ravencr

Ok, if you haven't been following "My Lift Has Begun" thread, I thought I would post this info on the main board so everyone can see what I did to clear my 285's with only a 1" body lift. You can find "My lift has begun" thread here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...threadid=15419 if you want to see a spacer lift, panhard drop bracket, fender trimming, 1" body lift, etc. install process with pics.

Ok, the next project I did was the fender trimming. Obviously, with only 1" body lift, I was going to rub with 285's. I thought now would be a good time to do it, since the spacer lift wasn't installed yet, and I could squash the tires up into the fenders without much effort to see where it was rubbing. Here's the items we used to do the fender trimming, and it worked out great:

1) 5 lb hammer
2) Regular Hammer
3) Razor Knife
4) Coping Saw or small hack saw

Ok, so here's what we did. I disconnected the swaybars so I could get maximum articulation. I then backed up onto one ramp at a time with the wheel turned hard to the left for the driver's side tire, and hard to the right for the passenger's side tire. I knew it was going to rub, but I wanted to see where first. Well, that was easy: Everywhere it was rubbing basically. So, here's what we did. It's a little dirty, because we just had to test out our work last night at a trail we hadn't been to in a long time. Here's the first one:

In this shot you can see where we trimmed and used the hammer to knock back the metal lip and made it smooth. In addition the line on the left indicates where the metal bracket is that we bent back towards the rear of the vehicle too. Right obove the metal bracket where the circle is, we knocked that back, because with the swaybar off, it rubbed there too. The circle above that was rubbing, so we knocked it back in too. The finished product resulted with absolutely no rubbing even with just the 1" body lift.


Here's the passenger side. You'll notice the orangish looking stuff. That's where we knocked in the metal body and that's the undercoating foam peeling off.


Here's another shot of the driver's side:


Here's another shot of the passenger side:


And, here's the last picture of the passenger side:



And, here's some pictures of where I used zip ties to hold up the water tank for the windshield washer:



And here's where I zip tied up the plastic on the driver's side:


So, there it is! With this modification you can actually run 285's without any rubbing with just a 1" body lift. I figured that I had to do this regardless of the lift simply because when the suspenson compresses, it's up in the fender anyway, and it was going to rub even with the additional lift.

The only thing I've got to do now is take a grinder and smooth things out a tad, then paint it with a coat of rustoleum, and then a can of undercoating spray of some sort.

Stay tuned for the next update: Cornfed Spacers Install!! at https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...threadid=15419

Chris

ravencr

Here's an update! I went off-roading yesterday, and I've got to tell you that the fender trimming worked great! Didn't rub once.

But, I did find out that the plastic panel on the driver's side that covers some electrical stuff needs to be trimmed along the floorboard, because it popped up due to the floorboard being bended in.

I took video of the off-roading trip, but I can't get it to work on the computer. Oh well!

Chris

P.S. Remember that this is with only 1" body lift, that I can fully clear my 285's on stock rims with this fender trimming.

Hyperlite

Triming the fenders will definently help prevent rub. By using a ram jack and 6 inch grinder I was able to remove a little more. My rubbing occured on the flair also so I removed it and bent the fender edge in flush with the drain hole. I still have rub when turning fast on steep terrain. I am running 305s with hard OME shocks/springs and cornfed front 1.5 spacers. My bumper (tjm t17) and winch weigh the front down alot. I guess a 2 inch body lift will help stop the rub

ravencr

Yeah, I had to cut a straight line down on the fender flare to prevent the tire from rubbing. The picture below shows what we're talking about.



I would love to run 305's, but a higher boy lift would definitely be needed to clear them, and even then, it all depends how far up in the wheelwell the tire comes at full compression.

Chris

ravencr

Well, it looks like after installing the OME shocks, and panhard drop bracket, I'm getting some pretty bad rubbing now in the rear end. So, I'm going to go to work to make it not rub in the near future, but I was wondering if anyone has exprienced this in a limited in the rear. With the stock shocks and no lift, I didn't rub at all in the rear, but now, even with the Panhard drop bracket, I'm getting some major rubbing. More to come soon on what I figure out. Anyone done this?

Chris

Albuquerque Jim

Extend your bumpstops, I'm sure if you look at Schaefer's site you'll see how.

Bighead

I have the '01 Limited and have not had any rubbing. Currently I have the OME 891s, N86s and Panhard Drop Bracket. I didn't have any rubbing when I was running my old Downey/Bilstein combo either.

