3rd Gen 4Runner Lift Information and FAQ's

[octanejunkie]

[MENTION=643801]Romeo1[/MENTION] is 100% right. Preach, brother.

Just because the manual says 5K towing capacity I would not expect it unless it were driver alone, no mountains and no one else on the road. Stopping is half the battle.

Tow at 75-80% or less and know your and your vehicle's limits.

 

[Riceye]

Tow 6k…….. with a 3rd gen….wat?……..

Trigger warning, This is going to sound super preachy. I’m late to the thread party, but Just hear me out. I’ve done a lot of towing for my own business, for play, and as a professional truck driver in my past life.

Sounds like you need the right tool for the job. An in town putt putt is one thing, but if your actually doing a real tow, I think your setting yourself up for failure, in a bad way.

The top tow rating is what 5k lbs? Your going to have a tandem trailer with forward position axles to keep the tongue weight in check. Boats fit in that category too from the rear bias. But a transporter? Your going to have a real challenge not blowing past the 500lb mark on tongue weight. Timbrens or air bags can solve your ride height issue, but I doubt the wheel bearings live very long. You may even need an anti sway hitch to tame how unstable it might get. As light at 3rd gens are it’s going to feel like a rodeo with any real speed.

RVs aren’t the same as a flat deck car hauler, not even close, but for my 8-9k lb rv setup i run a 1 ton pickup, air bags, the biggest equalizer hitch you can buy without getting weird about it, and a Hellwig sway bar. Maybe it’s over kill, but it’s comfortable to drive, and extremely in control. I don’t have to play super trucker anymore. Did plenty of that in the past.

I say this as an unrestricted CDL holder and a guy who used to run a 129k permit, I t’s not the moving it that’s the problem. The 4runner isn’t heavy enough for that job, nor is the suspension calibration even in the kinda sorta category for stability. It’s just the wrong tool. 4Runners are awesome, but they have limits.

Keep the 4runner for whatever. Get an appropriate sized vehicle for the towing task. You don’t even have to spend a lot of money. Old 90s and early 2000 suburbans are a dime a dozen for cheap and would do the job your wanting so much better. That’s not even getting into transmissions and if that rear axle can live. Plus the right vehicle will do it safely. The ratings honestly are there for a reason.

I totally agree with your position. All I was suggesting was that if he were to attempt towing three tons, stopping the load is more important than pulling. I draw the line with 3500-4000# with my rig.

 

[dwilmoth]

I just bought a one owner 3rd gen and getting 3 inch lift and running 17x7 285/70s do you think I’ll have any issues with weight/body roll etc?

 

[Romeo1]

I just bought a one owner 3rd gen and getting 3 inch lift and running 17x7 285/70s do you think I’ll have any issues with weight/body roll etc?

Long as you run the sway bars, 4Runners tend to oversteer and are very flat cornering. Way more than most.

That said, any real use outside of just regular road driving and you’ll break the links. Haven’t had anymore issues since I went to stronger longer links.

 

[cl4Rk]

Long as you run the sway bars, 4Runners tend to oversteer and are very flat cornering. Way more than most.

That said, any real use outside of just regular road driving and you’ll break the links. Haven’t had anymore issues since I went to stronger longer links.

[MENTION=695767]dwilmoth[/MENTION]

Agree with Romeo1

Assuming it's a 3" suspension lift, I'll add a few things:
- your CV boots will likely tear immediately after the lift, so budget accordingly.
- if you have 3" of lift in the front, you might consider a diff drop and/or extended articulation CVs.
- if you have 3" in the rear, consider a panhard correction kit Panhard Correction Kits – eimkeith.com

Lots of people run 33s with no real issues. You'll still get some rubbing at full stuff/lock, so be prepared to do some minor trimming/hammering. Oh and you won't be able to fit a fully inflated full size spare in the stock location at this size.


Best of luck!

 

[Canadianyotafan]

Hey, if I grab these 2002 TRD front strut assembly (coils and shocks) from a Kijiji sale , will they pretty much bolt into my 99’ 4runner abs give me that 2” lift I’m reading about ?

