881s + 2.5" spacer = ???

[hulk311]

Couple months back I bought the toytech package consisting of 2.5" front spacers and 890 coils for the rear. I put the 2.5" spacer on the stock 155k+ coils and the ride is horrible. I just bought 881s for the front and 4 OME shocks.

The 881s are only 2.5" and they did not come with the .5" spacer, could I just put the 2.5" spacer on top of the 881 coil for a total of 5" lift in front? Has anyone done this? Can the OME shocks handle that? Can the CV joints handle it? If is is possible I would like to have the back level as well, should I get a rear spacer for the back or buy 5" springs (where from?). Thanks for any advice. :bigok:

 

[brian2sun]

A 2.5" spacer with 881s will destroy your CVs. Get the spacer that toytec sells for the 881s and you'll have about 3" which is the most you can reasonably do without CV damage. If you want more than that, you'll need to do a body lift on top of it. For the rears, you can get 10mm trim packers (you can use more than one on each coil for 20mm or whatever) and they are cheap. 5" will not happen unless you SAS it or do a drop CV bracket lift (which are stupid IMO).

 

[hulk311]

Thanks for the info, that's what I thought as well, that it would be too much work and too crazy to get that kind of lift. I see you have a 1" 4Crawler Body Lift. I've been thinking about getting one for my truck as well.

How hard was the install (on a scale of 1-10) and how long did it take you? Also, if my truck is lifted 2.5" in front and 3" in back can I still do a body lift or does my truck have to be level? I don't think that I will be buying the .5" top spacer because it would be too much money to take apart the coil/shock and just would not be worth it.

 

[brian2sun]

You can do the body lift whether it sits level or raked, it doesn't matter. My BL took me and a buddy about 2 hours to install. I would say it's a 2 out of 10 for difficulty. The hardest part (and it was still easy) was tearing out all the panels so I could lift the carpet and get to the bolts. It helped to have a buddy because it's hard to hold the top and bottom of the bolts when you are trying to remove them or tighten them back up. Loosen the tranny linkage and the steering clamp before and don't forget to tighten back up afterwards. Here's a good write-up:
3rd Gen 4Runner Body Lift Installation

 

[hulk311]

Thanks for the info, does the 1.5" lift need the same things done to it as the 1" lift or does it need a lot more work like the 2" lift?

 

[brian2sun]

Thanks for the info, does the 1.5" lift need the same things done to it as the 1" lift or does it need a lot more work like the 2" lift?

You could call 4Crawler to make sure, but I think you'll need the steering shaft extension and the radiator drop brackets. There are a few guys like manhunter who are running a 1.5" so you might be able to find out from them too. Not sure about the gas filler hose either.