MRecio

Well I am by no means complaining about my truck... other then some engine problems... (exhaust lead on headers, Loud clicking from injectors, and PS leak) this truck is a beast in stock form... 94 3.0 auto on stock 31 Duler AT (not the revos) and its handled Dirt trails, mud, sand, water and even pulled out some full size blazer that got stuck trying to follow me through some mud/sand.

But I want even more then what the stock truck will give me. I have a OME/SDORI BJ spacer kit with my name on it i plan to put on in a couple of weeks. But besides that I needed advice on what else to do to make my truck more trail worthy.

new tires will be coming at the end of the year so thats covered.
Really leaning towards the Geolander M/T+

I want a locker as that will give me the biggest boost in capability but the only problem is I Like to go snowboarding in the winter and Snow/autolocker = OMFG WE ALMOST DIED GETTING UP THE MOUNTAIN from whati hear. Is there a snow friendly auto locker? or do i have to save up for the ARB Air locker?

Next problem I see is my IFS flex. can anything be done to improve it? I want to take the sway bar off but dont want it getting tippy on the street... Does anyone still make Disconnects for the Front sway bar??

I heard getting low profile bump stops help flex a lot but whats the right size to prevent binding while getting the most flex possible?

Armor would be nice but i dont feel it is needed as i mostly wheel in the sand mud and dirt trails and havent done any rocks at all. So there is really nothing that would damange anything under the body or the body itself.


So what advice can you guys give to turn my stocker into a better DD/Toy now that you know somewhat how this truck is used...Its a Daily driver and will always be somekind of a driver, in the winter she takes trips to the snow summer time takes trips to the beach to play in the sand. When it gets a chance it goes and plays in the mud or any light trail i can find close to my house.

dcg9381

You can also use the e-locker from the Tacoma. It's about 1/2 the cost of the ARB. Still more than a lunchbox though..

MRecio

Do you have any info or link to information on the e locker and what work is involved or parts needed forit to be done on my 4runner?

dcg9381

It's a well documented swap.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

I'ne an '86 4rnr. I don't even have a swaybar. It's a DD and locked F/R. Gears might be an option if you want bigger tires. I've got auto locker and like to play in snow, just can't drive by thottle. Good luck.

Jay351

If you like going in snow, do not get a mud tire. Or at least get a second set of winter tires. I am running BFG muds, and a lockright (auto locker). Its not THAT bad, with 4wd on its perfect. The only thing that kinda sucks is the back end likes to dog tail in 2wd uphill. Carefull of the he said she said bs you get on the internet, alot of people have not actually experianced said products

IF I had chains that would be a totally different story.

dcg9381

Mechanical lockers will change how your vehicle handles and increase tire wear at the rear, usually not a positive thing.

We don't get much snow, so I can't comment on the safety issue with a mechanical locker in snow or ice.

MonsterMaxx

Lockers: Iv'e had some exposure to a few different ones, here's the thoughts on the subject.

The truetrac is a worm drive limited slip has nice street manors and behaves very well in the snow. A traditional 'locker' will give you a lot of 'push' thru the corners (difficult to steer.)
Of all the lockers, it's probably got the best street/snow mannors.
For hard core off-roading it sucks. Just not enough bias and it has a 33" max tire size limit (factory rating.) There's also a problem with the bolts that hold the locker itself together. The manufacturer (EATON) used no fastener retainers relying only on proper torque setting to hold in place. I had a set of these back out and destroy the entire chunk and one axle.

The powerloc is a clutch type LS. A good bit of bias, but can be very 'grabby' and has been known to take out u-joints with sudden lockups. Also requires special whale cum lube (if you think gear lube smells bad, wait'll you have to smell this stuff.)

Detroit Locker. The beast of the bunch. For serious offroading there's no better bulletproof solution. Newer softlockers have better street manners, but still, this is a very aggressive unit and should be used with care on the street.

On my CJ which has a DL in the rear and PL up front it cannot be steered on icy roads. You have to do the power on/off and slide trick to get it to turn. Offroad it's unstoppable. Though for reasons mentioned before it won't climb out of set of ruts easily.

My Toyota has TTs F&R and steers fine in the snow/ice and handles great on pavement. Doesn't 'spin the inside tire' on wet roads and this was a big problem pre-TT. I can still break the rear end loose, but it takes some doing and when it's hanging out, it's very predictable.
However, get the truck crossed up offroad and the two wheels in the air just spin.


In my mind, the ultimate street/offroad differential would be a limited slip like the TT, with a lock option like the aussi or ox.
As far as I know, the only one with anything even close to that is Jeep's OEM LS locker in the Rubicon. Which is a LS all the time, but flip of a switch and it electronically locks up solid. It is Dana44, but I haven't heard of anyone getting them for their D44s. I'm figuring it has some other weakness I've just not heard of. I saw one Rubi w/ OXs which would seem like a downgrade to me.

IFS
It's looking like the BJ spacer is the hot trick these days to get some height. However, if you have a heavy front bumper/winch the $ for thicker torsion bars which you don't have to crank as much would be money well spent.
Disconnects are avail from a variety of sources. Downey & NWOR come to mind, but are by no means the only ones.
The trick setup is the long travel kit. But your wallet has to be a very strong fellow indeed to handle it.
You can get the low profile upper snubbers, but leave the stock lowers alone.
An excellent upgrade for the IFS which doesn't cost much is the 4th crossmember bar. If you look at the design of the IFS 'bulkhead' (the frame part that everything attaches to) it's cross supported at both the upper points but only the front lower. They make a little sub $100 kit which adds a crossmember between those two horns at the rear of the lower arms. Makes it much stronger and will go a long way to keeping it in alignment.
My fav shocks are the Rancho 9000x, opinions will vary. A lot of people like the Bilstines, but I found them very stiff and unpleasant.
Rancho has a nice set of rear springs which aren't stiff, but can still be loaded. Stay away from add-a-leaf kits. I tried airbags too and didn't like them either.
Using a set of lockout hubs will greatly extend the life of the CV boots which are short lived when you crank the front suspension up.

My current setup is nwor 26mm torsion bars, rancho rear springs, nwor HD torsion bars F&R, 9000x on (full soft on front, 2 clicks in rear), Energy suspension upper snubbers, Toyota Factory Recall's steering rod, warn lockouts, some brand Doetch Tech steering damper (huge compared to stock). I run on 18" wheels w/ tires that are 33"x12" and they put a full 12" of tread on the ground.

notanymore

rear lunchbox lockers are worse than open in the snow and takes some getting used to, but when you put it in 4wd the snow handling isnt as bad as alot of people here say it is. if your really worried about it just have a set of chains. but off road a locker is awesome, best off road mod for the money imo.