I recently purchased a 89, 5spd, 22re, 30" meats. I previously owned a 00 wrangler (locked, body protectection, 33's, etc.) I bought this toy because of the added room, after my first offroading adventure I have a few first impressions.
The Good
1-the super low COG makes the rig feel super stable
2-4 wheeling became more challenging (stock vehicle)
3-truck handles the small bumps alot better than the wrangler (comfort wise)
4-added wheelbase kicks ass on steep climbs
5-little 22re has plenty of grunt in low-range
6-could not take off top or doors so I stayed comfortable and dry
7-great ground clearance for doghnut tires
8-starfire tires (never heard of before) a ms rated tire handle the mud pretty good
9-with little tires gearing is great
Cons
1-Ifs flexes like a turd (jeep would keep all tires on ground-shorter wheelbase/ toy lifts tires like crazy (ok except currently have open diff)
2-a little less nimble than the tj
3-visiblitly over steering wheel not so great
4-lack of real bumpers for high-lift
5-I had no winch


Overall I was very impressed. I am concerned, however, of the durability of the ifs.
How long have you wheeled your ifs rigs without problems?

 

The toyota IFS is a very strong setup. It even got praise in the recent petersons, there is another thread on this. 4Runners are great machines, the weight distro is what makes them so great.

I find it funny you mentioned the vision over the hood since whenever I drive a Heep it feels like the hood and front end is bigger than on our 66 T-bird... and I am 6'4'' so I have about as good a look-down angle as you can get...

Yeah, with the IFS you will pull the tires more.. just a fact of life, but there are a few mods you can do to increase travel.

Gald you like it and left the dark side.

 

How much more flex do you get from removing the swaybar? I was going to remove it to go wheeling, but the bumpstop over the a-arm looked like it was so close that I did not know if it would help.

 

As a dumb kid in high school, I wheeled everyday after school for a long time. Beat the crap out of my 89. It had 210k miles when I got it, and sold it with 295k miles, and still ran the same!

The IFS does have its limitations. Like I always say..if you're interested in "rock crawling" youd probably want a SFA truck. Just depends on the wheeling you do though. I dont do rock-crawling, and i love my ifs truck!

 

Oh, and if you wanted to, throwing a solid axle under those years are quite "easy". (Compared to a newer toy). You can use a solid toy axle, and the steering box (and linkage) is already in place.

 

You will get a bit more travel from removing the sway-bar. I have discos on mine and do notice when I dont take them off. It only really affects when one tire is trying to fully stuff and one is trying to fully droop.

 

6-could not take off top or doors so I stayed comfortable and dry

Why not? The doors are definitely more challenging than the Heep's, but the top comes off quite easy. Get wet with the rest of us 1st gen owners! (or at least make your rear seaters get wet!)

How long have you wheeled your ifs rigs without problems?

The 1986 I wheeled continuously for 11 years until a drunk turned it into scrap. The 1988 I wheel/race in obstacle courses and figure-8s right now - 465,000 miles on the stock suspension. The '89 is my "pimp" truck, so doesn't see much more than easy wheeling any more, but did it's share for 6 years after it became the replacement for the totalled '86 - 251,000 miles on the suspension. It still runs the street stock drags. All are stock IFS, with no more than upgraded Rancho shocks all around. As long as you don't overstress the hubs with 10-12" wheels and 35s, the IFS is very tough.

 

I would say the IFS is hands down the strongest IFS (pound for pound) of any vehicle on the road! I ran 35's and 33 tsls and NEVER broke a CV. but yeah it doesnt flex, which is why I sas'ed.

 

Just wanted to thank you all for the replies. I'm happy to hear the ifs is pretty tough. thanks again,