New SDORI 4x2 Balljoint Spacers!

jimbo74 · 07-16-2005, 05:30 PM

As some of you know, I have been working with Frank of San Diego Off Road Innovations www.sdori.com to come up with a cost alternative way, other than a long travel, to lift the 2wd pickup. These spacers will fit all Toyota 4x2 pickups from 1984-1988. I have not tested them on 1989-1995 pre-Tacoma pickup trucks, however I do know that the basic suspension design was not changed and that the balljoints themselves use the same OEM part number for both vehicles, so I would assume the new spacers will work on the 1989-1995 pre-Tacomas....

I have the pre-production ones on right now, installed them last night, haven't had a real chance to test them yet, but have driven around the block.

There might be a slight change to the production ones, as I modified mine a little bit, and Frank has noted my modification.

He should be posting here soon. I beleive his login name is "elripster"

Here are the long awaited pics [well to me anyways

] I got a little carried away with the camera.....

jimbo74 · 07-16-2005, 05:31 PM

jimbo74 · 07-16-2005, 05:39 PM

Oh yeah, almost forgot, but here is a short instruction set as to how I actually installed them:

4x2 Ball Joint Spacer Installation Instructions:
1. Jack the truck up on the framerail; let suspension fully droop, tire should spin freely
2. Place a jackstand under the framerail to prevent injury should the jack fail
3. Loosen balljoint hardware, balljoint will drop off of the arm
4. Place spacer on balljoint, slowly lower the jack to assist in lining up bolts with the holes
5. Tighten bolts in an X pattern to assure proper tightening torque
6. Do the other side
7. Lower vehicle
8. If you decide to crank the torsion bars, do so now
9. If you decide to shim the shocks, do so now
10. Get an alignment
11. Check tightness of bolts after a week

Remember: this is the way I did it and is not the most complete or factory "book" way of doing it. Use discretion.

jimbo74 · 07-16-2005, 05:58 PM

GETTING AN ALIGNMENT IS IMPORTANT!!
I currently have about 2-3 degrees of positive camber... I know what i will have to do to correct it though... Shims will need to be added to the cross-shafts

seaflea · 07-16-2005, 06:41 PM

Frank is a great guy, I run his spacers on my rig and love them!
I think its cool that he is working with you to come up with an alternative way for more travel on the 2wd. models.

jimbo74 · 07-16-2005, 07:31 PM

Oh yeah, keep remembering other stuff.... the 4x2 spacers are 1.5" thick...
When I measured my truck after installation, my ride height was 1" over what it was before, and I didn't adjust my torsion bars

elripster · 07-17-2005, 03:01 PM

Jim, good to see those are working out. I can't wait to see pictures of the truck!

Did the shocks turn out to be long enough?

For those interested, the pricing and initial lead times will be worked around Wednesday. These will be a little less than the 4wd, just need to crunch the numbers to get an exact figure. I'll post here and update the website.

Frank

jimbo74 · 07-17-2005, 07:55 PM

My shocks were long enough even before i added the spacers.... even with the spacers they still fit fine and i run out of suspension travel before i run out of shock travel {garage test though}... i did extend my shocks per the minute mod described on www.4x4wire.com under more ifs travel

elripster · 07-21-2005, 11:40 AM

Pricing has been worked out for the 2wd spacers. The retail price will be $149. Initially we thought they'd be less but projected demand told us otherwise.

We can take orders now, our anticipated lead time is 6 weeks from today. Of course after the initial batch we'll keep a continuous stock in house.

Frank

jimbo74 · 11-05-2005, 12:55 AM

they have been on for almost 4 months and no problems.... i still havent fixed my camber, but the tbars settled a little bit and i adjusted my toe and castor and it is not showing any adverse tire wear

07-16-2005, 05:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	New SDORI 4x2 Balljoint Spacers! As some of you know, I have been working with Frank of San Diego Off Road Innovations www.sdori.com to come up with a cost alternative way, other than a long travel, to lift the 2wd pickup. These spacers will fit all Toyota 4x2 pickups from 1984-1988. I have not tested them on 1989-1995 pre-Tacoma pickup trucks, however I do know that the basic suspension design was not changed and that the balljoints themselves use the same OEM part number for both vehicles, so I would assume the new spacers will work on the 1989-1995 pre-Tacomas.... I have the pre-production ones on right now, installed them last night, haven't had a real chance to test them yet, but have driven around the block. There might be a slight change to the production ones, as I modified mine a little bit, and Frank has noted my modification. He should be posting here soon. I beleive his login name is "elripster" Here are the long awaited pics [well to me anyways ] I got a little carried away with the camera..... Last edited by jimabena74 : 07-16-2005 at 05:50 PM.

