sdstud212001

Alright after extensive searching (for answers on yotatech and parts on ebay, craigslist, other forums) I am geting ready to do my lift. But before I do I wanted to make sure everything is in order.The 4Runner being lifted is a 2001 Limited (in sig)

In the usual feast or famine I live in I went from having no luck with coils to probb too much. I had everyone looking for coils for me so now I have a few to choose from

What I have
1 set of coils with shocks and top plates off a 2006 TRD 4x4 Tundra
1 set of coils with shocks and top plate & spacers (1.5 in I think) off 2003 4x2 Tundra
Set of front and rear coils from 95 Land Cruiser(LC)

My Options
-Now I know I only need the front coils from the LC and they will go on the rear of my 4runner, is there any reason to keep the rear LC coils? What else might they be good for? Does anyone need them?
-Also since I have the option of choosing what to use for the front which Tundra shocks are better TRD 4x4 or the 4x2 setup? WHY?
-Lastly can I/Should I use the spacers to add to the front?


I also know I should use a Sonoran Steel diff drop. Am I missing anything?

I know this is a topic that gets discussed ALOT but I would rather ask because I didn't find answers to all my questions.

frodin1

I'm not sure about the top plates and years of all that stuff. All you need is the front trd tundra coils" yellow/yellow+Blue/Yellow,extended studs, a small spacer, & diffdrop, and you use the parts from your old assembly to put it back together. On the rear, if your going with the LC coils, I would suggest doing the panhard. Those springs will give you quite a bit of lift. So Yes, I would say use a "small" spacer up front otherwise you'll have a pretty bad rake to your rig.

traben27

The rears can be used in the back of a 2nd gen, I'm sure someone will take them off your hands..for a price of course.

Nate08

Read this thread. It is alot of reading, but pretty much any question that you could ask is answered.

sdstud212001

What is a "panhard"?

frodin1

The Panhard Bar is the bar that runs horizontal across the rear axle. When you lift the rear it actually lifts the panhard and causes the rear of the vehile to track funny. This is noticed more when you go over bumps. There used to be brackets to drop the panhard back down to stock height when lifting more than 2". Now there's custom panhard bars that are fully adjustable to compensate for any amount of lift you have. You might want to check out Sonoran Steel.com. Steve carries all that stuff and also has alot if info as far as how to lift and what you'll need to do it.

sdstud212001

Sweet thanks, frodin1

frodin1

Here's a link:http://www.sonoransteel.com/store_drop_bracket.html

4runnin2002

does anyone know the explanation on the adjustable ones??? i thought they were to lay flat hence the drop so why extended length now??? i dont understand the concept when the bracket was cheaper.....

traben27

The extended ones do basically the same thing...I think...Basically if you can adjust the length on the bar, you can adjust the angle that it's at, because the longer the bar, the less severe of an angle. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but i believe its as simple as that.

sdstud212001

Well Sonoral steel doen't offer the beacket anymore.

Bighead

The bracket Steve (Sonoran Steel) used to sell was specifically for 2" of lift. Now that there are so many different amounts of lift you can get from different coils, it is easier to sell one item you can adjust instead of several different length brackets. Now one item works for many different applications.

BTW, you can't use the Tundra top plate. The stud positions are different than a 4Runner or Tacoma.

sdstud212001

Thanks, so I guess I will have to deal with compressing the coils. and the spacers are out of the question.

KZN185W

iTrader: (1)

I think the adjustable bar can only align the body/frame with the axle. the funny wiggle can't be eliminated by the adjustable bar alone. the bracket must be there to eliminate the wiggle. the wiggle is caused by the angle of the bar which pushes/pulls the body laterally during articulation. this wiggle becomes more pronounced as the lift becomes higher. Steve has also a bar that is "bent" to maintain the old angle.

Bighead

Steve's adjustable panhard/trac bar replaces both the drop bracket and the "bent" bar he used to sell.

toy_tek

Ok first off I am not an expert on lifts or wiggles. So why am I posting? I have an opinion that may or may not be factually correct.

My impression is that the wiggle is a function of the vehicle body sitting 4" (or whatever) above where it was originally designed to. Like holding a weight a the end of a stick, with any slight movement at the fixed point the movement on the far end will be pronounced (ok bad analogy but haven't finished first cup of coffee this a.m.)

The adjustable panhard (again in my opinion) is to custom tailor the bar length to whatever amount of lift your vehicle gets. Read around YT, everybody reports a slightly different amount. There are loads of variables: springs, bumpers, cargo, etc so one bar can cover it all and provide the correct alignment for your application.

KZN185W

iTrader: (1)

Jon, I agree with you but there's one other item that needs to be considered. the adjustable bar on a lifted vehicle is a bit longer than a stock bar. why? it's because of the Pythagorean theorem length = the square root of the the sum of the squares of the sides of the triangle. whereas the stockbar is horizontal, the lifted bar is sloping. so when the lifted bar moves to a horizontal position , the body is pushed sidewards (with respect to the axle) because the lifted bar is longer than the stock bar. also, when the lifted bar is raised, the body is pulled because the horizontal distance at the lifted position is "shorter" than the stock bar position. these sidewards movements are the "wiggle" that is felt when there is significant vertical movement of the axle.

4runnin2002

i still dont 100% understand the concept behind the bar cuz its supposed to lay flat yes?? so this bar jest makes it less flat or ?? i dont understand...can someone put up a pic/drawing to explain??

Bighead

The reason for the bar is to keep the rear axle centered under the vehicle. If you keep the stock bar on with a lift then the axle will shift to the right side possibly causing issues with your rear tires hitting the wheel wells when stuffed.

The picture below is from the Sonoran Steel site:

4runnin2002

yaive seen that stock is level why it doesnt effect it so how does the extendable one fix this problem when it still doesnt lay flat