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Best upgrade for the steering, if you want to spend the coin, is total chaos' idler arm. Other than that, get the 4crawler bronze bushings and a weld uo Brace from blazeland.
So, do you reckon an OEM idler arm with Blazeland's weld-up brace plate is on par with the Total Chaos idler arm? Because I have already talked to Blazeland about putting the idler arm brace on my order.
I'd also like to know exactly where the load high-pitch metallic creak at full lock is coming from. I suspect the Idler arm and perhaps the pitman arm. Anyone else have this problem?
My other thought is, the truck should be sitting around 3" higher than stock, do I need to compensate for the change in front end geometry with an idler arm that's designed for a lifted truck?
So, do you reckon an OEM idler arm with Blazeland's weld-up brace plate is on par with the Total Chaos idler arm? Because I have already talked to Blazeland about putting the idler arm brace on my order.
I'd also like to know exactly where the load high-pitch metallic creak at full lock is coming from. I suspect the Idler arm and perhaps the pitman arm. Anyone else have this problem?
My other thought is, the truck should be sitting around 3" higher than stock, do I need to compensate for the change in front end geometry with an idler arm that's designed for a lifted truck?
Are you sure that sound isn't coming from your PS pulley/belt? Like 100% sure? That description you just gave, to me, sounds just like the noise made by a PS belt that is not tight enough and full lock is where you are going to hear it.
I've heard that the TC idler arm is the be all end all of idler arms. Pure beef. But also pure money. I think 4crawlers bushings with the BL Brace would be fine. TC makes their kits for the guys who regularly huck their rigs off jumps.
as for the screech, I've heard that the steering stops can make that sound at full lock. You'd need to research yourself tho, my memory might just be failing me.
Are you sure that sound isn't coming from your PS pulley/belt? Like 100% sure? That description you just gave, to me, sounds just like the noise made by a PS belt that is not tight enough and full lock is where you are going to hear it.
Definitely not a pulley or belt. It is an unmistakably metallic sound. It sounds like, dry metal screeching on dry metal. You'll hear it Saturday, can reproduce 10/10 times at full lock.
I've read this elsewhere. I'm going to check this out tomorrow.
After further reading, without even looking, I can almost guarantee that it's the steering stops. If I replace the rubbers, are they even going to stay on there? Should I epoxy them on? Seems like them doing their job would knock/pull/scrape/wear them off almost immediately.
Visual confirmation, all 4 rubbers from the steering stops are gone. They've been ordered. This is actually great news, I was fearful the terrible sound was coming from the pitman, idler or tie rods. I'm getting the idler arm brace from Blazeland, I may not need to upgrade any of the rest of the steering straight away.
Also, it dawned on me that I'm likely going to need to need to relocate the steering bump stop with the Blazeleand LT installed. Anyone have any experience with this?
Lastly, I need to work out the math to match my new rear axle width to the long travel IFS. The blazeland kit adds 3" per side. Does that mean I need to run 3" spacers at the back? I don't love the idea of using spacers if I can avoid it. I also am not keen on doing an axle swap at this time. Anyone seen any creative fixes here or at least high quality spacers?
Alright! Ordering of front suspension parts begins tonight. Here's the spreadsheet, if you're into that sorta thing.
Aside from the Pro-Forged idler arm along with brass bushings, the BlazeLand weld-up brace kit and new steering bump stop rubbers, I have decided to leave the steering alone for now. Nothing looks overly worn and the bushing set I'm ordering comes with new dust boots for the tie rod ends. Anyone have a take on the Energy Suspension bushings? They're half the price of MOOG; let's hope they're not half the quality. It also seems that the factory droop stops, bump stops and steering stops should be compatible with the BlazeLand LT, so no worries there.
Now to start tackling the back end. A PO installed these coil springs:
I've heard of guys converting to coil spring instead of adding leaves but this rear end has almost no bloody give. Driving it in New Orleans is going to rattle this truck into a pile of parts. I was standing in the bed yesterday and jumping all of my 200 lbs up and down and it barely budged. I can't imagine it would articulate on the trail but maybe I'm wrong. I am considering an add-a-leaf but honestly, I'm a newb when it comes to leaf spring suspensions, I've got a lot of research to do here. I'm open to completely replacing the leafs with better performing ones but I'm not too keen to drop $1000 to do so. Whatever I do, I have to get enough of a lift to clear the 33x10.5's that are going on here, while being levelish with the front (considering the new wider track at the front needs to clear fenders, firewall, bumper, yada yada). With the BlazeLand LT up front, I can dial the lift from stock up to 3" or anywhere in between with the torsion bars.