07-16-2005, 05:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	Last edited by jimabena74 : 07-16-2005 at 05:49 PM.

07-16-2005, 05:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	Oh yeah, almost forgot, but here is a short instruction set as to how I actually installed them: 4x2 Ball Joint Spacer Installation Instructions: 1. Jack the truck up on the framerail; let suspension fully droop, tire should spin freely 2. Place a jackstand under the framerail to prevent injury should the jack fail 3. Loosen balljoint hardware, balljoint will drop off of the arm 4. Place spacer on balljoint, slowly lower the jack to assist in lining up bolts with the holes 5. Tighten bolts in an X pattern to assure proper tightening torque 6. Do the other side 7. Lower vehicle 8. If you decide to crank the torsion bars, do so now 9. If you decide to shim the shocks, do so now 10. Get an alignment 11. Check tightness of bolts after a week Remember: this is the way I did it and is not the most complete or factory "book" way of doing it. Use discretion. Last edited by jimabena74 : 07-16-2005 at 05:40 PM.

07-16-2005, 06:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
seaflea Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: wilmington nc Posts: 1,604	Frank is a great guy, I run his spacers on my rig and love them! I think its cool that he is working with you to come up with an alternative way for more travel on the 2wd. models. __________________ Will WabFab Off-Road, LLC Toyota 4x4 Parts and Custom Fabrication updated website with lots of new products 87 runner with every bolt on available

07-17-2005, 03:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
elripster Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Plainfield, IL Posts: 1,305	Jim, good to see those are working out. I can't wait to see pictures of the truck! Did the shocks turn out to be long enough? For those interested, the pricing and initial lead times will be worked around Wednesday. These will be a little less than the 4wd, just need to crunch the numbers to get an exact figure. I'll post here and update the website. Frank __________________ 1994 4runner, 3.0, auto, 5.71's, Truetrac (rear), 33's, BJ spacers, Coil spacers, air shocks, D-ring anchors, 4Crawler F/R swaybar discos, Marlin rear bumper. www.sdori.com

07-16-2005, 05:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	GETTING AN ALIGNMENT IS IMPORTANT!! I currently have about 2-3 degrees of positive camber... I know what i will have to do to correct it though... Shims will need to be added to the cross-shafts

07-16-2005, 07:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	Oh yeah, keep remembering other stuff.... the 4x2 spacers are 1.5" thick... When I measured my truck after installation, my ride height was 1" over what it was before, and I didn't adjust my torsion bars

07-17-2005, 07:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	My shocks were long enough even before i added the spacers.... even with the spacers they still fit fine and i run out of suspension travel before i run out of shock travel {garage test though}... i did extend my shocks per the minute mod described on www.4x4wire.com under more ifs travel

07-21-2005, 11:40 AM	#9 (permalink)
elripster Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Plainfield, IL Posts: 1,305	Pricing has been worked out for the 2wd spacers. The retail price will be $149. Initially we thought they'd be less but projected demand told us otherwise. We can take orders now, our anticipated lead time is 6 weeks from today. Of course after the initial batch we'll keep a continuous stock in house. Frank __________________ 1994 4runner, 3.0, auto, 5.71's, Truetrac (rear), 33's, BJ spacers, Coil spacers, air shocks, D-ring anchors, 4Crawler F/R swaybar discos, Marlin rear bumper. www.sdori.com

11-05-2005, 12:55 AM	#10 (permalink)
jimbo74 Banned Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Nor*Cal Posts: 6,592	they have been on for almost 4 months and no problems.... i still havent fixed my camber, but the tbars settled a little bit and i adjusted my toe and castor and it is not showing any adverse tire wear

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