Okay I just recently bought a '90 4runner and I have just fixed all of the problems neglected by the previous owner. I am a college student(24) I was in the Marine Corps and am now living off of my GI Bill(free money) and have loads of freetime and no job so plenty of time to work on my runner. I am trying to go at this goal oriented so I can mod at a steady pace. Money is (relatively) no object.

I am planning on using this runner 70% on-road(daily driver), 25% Sand(beach sand, I am an avid fisherman and would love to reach new spots), 4% Mud(when I have to), 1% crawling(1% is being generous). So I plan on keeping IFS. So I am gonna post what I would like to do with my runner, and I am hoping you will tell me where I am going wrong or if something is a bad idea, or if something is a better idea.

Tires/wheels:
35x12.50 possibly wider on 15x10's

Lift:
3-4" body lift

rear:
HD Downey coils in the rear (will also be pulling trailer from time to time)
rancho 9000's ???
3" spring spacers

front:
lengthened A-arms (to correct camber)
26mm torsion bars

Gears:
5.29

Everything else:
warn manual locking hubs (do I need em???)
OME steering stabilizer
low profile bump stops
lock the rear (whats best for sand?, and can I lock the back w/o locking the front???)
Custom airtank/bumper
bull bar w/ fishing pole holders
roof rack
fender flares

now to my questions

Am I forgetting anything important?

With the lift that I stated can I go bigger than 35" tires?

Does anyone know of a good setup for beach/sand or where to look (no results on here or google)?

And that is it I believe, I may have forgotten something but hey Im only human.

 

noone have advice? not even a flame or anything?

 

you posted at 2 AM and now its sunday morning...Give it a couple hours into the afternoon and I am sure you will get useful advice

 

I totally forgot about that sorry

 

Why 6 to 7 inches of lift? I would just do the suspension lift and keep the tires at 33 inches. For the driving that you will do, you definitely don't need bigger. By the way, which engine do you have?

 

Some people start having wear/breakage problems with 35's. For longevity and with your limited funds situation, I would stick with 33's. That would allow you to do EITHER the body lift OR the suspension lift, saving you that money plus the tires will be a lot cheaper.

I'm not sure what you're talking about "lengthened A-Arms to correct camber"

You forgot sliders. I know you're not into rock crawling, but it provides a great hilift point when you're trying to extract yourself from the sand.

 

roll bar and I happen to have one for sale if you like

 

So, is this (below) your goal for the 4Runner?





Fred

 

FRED:yes that is my goal usage % Fred. I will not be doing much mud or rock. Mud only when its raining really. And I dont know when I would ever take my runner out on trail. In the future maybe I would build a different truck for a more trail worthy or bogger setup. But for right now the only thing I will be doing off pavement is driving down the beach to go fishing, and maybe a little playing in it.

PAUL:If I dont need bigger tires or lift then I dont want to. I just figured a bigger tire would have a bigger footprint and help me stay on top of the sand. And if I went no bigger than 33's then I would not buy that much lift. And I have the 3.slow atm. Have wanted to replace w/ a 350 since I first discovered toyota 4x4 10 years ago, but I dont know. And if I go no bigger than 33's I dont need to re-gear do I? I am a slow driver anyways, rarely go over 75mph.

CyMon:Well I am buying tires and a lift kit this month, as well as driving to florida for a buddies wedding. So I will have to get back to you later on that roll bar if it isnt sold already.

TC:I have not heard of anybody else having this problem but I have been talking to the guy who is selling me the tires, and hi told me that when he cranked his torision bar all of the way in that his tires had a major tilt to them. And so he had a guy lengthen his lower A-arm to compensate. He drives an Isuzu, so am I not going to have this problem? Oh and this is if I go with 3" coils spacers in the back and crank it in the front.

thank you so far everyone!

 

I'd go 2" BL max. 3-4" is way too high. I dont like body lifts as it is, but if you really have to do one, just go 2". Keep in mind that every inch you lift the body off the frame is raising the trucks center of gravity that much more. A 4" BL will make it extremely easy to roll the truck, as the body will be so high off the frame.

 

Wouldn't a 4" suspenion lift be worse than a 4" body lift? Because at least with a 4" body lift you have the weight of the frame still at it's original height. 4" suspension lift you are lifting everything basically.

If it were me I'd do no more than a 2" BL, and I'd go with 33's as suggested. Either that, or ball joint spacers and bigger rear coils and longer shocks.

