I just bought this '93 4runner about 3 weeks ago. I took it out this weekend to our local OHV area and did some "wheeling" and I discovered that my truck has basically no flex! Especially the front, which I expected and I plan on addind bj spacers for that, but is there anything else to do to help it out? Will I need new shocks with the spacers if I plan on putting it back to stock height? Does it help to disconect the sway bars(front or rear or both?), and how will that affect the on road driveabillitty? How about the rear end, anything cheap and simple I can do to get more flex out of the rear? It had some sort of leveler coils in the rear already when I bought it, should i just disconect the sway bar, get longer shocks? Sorry for the mass amount of questions but this is my first 4runner and I am in the dark still as far as suspension mods with them other than the bj spacers which I have read qiute a bit about. Here are some pics from this weekend to show the flex(or lack there of )

 

Try all the above and see if you can determine the cause(s) of the problem(s). For an easy way to test, try making a suspension test ramp:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Ramp.shtml

And you can make repeated tests with things connected, disconnected and see what you find:

 

lose the sway bars...

 

Does removing the sway bars affect on road handling much? This is my daily driver. I think I will try and remove the rear sway bar and see what happens there, and do some ramp stuff like 4crawler suggested, maybe disconnect the shocks and stuff and see if they are limiting my travel? I think I will keep the front sway bar hooked up since I think it is hopeless till I get some BJ spacers. Thanks for the info guys

 

One way to know is try it and see. Some folks hardly notice a difference and others can't stand it w/o sway bars. It is more of a personal preference thing, you will get more body roll. Disconnect the end links and try a test drive. And if you decide you like the bars connected on the road but it helps off-road, then make/buy some sway bar disconnects.

 

i removed my swaybars completely and liek the improved ride... there is a noticeable amount of body lean now, but i dont care... the front of my truck actually flexes better than the rear... i have bj spacers, cranked torsions and also have extended my shocks

 

it will handle a little different on the road without sway bars, but it shouldn't be too bad on yours. you could also look into sway bar disconnects. i might even be selling mine soon... anyways, here are a few pics of my front flex without sway bars:

 

read through this and see which side of the argument you agree with: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/disconnecting-ifs-front-swabar-stupid-63364/

I currently have my swaybar removed and hardly notice the difference. We shouldn't be driving that fast in these high COG vehicles anyway. Unfortunately you never know when that emergency maneuver is going to be needed and so far I haven't had to make one. I might be singing a different tune after such time as I do.

 

Man 4runner kid, you have pretty good flex there! Is that just with your front sway bar disconected? No BJ spacers or anything? Im pretty sure I could handle not having sway bars for day to day city driving and like 55mph highway driving but I am worried about not having them while doing 75 down the interstate and having to make a quick manuver, especially once the ice hits the roads, I cant imagine hitting the ditch at 75 with no swaybars . Guess I should check into some discos. Anyone know if they make them for the rear? Oh and who even makes them for the front . Sorry for the newbie questions, its been a while since ive been in the yota scene!

 

she flexes alright for being IFS. all i have on it is a 4" bracket kit, which just drops everything 4". so it's pretty much the same as stock... as for the sway bar discos, do a search on here. a few guys used to sell them, but i'm not sure who still does... mine are from Front Range Off-Road, and they were kinda custom made. but yeah, i will be selling them in the near future. i'll let you know.

 

i've been running no sway bar up front for a while... i noticed there is body roll around corners and it can get kinda hairy if you have a STRONG side wind. i pull the rear everytime i go wheelin, its only 2 nuts.

only had my Downey HD Coils in at this point. no rear sway bar (this was the last trip all 6 of my rock lights lived... i am now down to 2 lol)

thats stock suspention up front (before my BJ spacers) and no sway bar
one more flex pic:

i know thats maxed out (notice the front wheel just starting to come off the ground) but that still pre LC coils, OMEs and BJ spacers... i cant wait to test those in a couple of weeks

 

I usually run with my rear sway bar. I haven't had the front one on for over a year.

Front flexes ok for IFS

 

You guys all have alot better flex than I do! I think I will do some testing with some ramps this weekend and see what makes the most difference just by disconnecting sway bars and shocks and what not. I think I want to have at least one sway bar still hooked up, but I will try driving it with them unhooked and see what I think. Thanks for all the replies!

 

Yep, spend a few hours under the truck on the ramps. See how things move, see how the various parts affect each other and then go from there.

 

Also, try doing a search...it'll save you a couple hours of work.

 

Well I took my front sway bar off this weekend. It hellped alot off road and isnt too bad on the road either. I do think I will put it back on though if I plan on going for a road trip. I never did pull out the ramps and test it like that but I took it out wheeling on friday, took it off on Saturday and then went and tried the same stuff that i couldnt make it over on Fri., and it must have helped quite a bit since I was able to get over alot more stuff. I didnt notice that the ride improved at all but I thought it rode really good before removing it. I never did remove the rear bar since I wanted to see how it handled with the front removed and i think it would be way to tipsy with both off for daily driving.