liferunner2

Hey All,

I just joined and have been reading on a lot of ways to fix the butt sag and improve my suspension overall. What I've settled upon is the shocks and rear springs from OME (Those shocks aren't cheap). But what I want to know before I go grinding off part of my upper a-arm is, what are the pro's and cons of the BJ spacers? I have noticed some guys saying they love 'em and others saying they would never touch them, but no one really said why either way. Thanks in advance.

If there's a good thread on this with pros/cons please redirect me.

Chris

elripster

There is a wealth of information on this site. If you check www.sdori.com there is a link on the front page to the theory of operation and FAQ which might help you.

In short the pros are more suspension travel, better flex and ride quality than cranked up t-bars.

The cons? Not really sure there. You don't have the shifting alignment issues , cost, or difficulty of install of a bracket lift. I think they are a lot easier to install than other lift kits and are pretty cheap. I designed them and have been running them for many years with no issues.

I think issues really tend at arise when people try to turn the 1.5" lift kit into a 2.5"+ lift kit. CV and steering angles get steep. CV boot wear can be addressed with a diff drop kit and manual hubs. Steering issues require an idler arm brace. In the end though, you get the best flex and ride right around 1.5" of lift where the suspension has enough downtravel. So if function is what you want, that's where you should set the suspension.

One more thing, don't grind that lip, cut it. Use a 4.5" cutoff wheel from Harborfreight. The tool costs 20 bucks and will go through that lip like butter.

Frank

liferunner2

Hey thanks for the reply. Yeah, I read that FAQ at SDORI, that's the site where I found out I had to cut my a-arm lip. There are really no cons to putting these in my truck? The 1-2 inches of suspension lift was all I was really going for so it's going to be these in front and the OME springs in back. Do you know if the ride is going to be really harsh with the HD springs and shocks when I'm not towing/nauling anything. Again Thanks.

Chris

desertyodaboy

I am very interested in the BJ spacers as well for my 91 yoda 4wd....I was hoping there was some install pictures step by step that anyone could share. And also what shocks and shock size people end up running up front after it is all done....thanks!

elripster

I haven't tried the OME rear springs but their stuff is highly regarded.

If you want flex though, stock coils with coil spacers will be the best. Using air shocks to augment the load capacity lets you have the best of both worlds which is why I'm running that set up.

Frank

SKNKWRX

Whats the solution to too stiff a ride ona first gen with lifted rear leafs? obviously air shocks isnt an option for me

elripster

For the 1st gen, there are a load of options from 63" chevy spring swaps to the 4" lift Superlift springs which settle to around 2.5" on a 4runner. You can also just use healthy stock springs with longer shackles, that would flex well.

If you have a really stiff spring pack you might experiment with removing leaves and see how the truck sits. If it's only a tad too low and very soft, air shocks will give a little lift and keep the flex. Ultimately a different spring is in order if pulling leaves doesn't work. Do a search because there is so much info on rear springs I couldn't possibly cover it here.

Frank

elripster

www.sdori.com is a good start, www.4crawler.com also has instructions.

Frank

SKNKWRX

Yea I think im going to remove the bottom leaf. Ive just gotton my procomp 9000's and a set of your BJ spacers sitting in my living room waiting to go in. My problem is that there are SO many options and opinions. Anyways i think the BJ spacer remove a leaf and a 2" body list if going to bemy jumping off point. Someday Id like to see a 4WD long travel independant F/R setup. Sounds crazy I know lol.

elripster

There are a lot of options, the trucks have been around for years so much experimentation has been done.

In the 1-2" lift category though it's not too hard to sort through.

If the leaf swapping doesn't work search on rear springs and see what fits your budget. That's usually one of the biggest drivers.

