89 2wd suspension mods?
 

Hey everyone! I'm new here and this forum is just what i have been looking for. I just bought an 89 2wd 5spd 2.2re reg. cab for $50 from a buddy. The motor leaks some oil out the front but nothing major. (working on getting it fixed) Okay my question. I want to lift it as high as I can for as cheap as possible. I know i know that's everyone's dream right? lol. But I don't want to do a SAS or convert it to a 4x4. I want the front up as high as I can and the rear to match it. I was wondering if anyone has any information on how to go about doing this. I want some beefy tires on it so I'm already planning on a 3" body lift and cutting up the fender wheels for more clearance. Its just going to be a woods runner and I want some clearance between me and the ground for whatever the woods can throw at me. Any info would be awesome! Thanks all!

Unless your interested in dropping some serious cash on a Long Travel Kit (just a little less than SAS), doing a 3" body lift max. and cutting away as much as you feel is needed or wanted is your best route. Even then, you might only be looking at a 33" or so.

Then, toss a locker in the rear and hit the woods.

Dang! That's it hum? What about cranking down the torsion bars and blocks in the rear? How about a locker, any vehicles I can grab one out of and toss in? If not where can I go to get a one (used even)?

For some odd reason, I was imaging your truck to be a tad older than what you stated.

Doing a search, you can get bracket lifts for 2wd's, superlift and rough country show bracket kits but they're 1000.00+

You could do ball joint spacers and crank the torsion bars as well.

What size tire are you aiming for?

As far as lockers go, do a search on lunchbox lockers. There are a few to choose from and it would the best mod for you with 2wd. Only one that you could just pull out would be a E-Locker, but for what your going to be doing, a lunchbox would do just fine and its cheaper. Remember you'll want to regear the rear diff as well.

How do I or what does it consist of to do ball joint spacers? I have never heard of this. How much or big can I go?

As far as tire size, well, How ever high I get this with what ever I do (3”body lift, crank torsion bars, blocks, cutting out some fender, (ball joint spacers)) I’m going to put on the larges tires I can but keep in mind I don’t wnat them to rub when I do a full turn.

With the E-Locker you mentioned, could I get that out of a local junkyard, if so what vehicle? Also what gears would you suggest to run in the rear? Top end means nothing to me so 40-55mph is all I would need and not even that most of the time. Can I get rear end gears out of a 4x4? I guess I should figure out what I have first, will it say somewhere on the rear end?

I know I have a lot of questions but I would like to get everything right the first time and the more info I get on this project the smoother it will go for me. I like to “ask twice, check, ask again, then do it.” lol. Thanks again.

The e-locker will probably get pretty expensive; they are a factory option on the newer toyota 4WD, but can be converted for use on older models. I would go with a lunchbox locker for the usage you intend for this truck. I believe these trucks had a 7.5" diff, and I have heard that they are the same as the diffs used in IFS 86-95 front ends. So you should be able to use the same gears as used in those setups. I'm not sure because I've never had a 2WD toyota. As for ball joint spacers, that should give you about an 1 1/2" or so, then crank the t-bar a little. Use add-a-leafs in the rear; blocks are crap. Then do a body lift. I wouldn't run anything bigger than a 33 anyway. Anything more than that will be overkill. Good luck!!:)

Ball Joint Spacer info:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...ntSpacer.shtml

Do you have a good place or opinion for how many or what kind of add a leaf I should use? Any I could just swap out from another truck to mine?

The Rancho soft-ride AAL is pretty good:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...es.shtml#FAQ14

Okay, here is what I’m thinking. I can get a 3" body lift for free so that’s a no brainer that I’ll be doing that. Cranking the torsion bars (could get 1-2" lift their) possibly going with some ball joint spacers but still don’t want to have much money into this. That could give me another .5"-1.5" lift their. That’s what I have for the front end. Now for the rear, the axle IS on top of the leafs so I'm thinking of flipping that under the leafs in the rear and that could be 2-4" lift their. Also IF I do an add a leaf that would give me another 1-2" of lift but again that will cost money. Now with all of this done with or with out the ball joint spacers and add a leafs I should be able to get 31" tires for sure and hopefully 33" tires. I could probably for sure fit the 33" tires if I stick with 10.5 wide and not 12.5 but I want the wider tires.

At minimum I should be getting 7" in the front (w/o BJ spacers) and 31's
and in the rear around 8" of lift.

Now with the BJ spacers, AAL, and 33" tires AT BEST in the front I could be around 10.5" and 11" in the rear. (Wish full thinking) :woo:

Let me know your thoughts as far as sticking with my budget of "next to nothing", while keeping in mind that I DO NOT want to be unsafe with this build by putting myself or other in any sort of danger on or off the road.

