So I'm doing this to my 85: Replacing the springs with some take-offs from an 84, all new bushings, new, greasable 5.5" shackles, and some Rancho 5000s. No lift, other than the 1" or so from the shackles. When I yanked off the rear shocks on a 4Runner that I was chopping up the other day, I was surprised when the rear end jumped up. The shock was limiting the downward travel of the axle. That seems retarded to me- but what do I know? I already have all my parts- but now I think I need some different shocks so my articulation isn't hindered. I'm not building a crawler- but I want my suspension to work! What thinks you?

The main purpose of a shock is to eliminate the bounce you would experience from having springs alone. Take your truck for a drive without shocks on the rear and you know exactly what I mean. A shock is a hydraulic dampner not a limiting device.

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You need to size the shocks to not limit up or down travel. Some links on the page below on how to measure for that:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/Rancho.shtml

The more I tear into that 4Runner, the more mistakes I see the previous owner made. Unfortunately, those old shocks are now at the bottom of the scrap metal bin- but I suspect they were just plain too short, even though they looked huge to me. I'll bust out the jack and the tape tomorrow- I bet it'll all be just swell. I'll stop panicking now, thanks. Oh, and thanks for the link- I'll use it to cross ref my own findings.

those RS5000 are pretty stiff shocks. Get some Bilstein or 9000.

Too late. I'll use them for now- I mostly just want my suspension to work. My current shocks and springs are wasted, and the bushings are toast. I can tune it after the bulk of the work is done. I can prolly change out all four shocks in 20 minutes anyhow. I scrounged a nice Rancho steering damper at the boneyard ($4) the other day, too- so that's helpful to my rather emaciated wallet. All I have to do now is bore and tap the hanger bolts for the leaf springs, and I'm ready for the jack-stands...