Ok so I was talking to the local off road shop here in Bozeman, Montana and they told me that BJ spacers would be a bad idea because it would cause signifigant wear on the upper BJ and could even cause they whole tire to fall off. He said I would be better off with a 4" IFS lift or a 2-3" body lift. although my original plan was to put BJ spacers up front with a AAL in the back with extended shackels. A 4" lift in bigger than I want and a body lift looks really ugly. Any suggestions or other ideas to get a little bit more lift to clear some 33"s off road? Or some pics with body lifts, 4" lift so I could get a better idea.
Thanks Blaine

 

don't all the 4" IFS lifts out there use some forms of BJ spacer or equivalent? I used to have a picture of what the typical 4" IFS look like, but i can't find it. I'll include here a picture of my installed BJ spacer:

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8772/000183ls.png

more info in this thread: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/bj-spacers-installed-68997/

i've only been running it about a month or so, so i can't give any intelligent response to the tire falling off issue. looking at how the forces are distributed, i can't see how this BJ spacer would be any worse than a standard IFS lift

 

Soem "recipes" for fitting 33s on IFS trucks, along with pictures, can be found on the following web page:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...it.shtml#FAQ10

I don't think the spacers adds much angle or wear to the upper ball joint. It is a wear item and should be checked for excessive play and replaced as needed. A lot depends on how you set the suspension height after the spacer install. If you keep the height reasonable (at the height of the spacer or less), things should be fine. Go crazy and try cranking up the t-bars another 1.5" on top of the spacer height and you start pushing things to the limit and they will wear faster.

 

I am running them on my IFS lift. They have been on for about 2 years with no problems at all. I am running 35" MTs too!!!!

 

[QUOTE=blainelukens]Ok so I was talking to the local off road shop here in Bozeman, Montana and they told me that BJ spacers would be a bad idea because it would cause signifigant wear on the upper BJ and could even cause they whole tire to fall off. He said I would be better off with a 4" IFS lift or a 2-3" body lift. although my original plan was to put BJ spacers up front with a AAL in the back with extended shackels. A 4" lift in bigger than I want and a body lift looks really ugly. Any suggestions or other ideas to get a little bit more lift to clear some 33"s off road? Or some pics with body lifts, 4" lift so I could get a better idea.
Thanks Blaine[/QUOTE

Having run these BJ Spacers now for over a year I can tell you that I think your local guy is way off base. I have had no abnormal wear issues and they are as tight today as the day I installed them.The BJ itself is a wear item as someone just pointed out and it does require maintence. I am running 33x12.5's using the SDORI BJ spacers and OME (Old Man Emu)shocks and rear springs. It is a proven setup that has been used now for a few years by other wheelers and I have not heard anyone complain that their wheel "fell off".

 

can you get these BJ spacers for tacomas?

 

No. Tacos have a different setup.

 

I might be a tad concerned with this shop. They do not sound like they understand the mechanics of the truck's front suspension. There is also the thing to consider, when taking a shops recommendations, that they do make much more money off of installing a 4" lift. However, if you think it would be helpful, email me at sales@sdori.com with their contact info and I can help them better understand the spacer type of lift.

To summarize....

The angle of the upper ball joint changes when the upper a-arm moves. Ball joint spacers do not change the window in which the upper a-arm moves and therefore do not change the angles. The forces felt on the joint are that from the mass of the truck moving in various directions. You will still move the same mass in the same directions so will exert the same forces.

The spacers include Class 12.9 hardware. That 12.9 is a metric rating which is stronger than US grade 8. As a result, the ball joint is securely fastened.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Frank