vwfastg60

Im wondering how far can you really push the ifs. What are the limits. Im starting to think with the wheeling i will and have been doing that i may never need more. Im thinking improving my IFS set up a bit would help and if i threw a locker or 2 in i may just be able to go anywhere i would ever want to.I have my 85 but have hardly dirvin it and now have it torn down for a build up. Im starting to wonder how worth it is it for what i need.

My IFS truck is bracket lifted soon to have BJ spacers and leafs with out blocks . and better front shocks. So far its done well and im not as hardcore as most of the guys around here. What kinda trail would be like the max. I see IFS trucks in carnage canyon here or even moab but have yet to hear talk about how they do. post up some pics if you have em but any input on this subject would be great.

fourwd1

I know 3 people that wheel the crap out of their IFS trucks in the rocks. A 2nd gen, a 3rd gen, and a Taco. They do surprisingly well if you really want to push them to the limit. Yes there is some CV joint breakage, but solid axle trucks break Birfs too. Don't be afraid to wheel your IFS truck.

bruzer

I wheel the hell out of my IFS 92 4 runner and most of the time it is on the rocks. Alot of guys I wheel with are all running solid axles and are amazed with what I put my runner through and where it will go. The only real problem I have ever had with the IFS is the small ring size in the front. Those 7 1/2 inch ring gears just don't hold up like the the 8" do. Just dont get the front end bouncing on a rock and you should do fine. And definatly put a locker in atleast the rear axle, it's a whole new machine if you do.

AH64ID

Its amazing where a IFS truck will go with 1 locker decent clearance and tires... gears and xcase gears, and a front locker... make it pretty amazing.. and yeah at that point the CV's are no more vulnerable than birfs...

tc

My IFS (with front/rear lockers) will take me anywhere I would conceivably take a full bodied truck that I would drive around town.

IMHO, front locker does more than a rear locker, and will help SAVE your CV's and ring gear by allowing you to crawl obstacles instead of throttle jockeying them.

tc

Oh - and as for what you can run on Carnage Canyon - I have done everything except Guardian and the waterfall, mostly because they're not exactly wheelbase friendly for 4Runners and I don't have a winch.

vwfastg60

Sounds like my ifs rig may be the new one to build up and sell off my 85. I just dont feel im close to the limits of the IFS yet and my 4runner is already getting to the too clean to wheel the hell out of.....I always end up doing this

dirtoyboy

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep the 85 or SAS the IFS rig......u will probably reach a point where the IFS wont cut it anymore!

Toy-SkiTzo

ya sell the runner to me i wont be afraid to wheel the hell out of it

midiwall

I've done pretty well with mine, my issues have been ground clearance which is kinda' the limit that comes from staying IFS. I _do_ want to SAS my truck at some point, but that's more from being sick of replacing CV's. I've gone through a handful and while I'm getting good at swapping 'em, it's just money tossed down the "I COULDA' SAS'D!!!" hole.

A lot depends on what kind of wheeling you're looking to do. You mention Carnage and Moab in general and like other folks have said, that's within the general realm of IFS. A lot of the answers to "what can I do with IFS" comes from spending more time to find the right line, where I think a SA is more forgiving about the line you pick. Past that, there are ground clearance (well, lift) limitations with IFS. You're gonna get stuck around around 3", more like 2 1/2".


One of the smartest pieces of advice I've gotten about doing a SAS is "if you can define the limits of IFS, and point to things that you can't do because you're IFS, then you're ready to go SA".

I'm about to that point... but again, it's more of being sick of replacing CVs. For the most part, I've been able to follow SA rigs through most anything. (well, there's one local rock field that I'd like to do without getting my arse dragged on a winch line!).

spaceycayce

The reason I'm doing my SAS is because I broke some brackets and my rear axle housing. The kit was not meant to be abused like I did. Also, the articulation is a key point as well. I ended up finding a good deal on a front and rear 84 so that's the route I chose. My Runners ETA date is Wed this week.
Also, My friend wheels his 91 stock until he seriously breaks it. Then hes got an 84 axle waiting. My other friend is the same he's gonna swap his(83) once hes abused his truck. He's got a custom downey setup put on by the previous owner.

Ric

I cant "honestly" compair the two, I have never owned a solid axle, but my IFS has taken me "everywhere" I wanted to go, as long as you have a good spotter, and LISTEN, to your spotter, you will go almost anywhere.
but what do I know, Im a Mall Crawler

Sonofmayhem

solid axle basically is just more flex, i know, ive had an 85 and an 80 and an 89 4runner, ive gotten real tipsy with the 4runner, where my 85 and 80 just flex through it. but ive wheeled both, i still prefer the solid axle, but wont do it anytime soon to my 4ruuner, i believe a locked end is better, then a s.a., a buddy of mine wheels a stock 94 toy with just bumpers and 31s and went places i did except one, but i was locked in the rear and he wasnt, plus ground clearance was a huge factor.

