IFS Upgrades

Hey guys, quick question-

since I am planning on upgrading to 35" tires, what should I upgrade/replace? I have IFS Up front and a solid rear.

Stock up on plenty of CV axles, your going to need them if you go offroad with 35's and IFS. The CV joints are a big weak point.
You'll still need some if you just go for groceries. The amount of suspension lift you'll need to fit 35's is going to going to put too much of an angle on the CV's, so they wear out prematurely.

just cut the fenders... its a lot cheaper and easier. i would do it to mine to fit 35s, but i have to put a few more dents in it

I'm probably not going to do much HARDCORE off roading. No deep mud pits that will completely swallow the truck. Probably just random light dirt/mud trails.

You can do a 4 inch rough country lift that will come with a diff drop. That will put your CV angle to stock and you can clear 35's without a body lift. It's what I'm using and so far so good... no broken parts with light wheeling.

Your rear axle is fine, dont worry about it.

Brace your idler arm and carry spare cvs. But you can make them last with an open front.

Give her hell. imp:

Sv dude: that's exactly the system I'm going to use, thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear I'm not the only one using it.
Hyde: Both Diffs are stock and open, not welded, not re-geared, as of yet.
Thanks guys, I had just heard of IFS Not liking bigger tires.

fl3xforc3r3d said:

Thanks guys, I had just heard of IFS Not liking bigger tires.

Click to expand...

Well, it doesn't. No suspension/steering setup likes bigger tires. Going to a bigger tire is just like going farther out on a lever, in terms of the force you're applying. The IFS setup is adequate for stock tire sizes in most situations, but the more leverage you apply the more you risk breaking something. Doesn't mean you will of course, but it does make it that much more likely.

Like Fourwd1 and Hyde say, brace the idler and carry spare CVs and tools. If you pound out the studs on your axle flanges and replace them with bolts beforehand, changing a CV is a pretty easy job. I had a stone-***** of a time getting my CVS to clear the axle flange with those studs in there, though, and that was in my driveway. I wouldn't wanna try that on a trail at all.

In terms of upgrading, I've heard tell of chromoly CV shafts that are stronger. I've seen references on Yotatech to some folks using Porsche shafts? I don't know the details because I've never had trouble with mine, but that's something to look into.

There's a reference on Yotatech about a place called cvumlimited.com that supposedly makes a good heavy-duty CV shaft. I have no idea--their site uses a downloadable catalog instead of listing them right there, so I didn't go further. The guy who used them swears he stopped breaking shafts, running the same trails as before. They sound pretty expensive, though. Just an idea.

Do you have any lift at all on the 4runner? and If you don't, I suggest gettin a 5" Rough country lift for it like SV said. I put in on mine in like 20 hours (half of which were by myself) I mean come on, $600 with shocks? Thats a deal. And you can put a surprising amount of stress on those CV joints before they break. Here's what mine looks like with my t-bars cranked 3" AND the Sus lift