sschaefer3

This past Saturday I installed a Daystar 4th Gen lift on a 2005 4Runner.

I got some major wood over that rear axle. Those rear disc brakes are something else. By the way the 4th Gen rear axle is 64.5" WMS to WMS, which you can compare to a 3rd Gen rear axle which is 60.5" WMS to WMS. 1983-1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer front Dana 44 is 61" WMS to WMS.

So to swap it, yes I am a sick puppy, your into the 65" to 66" range bigger than an FJ-80 front, but an 80 front would be your axle since it has ABS sensors.

Anyway, back to the IFS. The rear Daystar spacers for the 4th Gen are 1.5" and the kit is basically a lift/leveling kit. The front spacers are 2.5" and do then level the truck.

The rear spacers fit very nicely on the cones and have a far better retaining lip than the 3rd Gen Daystar rear spacers. Huge improvement in this are for the new truck, they also retain the cone bump stops.

What I found is that the 4th Gen frame is very Land Cruiser, it has the same standardized rear bump stop that the FJ-40, 60, etc (leaf sprung FJ's) and Jeep CJ-2 thru CJ-7 used. If you wanted to swap the very hard rubber frame stop out the Daystar CJ-7 stops bolt right on, I had a set here and I bolted them on. It's the same standard part all these companies have been using for years.

Next I thought about the spacers and coil stack. With 1.5" of lift and coils that are considerably stiffer and larger in diameter than the 3rd Gen, there is no way you will stack the coils. So dropping the stops in un-necessary. The coils will not stack.

I have the measurements to make a 4th Gen trac/panahard bracket, They are not the same as the 3rd Gen, BUT with only 1.5" of lift, it is pointless. It's not right at an angle but it's not far enough off to worry about. With 2.5" of lift it is considerably off and something that you should address.

Then came the front. What a booger that was. With the X-Res you have to sit in the wheel well and compess and install the spacers all with the shock attached to the X-res line. Not a big deal but you do have to take more of the truck apart to get enough room to work. Pop the upper ball joint which they made easier to do on the 4th gen, you can use a standard TRE puller and then unbolt the sway bar to make more room. Use a small piece of wood to set on top of the rotor to give yourself a table and you have a nice work surface, air tools make the compression easier as well as the Auto-Zone compressor, this one fits the 4th Gen coil alot better than the Harbor Freight POS. With the lack of area to move around in, use an air impact to run the srping compressor in and out.

The front spacers add around 1/2" of meat inside and the rest outside, this is good since the road feel of the coil will not change. I checked the typical points where the 3rd Gen would hit with longer shocks and spacers and none of that happened.

I would say Daystar has a true WINNER with the 4th Gen. The 3rd Gen kit is OK at best, I would recommend the Tundra/80 Coil lift over it for sure on a 3rd Gen.

The 4th gen is a really nice truck, starts out pretty darn low, this lift will fix that. It gets a big thumbs up from me. Add those CJ-7 stops to the back for the ultimate poly lift. They do give you 4 shock boots which is pointless and two tubes of leaf spring bushing grease? Not sure why?

Sweet Axle !!!



I put more pics and info on my site as well as the install directions.

http://www.sonoransteel.com/store_daystar_products.html

lee

i dont see more pics!

thanks for your info/perspecive.

Cebby

Nice writeup Steve. What size tires can be run with this kit and stock wheels? Any trimming needed? Did you take any before and after pics?

sschaefer3

I didn't take any pics of the truck itself, just of parts that interested me.

I thought a pic of the actual kit you get was a good idea as well as the directions.

I have bump stop, isolator cone, coil spring and trac bar pics but those are boreing.

I don't know anything about tire size or triming ??? I also insalled our first weld on X-RES sliders.

New direction, instead of going around the system, we just stayed away from it. Leave it alone and don't mess with it.

This gives you a low cost ~ $300 slider that welds on to an X-RES 4th Gen.

Nothing, nothing nothing what so ever like the bolt on ones.

Flygtenstein

Looks good Steve.

Take a look at the rear ends on 100 series cruisers. Huge diff, discs, ABS.

The biggest Xreas demon is where you disconnect it. I have dealt with compressors in the wheel well, I have messed up one shock and I have pulled the shocks at the junctions that leave the system pressurized.

285's rubbed on stock wheels with this lift in my experience.

No wonder you have been off line so much lately.

DealMaker

would those factory ABS sensors integrate with the 4th gens VSC and A-Trac systems?

sschaefer3

Yeah. As long as you send the right pulses. The VSC and the A-Trac is not in the front wheel spindles, the only thing that is would be the ABS sensors, which obviously all of this uses.

So the bottom line, don't fight the computer, let it live and all it needs to live is front ABS signals from the front wheels.

FZJ-80 front sends ABS signals. Also those ABS lines do turn into wires with plugs, if the plugs don't match up, solder on the one that does. Idealy a custom Front Range houseing with 80 knuckles is the way to go. This is on the books for a 2001-2002 4Runner swap.

Yeah, I have been so swamped with work lately. I still have all the pics from the 2nd Gen SAS and no it's not Cheeses.

Flygtenstein

80 front knuckles and steering eat balls.

2nd Gen swap? I thought we were buddies.

sschaefer3

Only way to keep the ABS. Local guy, he pays me I work.

It's a Marlin Kit on a factory 85. Easy stuff.

bulldog-yota

How much lower is the Daystar bumpstops compared to the stock 4R bumpstops?? Or should I say where it actually wil stop movement of the axle going up.

Nice info thx, but we already knew the 4th Gen was much better than previous ones

Also you will need to be very careful with the ABS/wheelspeed sensors of the 4R vs the 80. The 4R has dual sensors (one unit but 2 sensors in it) compared to normal ABS with only one sensor on the wheel. This makes the new system more accurate and sensitive to speed, but also sense direction of wheel movement. I think the newer 100s are the same. That might also explain why the TRAC on 100s and 4th Gens work much better than on the last 3rd Gens. I can look at the wiring diagrams and see if there is 3 or 2 or wire coming out of the sensor. How many wires come out of the sensor on 80s and 3rd Gens?

sschaefer3

Maybe you can stick the 4Runner sensors in the 80 knuckles ???

Dynatrac might be able to make an ABS compatable Dana 44 as well.

sschaefer3

Hung with hanger.

JGM

[Nice info thx, but we already knew the 4th Gen was much better than previous ones ]

There is another thing that a 4th gen would give me that my 3rd gen doesn't - a monthly payment.

Can't we all just get along?

DealMaker

Yeah, nothing quite like having a $500+ payment to kick you in the face once a month! :cry:

sschaefer3

What the heck do you mean by this? Do they suck? Dana 44's don't suck. Do they eat ball joints or man meat?

(This is a joke since the teased me about the 44 in Moab)

r0cky

275s (which actually measure around 31.5" though they're advertised as 32.4") and bigger will require trimming/cutting. You can do 265/70s without trimming/cutting, but you can also fit those without any lift.

calrockx

aw, you're thinking of me

interesting thread. i'm learning more about the 4th gens.

sschaefer3

Nope Air Force Lance is ahead of you. You can go after him.

AxleIke

have you seen his Dana 44? He can flog that puppy all day long...wasn't there, but it sure is a funny story when told by the right people...

Flygtenstein

80 axles have crappy stock steering. We talked about it now and I think you got it. If you saw it, it would be obvious.