pplusent

I have a 93 4runner 3.0 4x4. When I go off road I run into situations where one side of the truck goes into a rut and it feels like the truck is going to roll over. The suspension is stock and very stiff. Looking at the control arm stops I see I have only .5 inch travel before the upper control arm hits it's stop and 1 inch travel on the lower arm before it hits it's stop for a total suspension travel of 1.5 inches. Add that to the anti- sway bar that keeps the truck level with whatever surface it's on.
There has to be a way to make it act more like a solid axle. The odd thing is that the suspension is stock, but the pan hard rod in back was three inches to high and I had to put a panhard drop on it for proper alignment.
All the suspension is new so there are not any bad parts, it's just really stiff and does not have the travel to absorb bumps or pot holes.
What will get me some suspension travel, or should I just get a wench to right the truck if it rolls over?
I could cut the stops off and relocate them for an extra inch or so of travel, but that seems extreme. The half shafts in front also seem to have too much angle on them. The shafts are at about a 30 to 40 degree angle which seems like a lot on a stock suspension. I also might mention that I run 31 inch tires and have 9 inches clearance between the tire and the wheel well edge.
Any recommendations? Other than put in a straight axle.

RJR

A couple of things. First, since the bump stops are a little less than half-way out on the control arms, the actual suspension travel at the wheels is a little more than double what you measured at the bump stops. So, about 4 inches total. That's still not much, and is the biggest limitation of the 2nd gen for offroad. Not a lot you can do about it without either installing a solid axle or an aftermarket long-travel suspension. That being said, the stiffness of the suspension is in your favor for roll-over prevention. The softer the suspension, the more tippy the vehicle.

I haven't really found the suspension to be a limitation in terms of getting over rough ground, except for getting hung up when a wheel gets lifted, which is easy to do on the 2nd gens. A locker completely eliminated that problem, and my 2nd gen now goes pretty much anywhere I care to drive it.

Based on your measurements, it sounds like someone might have cranked your torsion bars for a bit more lift. Ideally you should be centered between the bump stops for the best ride. You might want to try lowering them a bit if they're not too frozen up. I can't comment on your panhard rod - I've never touched mine.

pplusent

Would a 2 inch lift help the travel? Is seems with a under the arm ball joint lift the distance between bump stops would increase and I could take some tension out of the torsion rods. Of course a lot of other things will have to be changed as well. A new adjustable panhard rod, drop the differential, alignment, sway bar links, shocks rear lift etc.If I do it I have to do it right. Also is the anti sway bar even needed? Seems like it would just limit movement of the arms?
I am putting the truck down soon for an install of an Aussie locker in front, headers and swapping to a manual transmission.This would be a good time for suspension mods since it will be torn down.

pplusent

You should see that the panhard rod is level with the ground. I found this to help my alignment a great deal and it handles better when it;s not dog tracking. The panhard will shift your rear axle to one side of the truck causing it to dog track. Just a thought.