Question for all 1st Gen 4runners running 35's
08-10-2008, 07:06 PM
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Question for all 1st Gen 4runners running 35's
I apologize in advance if this has been answered, i searched threads but it was all mixed years. i have a 89 runner with 4"sus/3"BL with 35" BFG's. after looking at a few other 1st gen runners mine seems to have alot (12") of space b/w the top of tire and fender. this is my first toyota, so i didn't know if that was about right for that much lift. my previous jeep(don't hold it against me) had a 6" long arm suspension lift and not near as much space b/w tire and fender. i also did not install this lift so i dont know if there is any shackle lift in the back, etc.
08-10-2008, 07:39 PM
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it looks like you may have a little fender trimming in the front. in the back, from what i can see, you have some lift springs with a shackle angle that worries me, and some kind of link addition that is throwing me for a loop. could you take some pics of the front, around the control arms, and the back highlighting the link arm, and the rear shackle?
08-10-2008, 07:46 PM
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Your profile states you have 4" suspension with a 3" body thats 7" above stock. your jeep was only 6" above stock the big difference is between stock height of the jeep vs. stock height of the 4 runner
08-10-2008, 08:04 PM
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I don't see any trimming and I can't see the shackles.. but it does look a little big, maybe it's a 6 and 3? That is really clean too! you even got the sun roof. lol
08-10-2008, 08:10 PM
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Hey St. Dixe that is a sweet runner. It looks like some trimming was done, I know my 85 has about that much room. you are also going to see lots of extra room with the body lift. are the shocks hooked to the traction bar??
08-10-2008, 08:18 PM
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colsoncj, here are the pics that i have. i just put on the bushwacker flares to pass the state inspection, so no fender trimming. the lift is a procomp lift and there are traction bars in the rear with dual shocks on the side and one still on the axle. the front has a drop bracket and new knuckles that came with the lift. my camera is messed up so i'll try to get pics of the rear shackles tommorow!
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08-10-2008, 09:22 PM
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Alright... I see whats up now!
You have the typical 4" procomp bracket lift, with the stage 2 (or whatever its called) brace arms that keep the front suspension from folding back under forceful climbs. (I actually ran the same kit!)
It also looks like you're torsion bars have been cranked to give you about another 1.5 to 2" of lift. You can see this from the extra angle on the front control arms. (words of advice, your CVs probably wont like this, everything else on them will be alright, relative speaking of course). Heres a pic of the same lift on my rig, with zero cranking of the torsion bars:
You should be able to still see the difference in the control arm angle. Between that, and the 4" bracket, you'll net 5.5" to 6" by my guessing from the pics. Add your quoted 3" BL and you've got between 8.5 and 9" of lift (again from my estimates!)
on the rear, it looks like you've got lift blocks, inferring from the estimated difference between the axle tube and spring in the pic. I'm going to say around 3 to 3.5". they look like factory springs, in case you're curious. From the first pics, it looks like you're shackle is almost straight up and down. if so, and given an equal front to rear ride height, that would be around a 2.5" shackle lift.
Heres my thoughts... one, I'm still not so sure about the trac bar setup. I know with lift blocks and factory springs, I had some HORRIBLE axle wrap, so I'd bet those were installed to fix a similar issue. I went to chevy springs and got about 4-4.5" of lift and got rid of the axle wrap. I also gained some better ride quality, but in turn lost a little departure angle. take that plus a small lift block and you'd have a good shackle angle, good ride and good flex... relatively speaking. (this advice all stemming from my worries that your shackle angle really is, straight up and down).
on the front... I'd run the 35"s and check you're clearance. if possible I'd tone down the t-bars a little to be easier on your CVs.
From experience wheeling a IFS truck on 37"s, carry CVs, the front passenger side inner axle shaft, and idler arms. Thankfully I never really broke a CV, but I did break SEVERAL passenger inner axle shafts and a couple idler arms.
Hope all this helps.
You have the typical 4" procomp bracket lift, with the stage 2 (or whatever its called) brace arms that keep the front suspension from folding back under forceful climbs. (I actually ran the same kit!)
