ks_yota

the setup i was gona go with is to redo my suspension with old man emu spings/shocks which gives about 1.5 to 2 inches of lift. this is so my ride quality could be nice and be reliable. ive heard the cheaper suspension lifts, like rough country for example are stiff, and plus i want rear springs instead of blocks.

then to add more lift, i could choose either a 2 or 3 inch body lift.
this would give me 3-5 inches of lift and thats all i really want.

would this be a good way to go? it will cost roughly around 1000$. or should i just go with a complete suspension lift from rough country/superlift?

i want my suspension reliable like stock, but the truck is an 89 and is salvaged. looking to spend aournd roughly 1000

thook

Depends on why you're doing the lift and how you plan on using the vehicle. There are advantages and disadvantages to both type of lifts. Especially, that much lift.

FredTJ

As mentioned above, it really depends on what you're going to do with the vehicle, driving wise.

Let's start at the very, very beginning:

1st question:
- Why ?


2nd question, in case you don't fully answer the 1st question
- Is this just for looks ?


EDIT =>

Opps, 3rd question, though it should probably be the 1st question
- What kind and year of vehicle ?

It REALLY helps when y'all post up the specs.
Seems no one's a mind reader any more. They've all gone extinct.




Fred

thook

No, they're not extinct. They've just learned to be quiet.

ks_yota

89 ext cab 3vze, im srry i thought i postd specs.

i want it for looks and some off roading. i want it to be capable of things when needed. ii would love to be able to breeze through a begginer trail. i also love to mud.

spaceycayce

well some say leave it stock......some say do some minor adjustments....some like me say SAS and save your $$$. I had a superlift kit that gave me nothing but trouble and I eventually had to chop it off. That's me. There are some good ideas on how to get the lift you want if you read through the forums.

88-surf

hey yea i sorta want the same thing.my toyota is a 1988 toyota hilux surf. thats what they call them here in new zealand. i don't really care about looks i just want it to be able to pull a trailer and go off road with my friends. its got rear leaf spring and front torstion bars.iv herd that independant is not good for offroading?. i was looking for a leaf spring front end of a hilux to do a leaf spring conversion.but iv seen many people with torsion bar independant suspension what would be the way to go?.and how would i make it so the wheels stick ferther outside the truck because they likes to tip aparrently. the rear leafs have just about had it its got about a inch of clarense left.so im looking at buying new rear leafs for it thats why i am looking at lifting it at the same time.i am also having trouble finding a good color to paint it so far everyone think that red body with black canopy will be the way to go?. thanx guys/girls

jase

fork

it comes down to what you are wanting to do with your truck. if easy trails and mud is all you do then IFS is probably more than fine.

For serious (or frequent) wheeling, no.. IFS sucks for a bunch of reasons. but there are a lot of benefits to IFS also. it's a lot more comfortable on the pavement I think. it handles nicely at freeway speeds. the ground clearance from the center of the crossmember is a little higher than a straight axle.

a straight axle swap is going to cost you a lot of money. so will a bracket lift. i would personally keep the ifs if you drive it on the street more than 50% of the time. for your lift you could do some combination of a small body lift, longer rear shackles, add a leafs, or balljoint spacers. it shouldn't cost you nearly as much and it will keep your center of mass down as much as possible which is important.

I don't advocate building a 4wd into any kind of show truck. its a waste of time and money in my eyes. but as far as tippy goes, you can run some wider rims/tires and/or get wheel spacers. also be warned of the futility of trying to keep a truck clean that you also go and abuse and get dirty offroad. It's a constant battle.

A really good question to ask now is what size tire do you intend to run because that will dictate what your next step will be.

88-surf

thanx fork yea it will most proberly be used on the road more then offroad and nope this is not going to be a show truck. im a bit of a newby what is a bracket lift and what are rear shackles.. and atm im just going to keep the ones that are on it 31x10.50 r15 lt 6pr 190q radial tubless.thats wat it said on the tire. i know its going to pick up alot of mud and dirt but a day of fun is worth an hour or two of cleening. wen u tighten up the torsion bars will that lift the front up?? thanx again and at the moment its jsut going to do trail and up hills and things mud etc. oh and sorry i got the year of the surf/ runner thingy rong its a 86 not a 88 sorry

AxleIke

Seems my IFS is sucking pretty bad then. Funny how, in addition to not breaking, it hasn't hit a trail in Colorado it couldn't complete.

Also, you should clarify a bit. Third Gen 4runners (US) and up have a better ride. Anything with a torsion bar front end rides like an unsprung wagon on the Oregon trail compared to a SA or SAS truck. I've ridden in enough to know.

88surf, there are numerous ways in which to lift these rigs. I am not sure what is available to you, or how much shipping is from the States down to you.

If your truck is like our 80's model IFS trucks, you can fit a narrow 33" tire under there without any lift, with some big flippin hammer modification to the pinchweld.

Here is a shot of my truck with 33x9.50's, zero lift.



