[mrmachinist]

I am about to swap my rear air suspension on my wife's '12 platinum for a set of coil springs. I have a parts list from the dealer and will hopefully tackling it pretty soon. Has anyone done this before? I find posts with people talking about it but that's it. I don't see why it shouldn't work.

Just looking for more input before I order all the parts.


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[MtnClimber]

What parts are on the list from the dealer? Anything more than coil springs, spring isolators, and aft lower control arms?

 

[mrmachinist]

Yes and some small stuff like Stoppers, some bolts, gear assembly nut and washer.

Seems like there would be a coil spring keeper or something. I've never seen what the coil spring rear end looks like.


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[MtnClimber]

Yes and some small stuff like Stoppers, some bolts, gear assembly nut and washer.

Seems like there would be a coil spring keeper or something. I've never seen what the coil spring rear end looks like.

My guess is that the "pan" welded to the frame that retains the top of the air bag is the same as what retains the top of the coil spring. The bottom of the coil kind of locks into a groove in the lower control arm. Some photos for you to compare with are in post #6 here:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/sequoia/171721-platinum-rear-suspension-options/#post1800513

 

[surfnsteve]

Please keep us posted on this progress and list of items needed to change.
I'm looking at doing the same, but haven't had the time to tackle this with a young family. Good luck and hope it goes smooth for you.

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[mrmachinist]

Please keep us posted on this progress and list of items needed to change.
I'm looking at doing the same, but haven't had the time to tackle this with a young family. Good luck and hope it goes smooth for you.

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I hear you there. I have an 8 year old and a 5 month old. We just bought the sequoia in November because the rear facing car seat didn't fit in the 2016 4Runner we had just bought right before we found out we were having another baby.

I'll keep everyone updated. Parts are going to run right under $1000 shipped. Not sure how soon I will do it quite yet. Hopefully within the next couple months.

I knew the shocks were leaking when I bought it but when I found out it was as a grand for the factory shocks with no aftermarket options. I'd rather go this route and save money in the long run.


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[MtnClimber]

Are the rear electronic shocks on the Platinum independent of the air suspension system, or in some way related to the air suspension? (Just wondering why they are so much more expensive than the front electronic shocks.)

 

[JMSinMD]

Subscribed for the future. I recommend contacting Roman at Toyota of Cool Springs. His prices are hard to beat AND he's friendly/knowledgeable. If I was going to do the swap that is who I would use for parts.

 

[mrmachinist]

They are valved for an air spring instead of a coil spring. I talked to fox, bilstein, and king for some rear shocks for the air suspension and they had nothing for me.

I guess the cost is due to the limited number of shocks made that way.


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[mrmachinist]

Subscribed for the future. I recommend contacting Roman at Toyota of Cool Springs. His prices are hard to beat AND he's friendly/knowledgeable. If I was going to do the swap that is who I would use for parts.

That's who I've been dealing with. Roman is awesome. I've ordered quite a few parts from him over the last year or two.


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[surfnsteve]

So, I'm at a Toyota dealership with nothing but tine, chatting with the parts guys. We pulled up the sequoia on the computer, and compared the sr5 with the platinum.
Honestly, everything looks the same, even the lower control arm. They do have different part numbers, but look identical. Outside of that, isolator and spring were the only differences.
This may be an easy job to tackle afterall.

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[MtnClimber]

You guys probably know this already, but one thing I noticed about the IRS is that the cam adjustment on the aft rear lower control arm (the one that would need changed to accept a coil spring) affects rear toe only. The cam adjustment on the forward rear lower control arm affects only rear camber. So the camber and toe can be adjusted independently, unlike the IFS where caster and camber adjustments are interrelated. So anyone trying a DIY swap could check rear toe with a tape measure/carpenters square and get it adjusted approximately right before driving to the alignment shop.

 

[surfnsteve]

Has anyone pursued this any further or checked to see the similarities between the Ltd or sr5 upper lower control arms and the platinum?

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[mrmachinist]

This is the parts quote Roman sent me he looked all the parts up and is pretty sure this is what is needed for the conversion.

We are actually considering trading our platinum in in a limited. One reason is the suspension the other is. We didn't realize how often we would need to carry 5 passengers. The rear console works great but having to access the 3rd row when we keep strollers and other in the back all the time is a pain. If I can make a good deal I'm going to probably go that route. We just bought this one last November.... live and learn. If we decide to keep it. I will definitely do the conversion.


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[JMSinMD]

We didn't realize how often we would need to carry 5 passengers. The rear console works great but having to access the 3rd row when we keep strollers and other in the back all the time is a pain.

Thats why I did an 8 passenger conversion

REAR SEAT TOYOTA SEQUOIA 11 | eBay

My conversion ran me about $1000 total, $750-$800 in parts, $200 labor.

 

[mrmachinist]

Thats why I did an 8 passenger conversion

REAR SEAT TOYOTA SEQUOIA 11 | eBay

My conversion ran me about $1000 total, $750-$800 in parts, $200 labor.

I considered that also, but if I have to spend $2,000 to fix this one a '12 with 57,000 miles. Why don't I eat about $3,000 to get a '15 with 31,000 on it for the same payment, and I don't have to swap a bunch of parts. The only thing I'll lose that we care about is the cooled seats and they don't really work that great anyway.

We have only had this one for 5 months so it's not a good time to trade but I might anyway if I can make a decent deal.


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[JMSinMD]

It's a shame they didn't have the option for the Platinum for a 7 or 8 passenger option. I was working for Toyota Financial when this came up off lease, we could lease vehicles cheap for 1/2/3 years with all maintenance and insurance paid by Toyota. A coworker had it for 1 year and I got it for $40k, KBB was still $55k and MSRP was $62k, so I couldn't turn it down.

 

[mrmachinist]

Has anyone bought the special tool needed to release the airlines? Part number. 09730-00010

Cheapest I found in the us is around $60. I can get it for $35 on eBay from Spain. I bought a haynes manual. And was reading up on the rear suspension and found the note about the special tool needed.


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[stom_m3]

Based on the Lexus threads with the same issue, that's about the cheapest you will be able to find.

 

[mrmachinist]

Based on the Lexus threads with the same issue, that's about the cheapest you will be able to find.

I figured so, I ordered one this morning before the eBay listing ended. I hate ordering stuff from overseas.

Thanks for the input.


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