There are alot of you out there including myself that want a small lift for their older pickups and 4 runners. My ? is why no one makes them i mean how hard would it be. I wish i knew someone in the industry so i could recommend to the their design board that this is something that needs to be made. Just wanted to get everyones opinion on this and see if it would get recognized by the right person.
Thanks, Clint

 

2" lifts are made.

For 2", you can use ball joint spacers up front:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...ntSpacer.shtml

And in back, a 2" lift spring (like OME), an add-a-leaf (like the Rancho Soft-Ride AAL kit), or longr spring shackles:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shackles.shtml#FAQ4

 

We' ll I have thought about this but i am still a little gun shy about the re alignment thing and the cv joint wear and tear. But what i thought about doing is using your 1 inch bj spacers and 1 inch differential drop bracket and then the angles would be back in check or would this even work?

 

For 2" your CV angles should be OK. Manual hubs would be a better investment than a diff drop IMHO.

No matter what lift you put on, you'll need a QUALITY alignment after.

Or you could do a body lift from Roger.

 

Yep, IFS will require an alignment after any sort of lift, even cranking up the torsion bars. CV joint wear can be minimized w/ manual locking hubs, leave them unlocked and you have no CV joint wear. The diff drop kit can help reduce the CV joint angles, if needed. With the 1.5" spacers, you can adjust the ride height up or down to meet your needs.

 

So even without the diff drop it will still be ok on the cv angles. I am really leaning towards doing the 1 inch bj spacers in front and 1.5 inches of lift in the rear. I kinda want to run 32x 11.50 s one day but would like the look of the extra inch a half or 2 inches of lift. I don't want a body lift. Whats your opinions?

 

I never had mine aligned on my DD. never had any problems with steering or tire wear. downey makes a 2 inch lift that isnt bad. not the best but not bad

 

Try it and see. If your CVs bind up at full droop or you find you are tearing or wearing out boots too frequently, then add the diff drop.

 

Ball joint spacers will not over extend your CV's. Your boots will wear faster but the option is simply not to lift or go with a 4" bracket style lift which is much more expensive and does not increase suspension travel unless you modify the 4" kit. It's part of the truck's mechanical design as far as 1-2" of lift is concerned that the a-arms and therefore CV's are at a sharper angle to elevate the truck. Manual hubs will give you excellent CV boot life with a spacer type of lift.



Frank

 

I would rather just not lift at all. You can run a 31x10.50, 32x11.50, or 33x10.50 without lift and minimal (if any) rubbing issues on or offroad. I have been extremely pleased with running stock suspension on 33x10.50s.

 

i hear that!! im going with 32x10.5 pretty soon with stock suspension!!

 

You can run 32x11.5 on stock suspension. I have been running them for the past 2 years with a tbar crank and have had no problems. Just dont leave your hubs locked when running high speeds.

 

No lift is certainly an option. There are function benefits to the spacers. One, you have more overall travel. Two, the suspension uses it better as it becomes more compliant.

Also consider that increased clearance between the front wheels lessens the number of times and severity your crossmember hits rocks, etc... The added compression travel is also easier on the truck overall when absorbing impacts.

One downside to cranked torsion bars or spacers is increased force on the idler arm. An idler arm brace is a good idea with or without lift if you plan to do more slow speed crawling type of wheeling.

I'm not lifting my truck nearly as high as I did the last one but since installing the front and rear spacers I enjoy how little the truck bottoms out even when going through dips on the street.

Frank

 

So you guys think the 1 inch bj spacers and 1.5 inches of lift in the back would not be to bad on the cvs.

 

I wouldn't even worry about my Cv's unless I kept my hubs locked in all the time,otherwise your not even putting any stress on them.
The only time I have my front hubs locked in is when I' 4wheelin'
If you leave them locked in all the time it is less gas mpg,and more wear on the vehicle. Hope this helps.

 

When you say CV's do you mean the boot or the joint? BJ spacers typically come in a 1.5" size and have been available for years. CV joints are fine. Steeper angles whether you achieve them by means of torsion bar adjustment or spacers will wear boots faster but that can be mitigated by manual hubs. (How many miles do you drive in 4wd as opposed to 2wd, that's the difference manual hubs make.) Otherwise, boots are like 13 bucks at Pepboys. Keep in mind stock boots might last like 16 years. Maybe you'll get 8 out of new ones when you lift (w/0 manual hubs)? Tough to say for sure but that still a long time for a wear part.

Frank

 

I think you could do a 1.5" spacer and 2" coil spacer in the back and you'd be fine. .5" is insignificant a big truck.

Frank

 

Old Man Emu makes one that's 1.75 and 2.0. Go to http://www.rocky-road.com/ they have the cheepest I've seen

 

I would get a set of new rear coils rather than a spacer. the Downey 1.5" lift coils (either regular or heavy duty) are an excellent match for the 1.5" ball joint spacers. Remember that a lift coil's "height" is measured above stock height, not necessarily the sagged height you might be sitting at.

I have the Downey 1.5" HD coils and love them. My 4Runner got nearly 3" of lift at the hitch out of the coils because the stock ones had sagged so badly. Remember that you'll also probably want new shocks to go along with the spacers/springs.

My 0.02

 

Check my signature: I am currently running 4Crawler 1.5" BJ spacers with slightly cranked t-bars for about 2" of lift. In the back I have 1.5" lift shackles and an add-a-leaf for about 2" of lift. I have PLENTY of room for 33" tires, although am currently on 31s.

I haven't had any major CV issues, although I must say that recently my dad used the truck and apparently ripped the inner boot (NO problem/damage with the actual joint). This is the first problem I've had since last year when i put this lift on. i have never had overextension problems while using the 4x4. Note that i do have manual hubs, which greatly reduces wear.