There has to be more people then just me on YT with an FJ. I want to upgrade my suspension but dont know what to get. What are you guys running?

 

you maybe the only one on YT but I would love to have one. Those truck scream mod me, I would coil it, freshen up the axles & diffs, then update the motor with a v8 or diesel. They just look fun, I hope you enjoy man.... what do you got planned

 

look into ih8mud for some real world experience with good suspension for land cruiser. I personally like old man emu but it's pricey. Depends on what you want your rig to do and how you'll use it. Hell for stout makes good suspension as far as i know as well and look into ironman 4x4 suspension as well. I spent the past weekend with a bunch of land cruiser guys and as always fore those of us that wheel our rigs and use them the goal for most is stay as low as possible and go from there. 2-3 inch lift is about all you need to fit 33's on your rig and with a little modding with a hammer 35's might fit as well. Armor, lockers, and gearing will out perform big lift and big tires all day in my opinion.

 

Idk about coils but I will definitely be freshening up the axles with, hopefully, some 4.11's and lockers

I've been to ih8mud but personally, I dont like it as well as yotatech. Plus I dont plan on getting more than 3" of lift, that way I can tuck some 33's really nice.

 

Are we talking about the FJ60 in your sig? If so, I believe it already has 4.10 gears...

And you're not the only one with an FJ. I have a'72 FJ40, my wife has a'10 FJ Cruiser, and I have an '84 mini.

 

Does it? Ive heard that they run 3.73 gears? Ill do more research to make sure though.

 

4.10's weren't very common in 60s. I know that diesels only had 4.10s with an auto trans... Jack it up and spin the drive shaft to find out for sure.

Old Man Emus are the nicest springs you will find. I had Ironman springs 10 years ago and they were horrible but that might have changed. I've heard mixed reviews about the HFS springs. Spring over will give you a sweet ride with those old stock sagged out springs! Not sure of your abilities in the shop, I know its not for everyone to do. And as much as people say its cheap, its NOT cheap if its done propperly even if you do it yourself. People that think its cheap haven't done it or haven't done it right.

 

Yeah, ive thought about going SOA, but like you said, its to pricey! OME sounds pretty intriguing. Ilk go check them out

 

I apologize for the wrong info on gear ratio. I thought the auto 62s came with 3.73s. I thought 40s and 60s had 4.10s. Anyway, like previous post said, jack up the rear, have someone hold one tire(presuming its not a locked diff) and spin the driveshaft. However many times it spins to the tires ONE full revolution is your ratio. If its 3 and 3/4 turns of the driveshaft to the tire going around once, thats
a 3.73, etc...

As far as SOA, I got a cut and turned front diff from Proffitts Cruisers. I just gotta swap all the guts from mine into the empty diff. The kit came with new perched for the rear leafs since there is no geometry to worry about.

Still cheaper than OME. But I am doing the work myself.
I did it professionally for to many years to pay someone else to do it. And with the front its all bolt in, other than the rear its just weld on the perches. Plus Hysteer.....
Also, you should realize, a SOA will gross anywhere from 4-6 inches of lift...

 

Good point...how much did the front diff run you? And what of stability on the trails? I know that my FJ isnt the lowest thing out there, but is it much worse with the SOA?

 

I think the front diff housing, which is cut and turned, plus everything needed for a shackle reversal, is 750ish?
Again, this is for a 40, not a 60. You may want to call Proffitts and verify interchangability...

The ride is "different". Same spring rate, but it feels softer. The shackle reversal helps and the leverage of being on the bottom of the spring(short leaf) versus the top(long leaf). Also, the center of gravity is higher so its more top heavy. I havent done it on my '71 FJ40, but I had done it on my past '78 FJ40. I just have the parts sitting in storage along with the current 40.... But I loved the difference over stock on my other 40. I also had 36s on it, so it wheeled very well.

If your looking at this for the 60, it may not be feasible for you as a DD. Spring over kit, fabrication, time the truck is down, new tires, possible damage of drivetrain components due to larger tires and bigger balls from having a BIG 60.....

 

you will get 4-6" of lift but only a few inches over stock with flat springs. You will love the ride. If, like most of us, you wheel a mild lift, fall symptom to MIBS you will find yourself doing an SOA in a couple years anyway. Like Rokblok says, the SOA is a little different but it rides like a biatchin camero! For mine I sourced the parts slowly over a couple years and used spare axles to set up rear discs and do the cut and turn myself. Worked well but let me draw it out way too long! You can't go wrong with Proffits, get a truss added on the front axle if you go that route. Good luck.

 

Yeah, for now I think Im just gonna stay stock. But for the future SOA sounds great. Is there noticeable gains in flex as well?

 

I wheeled with guys in Utah that had 2-1/2" OME and 33s, and guys that had various other "name brand" lifts(up to 6inches), and SOA Cruisers and Heeps. You can stuff a 35-36" tire ALOT better sprung-over than sprung-under. Thats my experience speaking. The only thing that could compete in Moab or in the mtns was coiled over Heeps running 36-38s. But they had essentially a FULL aftermarket drivetrain. Trans, t-case, driveshafts, diffs, etc. I was running stock 40 drivetrain(2F, 4 spd, 5.29s, 36" swampers) and could outcrawl everything but the coiled over, Atlas'd Heeps. I wont have any other lift on an early Cruiser except SOA with factory or Deaver springs, possibly OME stock height springs. Anything higher with SOA is to tipsy.

Flipping front springs helps hide the "tipsy" feeling(longer wheelbase), and shackle reversal helps the ride. For wheeling, I prefer shackles in the front. Seems to help me.

Good luck!!

 

Oh yes! Don't let go of your stock springs if you ever think you might SOA in the future. Bagged out soft OME springs are the absolute best I think but they take years to perfect...

 

what do you mean by "flipping the springs"? Ive heard the term but have no idea what it means.

 

The front springs on a 40 are different lengths from center-pin to eye. The long side is towards the front of the truck with stock configuration. This allows a SLIGHTLY better ride since the long side of the leaf is towards the shackle. (more leverage, so less effort needed to bend the leaf, make sense?)

Flipping the springs puts the SHORT section of the spring to the front, which gives you a little longer wheelbase... to help offset height gain with SOA.

 

Oh ok, that makes much more sense now. Thanks for the info!