It also looks like you're torsion bars have been cranked to give you about another 1.5 to 2" of lift. You can see this from the extra angle on the front control arms. (words of advice, your CVs probably wont like this, everything else on them will be alright, relative speaking of course). Heres a pic of the same lift on my rig, with zero cranking of the torsion bars:
You should be able to still see the difference in the control arm angle. Between that, and the 4" bracket, you'll net 5.5" to 6" by my guessing from the pics. Add your quoted 3" BL and you've got between 8.5 and 9" of lift (again from my estimates!)
on the rear, it looks like you've got lift blocks, inferring from the estimated difference between the axle tube and spring in the pic. I'm going to say around 3 to 3.5". they look like factory springs, in case you're curious. From the first pics, it looks like you're shackle is almost straight up and down. if so, and given an equal front to rear ride height, that would be around a 2.5" shackle lift.
Heres my thoughts... one, I'm still not so sure about the trac bar setup. I know with lift blocks and factory springs, I had some HORRIBLE axle wrap, so I'd bet those were installed to fix a similar issue. I went to chevy springs and got about 4-4.5" of lift and got rid of the axle wrap. I also gained some better ride quality, but in turn lost a little departure angle. take that plus a small lift block and you'd have a good shackle angle, good ride and good flex... relatively speaking. (this advice all stemming from my worries that your shackle angle really is, straight up and down).
on the front... I'd run the 35"s and check you're clearance. if possible I'd tone down the t-bars a little to be easier on your CVs.
From experience wheeling a IFS truck on 37"s, carry CVs, the front passenger side inner axle shaft, and idler arms. Thankfully I never really broke a CV, but I did break SEVERAL passenger inner axle shafts and a couple idler arms.
Hope all this helps.
08-11-2008, 09:34 AM
#10
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cory thanks for all the input, it helps to know someone else who has run a similar set up. i thought of removing the body lift or cutting it in half, but wasn't sure if i could still fit the 35's. i will be sure to take some pics of the rear when possible and post them, hopefully this afternoon or first thing tomorrow. have you had issues with breaking tie rod ends on yours? i know with my chevy2500HD that has a 6" lift when i went to moab that was the 1st thing to go!
08-11-2008, 06:32 PM
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never really had too much of a problem with the tie rods... mainly just the stuff i listed.
im interested to look at your rear setup... and i'd leave one of the links and shocks on it to prevent axle wrap... like i said, i had a huge problem with that.
best way to determine clearance is wheel it. take it out, flex it as best you can and figure out how much body lift you can remove!
im interested to look at your rear setup... and i'd leave one of the links and shocks on it to prevent axle wrap... like i said, i had a huge problem with that.
best way to determine clearance is wheel it. take it out, flex it as best you can and figure out how much body lift you can remove!
08-13-2008, 01:53 PM
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08-13-2008, 05:51 PM
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i was afraid of catching the shock on rock & such and tearing them off, so removing them doesn't hurt my feelings at all. i believe that the lift was put on 6-7 years ago and those are the original shocks that came with it, some of the seals are leaking so i was going to replace all 8 shocks, but buying 4 really good shock instead of 8 decent ones sounds better on my wallet!
08-13-2008, 08:07 PM
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I would agree... however I didnt see any harm in leaving them on there, so instead of created additional work, I'd probably just leave them on there... but thats me. However, if you think you'll catch them on obstacles, or if the seals are shot, or if ya had any reason to pull them, I'd yank them off in a heartbeat!
Last edited by colsoncj; 08-13-2008 at 08:09 PM.
08-15-2008, 01:42 PM
#17
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OK, so i got the runner back from the shop and measured and took pics of the rear. the shackle length is 9 1/2 long (8 1/2 center to center of bolts), the riser blocks are 3" and body lift blocks 3". do you or anyone else know the original shackle lenght? i'm guessing that original shackles are around 6" so that make a total of 3+3+approximately 2" of shackle = 8" lift?
08-15-2008, 03:28 PM
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so, i went to the local junk yard and got a set of stock 4runner shackles, 3 1/2". that means i started with 3"susp/3"body/5"shackle lift for a total of 11" of lift. no wonder i couldn't pass inspection. the frame was 4" above what utah allows for height!!
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