88yotaboy

I have an 88 pickup 4x4 and i would like to lift it both for trail ability and looks. It is my daily driver so i cant do anything too extreme but i would like to fit 35's or 36's. I was thinking about a 5-7 inch lift but i cant find one.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Andy

Jboy

If you want to fit 35`s on that 88 you will have to use a 4 inch suspension lift and a 3 inch body lift.
http://www.trailmastersuspension.com...ns/toyota.html

88yotaboy

is there anyway that i can avoid the body lift? I have been told that once im out on the trail and the body flexes a but the body lift spacers can crumble. Also doesnt a body lift make my center of gravity alot higher?
Thanks

PoBoy

Suspension lift makes your center of gravity higher...body lift keeps a lot of the weight down ie frame and engine...much better. Get a Roger Brown body lift and you will have no worries. He makes high quality stuff...everyone here will highly recommend him: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/ProductLine.shtml

You could just throw a solid axle upfront and have no worries as well. Much stronger...

88yotaboy

Thanks for the info. I dont have the money for a sas so thats outta the question. Isnt the suspension lift going to give me a bit more flex as well as giving me more room for the tires?

deathrunner

Honestly, I have the trail master kit and you won't get any more flex. Even though the lift is in the suspension, it functions more like a body lift. It raises your center of gravity and provides no more wheel travel. Most of the suspension lifts available for these 4runners are bracket type like the trailmaster. I recommend that if you go this route pick a system where the brackets are welded together. My trailmaster spread apart because it bolts together. I have had it retightened several times and due to hard wheeling it spreads...which causes terrible alignment. I don't rmemeber if it was skyjacker, super lift, black diamond or pro comp who welded the brackets together.

A SAS swap will give you more travel and actually improve your suspension, while allowing the use of 35's or greater without a body lift.
If you don't plan to go larger than 33's or 35's you could go long travel such as www.chaosfab.com
These setups maintain IFS and add to your stability and travel, but not adding height like a SAS would.

Body Lifts do increase your Center of Gravity. ANYTHING that makes your truck taller will increase your center of gravity somewhat. A suspension lift raises your center of gravity, but the same amount of truck height will roll with the suspension. A body lift adds distance between the frame and body thus making the part of the truck that rolls larger and cause the truck to be a little less stable. Body lifts are not terrible, but most fab shops will tell you that a large 3 inch body on top of a 4 inch susp is not a great idea. If you want extreme height a SAS is your safest and most affordable in the long run.

Jboy

Superlift made the solid bars that go across but that was in their $1K which I think may not be available. Trailmaster kit is a good kit, I used to jump my 1990 Toy truck with the 4in TM kit and it was solid. Only thing that broke it was when I fished tailed into a bridge.

Jboy

Here is the current Superlift kit with the bars that go all the way across. They don`t make their expensive Toyota kit anymore.

88yotaboy

Thanks for all the help guys. Im still undecided what i want to do. It sounds like a sas is the best thing i could do but i have heard that these can get very pricey. Any thoughts on the sas?

Thanks,
Andy

elripster

The 4" kits can easily be modified for 12" of travel. You can run air shocks up front and they flex pretty darn well too. While you won't use it all when you are crawling(air shocks will help this), you can absorb much harder hits on the fire roads and whoops. I have the Trailmaster and would recommend you look at the Black Diamond over even the Superlift. However, both are better than the Procomp/Trailmaster kits.

You won't be wheeling that truck, especially with that much lift, anywhere where you'll need a solid axle. Also, trails that require solid axles will be dealing out body damage, something that might not be good for the "looks".

Honestly, the 4" lift with 33's gets the truck pretty high but leaves it wheel-able. Going as high as you want to do, unless you seriously widen the wheel track(read way deep rims=rubbing=trimming or fenders=$$$$$$=painting=$$$$), will make for a tippy truck. I say either build a mall crawler and leave it at that or build a functional wheeling truck that might not be as tall as the mall crawler but will perform much better on the trails.

Frank

Jboy

My 90 pup in its last stage had 4in suspension and 3in body lift, both by TM and I was running 36in Ground Hawg radials. It worked just fine for trails, mud, and sand. Now if you are talking rock crawling, I wouldn`t know. We just don`t have that type of rock trails like those in the mainland.

884runner

i just bought the superlift and without install and without skid plate the price was 911 for the lift with new rear spings. Then with install and skidplate my total was a lil under 1400. It goes in on thursday to get it on. I'll have pics for you so you can see what it looks like on an 88. But my tires will look small b/c they are only 32's with half tread left. Oh yeah, In my 4wheeler mag. there's a readers ride that's an 87 or 88 4runner with a 6 inch skyjacker lift. IF you don't want body lift then i'd look that one up too. i'm also debating if i want to fit 35's but don't wanna regear. I'd only run a 2 inch body lift if i did though. You guys think i woul have to re gear anyways with 33's. I got 4.10's now with my 32's and it's fine and the chart in the mag.s with tire size and gearing say that 4.10's would be ok with 33's.
hope i was some help.
alan

elripster

If you're looking at the tire size chart I think you are, it's more geared, no pun intended, towards V8 American trucks. We need to follow different gearing recommendations.

Typically, a V6, 5 Speed, with 33's would run 4.88's. You could run 4.56's if you live where it's flat, spend lots of time at speed on flat freeways, and/or don't do much slow crawling. If you have the 4 cyl, definitely 4.88's or even 5.29's w/ 33's. With the V6 auto, you'd want 5.29's w/ 33's. If you are going 35's, you want 5.29's period. You could get away with 4.88's with the V6 but it will feel it. The 4 cylinder would probably not be fun pulling 35's and 4.88's.

Frank

884runner

so 4:88's is the middle ground to run good for 33's and ok for the 35's?
my 32's aren't bad at all. I have great off the line speed, good highway speed, can go 85 with no prob, and my engine has no problem pullin them. With going to 33's make that much of a difference than my 32's had on my rig? I really don't wanna have to re gear b/c i just don't have the cash. But i gotta wait for my 32's the wear down before i get my 33's so i'll just worry about it then, but still would like to know a lil about what i'm gonna have to do. Think i should just run 33's and if i have a problem then worry about regearing?
thanks,
alan

88yotaboy

Thanks guys. Now im considering only getting 33's any suggestions on a good 33 inch tire?

elripster

I had 32's on my truck with stock gears, it was Ok. SoCal is hilly though, I had to grab 4th to keep her moving on the freeway hills. However, she was quite the freeway flyer with 32's. I made it to Montana from San Diego in 22 hours.

That said, the type of tire has a lot to do with performance. For example 32" street tires have much less inertia than 32" mudders.

If you go with a 33" all terrain or mud tire, I really think you'll find the truck to be pretty slow off the line. If you find a 33" "street" tire, which might not exist, you'll do better. Remeber your worn 32" will be pushing 31". A fresh 33" will feel much different.

Given that you are Ok with 4:10's and 32's, you'll be fine with 4.56's and 33's. What's nice about that is 4.56's are more common if you are searching used diffs. It can save you some dough.

Frank

884runner

well i got alot of tread on my 32's left so i got a while before i gotta worry about this so i guess i will figure it out when i get to that stage in my rigs. Thanks for the help guys,
alan

AKennedy87

Which Groveland do you live in?

88yotaboy

Groveland, California

Guess i should have specified.

AKennedy87

Ok jw because if it was Groveland, MA I woulda bought some of your old parts.
Thanks,
Alex