They aren’t 5100’s or OME 88 anything but they are OEM nearly 20 years old I know that but just coming off a tundra I’m assuming they will make my front end air higher ..? Let me know thanks !

 

[Bad Luck]

Hey, if I grab these 2002 TRD front strut assembly (coils and shocks) from a Kijiji sale , will they pretty much bolt into my 99’ 4runner abs give me that 2” lift I’m reading about ?

They aren’t 5100’s or OME 88 anything but they are OEM nearly 20 years old I know that but just coming off a tundra I’m assuming they will make my front end air higher ..? Let me know thanks !

You'll need to replace the tundra top hat with the correct 4runner top hat. Tundra top hat will not bolt up.

 

[Devbot]

And if you need a top hat bushing that fits properly... Custom Polyurathane Top Plate Retainers - 4Runner, Tacoma & FJC - $38.45 : Sonoran Steel

 

[Hvacman]

‘96 rear -add 2” lift

Hey guys so I just bought a 96 five speed 4 x 4.
it has a 2 inch lift in the front and nothing in the back. Without reading the 64 pages here what’s the current best set up to replace the rear to get about a 2 inch 2 1/2 inch lift? Just driven on the street mall crawler no weight in the back added.
Just want to level and have a decent ride so my wife doesn’t complain. Don’t want the cheap route, but good value is important.
Thanks in advance

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Hey guys so I just bought a 96 five speed 4 x 4.
it has a 2 inch lift in the front and nothing in the back. Without reading the 64 pages here what’s the current best set up to replace the rear to get about a 2 inch 2 1/2 inch lift? Just driven on the street mall crawler no weight in the back added.
Just want to level and have a decent ride so my wife doesn’t complain. Don’t want the cheap route, but good value is important.
Thanks in advance

I'm in a very similar situation, and I'm a big fan of the OME 2906's. I had them in my '97 for a while, which gave me about 2" lift over stock.

I then swapped them for Dobinson 131's - they gave an additional 1" lift, which at first I liked, then started to dislike. And they were very harsh, everyone who rode in the truck noticed it. Despite having the same advertised spring rate, the 2906's are progressive, whereas 131's are not, so that might explain the difference.

Anyway, I took out the Dobinsons, bought another set of 2906's, and am very happy with the ride. I am running OEM Tokico shocks in the back.

I think that a 2" lift looks good on our trucks with 265/75/16 tires. The 3" lift made the wheelwell opening too empty IMO.

 

[Hvacman]

That’s exactly what I needed to know thank you very much. So you can use stock shocks with the Lifted Springs?

 

[Spiker Engineering]

That’s exactly what I needed to know thank you very much. So you can use stock shocks with the Lifted Springs?

Yup, stock shocks are fine with 2906's.

 

[Hvacman]

Thanks!

 

[sbag91]

lifting a 99 still

Hello all. I have a 99 RWD 4runner that I picked up for dirt cheap. It needs new shocks and front brakes, valve cover gaskets...basic maintenance stuff. I've been scouring this thread and its been amazing.

So far I've found 1994 FJ80 7 wrap front coils to go in the rear. Also found some 13WL calipers for the brakes off a tundra. I'm planning on getting the bilstein 5100 series for the shocks/struts. Having a lot of difficulty finding moderatly priced used/new 00-06 tundra (only trd?) coil springs.

Had two quick questions hopefully someone could help me out on... Is there a specific panhard drop bracket that anyone has experience with or recommends? I feel like I could probably fabricate and weld one.

The other question I had was about sway bar end links. It seems that in 3rd Gen 4Runner Lift - YouTube YouTube video's description, its mentioned that "(Sway bar end links ( front 3rd gen 4runner links to the rear) ( rear 2nd gen 4runner links to front)" is possible, and I'm wondering if that holds true for this specific setup.

Really any advice or comments you have about my "plan" would be hugely appreciated.

 

[octanejunkie]

Hello all. I have a 99 RWD 4runner that I picked up for dirt cheap. It needs new shocks and front brakes, valve cover gaskets...basic maintenance stuff. I've been scouring this thread and its been amazing.



