Another Colorado Noob

[corich]

Hey, everyone. My name's Rich, I'm from Fort Collins, CO, and I'm in the middle of fixing up an '87 4Runner. Bought it earlier this month with a warped head, and I don't know much about its history. I'm not looking to get into serious off-roading, necessarily, but I'm hoping to extend our camping range to stuff I can't reach in a passenger car, and maybe use it as a sag wagon on some mountain bike expeditions.

I've got the engine stuff pretty well under control, as I've been doing most of the work on my cars for a while now. Keeping a 170,000-mile Saab on the road gives you plenty of practice. Anyway, the 4Runner is almost back together and going smoothly so far. But I have some questions about suspension stuff, because I have absolutely no 4x4 experience.

My truck has a substantial lift applied to the front - looks like 5" on "Superlift" brand shocks? -- and the front shocks are dented from hitting the side of... something there, looks like bottom-out prevention? Is this common on lifted trucks? Seems bad, but I don't know what you 4x4 folks consider normal : It looks like it also needs tie rod ends and some other basic suspension/steering consumables replaced.

So, the questions.... How do I evaluate the quality of the lift job and whether the shocks are shot? What's a good cheapskate way to lift the back end to match the front?

Thanks for whatever advice you can provide.

 

[BucknutBob]

Hello and welcome, Rich! You're in a beautiful area--I've been through there a couple times, and have even considered moving that way sometime in the future. As for the truck, the first thing I'd ask is do you really need all that lift? Do your future plans include really big tires, and the requisite running gear to power and support them? If not, you might want to DROP the front, not raise the rear to match. You can run 33's at stock height, or with a very sleight lift (or just a good fender "massage"). As for the shocks, if they're not leaking, and they stop the springs' motion after one stroke, then they're still good. One last thing--"cheapskate" is never the way to go with lifts--get good stuff now, or you'll pay more later. Best of luck!

 

[Footofgod]

Welcome to the wonderful state of Colorado! I am basically converting my 92 to the camping and trail vehicle as well. 2 to 3 inches of lift is all you are going to need. I can get almost any where at stock height. What I am learning after getting stuck a few times is that lockers and gears are where the money needs to go. Some of those mountain hills and snowy roads can be a b*&%h if you are not ready for them.

 

[corich]

Thanks, Bob, that's reassuring to know that the dents aren't a big deal. I understand the thing about not needing 5" if I'm running stock tires.... I like keeping two sets of tires, one for winter and one for summer, but I probably wasn't going to go out and get 35's or anything. But I'm reluctant to undo the lift I've already got, especially because the front lift appears to be irreversible (some cutting was done to install it, I think).

And Footofgod, it's good to know what your experience has been while doing the same kind of driving I'm hoping to do. I'll start putting pennies in the diff-locker jar ;^)