but that i would not need to replace the hard lines or the brain box underneath the vehicle.

I am wondering if anyone on here knows a part number for replacement shocks that will fit a 2005 toyota 4 runner sport that are not as complicated as the xreas system? I’m looking for a standard, regular old school shock that will fit. i was told that when you search this model the only thing that comes up for parts is the xreas. there has to be standard shocks that will fit this vehicle or do you have to retro fit some in and if so which ones?

Im not looking for anything too fancy. I live on an island with 13 miles of paved road and spend most of my time driving on gravel logging roads. Any advice on a replacement system will be very much appreciated. thanks in advance!

 

Sorry for your misfortune and sounds like you live quite the life. If you are willing to accept shipping, look at rockauto.com. They have oem standard replacement parts (KYB) made in Japan and are a direct swap. Won’t feel quite the same but should meet your needs per post! Cheers and welcome

 

Thank you for the response. I’ve been getting the run around all day on this one. Not to take up anymore of your time but I just want to make sure I’m on the right track before I pull the trigger on buying.

The photo attachment is a screen shot from the website. I think I need the option at the top since my vehicle is 4wd. It still says “except xreas”. Am I on the right track here? Will the struts and shocks from the option at the top of the photo be what your referring to that will work to just replace that system all together? I’m not worried about the ride I just need it to function. Thanks again for all your help.

 

A lot of folks on this forum recommend swapping out the XREAS system for standard shocks. Apparently nothing special is needed to do this. You just remove the old shocks and the hydraulic lines that connect them. Then put in any of the many aftermarket shocks that will fit your year 4Runner -- just like you would on any other vehicle.

People here have their favorites -- some go with Bilsteins, some like harder core off road shocks like Fox or Icon etc. In my (admittedly pretty uneducated) opinion based on what I've read, there's nothing wrong with Bilsteins and they cost less than a lot of the other options. Folks here often use Bilstein 5100s or 6100s. But the ones with more experience than I have can give more specific advice.

Out of curiosity, how many miles did your truck have when the hydraulic line busted?

 

Standard Bilsteins are a popular replacement, but you can get the full gamut of shocks that will fit and do the job for you. As far as I am aware, there aren't any "brains" to the XREAS so it's just swapping out parts, although I would not run half XREAS and half Bilsteins, I suspect that would provide some unusual handling and you'd be better off with a complete set of new equipment.

 

I believe what it means by "except XREAS" is that it is not compliant with the XREAS system, but it is compliant with your truck. So you're removing the XREAS and replacing with a non-XREAS system that will work fine, but you can't attach these shocks to the XREAS lines and crosslink them to mimic what you have/had originally.

 

I saw somewhere else another person said Bilstein 5100. A lot of the time the replacement parts say “except xreas”, does that mean it won’t work on my vehicle or that it just isn’t compatible with the xreas system i.e if you go with that part you have to change out completely from xreas? Sorry for my confusion, I have some mechanical skills but they have a lot more to do with boats than they do with vehicles. There’s about 167,000 miles on it. I think it would have lasted quite a while still but the forest service had just brushed that logging road and left all the branches in the road. I think one of the branches must have got in there just right to tear it off. I’ve had it for 9 years now and it’s been a solid vehicle.

 

Good points. There is no brain / computer involved so there's nothing to reprogram or reset, and nothing that will get confused or go wrong if you rip out the XREAS and install regular shocks.

But yes, it might get weird if you replaced only one corner (eg your front passenger side and rear driver side) instead of the whole thing.

 

That just means that those parts aren't part of an XREAS system. So you wouldn't use them if you wanted to repair your XREAS system or replace it with a new XREAS system. But they work fine for you so long as they'd work on any 2005 4Runner that didn't come with XREAS. That make sense?

 

In short. You can replace them with any of the aftermarket ones listed for the non xreas system. When you install them you just have to remove all the piping for the xreas. I just did this to mine last week. If the lines still have fluid in them they will be pressurized so at least bleed the pressure from one of the attaching valves/bolts. I didn’t on one of the sides and made a mess lol

 

Ok, thats starting to make more sense. The parts will work on the vehicle just not with that system. Thanks for the clarification. I’ll likely go with the complete overhaul on all 4 and that way I don’t have to worry about the complications with xreas and remote living. As per usual the solution was far less complicated than it initially seemed. Thanks again to everyone who replied!

 

As I am sure people have already answered, if you have the X-REAS system, you cannot replace a single shock without recharging or replacing the system. For this, it is recommended to replace the whole system, in this case, the KYB will provide a similar ride to 2005 that did not have the X-REAS system. I have a 2006 which, I removed the X-REAS system for the 3rd Gen Tacoma front and rear (its direct except the rear shock eye bushing). As the 06 has slight variances in the vehicle, here are the ones I purchased
KYB 2SR4131344410

$46 KYB 344410 Excel-G Gas Shock

KYB 344410 (2)
KYB SR4130
KYB SR4131

Mine is also a V8 4x4, so the V6 might be different. I hope this helps!

 

I am thankful you posted about your questions about the X-REAS system. I need to also take the system out and replace all 4 shocks/struts. I have been doing research this past week and there are many different opinions. I saw quite a few that said to put new rear shocks that are used on 4runner and use springs from an FJ Cruiser with them. It is supposed to be less harsh ride from what I read. I found all 4 shocks/struts with springs for rear for about $300 on Ebay. Researching it a little more before buying. If you or anyone has any thoughts on this please let me know.