 

I run 35x12.5x15 on my 90 and have no real problems and use it close to what your talking about for yours. With only a 4" suspention lift and the only problem I noticed I have is the inner fender plastic catchs on full lock in reverse but I belive that when I turn the bars that will be gone. As for the body lift you will not really need more then a inch and if you go with bj spacers I'm pretty sure you won't need that. I myself am gonna go with the bj spacers to stop my little rubbing issue. As for the front manuel hubs they help out with front drive train useage limiting it for less stress and less possiblity of breakage. Just find a set of ifs aisin's from someone like wabfab very easy to install and cheaper then the Warns. lengthened A-arms (to correct camber) if your talking about a long travel kit you might as well sas it because its gonna cost about the same and you wont need the 26mm bars or bj spacers. Anyway just my thoughts and something for you to ponder.

 

with a 4" body lift i think it'll look stupid, and be hard to line up the bumpers, and then theres the cooling issues, etc. probably worth doing 2" body lift, and some suspension lift too. Wouldn't recommend 35" for a DD, especially since you plan to tow from time to time, and you're probably better off with something like a 32x11.5, on beadlocked rims because you're looking for something wide i assume, and with the beadlocks you can air the tires down extemely low for sand driving.

I'd get sliders as pointed out above they are excellent jack joints for a high lift jack for extrication.

yes you can lock just the rear. if you're going to lock the front you need manual hubs, and its recommended to only drive in 4x4 offroad if you have a front locker.

 

Have u considered the 3.4 swap or maybe a GM 4.3 V6? U say moneys not an issue

 

I think you would be just fine running 33" tire's, maybe 4.88 gears and maybe throw a lockrite in or something of that nature. I did the ball joint spacers and springs and shocks and think it was one of the better modifications I could of done next to the detroit locker in the rear axle.
Body lifts are great for big tires, but that is all they are good for, you don't really gain any off-road performance from it.
In my opinion tires arent everything, its about function. I go everywhere in my 4runner and its spends most of it's time crawling around the rocks of Utah and the soft sand dunes. To this day I have no complaints up the set up.
Good luck on whatever it is you decide on and keep in mind, bigger isn't always better.

 

So out of what I have gathered from you guys I think I have changed my plan a little, how does this sound?

sliders (for jack points)
33x12.50x15 (already bought)
15x10 beadlocks(eventually)
1-2" body lift
1.5" BJ spacers in front
Downey coils in back w/ longer shocks(to level it)
custom 1.5" coil spacers (know a guy that makes them)
steering stabilizer
and lock the rear

That makes 3.5" of lift and this will fit 33's and would work good for sand?

 

I dont want to swap engines unless I have to. I love having power at hand, but unless its too bad I will stick with the 3.0. If I decide to go bigger in the future or burn this motor up I may swap to a Chevy 350 or a 3.4 since I am already spending money, but I am happy for now. Im not greedy, and I dont want to go too big or too fast. I just want my runner to be sufficient for what I will be doing. Nobody likes getting stuck

 

You could also go to trparts4u.com and for 500 bucks you would get the ball joint spacers, longer springs and the correct shocks for the lift.
I fit my 33's with that set up and the only time they rub is when I fully stuff the tire in the wheel well and from the wheeling that you plan on doing the rubbing may never be a concern. Do keep in mind that when doind a suspension lift on a 4runner that the track/panhard bar we need some attention, either a drop bracket or a longer track bar. A buddy of mine made an adjustable one for my runner. It may even be worth the time to find out if the new adjustable one's for the new FJ's would fit seeing how they utilize the same set up in the rear as the 4runner's.

 

I would go with a 2in body lift especially if you might plan on swapping motors in the near future. For the 3.4 swap you need 2in body lift to accommodate the taller intake. On my 91 truck I have the 1.5in ball joint spacers, a 2 in block on the rear springs and a 2in body lift with the 3.0 and a manual. I am currently running 35's with the stock gearing and it pulls decent and I can maintain hwy speed unless I have to climb a fairly steep hill.

On the trails the 3.0 turns the 35's great without any problem. The only issues I have had is the front IFS doesnt really get along with the 35's that well. I have had to replace several idler arms, and grenaded my front diff once. The issues I have had with the 35's might be that I climb more rocks than anything else.

Good luck with your project and keep us posted

 

I guess hindsight is 20/20 but I would have personally gone with 33 x 10.5's over the 12.5's. Cheaper tire to buy, easier for clearance/rubbing reasons, etc.