So far I've found 1994 FJ80 7 wrap front coils to go in the rear. Also found some 13WL calipers for the brakes off a tundra. I'm planning on getting the bilstein 5100 series for the shocks/struts. Having a lot of difficulty finding moderatly priced used/new 00-06 tundra (only trd?) coil springs.



Had two quick questions hopefully someone could help me out on... Is there a specific panhard drop bracket that anyone has experience with or recommends? I feel like I could probably fabricate and weld one.



The other question I had was about sway bar end links. It seems that in 3rd Gen 4Runner Lift - YouTube YouTube video's description, its mentioned that "(Sway bar end links ( front 3rd gen 4runner links to the rear) ( rear 2nd gen 4runner links to front)" is possible, and I'm wondering if that holds true for this specific setup.



Really any advice or comments you have about my "plan" would be hugely appreciated.

Eimkeith PCK, panhard correction kit will do ya.

TRD coils up front will make for a stiff ride if stock weight. You can easily look at OME springs to tune your ride and lift. Replace your LBJs while you're at it.

Most importantly, what are your plans for the truck, how do you plan to use it?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[sbag91]

Eimkeith PCK, panhard correction kit will do ya.

TRD coils up front will make for a stiff ride if stock weight. You can easily look at OME springs to tune your ride and lift. Replace your LBJs while you're at it.

Most importantly, what are your plans for the truck, how do you plan to use it?

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Ahhh I see. I was thinking I could find some used ones at a LKQ (pick a part) for $38 a piece...but I've looked at 6 now and none of them has the right colors. I was hoping to fabricate a front and rear bumper set to hold winch and spare tire, which would help with weight. Granted that would be further down the line maybe in a few months.

This is mainly going to be a grocery getter, daily driver. However I am in Texas and have some family property which would include moderate trails and usually no mud. I wouldn't be worried about not having 4x4.

Realistically I have a friend who just bought a 2022 jeep gladiator and upgraded the stock 33s to 37s. So he has a set of 33x12.5r17. He would sell me at a good price. My 4runner came with nice looking aftermarket 17s on it That combined with the timing of needing to replace most of these parts anyways seems like a good opportunity to lift.

 

[Romeo1]

Hello all. I have a 99 RWD 4runner that I picked up for dirt cheap. It needs new shocks and front brakes, valve cover gaskets...basic maintenance stuff. I've been scouring this thread and its been amazing.

So far I've found 1994 FJ80 7 wrap front coils to go in the rear. Also found some 13WL calipers for the brakes off a tundra. I'm planning on getting the bilstein 5100 series for the shocks/struts. Having a lot of difficulty finding moderatly priced used/new 00-06 tundra (only trd?) coil springs.

Had two quick questions hopefully someone could help me out on... Is there a specific panhard drop bracket that anyone has experience with or recommends? I feel like I could probably fabricate and weld one.

The other question I had was about sway bar end links. It seems that in 3rd Gen 4Runner Lift - YouTube YouTube video's description, its mentioned that "(Sway bar end links ( front 3rd gen 4runner links to the rear) ( rear 2nd gen 4runner links to front)" is possible, and I'm wondering if that holds true for this specific setup.

Really any advice or comments you have about my "plan" would be hugely appreciated.

The overland custom designs sway bar and links are really nice and way stronger than the second gen ones. I’ve yet to find a better turnkey solution than them.

 

[octanejunkie]

The overland custom designs sway bar and links are really nice and way stronger than the second gen ones. I’ve yet to find a better turnkey solution than them.

+1
[MENTION=699874]sbag91[/MENTION] I am running OCD endlinks, they are beefy and will serve you much better than 2nd gen rears up front

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[sbag91]

+1
[MENTION=699874]sbag91[/MENTION] I am running OCD endlinks, they are beefy and will serve you much better than 2nd gen rears up front

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

The overland custom designs sway bar and links are really nice and way stronger than the second gen ones. I’ve yet to find a better turnkey solution than them.

Really appreciate this. They do look wayy more substantial than 2nd gen OE style ones.

 

[Devbot]

What spring compressors does everyone use? The harbor freight set i have aren't working with my tundra coils. I can go to my old shop and use their coilover compressor, but it'd be nice to know what others use for the future