What kind of lift should I put on my 1986 Toyota 4Runner?

 

For what use ?
What size tires are you going to run ?

You're actually going at this bass ackwards, so it sounds, unless it's just for looks, that is a mall crawler.

You size the lift based on the tires that you want to run, not install a lift and then find tires to fit.
Tires are what "lifts" the vehicle (again, assuming that you're actually going to wheel it) and the suspension lift and/or body lift is to clear the tires and provide at least the amount of flex that it had stock.







Fred

 

Well I want to put 33's on it but i havnt got them yet. I just got my truck so i dont know much about the lifts and everything.

 

4" suspension

 

Do you know about how much that would cost. it is an 86 a/t.

 

search button.......

 

Also depends on what you are using it for. if your going to be offroading it a lot, or in HARSH stuff, your gonna want to go with some really trick coilover and linked reaer setup. if your gonna be a mall crawler, then BJ Spacer, Cranked T-bars, and possibly a Body Lift may be better choices for you

 

A simple 2" bl will easily handle 33's with a good amount of flex, with less problems than a 4" suspension lift and will provide advantages that a 4" suspension lift won't





Fred

 

either a 4" bracket lift or a combo of suspension and body.

 

Sorry but I have BJ spacer and BL and I wheel the piss out of mine.

ryanflknr, you really do need to search and do some research about your plans. You haven't answered FredTJ's question other than you want to put on 33's. I have an 86 with 31's and it is a dog with the stock gearing but acceptable. 33's would suck. And your AT would only make it worse. If you want to wheel, keep it as low as possible while still fitting the size tire you want. You should also really consider getting locked and armored before you worry about lift, if you plan to wheel. If you just want to look cool at school, crank it up.

 

I nominate this thread as one of the worst I've seen in about a year...

Not just the question and how it was phrased, but some of these responses just plain suck.

 

Yeah, this thread needs a bit of a redirection.

Ryan, you are probably a little new to Toyota trucks so some searching will be good for you. Then, you can hit us up for the particulars.

If you are new to wheeling as well, I would not recommend spending huge dollars on huge lift or a SAS (solid axle swap). Start simple and start on not so hard trails until you get an idea of how far you want to take your rig. When it comes to things like fuel economy, what you give to trail worthiness, you take from street worthiness in almost all cases. Also, an unprepared truck/driver can do a lot of damage which means your hard earned dollars are spent on repairs instead of upgrades. Upgrades are way more fun!

If you have a lot of experience let us know in more detail the type of terrain you want to tackle with that truck and we can better help you.

Gears and lockers make for a capable truck, lift does not. Trucks with small tires and lockers will be tugging huge trucks with huge tires and no lockers with the tow strap all day.

So if I were you, I'd start with, I want to run 33's. (that's a good size) Then I need to figure out what gears, (5.71's with the auto) Price them and see if you still want to run larger than 31's (the largest size you will probably be able to live with especially with a 4 cyl auto). Now, search on lockers and learn what is good about each and how they handle things like snowy roads and the likes (if you drive on them). Then, take a look at rock sliders so you don't crunch your rocker panels. You want to fit these tires without rubbing, that's easy and can be done affordably. It will come up right away if you search on 33's, lift, etc...

Anyway, browse the board a bit and let us know if anything needs clarification.

Frank

 

Well i aint got much money and i aint gonna be wheelin alot just a little so i need somethin cheep but is still good.

 

Well, that being the case, skip the 33's until you're in a better position, financially. When you need tires, go to 31's.
Spend what money you have budgeted on armor first, sliders, rear diff guard, engine, tranny skid, bumpers, etc.

With that combo, and the 31's, you'll be well able to do the trails that you most likely have in mind.

Doesn't make any sense, with a money crunch, to throw on 33's and some lift, just to crunch something that's going to be relatively expensive to fix.

 

Well, good luck with that!

At the risk of sounding like an echo. Do some reading on the subject of early IFS lifts. Trust me, you'll be happy you did. Then again, we could just spoon feed the answers to you, but you won't really learn anything...

 

alright well il probably do that then. I was lookin and i couldnt find a lift for an a/t.

 

Doesn't matter what type of transmission that you have, the lifts are the same.
Maybe a "huge" bodylift (bl) could be more work if you have an a/t.

Skip the lift.
Skip the 33's.... for now.

Stick with 31's, no lift required, no money wasted on something that may not work for you later on.

Armor up first.




Fred

 

Alright well im lookin at some smittybilt bumpers, ill probably just get those instead of a lift.

 

Honestly, if all you're looking to do is put bigger tires on, and it's more about looks than anything else, a BL is probably going to be the cheapest route. Not necessarily the BEST route, but the cheapest. I had an 86 ExCab, with the 22R, and the auto tranny, and other than cranking the T-bars *slightly*, I ran 31's and did quite well stock, thank you very much. Wheeled the daylights out of it, and it looked good, too.

I agree with Fred. If you're gonna wheel it, do it right the first time.

 

DONT BODY lift. Do a smiple bracket lift 4 inch. That way you have plenty of room for 33x12.50(what Im running) or you can fit 35x12.50's if you desidetoo. Now a 33x 10.50 will fitt with no rubb under stock. You'll have to bang out the pinch welds. Search tc, that guy does some awsome stuff with that set up. Oh yea hes locked too.