This weekend I'm swapping the stock setup for SAWs and OMEs. Wish me luck ...

Does anyone know where I can find a write-up for the rear suspension? I've found write-ups for the front, but not for the rear.

Yes, I've searched the archives, but have yet to find anything for a 3rd gen.

Thanks for the help.

 

yo dude, after going through the first 20 pages of my search "lift"

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...highlight=list

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...threadid=15419

Where exactly are you located? I might have to stop by and check out your rig cuz I'm traveling from Ann Arbor to Purdue this weekend.

 

Thanks for the lead, Toyo. I left you a PM.

 

UPDATE:

OK, with the help of my neighbor and a few bottles of liquid incentive, we spent a few hours successfully outfitting my '99 SR5 Sport with Sway-A-Way Racerunners up front and OME HD coils and comfort shocks in the rear.

The ground-to-fender well measurement was 35" (+/- 1/2") prior to the work being done. After driving it around a few miles, the same measurements are 38" all the way around, hopefully plenty of room for the 285/75R16s that are being installed Thursday.

As much as I'd like to put MT/Rs on, I have too much highway traveling to do and have to settle for the less aggressive AT/Ss.

The only real hangup for us was -- as others have rightly mentioned -- removal of the old rear shocks. The nuts on top sit in a well that collects all kinds of crap (leading to corrosion) and is very difficult to reach. However, with lots of elbow grease, a good strap wrench and faith in the jack stands, we emerged victorious!

I used Steve Shaeffer's recommendations on the adjustment of the SAWs (amount of threads showing) for the initial adjustment and found them to be nearly exact. We only had to jack it up one time for some fine tuning. However, even though the measurement from the ground to the top of the wheel opening is exactly the same all the way around, visually it appears as if the front is higher than the rear (reminds me of my old '95!) After the 285s are on, I'll reassess. If there's room, I'll either lower the front an inch, add a winch or add spacers to the rear coil.

Thanks again to all for the advice.

-- Don

 

Sweet dude, congrats on the lift. Getting that top nut off is a major PITA...

 

sweet stuff man, congrats on getting it done so easily. Your rig looks awesome. Now get those running boards off and put some sliderz on!

Yea to lower the front, all you need to do is just add a winch, it's that simple haha

 

Hey Don,

Looks good man. I still think your avatar picture is one of the sweetest on the forum!

 

Why, thank you.

However, it's eventually going to change. The plate says "Shadowfax," which was on another vehicle of mine (and was much more appropriate.)

Since having the tranny mod done to accomodate the SC, it really bangs into gear. My wife immediately re-christened the truck "LURCH," and now I need to have a new front plate made with its new moniker.

Of course, that presumes that I'll actually get around to doing that someday ...

An update to the suspension saga:

I measured the lift again this morning -- after two days of driving -- and the rear has settled a bit, now at 37 3/4" instead of 38". Consequently, I've just ordered a set of 1" Cornfed spacers. They should be a cinch to install, now that I've been there done that, right?

Anyway, that should keep any further sagging from having any appreciable effect.

 

If you're already at 3" all the way around, i wouldn't install another 1" of lift in the back, even if you're getting a tiny bit of sag in the back. Anything over 3" in the front will kill your CV's, even if you've got the diff drop, so you wouldn't be able to level out the vehicle. Do you have the HD springs in the back? I've got a heavy gearbox in the back, and my HD springs haven't seemed to sag at all over the past 6 months or so.