twistedsymphony

Not really lowering so much as removing the body lift.

I bought my truck already lifted... it's an 89 regular cab IFS with a 4" suspension lift and a 3" body lift with some 35x12.50 DC Mud Country Tires.

it's got the factory 3.90 gearing too



I didn't explicitly seek out a truck with a lift, I just bought the first reasonably priced CLEAN yota I could find...

I love the way it looks but it's just not practical. The truck might not ever see a trail, I bought it to use as my winter daily and something I can drive the rest of the year should I take my other car off the road.

As it is now the truck just feel very unstable, it's well built, well maintained, all the suspension parts are new, and there's no death wobble, but it just feels really top heavy to the point where I don't like taking it on the highway nor am I comfortable letting my wife drive it.

I used to have a 94 extended cap with 4" of lift on 33x12.50s and that truck felt WAY more planted

basically my conundrum is this:

I want this truck to feel stable enough that I'm comfortable driving it daily, or on a long trip halfway across the country while hauling stuff. but I don't really have the money to drop on new tires (and the 35 that are on there are practically bran new, less than 200 miles on them)

Anyone have advice/experience with a setup that would work for me?

Anyone know of a good guide on installing/removing a 3" lift so I know what to look for if/when I take it out? I've found a few for 1" body lifts but I get the impression a 3" is a lot more involved.

Anyone know of a good guide that shows what needs to be cut/modified in order to squeeze 35s on my truck without a body lift? I've search but I couldn't find any good pictures or explanation just a lot of people saying "it's obvious" but it doesn't seem to be to me.

91_TOYOTA_4x4

hey nice truck i agree loose the body lift.

i have never done a body lift but there is a bunch of little things to change. in your case you are going back to stock which should be easyer lol. from my understanding, remove all lift pucks where the body mounts with obviuosly smaller stock ones lol, then there are extended brake lines which dont need to be changed i would think? throttle cables usually get lengthen when lifted, things like that lol. i wish i knew more but i dont haha. i will look and see if i can find some info for yah.

just found this http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=178561
might help you out a bit.

BackGateYota92

very very nice truck man!!! why not just try to drive the truck some and get use to it??? i bet after time you prolly wont even notice a difference. lol

mightymouse

iTrader: (6)

good lord look at that paint!!!! Nice truck man! If you wanted to go a little cheaper and still use the 35's without rubbing check out 4crawler's site at 4crawler.com. He can make you a custom body lift to replace the 3" with maybe a 1" or 2" to get you that more stable feeling. He's also reasonably priced.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

3.90's only came stock one year--81

Teuf

Sweet rig, cut the BL pucks in half, see how you like it. That way keep the 35's aye. Where in NH, I just moved from Hopkinton NH. I miss NH, not the salt though.

85gijunk4x4

trucks lookin good, like previously mentioned, talk to 4crawler, or try cutting the bl blocks in half

twistedsymphony

it's those little things I'm mostly concerned about... Thanks for the link, I'll give that a look.

after a couple of days I was already used to driving a lifted truck again... I suppose the highway discomfort is mostly due to the gearing (which I plan to get fixed) but driving down a back roads it just feels like a rollover waiting to happen. one good pothole on a blind corner and it wont be a very nice truck anymore. maybe it's my imagination but it's unnerving, and I never got that feeling from any of the other lifted vehicles I've owned.

I'll check out his site for sure... it's my understanding that to properly fit 35s you'll want 5" of lift which means I'd want to swap out to a 1" body. I'm not sure if that would be enough but that might be a good first step.

that's what I've noticed on most trucks I've seen running 35s... it's a shame because I really like the way it looks.

you're right it's got the 4.1 I must have been thinking about my Nissan when I wrote that, it's got 3.90s

I'm up in Tilton, Lived in NH all my life... and not planning on moving anytime soon

my biggest concern with removing or cutting the blocks is anything else that might have been modified to compensate... I'll be taking a close look at the radiator, gas tank and steering column but my fear is that I'll try to drop the body and break something that I missed.

I've never installed a body lift before so my knowledge is only as good as what I've read....

