nice flex Chef, just need some flex shots on the trail now.

 

Hey Cougar, thanks! I know it gives WAY MORE than it did, that's for sure. Yeah, I like that pic you got there at the lake! Nice !

Anyone think I can maybe get those bumper brackets straight, by myself, with maybe a torch and a mini-sledge? Maybe, then, I can get the bumper straightened or put on a different one?

OH YEAH, .... Wanted to share these lights I found from an 89 Ram Charger 4x4 I had.....



I know, they're pretty HUGE, lol.....but HEY, ..then I'll only need these 2 instead of 4, right? haha. Plus, THEY COST ME A BIG FAT NOTHING! lol.

 

Oh yeah, btw? They're Dick CEPEK Halogens and, well, THEY'RE FREAKIN BRIGHT AS VAMPIRE KILLING DAYLIGHT! HAHAHA. Are they ok off road lights,....you can be honest, I wont be hurt, and it doesn't matter, ...I gotta use what I can afford! hahaha.

 

thanks for the flex pic Chef, exactly what I wanted to see. I'm surprised at how well the Zuk mod flexes. As for the lights, they are great, you can't beat free man. I would use them, just be sure to wire them in with a relay.

 

Cool, Rob! Ok, so that's what you were looking for, then?

As for the lights? Yeah, it's been a LONGGGGGGGGG TIME, since I've installed anything like that, lol. However, it can't be too complicated. I think I wired the last ones into the Auxiliary Fuse Panel where the EFI fuse is, through a switch I mounted under the stereo, with a relay between the switch and lights, right? Relay, ...you mean an inline fuse style relay, right? What would you recommend?

I still have to get a push bar to mount them on, ...and I'd like to mount them upside down, considering they're a bit heavier than 4"ers, lol. I remember on my RAM, ..those things were SO BRIGHT. I'd like to have that for my trips, because I GO DEEP IN to the darkness at times, lol. Would you mount them on top of a bull-type push bar/grill guard, ...or hanging from the top rail of one? I've seen them where they're poking over the top of the hood a lil...Might be better for practicality, ..hmmmm.

 

PS> Any thoughts on the bumper?

 

Ok, I got a question there Chef. Job looks great, truck looks great, the ride sounds great. But you keep talk about it like "oh, I guess it will work for now...." "I'll upgrade later....." "we'll see how long it works...." So I'm wondering what is the down side??? For light to moderate hunting and fishing dirt roads is this set up a problem???

You seem to describe your off road design plan like mine: The "Swiss Army Truck". My plan is to build it to be jack of all trades, master of none..... "dailey driver, hunter, camper, fisher, oops what happened to this road that wasn't here last year" truck.

So I guess: what's the bad side?

 

Hey there, Heli, ...

It's not necessarily a 'bad side', ..more of a "What do I really want, REALLY, when I can afford it?" type of deal. Yes, it's more to get me creeping back in on some pretty nasty trails that I would have normally knocked my bumper off, with any weight at all in the back.... heck, maybe with NO WEIGHT! lol.

Let me digress; I wanted to do the OME, heavy duty kit, all around, front and rear. 900$ was and is not going to be in my budget over the next year or so, especially since there are other mods that I'd like to do, first, as well as purchases that have nothing related to 4wheeling. So, in an effort to get rid of 3 INCHES OF SAG, I figured, ... "What the heck, ...for 70$ w/shipping included,... why not, eh? I can always weld back the stops and put the OME on a couple years down the road, ..nothing lost!" Furthermore, IT'S A GAIN, right now....NO LOSS! I'm not unhappy with it, neither am I concerned with how it will handle the 'places' I go. As you can see, the flex is just fine for my applications, and I should be A-OK for the next year+. The only down side I would see some finding is that you might want to then attack the front end, evening out any rake. However, mine was so sagging, it's not that bad of a rake. However, I'd like to have a lil more clearance in the front, .... so I'm looking at maybe 300 with good shocks and BJ spacers, right? Even then, not a down side, as if I'd done the front this way, and springs, ...NOT CHEAP, ... it would have brought me up to around 700$, in stead of 370$ lol.

All in all? PLUS, PLUS... for now, ...make more sense? I mean, I don't see these damaging anything, so I might just leave them on and call it a day for the next couple years, maybe adding 1.5" or so to the front, with Bj's and shocks...

That help?

 

oh yeah, I understand. It just seemed like you were making it out to be an iladvised bandaide fix rather then a finished result that was what I saw it to be. And for me this is going to be the way I go to get rid of my 10" top of rim to fenderwell measurement.
Thanks for the writeup, got it saved to the computer for the second priority after paint. Just waiting on $$$ and swimmer to get done with his....