Taken on this trail, for those doubting IFS prowess.

http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=1

fork

.

I was going to write up a big response but in the end I think I will point out that this doesn't need to end up in a debate over which is better for serious wheeling. We all know already. But congrats on your IFS and how capable it is.


Back on topic, 88-surf if all you will run is 31s don't even bother lifting it. Are you going to change your name to 86-surf now?

thook

The IFS/SA debate rages on...

This thread has some good insight for those interested. It's heated, but will give you something to consider.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ptions-123798/

AxleIke

Perhaps we have a different definition of serious wheeling.

I will agree whole heartedly that a SA is far superior to IFS when rock crawling.

However, there is an attitude that IFS is no good for ANY wheeling, and that was my point. 88surf said that he had heard that IFS was not good for wheeling.

You said he'd be fine for easy wheeling, and but that IFS sucked for many reasons, and the only thing it was good for was on road comfort.

On road comfort is one of the things that early IFS sucks hard core at. IFS can be used for difficult wheeling.

While I agree that one can easily build a solid front to be far stronger that IFS, I was trying to show a guy that you can easily do TONS of trails with stock IFS

But mostly, i just wanted to post the O RLY owl.

fork

lol

it's all good, i wanted to post the ya rly owl too. ifs is good for wheeling no doubt. my truck is still standing and i've put it through hell which is a testament to how tough IFS is (although its dying). his ifs will probably take him farther than he wants to go at this point in time. and since he won't be putting on some heavy bias tires on it i doubt it will have problems with cvs. the only problems I have with my ifs are pretty much just cv boots, on a torsion crank lift and 32x11.50s. never broken one yet. i even ran one bootless for over a month in and out of mud pits. it's still alive, but cleaned and with a new boot now.

people out here wreck their IFS pretty often. its not uncommon to see an ifs truck with 35 inch boggers here, usually with a broken cv or two.

88-surf

well thanx for that guys big help lol um made me laff a cupple of times to!. well fork you are quite a funny one how do i change my name? make a new account i supose . well i will need to get new leafs 4 the rear as iv said many times i think that it has only got one inch of clarence or is that normal?. and yes i am prity sure that the toyota surfs are the same as a toyota 4runners many people told me. why do they need to change the vehicle name in difrent parts of the world it sucks wen you are trying to tell some one about your car... i havent got much cash to spend as im only 15 lol and don't have a job at them moment but i am looking. now that i have told you all my age you probly think im crazy... yes i am crazy! enouth to go wheeling at 15 in my own surf! it scares the out of me some times lol.now umm what els do i have to say if i ever put 35s on my surf ill be sure to put bigger cvs on it.axleike thanks, you turned my mind arround hopefully i don't get stuck going frue mud or up hills and things but i do think the front needs a bit of a lift it isnt thery high but it will be fine for now thanx again guys im off to bed nite nite

ks_yota

so i guess am pretty set on what i want to do.

going with OME springs shocks just to updte my suspension seein as how nothing has ever been changed; this is also supose to lift 1.5 to 2 inches. then going to get a lockrite locker for rear from marlin crawler. going to stick with the brand new bfg a/t's i have right now which are 31x10.5

could i be able to do easy to intermediate trails?

fork

what you have is more than enough. wheel it as-is and get seat time. once you know the limits of your 4runner (surf) you'll have a better idea of what you want to do with it. you're lucky you have a 4wd and you're only 15. i didn't get my own truck until i was 19, and i consider myself lucky to have gotten one at 19. you have a head start for sure.

ks_yota you could do easy to intermediate trails with a stock rig. its about driving skill mostly. the lockers and tires and lifts just make it a lot easier. i dont know about the lift, but the locker would probably be worth the money. its amazing how far you can go in only 2wd with a locker in the rear. its also amazing how fast you can bury your truck with lockers too

yotasavg

i would recomend the front shocks and steering stabilizer as well. i'd say that you will go WAY farther than you think with the new susp. and a locker. also maybe look into low profile bumpstops for the front end.

i run everything there minus the bumpstops but i'm getting some soon. i really like the setup and i strongly recomend it.

ps. will the rear lift you may want to crank the tbars like .5-1" for a little rake. i also run 31/10.5's.

ks_yota

if i put on the leaf springs myself, what do i need tool wise?

ive changed car shocks nd springs but never have for trucks, im pretty confident i can do it but only thing im worrried about are the leafs. overall, how hard is it? or any info/advice will help

thook

Breaker bar, cheater bar, strong sockets (size..I'm not sure), ratchets...of course, penetrating fluid, maybe a torch, jack, stands, and a BFH...big frickin' hammer.

You'll have to jack it up and let the suspension drop 'til the tires just touch the ground.This makes it easier because you'll be dropping the axle.The driveshaft will keep the axle from getting away. Do that first by removing the u-bolts. Then, remove the shackles and bolts and the eye bolts. If you'll be replacing any bushings, there are tips floating around in a couple threads on how to do that more easily. Search "leaf bushings".