Do any of you know a 15" wheel (5-lug) for my 2wd that will bolt on so I can ditch the 14" wheels on there. I asked aronud and no one seems to know a vehicle that I could just take them off and bolt on. I don't want after market wheels($). Tires will be cheaper for one, but the main reson is I have alot of 15" tires from 29"-35"tall I can just swap with whenever I need.

Cheap lift for front. Also the lift spindles give you 3" of tire clearance at bump, plus the 3" body lift, thats 6" total of tire clearance at bump!
http://obsessedmotorsports.com/toyot...d_spindle.html

you can't do blocks in the rear its spring under...

I think Jeep Cherokees had the 5x4.5 lug pattern and also some rangers are 5x4.5.

Thanks,
can anyone verify this for me?
(Not that I doubt you, just want to make sure:) )

What year/years?

http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse...._Reference.cfm
:think:

And also 5-lug tacomas are 5x4.5

Awsome, thanks. I'm going to try and just get some steelies like the spare wheels they come with that way they are cheap. Do you think I can get some 12.5" wide tires on a stock spare wheel off another vehicle?

I'll be flipping the axle under the leafs.

Also thinking of welding the rear diff. up.

I actually just bought a set of 33 x 12.5 not long ago. The guy said it came off of some kind of Jeep. These are them, bottom pic. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...3K/truck-1.gif

According to this site, Jeep YJ - 87-95, Cherokee 84-01, Liberty 02-07, TJ 96-06, Grand Cherokee 92-98 all have 5 x 4.5 lug spacing.

I kind of doubt the wheels i bought off the guy were stock Jeep wheels, but if they are find the Jeep they came off of and see if anyone is willing to sell.

Thanks, having the years will will help out alot.

Your truck looks dang good with those wheels and tires on their too.

Is your truck a 2wd? (because it is a 5-lug) If so, what if anything did you do to fit thoes?

Hahaha.

They were cheap, so i was quick to buy them, not knowing they wouldn't fit. :( Yeah its a 2WD.

So far it has a 3.5" spindle lift in the front, and 2" extended shackles in the rear. The 33"s don't fit, so i moved down to a 31 x 10.5. I bought Ivan Dan fiberglass fenders so they'll fit fine in the front. There isn't too much extra space in the rear to fit the 31"s (especially if my dirt bike is in the back), so i'm ordering 3" Downey lift leaf springs tomorrow, and i have a set of ball joint spacers waiting to be picked up at the post office.

After all this i should have 5" of lift in the front and rear. Which SHOULD fit the 31"s no problem.

If you're running a 3" BL, and some suspension lift, i think you'll be able to fit 33"s okay. Just let it be known a 12.5" is a wide tire, and you might have some rubbing issues. Wheel spacers are necessary to help prevent some, maybe all of it.

Oh, and i also saw another Jeep Sahara today on my way to school with those rims i have on my 33"s. So i don't know if thats just a coincidence or some option for Jeep or something. I'll get the name of the rims tomorrow, they're in storage at my dads place until i have some time to work on it. All i know is that they're 15" tall and the width is 8".

If you're going with new tires, i'd talk to the guy at the tire shop and ask him what dimensions the rims have to be to fit a certain sized tire. I tried to get a 30" x 9.5 mounted on my rim, but he said the rim is too wide and it wouldn't work...

Oh i just saw you wanted to try and use stock steelies. That i seriously doubt. Check your local craigslist for some cheap alloys or something. As i said above, make sure you get a rim big enough to handle a 33" tire.

http://luxor-motor-cars.ebizautos.co...a-1974301.html

There are my wheels again, another freakin Sahara with them haha.

Yea, the steelies wont work for me because most of them (being a spare) will only be 6" wide where as justa stock aluminum wheel off a jeep will be 8". I know I can get a 10.5" tire on an 8" wheel no problem and I was talking to a freind of mine yeaterday (a tire guy) and he said that for what I plan on doing I can squeeze 12.5" wides them. :banger:

Did you do anything with your torshion bars?

I wanted to go with a 3" body lift but from what I understand I will need to do some modifications with brake lines, wires, clutch, etc. However, if I do a 2" body lift none of these mods are requiered and I can just put it in and go. Is this correct?:think:

With doing your ball joint spacers, how big did you go with? Will you be doing anything with your idler arm?


On a side note: I called around today and can get 4 alum. wheels off like a 98 jeep for $25 each. Idn, i'm in no real big hury so im going to see if I can stumble upon some at some upcoming swap meets that someone wants to get rid of cheap.