thanks david. the bumper definitely needed the tube to make it look right.

well those last pics were from 1:30 this morning... (really long day yesterday.) i'll try and pull it out of the garage today and take a few more. it's sitting pretty level right now, even without the rear bumper on. it'a maybe an inch taller in the rear. axle ended up 1.5-2" back.

 

just pulled it out of the garage. still need to finish it up, but at least it rolls. still need to get the d-shaft lengthened, run hard lines and bleed brakes, shock mounts, and mount rear bumper. i'll be taking it out this upcoming weekend, so we'll see how it does... pics:

 

Nice work! Looks level too. What's the next big thing?

 

Trail-Gear HD fronts need to go in. my front shackle angle looks to be getting worse... hopefully i'll be ordering Bellfields soon. then it's time to save up for duals, and hopefully do some good wheeling at the same time.

 

Mike, it's looking way better! No more driving down the road looking at the sky. Hopefully I will get to see it in action soon.

 

thanks chris. hey, we're wheeling this weekend coming up if you'd like to join. shoot me a pm if you're interested.

 

dude, mike!

your truck is a beast now!!!! I love it.

 

nice job mike. one of these days, we're going to have to hook up for some wheeling.

 

yeah dude, definitely.

well, wheeled it this past saturday. even let my sister wheel it. rig did pretty well. still need to mount the shocks and bumper. and i'm getting some good vibes on the freeway, so i'll have to check out the pinion angle and do something about that... some pics:





i'll add more once i get them. a friend took a bunch more...

 

nice flex

lookn good!

 

Very cool. That's what an SAS should look like.

 

2/25/07 UPDATE

trail-gear HD springs are in. i'll report back on their performance once i've driven it around some... initially, good but tall. hopefully these break in a bit, unlike my last set.

 

What springs did you have in there before? I went with 5" TG springs in the rear of mine and 4" in the front. My next step is to flex it some to make sure we get the shocks mounted to maximize travel.

 

Looks good!! I noticed you like that ravine...there are more than a few pics of you at that same spot, or at least it looks like the same spot.

You need to get that bad boy down south and wheel in the desert with the SD crew.

 

i had the standard 5" trail-gear springs before. they just didn't have the spring rate i need. way too soft for a heavy V6 4Runner... and they sat pretty low.

that ravine is at the local place we go. it's great for testing things out... it's pretty close and you can make it as hard as you want. i really want to come down to SD one of these days and wheel with you guys. my club is heading down for truckhaven, but i'm not sure the 4Runner will be coming with me. having some trouble with the output on my t-case at the moment...

 

Mike, regarding brake lines, did you use the factory front hardlines from the master down to the frame? On the caliper, did you use IFS or SFA hardlines?

 

Wow really? I wonder if you got a set of bad springs. I haven't heard of anybody having issues. I'm really glad I opted for the 5" over the 4" at least. Will have to see how it sits when I get some time on them I guess.

 

clint, i used the factory IFS hardlines from the master cyl down to the framerails, and SFA hardlines at the calipers.

these are actually my third set of front springs. first set of 5" TGs flattened out to ~4" of total lift (couldn't even fit the bumpstop and extension between the frame and u-bolt plate) and the shackle was almost on the frame. the second set was much better, but the shackle still sat too far back and the spring rate is just too soft for a heavy rig. the 5s are only 210, 4s are 230, 3s are 250, and HDs are 270 IIRC... i've heard more people are happy with the 3s and 4s than the 5s.

 

Mike, I will make it out there one of these times with you guys. I have had a waterpump leak, so I haven't wanted to take it out till I fix it. Should tear into it next weekend.

 

Thanks Mike. I think I am going to get some SFA hardlines for mine also. The IFS hardlines don't fit very well and SFA hardlines are only $5/side from Marlin. I'll let you know what I figure out for mounting it to the knuckle.