scrowley

my 86 4runner has a lot of lift and the rear is not flexy at all. there is a 2" block, looks like some helpers. what can i do to make it flex better? and keep the same height plus maybe a little since it sags a but in the rear. Here are the pics. thanks any suggestions for the front as well. good up but not good compressing. I will be putting in the creeper joints but I need to know if it would be better if I get a new rear spring pack or take out the flat heavy duty leafs and put in a set of bigger shackles.

scrowley

BUMP nobody with suggestions? cmon. I think i will start by taking out the bottom two leafs which are very short and thick.. I am sure that these are killing the flex. then i will try to add a 8" shackle leaving the 2" blocks. might work ok. ....?

tc

I think most of us are in the "if you can't say something nice" category with your truck...

You have WAYYYY more lift than you need. Removing the overloads would be a start, but you're probably better off to go with a better spring pack. IMHO, custom Alcan's are the way to go if you don't have a "one siz fits all" rig.

Do you know how new the springs are and if they have settled/broken in yet?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Wow.



What in the hell are those things under your leaf springs?

How much body lift do you have if any?

Looks like someone did a hack job installing that lift kit. Front crossmember is way too much too.

scrowley

I dont mind the critisizm. I didnt do the work. bought it like that and ready to change the suspension to get it like my old 85runner with alcans. what is your suggestions?what suggestions do you have. what do you mean about the front xmember. where the front leaves connect is to low (too much) the truck does have a 3" body lift which I would never do ever but dont fell like taking it out. I will try today to take everything out of the back springs including the blocks and HD flat leaves. then i will put in a bigger shackle depending on the drop it has. I dont want to buy all new springs but It is my last resort if I cant get any flex out of this thing. The front moves alright but it a little stiff on the compress side. what to do about that. maybe start taking out some leaves. i guess. thanks

tj884Rdlx

my budget conscious suggestions:

get rid of all those crazy blocks, till you're down to the leaf only. do a search for Zuk Coil Mod and do that. this requires some minor welding, and since you're taking the torch out, you may as well do a u-bolt flip and remount those shocks. this is much cheaper than new leafs, and every comment i've read from those who've done it love the flex. OTHERWISE, get the chevy leafs and reweld your spring perches. also a cheap option.

the coil will give you plenty of bouncy support, and you may want to get softer shocks if that's the source of your firm ride. the leafs look like they have decent arch to them still. (mine are flat right now) likewise everyone who's done the chevy leaf swap raves about them too. do a search for chevy leafs and you'll find advice on that including length, suggested perch locations, etc. the info you need is in here. search through google rather than the top search bar. it's much easier to find stuff in here that way.

once that's in, determine what shackle length you'll need to level appropriately to match the front AFTER you redo the front.

the front, i can't offer any advice. i'm an IFS guy. some other SA guys will chime in here i'm sure.

but you definitely have too much lift. I'd cut those body blocks down to 2" max. right now that truck looks like a circus freak show.

looks like you got a nice clean truck though, if you bought that recently. good luck with it.

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

Whats the deal with those crazy tall bump stops in the rear, can you snap a better picture to see the distance between those axle tower stops and the frame ones.

You can always look at 63" chevy, my budy is running them and they sit nice. But you need more than minor welding abilities.

Wheelingnoob

I would lose the BL first, only takes about an hour to remove.

Looking at the front bump stops it looks like you have limited the up travel quite a bit. 3" of gap there but 5" of shock travel. Also that front spring hanger looks like its for a 2" riser between the cross member and the spring hanger, lose that if that's the case. You have about 4" more lift than is needed and it looks funny like that.

In the rear it looks like the bump stops are setup with about 4" of up travel. Looks like the shocks dictated that, look at changing the shock mounting position to allow for more up travel or shorter shocks. Make sure before you change anything that your stiff rear end is not just the bump stops making contact.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Looks like someone installed a leaf spring lift kit, just not right and due to the fact that they butchered the front spring hanger placement the rear was too short so they added the blocks.

Lose the body lift.
Fix the front spring hanger.
Lose the rear blocks.

Looks like new stuff, just installed improperly.

scrowley

today I took out 2 helper leafs from the rear and 1 from the front. def loosened it up and lowered it down. I put a 8" shackle in the back to keep it level for now.. I see the front bar used for the sas is hack but is the extra 2" going to make a huge differance. that is only like 1" of lift. I think I will go with the chevy 63"'s in the rear with the sky kit. them I will figure out a shackle from there and ditch the block. If i can't get the front to compress all the way i will take another one of the thick smaller leafs out. I dont even know what springs i am working with. thanks for the reply. keep them coming.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I would guess that your leaf springs and lift kits are Trail Gear considering the wind shield.

No need to move hangers and brackets on the rear. Remove the rear blocks and fix the jacked up front. You got some decent springs...the front is jacked up so they had to compensate in the rear with blocks. Ditch the gay body lift.

Mudd Duck 1

aaaaaaaamen on the body lift haha lose it as far as the springs i agree with the wabbit no need to change it all out you have good springs to work with right there fix the front, ditch the blocks should be fine

desertcamper67

I don't see any type of teflon pads between the springs at the tips. Those help a lot with spring movement as the springs try to slide against each other as they flatten out. While you had the springs apart you could have took a grinder to the leaf tips and made they have a smooth taper on the ends. Also slathering some thick grease on the ends between springs would help.

I don't like that pinion angle. Removing that very low spring hanger will make if even worse. Do you have shims under the front spring pack for caster and pinion angle? Again no teflon pads between springs.

tc

Please DISREGARD this post as the recommendation is downright dangerous. The pinion angle is where it should be - pinion flange parallel to tcase output flange (ie - couple degrees off vertical). SHIMS ARE NOT TO BE USED ON FRONT SPRINGS.

If you need to adjust it, the only way is to cut/rotate the knuckle balls.

desertcamper67

Wow, what does that mean? What recommendation? Did I recommend shims? I think not.

By the way, shims are used a lot on front springs. I don't ever use them because I've never had to, but they are used a lot.
The reason I ask if he has shims is because it looks to me like it has already been shimmed. The amount of drop on the front of the spring pack would likely rotate the pinion up but it doesn't look that way to me.

So, is my recommendation to smooth out and lube up the springs is okay with you?

desertcamper67

Oh yeah. Please DISREGARD the recommendation to DISREGARD my post as the responding poster hasn't read throroughly read the post in question.

scrowley

thanks for all the replys. well the front i took out 1 thick add a leaf that was in there. way better. the front is good. very good flex. the rear i took out 2 thick aal and made it better but not great. also added a 8" shackle to make up for it. also /\ the rear shocks. the springs in the rear are no good. dont think they match with the front but maybe. I will be going with the chevy rears. I KNOW the body lift is gay and i have never installed one before because of this. I want to take it out but when the suspension is donen i will see how it feels. keep the replys coming thanks