Honda dealer had no advice … so now I'm talking to the Toyota dealer about a new 4Runner.
2010 Pilot Lift Kit Problems - HELP!
- Thread starter Skipnoid
- Start date
The original axles died after 230,000 miles. (approximately 30,000 miles after lift was installed) I replaced them with 3rd party axles that caused, vibration, pulling/ binding, and ultimately broke. I am now using salvaged Honda axles to save money. At some point I would like to invest in two new front Honda Axles. I do all of this car work myself and have a lifetime alignment so it hasn't been very expensive. The lift certainly increases wear on the axles.
OK, thanks for the clarification! And your patience. And to fine tune my question just a bit further (yes, I'm a
My local Honda dealership price is $328.33/each
Big O has it today, taking pics and talking to Ready Lift. Maybe I can get Big O to buy Honda Axles, seeing as they broke one and threw away the originals. I think I'll go take a ride down there. They've really been terrific.
Closest pick-a-parts are 15 and 100 miles away, but neither of them have anything. I could probably find them in Phoenix, but that's a whole 'nother project, lol!
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Hi aggrex and everyone else,
I threw in the towel last week and made a good lease deal on a new 2020 4Runner! I was really just trying to get another year out of my Pilot and have some fun with it. I haven't had a car payment in 25 years. This lift idea turned out to be not much fun at all, LOL!
I ordered some grey OEM TRD Pro wheels that I'll mount the BFG KO2's onto, add a leveling kit of some type, add some Nerf bars (that my buddy's selling me for half … he just traded his 4Runner for a new Tacoma), and it'll look just like this (without the dark tint):
Thank you all for the advice and help. Now that I've taken the plunge, I'm very happy that I did! I made the deal last Wed evening and put $500 down on it. I had to leave town thurs AM and get back home tomorrow night. So I should be in it Thursday PM or Friday.
It's a TRD Off Road Premium.
It's a TRD Off Road Premium.
Well the overlanding duties will migrate over to the TRD 4 Runner. Good luck and post the TRD 4 Runner build and ride. My BIL has a 2003 4Runner V8 and it has over 200k and is in great shape. He just bought a 2019 4 Runner but didn't option for full-time 4WD which will be bad for the wife who only knows AWD....
I've been wanting a Tacoma for about 4 years now … but my Pilots have really served me well. This was my 2nd one. So been driving one for 13 or 14 years now. I like that I can put the seats down, load up all my gear and just lock it up. Pick ups just don't allow that. Even if you add a tonneu cover, cap, etc., it's not what I want to do. I go off road a lot and although I take my Pilot places it just wasn't meant to go, the 4Runner is truly made for that. The cargo space is about a foot shorter than the Pilot, so I'll just need to pack a little lighter. I'll suffer through it though!
And Big O really was willing to stay with it too. Last week, the mechanics had the idea of dropping the subframe to reduce the angle of the axles. We tried it using some stacked washers as spacers, but not enough to make a difference. Also, the owner of the shop offered to get the Honda axles at his cost (which I'd buy) and install them at no cost to me. That's when I decided to pull the plug and just lease the new 4Runner … I went to look at them a day or two before that and had time to really think it over.
Additionally, he's trying to find me some used tires to put on it and leave with my trade for like $15/ea. No charge to mount and balance. He also said he'd mount my BFG's on the new wheels, balance and re-align the whole thing at no charge "because he feels bad for me" … imaging that? It's unbelievable. Customer for life and I'll drive as much business his way as I can.
Side note: he texted me today to tell me that the mechanic removed the lift kit today and the BFG tires fit in the wheel wells with no rubbing, lol!!!! That's just kinda funny after all of this. But good news if anyone reading this wants to put 31" tires on a stock Pilot. I think the old ones measured 28"-29"... it'll look good and get you another inch of ground clearance.
I'll hit up Amazon too about getting a refund for all or part of the lift kit. Amazon's great about taking things back. This one will be a stretch, but it never hurts to ask. All they can do is say no.
Additionally, he's trying to find me some used tires to put on it and leave with my trade for like $15/ea. No charge to mount and balance. He also said he'd mount my BFG's on the new wheels, balance and re-align the whole thing at no charge "because he feels bad for me" … imaging that? It's unbelievable. Customer for life and I'll drive as much business his way as I can.