 

This is a popular option although for the price you might want to look for someone local and buy some 3rd gen Tacoma Billie take-offs for $100-200 (keep in mind you’ll still need rear springs and the taco shocks are for a lighter vehicle).



I have a set less the rear springs I’m trying to give away if you’re anywhere near central TX.

 

Even the 2nd gen Tacoma is actually a better option since it won’t lift the front end as much. I put the 3rd gen front suspension on mine and gained a little over 2” in height on my truck. I put the 2nd gen Tacoma springs on the front of my mothers 06 4runner and she only gained about an inch or so. If I didn’t have the air rear suspension to adjust in mine it would have sat nose high. Hers drives beautifully now though and still sits ever so slightly higher in the rear.

 

Hers is in the front with 2nd gen Tacoma fronts and this was mine in the rear when I first got it with the xreas still installed
You can see her front end and level was sitting better than mine

 

There are a hundred possible options for Twetor. But it seems that simple and reliable is what he needs most. For that, four Bilsteins or anything similar is the way to go. Our friend here needs reliable transportation in his remote (and no doubt awesome!) location. All he needs to do is remove his current shocks and connecting lines, then install four new regular shocks.

Twetor, we hope you'll let us know how it all turns out. Pics would be great too. No doubt there are many challenges living on a remote Alaskan island, but I'm sure folks here would love to see a glimpse of it.

Best wishes,

SM

 

I've gone through all this with my 2003. It's a Limited V8 4WD model that was completely stock when I bought it on 1/1/20. Had the XREAS system still with 280,000 miles on it and completely collapsed.

Keep in mind that if you have the rear ride height leveling system on your 4Runner, you will need additional parts to eliminate and work around that system. My 4Runner does not have that system. MetalTech 4x4 makes a kit to eliminate the rear air bags if your 4Runner does have that system. - https://www.metaltech4x4.com/metal-tech-gx470-rear-coil-conversion-kit-stage-2-w-oem-toyota-parts

Here's how it looked with that system.



I did my research and found that 2nd gen or even 3rd gen Tacoma front suspension is a direct bolt-on to the 4th gen 4Runner. I sourced 2019 front struts (shocks and springs, fully assembled) from a 2019 Tacoma TRD Off Road, so Toyota Bilstien shocks. I then sourced 2017 rear Tacoma TRD Off Road Toyota Bilstien shocks and bought new 2007 FJ Cruiser springs from RockAuto. All together, I had about $450 into the suspension in replacement parts. The Tacoma stuff was all found on craigslist locally.

For the rear Tacoma shocks to fit the 4Runner, you need to get a new lower bushing for the lower shock mount to the axle. You need the Energy Suspension 9.8108G 3/4" Hourglass Shock Eye Bushing that can be found on Amazon.

$10 Energy Suspension 9.8108G 3/4" Hourglass Shock Eye Bushing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CN9D4E

Install is pretty simple if you are doing the work yourself. Standard suspension work. Here are the Tacoma front struts and rear shocks.



And here is one of the new 2007 FJ Cruiser springs as compared to the stock, 280k miles 4Runner spring.



Ignore the sway bar as you are likely leaving yours in place, but here is the complete XREAS system that I removed from my 4Runner.



Here is how my 4Runner looked after swapping in the Tacoma parts and the FJ rear coils.



Proper ride height was returned, in fact, from the collapsed XREAS to the Tacoma suspension, I gained 3" of lift. Just shows you how bad the XREAS on my 4Runner was! The ride is soft, very smooth. The suspension works well off road. Basically, it's back to being like brand new again.

So do some shopping and see if you can find either 2nd gen or 3rd gen Tacoma parts used. Ebay or Craigslist, if you can get a seller to ship to you. Shouldn't cost a whole lot as the Tacoma parts are abundant. And it's a direct swap, other than the replacement bushing for the rear lower shock mounts.

 

On my 2008 Urban Runner I just replaced my XREAS. I used the bilstien 4600 shocks. Up front I put FJ Cruiser springs and new factory 4runner rear springs. The vehicle rides good both on and off road. .

 

HI All,
I need to replace the rear shocks of my 2005 V6 4Runner Sport. This thread really help me understand my options especially with regard to the XREAS .

I'd like to going with a KYB solution. Any guidance any of you good folks can give me between the two KYB kits below?



Twetor, if you are out there I'd really like to know which kit you went with and how it worked out for you? We both have the same year and make 4Runner model. Its been a fantastic vehicle.

Best Regards from San Diego, CA.
--Jainraje

 

Update: using the KYB shock selector for my year/model the KYB website is recommending the parts from this kit:

 

Bummer you’re in SD, I have a set that’s been sitting in my garage for a bit now. That middle option should suite you just fine!

 

The time has come to ditch the Xreas on my 2004 Sport V6. Many have suggested the Bilstein 5100 struts. Since this is not a standard replacement part for my car when I look up and put in my year make and model there is no part found for this model since it is not what normally comes standard with the Sport model. Any suggestions on how to get the right strut for my 4Runner? Should I put in that it is an SR5 instead of the Sport since as I understand the SR 5 does not use the Xreas strut system? Is there a proper part number(s) for the Bilstein 5100? This is not a simple replacement part for this vehicle so I am having difficulties finding what will fit since this is not a normal part for this vehicle and is basically a retrofit. Is the Bilstein 5100 a one size-fits-all? Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.