How hard is it to put rears from a 4runner up front on my 85 pickup? What is involved?

 

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265669

Everything you need to know.

 

Here's how I did mine, probably one of the first rear->front swaps done in the US:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...II.shtml#Front

If you have crossover steering, it is not too hard.

 

Bolting springs in isn't on my list of hard jobs.
Moving the steering boxing and going to a cross over steering set up is a bit harder.

 

Well its out of my things to do for me. I will just buy a lift kit.

 

Why spend the money?
IT's cheaper to do rears up front and chevys out back.
Even with a lift kit you have to weld in the mount of the steering box (IFS box) and most kits come with longer rear springs which means welding mounts in for those too.

 

Wel I'm getting just a 3.5 inch lift that bolts right on and dont need any fabbing.

 

Most bolt on lifts aren't worth a damn.

What company?

 

Either Ruff Country or Tuff Country i'm looking for more looks that how it will flex. I only do mild off-roading

 

Both companies are crap but if you just want looks then by all means go for either.

 

Sounds good to me.

 

Lol you wont flex worth a damn... I had a friend say to me "why are you building a rockcrawler if you dont like rock crawling". My answer to him was that it was the right way.

Your gonna build a mall crawler.

 

Don't let everyone tell you how to build your truck. Mine had some "lift kit" springs on it before I put the rears on. I thought they sucked and all that and I gave them to a buddy. He put them on his truck and pulled the torque arm and shocks off the front (too short) and I was really suprised at how well those pigs flexed. They were like 3 thick leaves too. I was amazed.

If you don't have big bucks to spend then lift kit springs are definately the way to go. It becomes very time and money consuming to put rears on your stock SA rig.

 

Could you bolt stock 87 rear springs up front on an 83 without adding any leafs, or having to extend your drive shaft?

 

You'll likely want to add some leaves unless you plan to leave the overload leaf in place. Axle will move 2" forward so drive shaft will pull out. You could add a drive shaft spacer:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...ftSpacer.shtml
or you could re-drill your spring perches and plates to move the axle back about 1.5" if so desired.

 

Okay cool thanks! So if I got the 2" spacer I should be right on?

 

Probably best to measure your current drive shaft length now and then measure after installing the springs and see how much it changed. Be sure to check both compressed and extended lengths before and after since that will all change with the different springs.

Quick check on compressed length is to drive the passenger front up on a ramp, extended is easy, use a jack to lift the front tires off the ground.

 

Makes sense. Sorry I'm still new to this site and everything. I Had another question. So my stock front mounts on front leaf spring on my 83 have a two different size holes. The bolt or Pin has one side wider and the other is normal. The bolt was stuck so we cut it to get it off but now am realizing I needed those cause they have that extra spacer on em so they fit tight. I have a new set of bolts but they are too thin for the one side of the mount. Does anywhere sell those bolts or am I gonna have to just order some new mounts and weld em up? Sorry again I'm not sure if this is where I should be posting about this

 

You can probably get those spring hanger pins from Toyota or from some on-line shop or grab a set at a junkyard. Other option is to get some metal (like a thick flat washer) that fits inside the big hole, drill out the inside to fit your new bolt (likely 18mm) and then weld that washer into the hole and grind the wed smooth.

Or hack off the original hangers (they are prone to cracking on the early trucks anyway) and fab up a new hanger:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...ringHangerDrop

Or you can purchase a front hanger from any shop that sells solid axle swap kits.

 

Guess I got some decisions to make. Thank you very much