BackGateYota92

i hear ya man. when i first got my truck lifted it felt the same exact way. every time i would make a sharp turn i just knew it was gonna flip but after like 2 weeks i was fine but that truck is perfect the way it is imo. i would hate to see you cut some metal just so the 35's could fit

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

See below:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...it.shtml#FAQ11
and
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...ft_HowTo.shtml

twistedsymphony

trimming here and there I'll do but I'm not going to start cutting up major body panels to fit 'em... I'll swap to smaller tires before that.

thanks! thats exactly the information I'm looking for

The Flyin Hawaiian

Here's what I had to do to install my 3" BL:

1.Drop the radiator 3 inches using some diy brackets
2.Put the spacers in with the new hardware
3.Adjust my steering shaft out
4.Extend the body ground
5.Extend shifter

And I don't know if the guy before you replaced the body mount bushings, but you might as well if they're stock/shredded (like mine) since your removing the spacers.

But I have to say, after a year of driving in every kind of weather with the BL
I'm sick of it and ready for it to go.

twistedsymphony

^yeah I feel like I must be getting old ... 5 years ago my mind set was
more lift = better
bigger tires = better
louder exhaust = better

now I'm looking at downsizing the lift and tires for practicality, getting rid of the loud exhaust because I find it annoying etc...

thanks for the list of items... I really hope the PO used bolt on brackets instead of weld on... they most likely replaced the body bushings as the truck was stripped down the the frame and rebuilt with fresh paint on the body, POR15 on the chassis and all wearable parts replaced.

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My plan of action is this:
1. swap out the 3" BL for a 1" BL
2. drive that for a bit and see if I have rubbing issues, or if its still "too tall"
3. based on how it feels either
-A: do some trimming for the tires to fit better
or
-B: bite the bullet and buy some 33s to replace the 35s, and remove the body lift completely. Then try to sell off the tires and BL to recoup some $$
4. ^once all that is done buy some proper gears for the tires and an LSD for the rear.

tpaine14

honestly i have a hard time believing that youll notice a lot of difference going from a one inch from a 3. body lifts only raise the weight of the body and two inch drop may be noticeable but i just dont think that the major top heavy feel comes at 6-7 inches of lift. im sure the first 5 play a very large role in that. But what do i know? im sure you will be able to tell i just feel like if your ansi about it you still will be at 5 inches of total lift. my truck feels tippy enough with 2 and 33's and id never let anyone i care about drive it for that reason. if YOU are comfortable driving the truck and knowing the limits then i would leave it be. if not give it a try but i dont think youll ever have a rig on 35's and 4 inch suspension lift that youll be ok with the old lady driving. i wouldnt anyway. just my .02. and for my 93 and a 3 inch body lift there would be shifter extensions(hopefully not welded in your case at the base of the shifter) obviously the pucks, radiator drop bracket, filler neck for gas tank will be lengthened but tank shouldnt have been moved. potentially a steering shaft extension that would look like a steel puck in the joint which would i think be easy to remove. probably all stuff you know by now. i dont think youll run into any brake issues

BackGateYota92

your plans sound good man!!! you could always take the body lift off then add 1.5" bj spacers that would put you at around 6" of suspension lift. but i hear ya about being young. im 17 and my truck is on 6" of lift skying 33's and im trying to take it higher and i have a pretty loud exhaust as it is but tomorrow im cutting my muffler off. lol i guess its just a teenager thing? haha

twistedsymphony

I realize that ANY vehicle that's been lifted more than a couple of inches will feel tipsy and unstable... I'm mostly just trying to reel it back into my own comfort zone... most of the time I'm fine driving it but I've had a few "OH $#!&" moments where I felt not so much in control and those happened just driving down the road at the speed limit. THAT is what I'm trying to minimize...

As I said 4" of suspension on 33"s with a nearly identical truck was fine... 5" of lift on 35s is literally half way between where I am now and where I know I'm comfortable.

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I'm pretty sure there's no shifter modification to the t-case shifter (since it's way shorter than it should be), and the 5-speed likely only has an extension.

I'm mostly worried about the radiator brackets being welded in, as there are a few "custom" welded parts on this truck.

camo31_10.50

just to let you know....35's will fit with just a 4" lift.

it's been done LOTS..

most you might have to trim would be a SMALL bit around the pinch weld, or pound it in a little, and MAYBE trim your lower valance a bit.

Fink

Bingo.
Take the body lift off and see how it sits.

That truck is in GREAT shape dude!!

Fink