jdcarnathan

Here is what I am thinking, right now I have my Tbars cranked up and am running 31/10.50 on my 88 pu reg cab, the back end is sagging a good bit, and I am debating on some AAL or new springs for the rear, prolly a 2 inch lift, and then putting a ball joint spacer in up front, will the bj spacer keep all the steering geometry correct and also will i need new shocks front and rear. And of course the most important thing is will the 31's look funny now with this little bit of lift

PoleVaulter95

bj spacers will require you to get an alignment. and yes new shocks should be in order for front and rear.

Jay351

An alingment should be done after adjusting the torsion bars aswell.

For the rear you can go with a longer shackle, add-a-leafs or go with a new leaf pack. ( left out blocks as an option due to the general nature of them)

AxleIke

No.

You will be fine if you stick to more mild wheeling, or mostly street use.

Or, you can relax the tbars back down so the front a-arms sit stock.

Otherwise, I suggest you get a couple full steering set ups from the junk yard and get real savvy changing them in the dirt.

tc

Isaac exaggerates a little bit.

Not a lot, just a little.

elripster

You need to align your truck after installing any lift or even just adjusting the torsion bars. There are instructions on our site as well as on www.4crawler.com to help you do it yourself should you chose to save the money.

31's will look fine. Check out the website, www.sdori.com and you can see my 4runner with spacers front and rear running on 31's. I have my truck set at 1" of lift and I landed that jump (on the site) without even knocking out the alignment with this set up.

31's are not going to kill your steering like 33's will. If you try to turn the 1.5" lift into a 3+" lift that's a different story. The next step up in suspension lifting is the bracket style lift and you can just about add another zero to the price, it's a big jump. You can read up on your own about the issues with those kits but there are issues.

Since you don't need any lift at all to clear your tires, I would suggest taking advantage of the added flex the spacers will give with added compression travel. Adjust the torsion bars for 1.5" of lift max and match the rear with some shackles (+3" = 1.5" of lift). Get longer shocks all around OME is often recommended on this board but honestly, there are lot of quality shocks from which to chose from many manufacturers. You'll find the ride quality to be very good and the truck will flex nicely off road.

Frank

AxleIke

True. You won't ALWAYS have to change stuff in the dirt. On a number of trips I was able to limp home with my idler digging into the frame. Wasn't quiet, but it got me back.

AxleIke

I disagree. I'm running 33x9.50s now, and have all but cleared up my steering issues. I have also relaxed my torsions so the front a-arms sit at stock height. I will argue that width, not height, kills. On my 12.50s i was bending junk nearly every time i went out. It sucked. The wider tire is not only harder to turn on the trail, but harder on the street too. So you weaken stuff just by driving around town, then BLAM, bend it on the trail.

elripster

Wider will make life harder on your steering as you describe. However, taller increases the leverage. Both increase the footprint. In situations where one or more of the tires is fighting against a rock to turn, it's the increased diameter that will increase the load and stress as will decreased back spacing.

If you are having a lot of idler arm bending issues, get the Downey brace. I ran it for 6 years, not one idler related failure with 33X12.5's and 5.5" of lift. (4" bracket, 1.5" spacer)

Also, don't air your front tires down so far when wheeling. The more you air down the harder on the steering.


Frank

AxleIke

I've got the downey brace. Only a couple killed with the brace. I only go to 17 to keep the 9.50 on the rim.

I agree on the leverage. I think width matters more, however.

elripster

When you say killed is the brace failing? Or are you damaging the bushings?

How the heck did I go so long without touching the idler arm. I wonder what is different between our trucks. I had a Truetrac LSD in the front but that shouldn't really make life easier on the steering.

Frank

AxleIke

The brace is fine. I've been fine for months now. Not all arms fit perfectly into the brace, there are slight deviations. If you get one that doesn't fit perfectly, it fails, as it had enough room to slide along the brace. I got a lifetime warranty one from NAPA. Expensive, but worth it. I will be upgrading to the TC one along with the DOM steering. Its just on the back burner. The failure is the shaft bending right at the 90deg angle.

Difference is probably in tire size, as you say, the extra leverage coupled with both ARB's is likely over extending what those arms can do. Dropping my angles back to stock as SIGNIFICANTLY cut down on breakage. I've had one small failure since doing that, which was an idler, and it barely bent withing the brace.

elripster

Ah, you nailed it, the ARB. Good for traction but at a cost. When the tire is trying so hard to move the truck forward it is putting sever compressive forces on the steering linkages far beyond what an open diff or even LSD can do. The vertical component will bend the idler arm.

Reducing steering angles will help but I'm with you on wanting to upgrade. Clearance between the wheels is nice too.

Frank

CJM

I would agree, your killing the idler arm from the traction and stress of the fully locked front when you switch it on.

This is why in my total eventual plan its locker in rear but lsd of some kind up front. Sure full on lockers would be nice but an lsd would work too, I have seen plenty of trucks with an lds up front and locker in rear do quite well. also depends on skill, plan out your path and you willfind its easier.

AxleIke

I ran an LSD for quite a while. I hated it. Didn't work for crap. I don't really see it as a cost. With 9.50 tires, the new idler that fits the brace, relaxed front end, and careful driving, i've kept the front together for quite a while.

I have a jig built, i have the tubing, and i have PSC suspension grade 3/4" heims. After the TC arm, there will be no more breaking. Just have to find the time to get it together.

jdcarnathan

i was basically just wanting a better ride thats why i was gonna do the bj spacer and the aal to fix my sagging springs, and maybe 1-2 inch lift. would this look fine with 31 in tires

tc

Molly's truck has an LSD. It blows offroad. And that's a truck with sick flex that can keep tires on the ground. LSD in IFS is worthless.

elripster

Your 31's will look fine. Did you check my web page? There are numerous pics of my truck there with this setup.

We have vendors listed on our site that sell our stuff along side other products. They have kits you can get with everything you need. I would start looking there.

Guys, we should probably start a steering failure Vs. front locker thread cause we are really hijacking this one.

Frank

AxleIke

fair point. Apologies to the OP