Im pretty new to this stuff but ive been looking all over forums and stuff figuring out whats up.. I bought some used components for cheap from a few different people

OME 880/890 front/rear springs
toytec top plate spacers (for 3/4 inch lift) for front coils
OME N86 and OME 91S Firm shocks/struts


im also looking at getting a hunter (those cheap ebay ones) super bull guard when i go to houston in a month (to save on shipping i can just pick it up)
and putting some offroad lights on it, and possibly looking into getting one of those roof rack basket things and some tail light guards. any recommendations would be appreciated

Ive read that the 880 coils will give me about 1.25-1.5 inches of lift, and the 890s will net me about 2.5 inches? I figured this would make it a little higher in the rear so I bought the top plate spacers, it already droops a tad, hardly noticably. the stock components have about 110k miles on them.. if they are stock I wouldnt know I just bought it.

Ive read that the FJ wheels will fit? I hope so.. there are a few threads about people with the fj 16' wheels but I think one mentioned something about 17 inchers.

Also im planning on taking it to a shop to get this stuff installed.. should I go to a 4x4 specialist shop or just some place that does suspensions or what? how much should i expect to pay for something like this?

thanks!

 

scratch the fj wheels i didnt get them

 

The install on our trucks is pretty easy. I did all of my coils in about 4 hours with a buddy and that was the 1st time we ever installed a lift on a 3rd gen. I could probably do it in 2 or 3 hours now. I would think a shop would charge about that. The hardest thing for me was removing the upper ball joints w/o damaging them or tearing the rubber boots.

IMO, the alignment you get after the lift is put on is more important to have done by someone who has lots of experience with lifted 4x4s, especially ones w/ IFS like ours. Sears or shops like that may or may not care to take the time to get everything in spec. It's because it's more work for them when a truck has been newly lifted because everything pretty much needs to be adjusted and re-adjusted to get it all right where a normal car is usually 1 or 2 minor adjustments.

Not saying that Sears (or any other tire shop) can't do it, I've just been disappointed before and had to fight for my $$ back so I could afford to take it to a 4x4 shop and get it aligned right.

BTW, don't let the shop sell you a 4 wheel alignment for 20 bucks more. Our rears don't have any adjustments to make on them, although that doesn't seem to stop a lot of shops from charging for it.

 

I read some stuff about damage to the CV joints with this lift type, and i'd like to be able to easily clear 285's, so i bought a 1inch diff drop kit and a 1 inch body lift from toytec

 

save the ebay brush guard money for something useful down the road. other than that it sounds like a good way to meet your aspirations

 

That's true about the CV axles. Mine flung all the grease out of them and tore the boots up within the 1st week after I put my 2.5" suspension lift on. But...my CVs were 10+ years old, dried out, and I had no diff drop. Since then I bought some Superior brand CV axles, installed a 1" diff drop (although I'm not convinced it does all that much since it rotates the diff more than it drops it), and the weight of my ARB winch bumper lowered the front about .5". No problems now.

You should be fine, rule of thumb is the CVs are usually not damaged w/ sus. lifts under 2.5". Another ROT is the fins on the CVs shouldn't be touching eachother when the truck is sitting level. Some of mine are really close but they don't touch.

Since your rear coils will give you about 2.5" and the front coils w/ the .75" top plate spacers will give you about 2 - 2.25", you should be able to clear 285s w/o the body lift, but either way you might have to put some 1/4" wheel spacers on the front so your tires won't rub on the frame when you are turning hard - some people's 285s rub and some don't. BTW, the 1/4" spacers aren't bolted on, they just go in between the hub and the rim and the studs are still long enough.

IMO, the lower the center of gravity while still being able to clear your tires, the better. I highly suggest seeing if you can clear the tires w/ just the sus. lift on unless you are doing the BL mainly for looks. When you're going around corners or climbing up a steep uneven trail, all that extra body roll/higher center of gravity is no bueno especially if it's not needed.

 

i had read up on some stuff saying that it might rub a bit with just the suspension lift so I wanted the body lift to make just i cleared it for sure.. and for the looks too i guess.

thanks for the input!

 

You'll love it either way. Good luck and post some pics when it's all done!

 

X2 on the brush gurad. also wait for lighting for your last mod. those shocks up front with the top out spacer may give you alot of droop that can put your cvs at a bad angle. it may never effect you though depending on where and how you wheel.

 

im in louisiana so probably mainly just mud.. not big rocks and like that. i figure the dif drop would help with that.. the shops said that that was included with a suspension installation. ive been getting quotes for around $400-$500 for the entire setup+allignment.

 

$400 sounds about right for the labor w/ an alignment, maybe a bit on the high side. I would try to shoot for $300, but that's me, I'm cheap.

 

sweet. thats not too bad. i found a manik grill guard on craigslist for $100, and im gonna buy it.. i dont think itll really help anything damage wise but itll look tight and ill put some lights on it.. also i found another guy i might be able to buy some used 285/75/16 tires from im gonna check it out tomorrow. i figure ill be spending about $2000 total on all of this


edit* would the grill guard interfere with any of my lifts? i assume not but wanna be sure

 

It wont interfere.

 

The brush guard is unaffected by suspension lifts. However they are incompatible with body lifts. I wish I could convince you to save the money, I hate brush guards

 

aww crap. i figured it would be a fancy light mount haha, and im not planning on replacing the bumper

 

best mod you can do to make your truck more competent offroad: do the work yourself.

This way you not only save enough to do much more stuff, but you also understand how everything works and how to fix it so you can troubleshoot on the trail, and repair it as soon as you get home (instead of spending 100s of dollars and tens of days in shops). I wouldn't go 880s up front either, too short... basically stock coils IMO. And dont go with FJ rims if you want to run 285s without big spacers. Mid 90s LC rims are the best toyota wheel to put under a 3rd gen. You can run 305s with no rubs with a minor lift.

 

thanks!
well i bought the 880 coils with the 890 coils for $100 on craigslist.. i figured it was a good deal, and with the top plate spacer and the body lift id be pretty high up and level.. i mean they have to be a little better than my 12 year old stock springs.

i didnt get the FJ rims. probably a good thing. im probably going to use the stock rims and buy some tires.

 

i removed the running boards today:

before:

after:

 

i love that color 4runner... looking good

 

Im glad to see someone on here got them!