Frank

liferunner2

Elripster,

I do want as much flex as possible, but I also want to be able to tow my boat and I carry a lot of gear in the back on the weekends. The stock springs are just soooo cashed. If I put spring spacers in there are my stock springs just going to sag a lot when I load it up. Even if I bought new stock springs, mine didn't last very long. Vehicle only has 112,000mi. on it and I'm assuming it's been like this for a while. Am I asking for too much out of one vehicle, or is there a way to have the best of both worlds (cost effectively)?

Chris

elripster

I should probably start and air shock thread but those are your answer. I'm in the same situation. I have spongy stock coils that sag hard under light loads. I put the air shocks in and I'm good to go, problem solved. I air them up with a cheap little cigarette lighter powered compressor to what ever I need, typically not more than 50psi and I'm fine. Best of all, they don't limit articulated flex because one shock bleeds air into the other as one wheel is pushed up and the other drooping.

Check out www.shockshopusa.com.

Frank

liferunner2

Dang, that's pretty cool. How long can I expect those coil spacers to last. I've seen both urethane ones and I believe it was 4crawler where I saw ones made out of some type of metal, which to get if I went that route?

as2sb3100

If your worried about grinding on the upper a-arm, don't be. I can fully understand not wanting to grind on your stuff, but it doesn't compromise the strength of the a-arm. It's merely a clearance issue. If you want to see what you'll be grinding and where the bj spacers go, you can pretty easily disconnect the ball joint from the upper a-arm, IIRC. Which also means if you realy dont like them you can take them off pretty easily too.

Only cons are cv boots wearing faster. If you have manual hubs this isn't a problem though.

elripster

Actually, we make those and 4crawler is one of our vendors. They are made out of a metal filled polyurethane and are very strong. As for how long they will last? Well, years and counting? None have failed yet to my knowledge so I don't know for sure.

I am running some prototype blemished ones made quite a while ago when we were working the bugs out of our process and they are holding up great. The productions ones are only that much better.

Frank

desertyodaboy

elripster,

Do you know what size shocks if i wanted to go with bilsteins?

elripster

Bilstein unfortunately doesn't make a shock for lifts in the 1-2" range. You can shim them though with a nut or some washers to space them down a bout .5"-ish.

Take a look at www.sdori.com there are some shocks listed there. Also Doetsch Tech, they make a good shock for this app. I'm going to call them for a part number.

Frank

f4stunna

i have a 91 4X4 standard cab 22RE....

one of my leaf springs is broken so i need new leafs...

im thinking of getting the OME 2" leaf springs for the rear and the balll joint spacers in the front to level it out.


should i get the OME shocks front and back as well?

are they longer than stock ment for a lift?

if im gonna get the bj spacers and shocks up front, should i just go all the way and get the whole OME 2" lift kit?

my truck currently has the stock autolockers... what wear issues would i have with these 2 different set up?

ovrrdrive

One thing you'll learn about very quickly around here are what we call 'webwheelers' and they're everywhere.

They're the ones that think your truck has to have an SAS before you can ride down dirt roads, and that your truck is complete crap unless you have custom 4 links, longs, hydo, diamonds, ARB's front and rear, dual cases, and 35's with zero lift.

When you get away from that and look at what people are wheeling in the real world, you'll realize that there are many cheaper ways to go that will work just fine for you until you get serious enough in your offroading to need more. BJ spacers are one of those things that work very well in the real world.

Anytime you modify your truck there are parts that wear faster and with the bj spacers there are a few things in the front end that will wear a little faster, but if you keep the front end inspected and replace the worn parts there isn't any real cause for concern.

Of every part I put on my truck, the BJ spacers are the ones I worry the least about. It's a great product.

elripster

Update: I'm awaiting a call back from a tech, a Doestsch tech ha ha ha. Anyway, their P/N for the front had excessively long dimensions, like 18+" which can't be right. Worst case I'll bring my truck to them tomorrow and we'll make sure to get the correct part number on the website.

Ditto on the web wheeling, it seems to have gotten worse in the last few months. I try to make sure the information is first hand or from someone who wheeled with and wrenched on the truck with whatever mod is being discussed.

Frank