stb94tsi

yea I'm thinking of staying with 33's as it seems to be a good combo, and my gut is saying to go bracket lift.
How is the quality of your rough country lift? and did you do any modifications/upgrades to the lift?

stb94tsi

some very good point's. but just to be clear I plain on keeping my stock 4:56 as i already have a rear E-locker, and i already have bought a new set of tires for winter. some armor is good, but I'm not making this thing into a rock-crawler just a good on/off road truck for old roads, and that i can make it out to some remote places. just like dubbsbetty said reliability is also going to very important, so i can make back home. labor wise i will be doing almost all the work, cause this day and age its hard to trust anyone's work but your own..

Very good info, I have not yet come across the subject of doing my a-arm bushings, and had never crossed my mine, good thinking!!! thanks!!! I did some searching on hear and it seems to be a real pain in the asss, but this will help my decision on what way to go.

stb94tsi

its looking like a bracket lift is the way to go. I have two kits in mind, Pro-comp stage 2 or the Rough Country. i have done some research and would like some options from people running both...

stb94tsi

okay here is a printout of my aliment right after i did the bj spacer lift back in Oct 2010


and here is the current copy of the alignment after i replaced all my BJ's and end links, in may 2011


i took some pics of my runner today at two different flat spots and noticed my camber looked off on both sides but not at the same time?????

first spot, camber looks off on passenger side like my paperwork says,



but second spot my camber looks off on my driver's side.



I was thinking of my control arm bushing being worn because it seemed like it stated to drive/handle worse the last couple of months, so thats why i did my bj's and end links, thinking that would be the last wear points to replace on the ifs...
any ideas would help...

JBANDIT57

WOW, the pics look much worse than you were describing! I thought mine was bad because it allways want to pull to the right but geeze; atleast my tires stand straight when looking at the front of the truck! Did you ever figure out what was going on? Or did you get a bracket lift?

92dlxman

sas or stock. i would not spend any money at all on ifs lifts.
they are great if you wanna run 2wd.

think about it. the factory designed a system to be reliable and moderately flexible.
bj spacers: look at your tie rod angle in your pick. to me, not factory
bracket lift: once again messing with slight geometry differences, affords ZERO increased travel. is getting your center crossmember a few inches higher (only advantage) worth it?

ifs long travel kit: this only works by increasing the radius of wheel travel. making longer axles necessary for 4wd. increased radius=increased torque exerted on inboard suspension/steering componentry. now you need larger torsion bars. you have now spent a bunch of money to replace control arms, torsion bars, and axles (diff too maybe?) that are now cabable of exerting more force than the rest of your parts can handle


im saving for a solid axle, the proven steering system, proven springs, proven shocks, and any other parts i cant myself fabricate.

remember, any ifs lift, unless it comes with longer uppers/lowers, does nothing but raise the ground clearance of your frame. hope this helps

peow130

Did you crank your torsion bars? Because most people with camber issues from balljoint spacers have an issue with the top of the tire being farther out than the bottom, so I don't understand how they got it backwards...

natty

What are the downsides of cranking the torsion bars? That's what I did 15 yrs ago along with helper springs in back for a modest 2" +/- lift. Never had a problem aligning or with tire wear. Rides and drives great. A little stiffer of course though.

I do understand that it doesn't increase total travel but it does increase up travel with a direct trade-off to down travel.

yotasavg

I'm stumped, my bj spacer lift caused the tires to stick out a little at the top, fixed with a good alignment. My girlfriends dad works at the les schwab in auburn and he always hooks it up with a good alignment.

mightymouse

iTrader: (6)

As said before find a competent alignment tech, your ride height adjusted by your torsion bars affect your alignment. If your alignment tech doesn't understand this then their competency is questionable. This was exactly my problem when i put the ball joint spacers in my rig. Uncrank your torsion bars, take away some of the height you gained. Then get it aligned. If your tires rub pound the pinch weld flat and go from there. Your torsion bars being cranked and unevenly so have to do with your crappy ride as well. Your set up isn't all that bad you just need to set it up properly. Seems as though you have most of the bases covered just need to tidy up the rest.

xxxtreme22r

That's a misconception. Just because cranking the torsion bars make the space between the up travel stops larger, doesn't mean it's gonna increase the capability to stuff the tires. Here is why, you take a small obstacle where you don't have the entire weight of the truck on that corner, its not gonna stuff, the torsion bars will just lift the whole truck. Where as if that bar was de-cranked you would stuff the tire rather easily.

So although physically and theoretically it increases travel, effectively it does not, unless your running full speed down a trail where the force of that same size obstacle can overcome the the increased spring rate.

Innocent Fool

The camber adjustment is a large round off center plate attached to the lower control arm bolt. The camber adjustment plate sits inside a channel with raised edges on the side. The raised edges of the channel keep camber by keeping the the lower control bolt from moving side to side which would effect the camber. Where's a pic when you need one... Anyway, Might be possible to loosen the lower control bolt, cut the edges off the channel, set the camber, and weld new edges in place in the new location.

As I understand it these channel edges are not as strong as they could be. On some rigs that are wheeled hard they get flattened out and the camber starts to shift. Welding new channel edges in the correct location may actually strengthen it.

The cutting of the edges, alignment, and welding work would have to be done in place on the alignment machine.

Just throwing it out there... Food for thought

PS: make sure your lower camber bolts are really tight. They are loosened for the alignment and may shift shortly after the job if they're not tightened properly. Might consider a small tack weld after they are set to keep them tight? Would have to grind the weld off for the next adjustment but at least you know it isn't moving...

tryingdifferentthing

i have just completed my 2 inch lift kit with no hang ups or anything but now the clutch isnt working. also the steering shaft is to short where can i find a longer one or make it longer?
1997 toyota tacoma 4x4 std cab waag brushguard going to put bullet holes and 3 inch leaf springs with 5100 billies

tryingdifferentthing

do yall know if the steering shaft is recirculating ball or rack and pinion

ThatGuy1295

Those are max'd
Good clearance in the front end but probably handles terrible. Drop them torchin bars down a couple inches and take a pair of tin snipes to your fenders.
Time proven & tested and cheap!!

ThatGuy1295

Pretty little truck before SAS'ing

33'' maxis big horns, no lift and cut fenders. Took about 2 1/2'' off the fenders
Spooled in the rear with 4.88's this thing did amazing.

ThatGuy1295

Also when you get an alinement ask them to adjust the bottom a-arm forward just a little.
This will help the bigger tires not rub against the bottom of the cab. And has no affect on handling. Ran my truck that way for years with no troubles.

dubbsbetty

iTrader: (2)

Hey stb.... The rough country is fine for a bracket lift, as will you be with 33s. Decent price and lil' maintenance to keep it up. I flexed, bounced, rocked, and straight wheeled that kit for about 5 years running. You will align it every now and again, more than likely replace pitman, idler arms, and ball-joints. You can only turn tie-rods so much, and I have yet to replace a cv axle or even blown the auto hubs. For what your wanting, bracket lift is fine, I promise you. Rough country is same as pro comp, just less expensive and I bet those front braces will limit clearance some. Sorry it took so long to respond and if you've already taken action than ignore this. Good luck brotha!