When is it rubbing? At full stuff in the rear?

ravencr

Yep, at full stuff in the rear. I've got the stock springs, cornfed 2.5" spacers, stock bumpstops that come on a 1997 minus the center conical bumpstop being cut down, and it rubs at full stuff mainly on the inside portion of the fender flare.

I'd rather not extend the bumpstop, because that limits travel, so I'm going to go the fendering trimming avenue first to maximize travel, and then if it still rubs, I'll extend the bumpstop.

Chris

ravencr

Well, I'm going a lot further on my fender trimming this time around. At our last SE4RJ I've determined that 35" tires will just barely fit in the rear, and it's undetermined if they'll fit in the front. I know other guys are running 35" tires on their 3rd gens, but as most know, I'm a little different on how I approach things. I've decided on the following:

1) Remove all limited fender flares and side cladding
2) Cut out approximately 1-1.5" of metal
3) Weld in some thin sheet metal once it's grounded down and ready to be trimmed out
4) Line-X or Rhino line up to the same point where the original side cladding and fender flares were.

I figure that once I go to a solid front axle, I don't want to raise the height of my truck much more than it already is (<6"), and want to run 37" Iroks. I figure the combination of this fender trimming and the SAS, I'll be good to go at full stuff, both front and rear.

I've got pictures already taken of the driver's side rear cut, and I'm about to cut the front driver's side. Stay tuned for the pics tonight!

ravencr

Here's the before pic of the driver's side rear fenderwell with the limited fender flares removed. Notice the 1" or so amount of metal on the left side by the door opening and the same on the right side just above the lower portion of the body where it sticks out:


Here's the metal by the door that's being trimmed off:


Here's the part that sticks out on the rear part:


Here's the metal bar clamp that I drilled a hole through to put the permanent marker through. It worked well:


Here's the fender trimmed out:


And another one:


Here's the front edge where I had to cut the lip off my sliders:


Here's the rear lip that's no longer there:


Here's the driver's side front prepped for cutting:


Closer shot:


That's it for now! I'll get to the front driver's side another day this week.

Chris

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

Teaser!

ravencr

Well, the dilemma with the front is that the body has a gap between the outer pinch weld and the actual floor pan as most would know if they've beat it with a hammer to clear their tires. I'm trying to decide how I want it to look, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to cut out my floor pan and move it back more. The only problem is that if I don't, I think it's impossible to fully clear a 35.5" tire when turned and stuffed. I'm not 100% sure yet, and I know it won't matter when I do my SAS, but between now and then is a different story. I'm thinking that I'm going to buy some 22-20 gauge sheet metal this week so I can finish out the cuts. We'll see!

Chris

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

That's cool, just givin' ya a hard time. Can't wait to see the outcome!

ravencr

Oh, I know I've got a ton of unfinished projects, but the reas I did this is because my wife wants me to finish the rear bumper and I didn't want to do it, until I finished the fender trimming, because it's going to have to be shorter than the original side. I didn't feel like rolling around in the mud today, so I was out there cutting away in the rain. Awesome!

Chris

P.S. Man I wish I had a garage!

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

I wish I had a garage that was big enough to do something-right now it's full of camper! Oh yeah, and the 4Runner won't go in it unless I take the tire down, man I need a tire carrier!

ravencr

At least you have a place to pull it in if you need to. If it's raining, all I have is a muddy backyard right where my shed is. I'd like to extend the roof, but it would look dumb as hell and also be right over my stupid septic tank.

Chris

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, and I understand that Doc is gone a lot right now, so I guess his place is out of the question.

ravencr

Yeah, I can't really move the welder and all my tools that easily anyway. It sucks, but oh well, I guess.

Chris

ravencr

Here's some pics of the driver's side front almost completed:



Here's a pic of the front bracketry that I've cut at an angle equivalent to the angle on the fender:


Here's where I cut off about 1" of the body bringing it flush with the edge of my sliders:


Here's a side view of the part I cut off:


And, another side view:


Here's it capped off with some 16 gauge:


Here's a pic of the fender mounted, but with no fender well lining yet:


Chris

ravencr

Here's the front edge trimmed:


Here's the back edge, as you can see is flush with the fender and the inner body that I trimmed and capped:


Here's the fender lining tacked in place:


Here's a side view of it, before I bent it downward to be flush with the inner pinch weld of the body:


Here's a dark picture of the mostly finished product:


Probably can't see it, but here's the front edge:


Here's the back edge:


Here's the inner fenderwell lining:


Chris