Hi 'tech,

So; a little background information on the truck / situation / plan of attack:

- The truck's a 97' Limited, 201K, and had a really pampered life.
- Yet, the springs/shocks are all original, as are the UBJ/LBJ's and the 245 tires.
- Intending to put some FZJ80 wheels and 285/75's A/T's on it.
- I'll be doing the Upper / Lower ball joints at the same time. Because; Safety.
- Trying to keep the price (ideally) under 1,200$, and performance at the highest level.
- The truck's a pavement princess 95% of the time. Our '60 is the expedition wagon, and will largely be kept that way, mothballed until it needs to take us somewhere... ...But, I foresee short river trips, overnights, snow trips, etc. in the 4R, and maybe some 'lite' off road when girlie's wanting to rip it.
- We're not gonna load it down with bumpers/winches/armor. Think: Lift + A Wax job.

So, here's the question:
What's the best dollars-to-donuts 2020-available shipped-to-me kit for a 3rd gen?

Here's what I've discovered...

0) 285/75's will ***probably*** rub even after a lift, at full lock/stuff.
- Essentially, I'll need to trim away the LTD front inner fender and some pinch-welds, if I want to ensure no rubbing up front.
(ExpPortal thread on 285's on 3rd gens) [ CLICK ] ***See comment 8***
(t4r.org thread on 285's on 3rd gens) [CLICK] ***See comment 4-5***


1) Stay away from Rough Country:
- Purely based on the comments of this forum, Yotatech, and 4Runner.org, and t4r.org... I think this might be a budget lift that won't get me what I want, that comes from a company with boo-boo customer service and that designs bargain-basement lifts without much more in mind.
(t4r thread explains this. additional links inside) [CLICK]


2) Old Man Emu and Dobinsons are ***about*** the same quality / price... but have minor differences
- Here's an interesting Dobinsons kits I've found, but unsure if the 2" will clear my 285's... [CLICK]
- Here's the tried and true Old Man Emu 3" [Running FRONT 881 coils and REAR 890 springs] [CLICK]


Is there any other kit I'm missing here that could really get this thing built out right?
(Fj60 pic for posterity/hits)


HVY CHONK

 

So I am very happy with my Bilstein 5100s. The fronts are adjustable, so you can get lift out of them or make up for shagged springs. The rears are not adjustable, they just have more travel (I believe). I haven’t done it yet, but I plan to get lift blocks for my rear springs to help even it out.

i think I got the shocks for around $500 from Summit. If your springs are totally clapped out, I would consider OE, that last really well if you don’t load up with bumpers and winches and gear. I’ve read a few threads that say you can use LC front coils to replace 4R rear springs and get some lift, but I can’t remember which models were the swap… you’ll have to do some digging.

3” lift out of the front is asking a lot from the stock IFS geometry. You might want to consider a diff drop or 2” lift and 1” Body Lift.

 

Goes over your $1200 limit by a bit, but it's top-notch: http://www.sonoransteel.com/index.ph...products_id=31

 

I keep coming back to the 5100's. I put some on my LC, and they're night and day from the tired OME's I had on there. I really liked that you could order custom damping for them... I'll look into this, but I'm trying to avoid compressing my own springs. I suppose I could cost it out... but after new top plates and bolts and tasking a shop mid-week with doing all this... all that rigamarole... idk.

I'd reckon the springs are clapped. Never had something bottom so aggressively, and so constantly. Thought the spare tire was loose, it was that bad. Got the ever-classic 'perma-squat' of Gen2-3 4R's. And yea, no plan to put any armor on it. Just a C/B+HAMM whip, and that's it. And FWIW, T4R.org has an amazing writeup on which Tundra/FJ80 springs/coils could be used for the front and rear.

I'm really not stuck on 3" overall. Just saw most kits coming in at 2-3", and banked high. I'm not trying to overtax the CV's, but really just want proper 285/75 clearance when I put those FZJ wheels on. Here's a picture of what I'm shooting for, sans bumper:

 

I took a look at that... but, for what my girlie will be using it for... I'm pretty certain that there's no need for me to go so hard on these parts.
Plus, budgeting for the OEM UBJ/LBJ's too, so keeping it under 1200$ helps so I can do it all at once.

Thanks for the suggestion, though. I love Sonoran's stuff. Wish they did more for old FJ's