Dude! That looks amazing!!! VERY nice job!

 

Love this build mate, what year model / tailgate did you use? Think I will do the same to mine, makes sense as I use all the tray space I can and not going down the bobbed road!

 

wow State DOT colors

 

Love it!

 

I love it, even the dents look pretty.

 

subscribed! Love the pickup tailgate... hoping to do this to my 4runner project!

 

Lookin good man! i love those rear tail lights!

 

Holy Cross














BV Carnage







Woke up Sunday morning of the Jambo to this :greengrin:

Thanks Toytank! My kids loved it when I bought it home that way.

My trail fix halfway up Carnage, right before the V-notch. Glad it happened before the notch than after



Gotta love bailing wire & duct tape. These TG springs had 5 years of wheeling on them. I don't expect leaf springs to last any longer than that for the type of wheeling that I put them though.

I picked up a set of 2wd rear springs from the junkyard. $35 out the door. The plan is to take the top 2 leafs from the rears and pair them with the bottom 4 leafs from the TG springs. Just comparing the rears to the TG's, the centering pin is about an inch forward. I will redrill the front axle spring perches 1 inch forward to move the axle back 1 inch. My steering is dead on and I don't want to mess with it by moving the axle forward another inch.

 

Nice repair!!!

I gotta get off my butt, fix my truck and wheel.

Edit- I have tow rig envy and love the Jack o lantern hood

 

I've seen it done before on the Internet but I finally had to test it out. It worked PERFECT! I could have driven it the rest of the trail with the duct tape fix. It didn't have quite the droop or compression but it worked very well (I was impressed!).

What does your truck need fixed on it to get it in wheeling condition?

 

I need to get it through emissions and throw my duals back in.
Been time/priority/motivation issue. When I have time, not motivated. When I have the motivation, no time...

 

So nice rig and terrain, seeing your pics make me want to move to colorado.
I didn't catch all the things you used for your trailfix, could you please post some pics of it?

 

bailing wire is used for hay bales...I carry some too. I know some guys that have used hose clamps too

 

i just read your whole thread on this runner, awesome job man! any more plans for it?

 

Working on getting the 4Runner back up & running. I should have it running this weekend.


Removed the front leaf spring. Ready for some links?


The broken, trail fixed leaf spring. I got 5 years of some tough wheeling out of this Trail Gear spring. Can't complain that it broke.


Broke right behind the U-bolt plate.


Showing off my new 3 ton jack. I needed a bigger jack to lift the Dodge. It's overkill for the 4Runner.


Both springs now out.



TG 4" spring on top, stock 2wd rear spring on bottom. Looks like the rear spring is going to move the axle 1" forward.


To get the axle back in the same spot as before, I drilled the spring perch 1" foward. My steering is dialed with the drag link & tie rod perfectly parellel. Same with the hydro ram.


I plan on using the stock rears as the top two springs and the bottom 4 TG springs. This is how they are going to line up.


The stock rears have 40mm front bushing and 30mm rear bushings, same as the TG springs. I plan on using new TG bushings in the rears up front. I did find out that the bushings with the springs were too thick to fit in the front spring hanger. I had to use the lathe to remove about 1/8" from each bushing.


I also had to extend the center slot in the U-bolt place for the redrilled spring perch. I used my uncle's Bridgeport milling machine.


Easy to cut slots with a milling machine.



I also wanted to increase the center pin size. The stock pin is tiny. Upgraded to a grade 8 allen head bolt to help with the installation of the center pin.


Mounted the main leaf to try and get some idea of the shackle angle at full compression. It also allowed me to find out how I'm going to mount my bumpstops.


I'm not happy with the shackle angle. At full compression, it should be laying back more. I will cut the shackles down (currently 5" hole to hole) to get the shackle angle steeper. It will also lower the 4Runner (super happy about that).


Passenger side shot. I still need to cut off the current bumpstop.

I've got alot of work to do this weekend.

 

Links would be awesome!!
I have a buddy that is using the 2wd springs up front. He hasnt tested them out yet but they will get tested on our Bill Moore run this weekend. Your hybrid springs should work pretty well, least I would think anyway.
Pretty awesome that you have access to milling machines. Makes things so much nicer and more precise

 

wow nice, I"m keeping the picture for mine when needed, thanks

 

Did you get it back together?

 

Yup! Pics to follow

 

Shackle angle at flat spring after cutting them down from 5" eye to eye to 3.75" eye to eye. I thought the angle would have been steeper after cutting them down but there's no going back now.


4" Trail Gear on top, RUF/TG mixed pack on bottom. The RearUpFront also ended up being about 3/8" shorter than the 4" TG's.


I was surprised to see them end the same height. (TG right, RUF left).




I also made spring clamps for both the front & the rear of the springs. I used 1.25" 3/16" strap. I countersunk some allen head bolts into the 3rd spring. Rears up front are known to separate the main from the 2nd pack while wheeling. I knew I needed some kind of spring clamps.


Driver's side newly resigned bumpstop bracket. Everything is from 1/4" plate because the 22RE is a powerhouse


Passenger side bumpstop.


Ended up cutting down the front spring clamps after installing the springs. The clamps looked like they might interfere with the spring hanger. I still might drill some holes and run a bolt though them.


Rear shackle angle with full weight on the rig. I wish they were layed back more but without alot of work (moving front spring hanger back or redoing the frame sleeves) it will stay just like this. The rear spring clamps have 2.5" sleeves and bolts in them.


Only 1.25" of air gap between the bump & the pad. The bump also has 3 5/8" air gaps. I rounded down to 1.5" when I setup the bumpstop. They compress great while on the trail. My tires barely rub the battery box, front bumper, and firewall (tubbed back to the body mount) at full compression.


Closeup of the bracket just in case anybody else wants to copy the design.



Hard to tell in the pictures but the 4Runner sits nose down now. I think I lost 1-1.25" of height in the front after swapping springs Frame height on 39.5" tires at 8psi is 26".