angrybob

I have an '87 Runner and am still rubbing in the inner fender with articulation.

It has the following:

285/70R17 MT-R's (33" equiv) on wheels have stock back spacing + 1/4" spacers
1.5" BJ spacers
Rancho 24mm t-bars at the stock setting
4crawler 1" body lift
Pinch welds are rolled back

Is the simple fix to go with a 2" body lift? Problem is I might be running into extending brake lines, fuel filler, shift lever, etc. and the simplicity of the 1" body lift goes away. I read on the 4crawler site and here that I should be fine with a 1" body lift but front tires still touch. Whats left? Crank up t-bars a little?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

tj884Rdlx

i suppose it depends on where you're rubbing.

my '88 has 33x10.5s. you appear to have 33x11.5s. the backspacing and 1/4" spacers may not be enough.

i have 4crawler's 1" lift, and 1.5" BJ spacers, and i've hammered the hell out of my pinch welds. (more than just "rolled back") and i removed the front lower spoiler. (well, it removed itself really)

my backspacing on the 8" rims is 4". i have cranked my t-bars up SOME, to get a more level ride height with the new rear springs.

it sounds to me like you're close, just need to 'fine tune' it. a little more t-bar lift, and lot more BFH.

camo31_10.50

bust out the BFH

angrybob

Ugh. I felt like a pretty big gently rolling back those pinch welds. I hate it when the neighbors see me with the mini-sledge to "fix" my stuff . I'll take another look and also check and see whats on the inside of those fender well areas. T-bars can go up a little too I'm sure without a harsh ride.

lofreqjeff

Bob - I noticed alot of rubbing on my truck this weekend too yet your truck appears to be taller than mine.

I have a 33x12.5 tire, 1" Body lift, 1.5" BJ spacers with some crank to the t-bars, aftermarket rims with 4.25" backspacing - I beat the crap out of pinch weld but I think I'm going to have do more "custom work" with the BFH before Sundays run out in Florence.

Some additional crank to the t-bars should put you in a position where the up-travel is limited to a point where it won't be able to rub - but then you might need to do something in the rear to level it out. just my 2cents.

tj884Rdlx

the ECU is in the right kick panel. might be a good idea to unsecure it and let it dangle while you're beating on the opposite side of its mounting point. i didn't, but it sounds like a good idea in hindsight! ha

BFH is a precision instrument when applied by trained personnel. don't let the neighbors sway you otherwise!

yoder519

if your still rubbing on the pinch, do what i did and cut it off with a grinder. i have a 95 p/u. i got a 4crawler 2in BL, bj spacers and a 2in AAL. 8in wide wheels with 3.75 BS. i wheel with 35 12.50s with 0 rubbing. and on the note about the 2in BL you mentioned, the only thing i extended was shifters, and radiator drop brackets

angrybob

Yeah. Our rigs have a lot of the same hardware. I'll mess with the t-bars this weekend and see if it makes a difference. Otherwise I think Im in for a 2" body lift.

Heh - God bless the BFH!

angrybob

Oh yeah. I installed the Nissan frontier mini-leaf pack from Deaver in place of the overload leaf for more flex and it gave me about 2" extra lift in the back so leveling isn't an issue :-)

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

A couple of questions

What led you to the wheel spacers?
What led you to the 24mm t bars?
What is your actual wheel backspace? because "stock" can mean a bunch of different things with OEM wheels.
T bars at stock setting. How did you measure that?

I have a bunch of ideas but they could all be wrong until we know how you got to where you are now.

Mike

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

^yes, I agree. You need to figure out exactly where they're rubbing - like a location in the wheel well where it makes contact. A pic will help here.
If you've already pounded the pinch weld, have bj spacers, 1" body lift - then something doesn't sound right to me. Stock backspacing for a stock 15" wheel is 4.75", but since you have 17s it could be related to that, but that's what well help figure out.

I made my 33/12.5s fit after some tweaking since I have no body lift on my 93 truck. Had it at nearly stock height after bj spacers(w/ relaxed tbars) and ended up having to go back to ~1.5-2" lift (stock tbar settings + bj spacers) to get them to barely not rub at full compression/turning. Since I have 15x8 wheels with 3.5-3.75" backspacing, it sticks the tires out more than before and caused some good rubbing at the new profile/turning radius; My rubbing was at the outside of the wheel well/pinch weld, so I was a bit more aggressive with my pinch weld and took a cutoff wheel and a 10lb sledge hammer to the area. Now, my only fitment issue is the rear, which apparently rubs on the rear panel at full stuff with weight in back - need to clip the corner or get longer shackles.

So anyways, you just need to play with the settings. I'm guessing a little bit of tbar adjustment will help. You don't need to "lift" it, just need to put a few cranks to up the preload on them so they don't compress so easily.

angrybob

I've been thinking about these very questions:

The rubbing is on the lowest spot where the pinch weld is...nice and shiny.

Another piece of info that matters is I just installed low profile bump stops before this last outing so I am getting more than an inch of add'l travel up front.

Hmmmm....looks like the spacers are going to come off first because my back spacing is now 4.5". Cranking up the t-bars a little is easy too. I have the actual FSM book and will do a home alignment out of there afterwards. I'll see how that goes and work the pinch welds after that.

Thanks fellas.

xxxtreme22r

33 x 12.50's on mine on 4.75 backspaced wheels and a 1 or so inch crank in the t-bars. Pounded pinchwelds no body lift. 87 runner same as 87 pickup.

tj884Rdlx

this makes me think hammering-to-taste is all you'd need.

angrybob

Good info. Did you roll over the pinch welds to just flush with the body or beat the crap out of it? Mine are just flush.

My plan is to remove the spacers and crank up the t-bars now. Next weekend I'll be hitting a trail with good articulation and I'll comfirm its effectiveness. I will have the magic mini-sledge to make final pinch weld adjustments as needed on the trail.

xxxtreme22r

You might be rubbing because of the ball joint spacers giving you the extra travel. Can't really say how far, I just beat the hell outta em till they submitted lol. I don't have BJ spacers, I would leave yours in. Cranking my t-bars had very adverse affects on my down travel.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like a good plan.

streetlancer

iTrader: (1)

Wow dude, i fit 33x12.5 with just a 1.5 bodylift. No other mods.