Side note: he texted me today to tell me that the mechanic removed the lift kit today and the BFG tires fit in the wheel wells with no rubbing, lol!!!! That's just kinda funny after all of this. But good news if anyone reading this wants to put 31" tires on a stock Pilot. I think the old ones measured 28"-29"... it'll look good and get you another inch of ground clearance.
I'll hit up Amazon too about getting a refund for all or part of the lift kit. Amazon's great about taking things back. This one will be a stretch, but it never hurts to ask. All they can do is say no.
Learn from the Pilot crappy lift and DO NOT buy spacers for the 4R!!! While it will go better than the pilot, its still the cheap way and limits wheel travel as discussed by someone else earlier. Bilstein 5100's are extremely affordable (especially if you swap the stock springs) and will ride far better than a spacer lift. I bought my Tacoma with a spacer lift and and wheeled it, and it worked, but once the shocks were mostly done, i replaced the whole thing with the 5100's set at the second to highest setting since I have stock UCA's (also limits travel), and its sooo much better on and off-road. And as mentioned above, if you're going to have someone else do the suspension work, I'd take it to the 4x4 shop, or have the dealer do it. (Most Toyota dealers will install simple things like bilstein 5100, as they do it to new vehicles all the time to sell for way too much money).
Amazon did give me a refund on the kit too, BTW … $514.73 and even picked up the shipping. I LOVE Amazon!
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I know your in a different rig now. But a question no one bothered to ask. Was there any noise associated with your vibration issue? Popping or grinding when you turned the wheel to one side or another? Then another would be are you sure the big o tire place properly balanceed the tires?
The simple answer would have been its a honda they do better lowered than lifted.
The simple answer would have been its a honda they do better lowered than lifted.
1. There was no grinding/popping noise and the vibration wasn't constant. It was really just on acceleration. No difference when cutting the wheel.
2. The tires/wheel were perfect … I had them road-force balanced and I got it up to 80mph and they were smooth as silk.
2a. I also had them RF Balance them on the new 4Runner … it's the best way to go. I know this because 3-4 years ago, I was chasing front end vibrations on the Pilot. It needed new struts and control arms (because I beat the crap out of it off road) and ended up RF Balancing the tires to get rid of the last of it. There were some defective tires during that fiasco as well, which was another lesson learned (tires can be defective ... who knew?). Overall it was a fantastic vehicle, my second one in fact, but I have definitely had some heartburn with the front end, lol!
3. The shop just called and my 4Runner's all done ... Whoo Hooo! … I'll be putting her to the test this weekend as my buddy and I drew Javelina Tags. We'll be hunting and camping way back and high in the National Forest and it's supposed to pour rain and snow on Saturday (hunting Sun and Mon now) so it will be muddy, rugged and fun! It's way too white and unscratched right now. lol!
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And while I'm at it ….
Right now, I'm just putting the 5100's in the front only and keeping the same springs. He said the back shocks are fine and I can always replace them if they start leaking or if I just decide to do it later. He also dropped the differential a little to reduce the new angle or the axles. It's all about money. I wasn't planning on buying (leasing) a new car for at least a year. I wanted to do something better than spacers right now, but I'm too tapped-out to go crazy on it. Maybe 6 months from now, after I've got a bunch or off road miles on her, I'll know better what I want. I took that stock Pilot with street tires on it into some places it didn't belong. This 4Runner will do a lot more. I'm psyched!
Right now, I'm just putting the 5100's in the front only and keeping the same springs. He said the back shocks are fine and I can always replace them if they start leaking or if I just decide to do it later. He also dropped the differential a little to reduce the new angle or the axles. It's all about money. I wasn't planning on buying (leasing) a new car for at least a year. I wanted to do something better than spacers right now, but I'm too tapped-out to go crazy on it. Maybe 6 months from now, after I've got a bunch or off road miles on her, I'll know better what I want. I took that stock Pilot with street tires on it into some places it didn't belong. This 4Runner will do a lot more. I'm psyched!