JamesD

Their is more IFS trucks out their than SA. Keep the IFS and go where you want to go. By the time you limit yourself with an IFS you probably then are thinking SAS but that is a ways down the road.

James

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

This one does OK:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/hottoy/west/

vwfastg60

heres the thinking behind this. I have 2 rigs in the works right now. One is my 87 longbed. The only thing that kills me about it is the rusty bedside(soon fixed) and the isuue of a standard cab. I like the longbed for wheeling because i seem to be able to drop down in to big holes or large rocks and the back tires dont come off the groud as high or at all compared to say a short box standard cab. I will say it sucks on tight trails or on rough trails where finding the correct line is or would be key to make it. Sometimes i have to do the austin powers turn to get aimed in the right direction. The truck was mint when i picked it up except the body damage that was fixed right away. My mom (who i sold it to) Trashed it and put the dents in it for me. She let the truckfall apart to the point it was a freebe to my brother. We made a trade and i got it back in sad shape. Shortly after the motor blew and we replaced it to find we got a junk motor that lasted 3 weeks.

It sat rotting away in my grandmas back yeard for 2+ years and i picked it up and threw a motor in it that seems to be a good one. I have put about 4k on it and had small issues with stupid stuff but nothing to worry about or that needs fixing like now. Ina few weeks i plan on installing all the new parts i have for it. everything under the suspension (again) all the shocks were just re done. New rear springs and shackles (throwing the blocks away) Picking up a bj spacer for the front and relaxing the Tbars. and replacing the timing chain,guieds,oilpan,headgasket and porting the head and installing my header and webber carb.

the trucks beat up on the outside...doesnt look too bad but still not perfect.

The 4runner is an 85 efi(whole reason i got it) has almost no rust and a straight body except the drivers door. I went crazy on it after giving up on my show/race car and got lift for body and suspension,dual cases,elocker,every thing suspension related,all new oem grill bumper,heater parts clips bolts and a motor with 53k from a wrecked 4runner auto. new carpet dash trim..you get the idea. I wanted a clean truck but my ocd kicked in too hard and everythign will be perfect when i put it together. IT will be like new,with any luck smell like a new car(fingers crossed)..

My friend and i were talking about it and he said he would kick me in the nuts if i ever wheeled it. I was puzzled by this because hes cutting up his mint 90's body runner to make it a mud truck on 40's and trying to find a clean truck to crawl. I started thinking about it and dont know that i really could bring my self to wheel it.

So my thinking is,I have the truck that runs and drives great i know everything will be as good as new once i start working on the little stuff..I can wheel it and not worry about trees,scratches or stopping to get out and smoke so it doesnt smell. I can park it someplace and not look it over for dings everytime i go shopping or to the mall. Can leave it sitting someplace and not think someone will brake in to it cause it looks like a heap to most.
I can sell the runner to someone let them make the decission to wheel it or not and get some of the money i have put in it back. Use some of the stuff i got for it (lockers,tranny and cases) and make my truck better offroad. throw some sliders on it and play a bit and not have the whole risk of messing up a perfect 4runner in my head.

Discuss

the truck
when i got it from the field


Now


4runner during restoration(stopped calling it a build up )



and the new color and the bay before and after. it has some oil that blead out of the old paint and needs to be fixed
before



the other key factor here is im buying a car. Trucks are cool but i sometimes need to go 75 and beable to keep that speed on the highway.Colorados not flat and trying to get to denver when the flow of traffic is doing 80 and im doing 65-pushing 70 if im lucky is not working for me anymore. I will keep one and sell the other because i dont need and cant afford upkeep like i have to do to feel safe with 2 offroaders and a bmw. It would be nice to have 2 cause my girl could park her car in teh winter and drive one but she may just sell it and get a tacoma for a daily.

Asha'man

I still want your tranny, dude.

tc

I would armor up the 4Runner and 'wheel it. The single most important factor for any trail truck is reliability, and it sounds like it will be essentially brand new.

Save the truck as a winter beater so both the 4runner and the car stay nice. I have found DDing to be really hard on vehicles.

Will your skills outpace the IFS? Not for a long time, but eventually they could. More importantly, the IFS is easier to break and more complicated. With a few additional mods (30 spline Longfields most notably), you could make the 4Runner darn near bulletproof and never have to worry about it.

Strap22

IFS works very well. It takes me everywhere I need it to. A winch helps when the lockers aren't enough but a SA wouldn't help anyway. My 2nd Gen is my only toy and I will wheel it till it dies. Don't think it ever will.