 

sweet zuk mod is next with my bj lift from http://store.fatbobsgarage.com/24l-l4-fi-c2912.aspx
a full kit with shocks is cheaper here than it is just buying the 2" lift from toytec

 

Nice, Yotarover! Are those shocks alright? I'm looking at everything, .. WabFab, etc., ... and that looks like a pretty good deal you're getting there.

Can't wait to see pics! Let me know when you thread-it, ... send me a PM, or post it here, ok?

 

Nahhhhhhh, Heli, I didn't mean for it to come off that way. Not at all. I've been praising them and thanking Zuk since first drive out the garage! lol. I'm just saying, ....If I was going to do a 4" lift or something in the future(which I doubt), then they would very well be temporary, ya know? I have no plans to mess with the rear, other than possibly some Rancho 9000's or Bilsteins... (I've been told the 5000's I have are pretty stiff). They feel ok to me, but maybe a lil stiff. I will be putting LOTS of weight in here, though, when I camp, etc., so maybe I should just leave the rear alone like I'd figured.

However, I do need to check out the front. I think one or both of my ball joints have seen better days, ..so not sure how they'd react to a 1.5" or more lift from BJ'spacers, ya know? lol. Either way, if I do that up front, I'll have to address the shocks, ...they're original. At least I THINK I'll have to, ...from what I've been told. They wont go tall enough for a 1.5"BJ spacer mod, right?

 

Those doable blades u got are ballin I had to buy one to cut the front bolts on my leaf springs to get them off

 

The Diablo's? Yeah, ....they sliced through that 1/4" hardened steel like butter.. One minute, DONE! You used them or you need to get one, Megaman? I was going to say, if you've not done it yet, ... The Torch Blades worked even faster, but neither were much worn after cutting through those bump stops.

 

ChefYota4x4-
I skimmed all the way thru this long thread and it sounds like you are very happy with the coils
I bet if you remove the front swaybar and add Bilsteins that your ride will be softer up front. I had 2 Runners...both had their front swaybars removed and I didn't miss them. Increased sway on high speed turns but that is what I expect a non-racecar type of rig to do anyways.

 

You think it looks pretty good, Zuk? Yes, I'm very happy with them so far. I'll be off roading, shortly(hopefully I can resolve my troubleshooting thread, in green, below, first....otherwise it will be a local trip, due to 10-12MPG at the moment, lol). Afterward, I will be sure to update as to how they performed. They seemed to have pretty good flex, MUCH better than I'd had with flat leaf packs, lol.

I'll look into that removal of the sway bar, and possibly crank the torsion bars just an inch, max...plus some shocks and I should be ok.(Otherwise I'll have to get some BJ spacers or possibly just do the OME front end kit.) Seems like my Ball Joints are making a lil 'clunk' on certain bumps. Could just be a few bushings worn past the limits, eh? lol.

Thanks again, Zuk, ....good hear from ya on here, ...after all, your commentary and site is one of the reasons I went with the mod in the first place!

Have a great Summer,

Mark

 

I need your help here, I can't find what size springs you used, maybe I missed it and there is a bunch on the "Southwest Speed" web site.

http://www.southwestspeed.com/?sec=s...&submit=Search

 

Hey Coops, how are ya?

Yeah, I posted them, .....also, they're in my sig, hehe. No worries, that happens to me all the time. Heck, more lately than when I was 20, hahaha.

Anyway, they're the 12"x125# Springs. You thinking of doing them? Actually, in the post that's 2 above yours?... That's Zuk. If you go to his link in his signature below each post he makes?... Should see plenty of examples there, etc. I went from his link on his site because it took me right to those that fit the Yota's. There are two that are most common in our year trucks and 4runners, .. 12"x125lb. and 14"x100lb. However, some even do 14"x125lb.... I suppose for often-heavy loads, etc., ya know?

Best wishes with your project.

Mark

 

what's the big difference in the sizes of springs? one softer one stiffer? is there a unloaded truck height differance???

 

OH yeah, Heli. In "Cougar" 's build thread, he explained that he got the 14" springs. .... There was sufficiently more rake than he'd liked to have. So, he cut off 2 inches. I decided, for this reason, and a few others(like talking with Zuk, lol) that the 12"x125lb springs were the way to go and would give me just the right lift in rear. I STILL have a tiny bit of rake...but if you look at the pics, it's barely noticeable and it's going to be loaded up with camping gear at times, etc... So maybe the higher pound rated spring will help in that manner as well. I think the 12"x125lb are perfect if you're not lifting the front 2.5 Inches or so. If so, then the 14" would be better. However, I'm not a Superior Springs expert, so you might want to talk to AJ, personally, by going to the Ebay site and sending a comment to him. He's a REALLY nice guy and will answer you asap.(In my case it was 2 hours, ...NOT BAD, eh?).