The other thing I have to tackle is the track width at the back. I've found 3" spacers on Summit Racing but I'd love to find a better way to accomplish this. I imagine this could be accomplished, to some degree, with offset wheels but I'm buying SR5 Alloys from Charchee and I'm a modified stock look sorta dude so I don't really want aftermarket wheels. The only info I've found so far is to widen front axles on the 1st gen SFA's not widen SRA's on 2nd gens. Any advice here would be amazing. Something about a bolt-on hunk of billet aluminum to stick my wheels out doesn't seem awesome.
Let me know what you guys think about these coils and thanks so much for all of the advice that's gotten me to this point. I'll send pics of the parts pile as all those shiny boxes come in!
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I do have Bilstein 5100's coming for the rear. I've got that much worked out.
Last edited by Heironymous Josch; 03-23-2017 at 04:30 PM.
Reason: Forgot to mention...
go with chevy 63s. theyll provide you with the best bang for buck and flex. search them here. very common swap. what you have now is called the ZUK mod. pretty common low buck upgrade altho those springs look like theyve got too many wraps. as for the rear. spacers are about your only way to go. Keep in mind that Nate (BlazeN8 here on YT) owns Blazeland and hes been running big wheel spacers on the rear of his FordV8 swapped Long Travel Toyota for years. Ran it in multiple races and pre running in Baja with ZERO issues. hes had them for years. Yea, it sounds janky, but if it works, it works. only other thing i can think of is that maybe the Tacoma axle would work with smaller spacers. its only 3" wider than IFS rear axle IIRC.
I agree with the chevy 63s. I put an add a leaf in mine and am very satisfied but would have done the chevys if I had read up on them back then. Either way will give you some lift. I was still lower than I wanted in the back so I upgraded to some 6" shackles which were one of my favorite upgrades. Easy to do, less noise and about an inch and a half extra lift.
As for the spacers, I put some on my boss's off road half ton. I was skeptical but after pulling his wheels off twice to check everything out, found them to be sturdy and have had no bolt retention issues or any other wear. Would do them on mine if I ever had a reason to. Oh and there is a complete rear axle group out of an 02 4Runner just laying here in my carport needing a home. Don't know how you'd load it up though. I think I'd just stick to the spacer idea if I were you.
that 02 runner rear axle wont work. its a 5 link coil spring setup. he'd have to torch all the mounts off and start over. plus its the same size as the IFS axle.
side note, every time i see your thread pop up, i misread it as stripper. always cracks me up. i really think you need to put a brass pole in the back once you get it all painted up. even if just to humor me.
that 02 runner rear axle wont work. its a 5 link coil spring setup. he'd have to torch all the mounts off and start over. plus its the same size as the IFS axle.
side note, every time i see your thread pop up, i misread it as stripper. always cracks me up. i really think you need to put a brass pole in the back once you get it all painted up. even if just to humor me.
I had a chuckle at this! Well, the truck isn't yet named. I typically give my trucks female names, maybe this time I'll use decide on a stripper's name. Something like Candy or Diamond.
I agree with the chevy 63s. I put an add a leaf in mine and am very satisfied but would have done the chevys if I had read up on them back then. Either way will give you some lift. I was still lower than I wanted in the back so I upgraded to some 6" shackles which were one of my favorite upgrades. Easy to do, less noise and about an inch and a half extra lift.
As for the spacers, I put some on my boss's off road half ton. I was skeptical but after pulling his wheels off twice to check everything out, found them to be sturdy and have had no bolt retention issues or any other wear. Would do them on mine if I ever had a reason to. Oh and there is a complete rear axle group out of an 02 4Runner just laying here in my carport needing a home. Don't know how you'd load it up though. I think I'd just stick to the spacer idea if I were you.
Did some light research on the chevy 63's and they seem like a great option, exactly what I'm looking for. Looks like I can get a solid install kit for around $200 then I just have to source the leafs. I've gotta look more into which springs will work and then I guess I'm off to the junkyards!
03-20-2017, 06:29 PM
