Crazydubman's 97 limited runner build

[crazydubman]

Any updates on the rear suspension? Your truck looks great.

The rear suspension is all finished up. I just went with a rebuild on the broken shock and added limit straps. I'll try to get some pictures uploaded at some point. Life has been crazy busy lately with the new job, getting the house ready for our first baby, birthdays etc.

 

[cdrewferd]

I understand things get busy. I'm trying to finish up some projects that are taking forever. Congrats on the kiddo, that will zap your time for sure. My 4yr old still takes a lot of my time, but it's awesome and I love spending time with her. Lucky me, she loves 4Wheeling.

 

[TheArkMaster]

I've been looking for the way you trimmed your fenders to accommodate the flares still. Do you know exactly what part of the build you did it?

 

[crazydubman]

I've been looking for the way you trimmed your fenders to accommodate the flares still. Do you know exactly what part of the build you did it?

Hey there. It was posts 90 through 92. I'll paste the posts here.

Well Pismo showed me that there were still quite a few area where the tires showed some lovin to my fenders and flairs....

So without further adue... Here goes phase 2 of project tire clearance.

I have always wondered how 3rd and 4th gen guys can get away with achieving more tire clearance for oversized tires. The flairs were always the limiting factor. Sure you have coverage from water and mud being splashed up but it didn't leave any ability to really gain a cut out style flair for stuffing lower offset, wider, larger tires. Since Bushwacker has not been any help for us 3rd and 4th gen guys, I figured it was time to put my thinking cap on...

With the newly aquired 97 limited, and the future plans for it involving much larger tires, I knew that I needed to figure out a way to gain more tire clearance up front while hopefully not needing to go glass to do it.

The first couple trips out, I found that the tire rubbing on the rear of the flair was causing the clips that are holding the top of the flair to work their way loose. I started looking at thinking about how I would be able to maybe get those clips out of the way for something more solid.

Here is what I came up with. Lets see how it works out.

First I pulled the flairs off the front fenders.

Next up I taped off the body line that was visible under where the flair would lay. This kept about 3/4" distance from the holes for the clips.

From there I took an angle grinder, and trimmed along the tapes edge.

That left me with a nice clean line that will be hidden under the flair.

And a couple shots without the tape to show how it compares.

From there I took the flairs and taped off the cut line just past the bottom lip to hold some rigidity after the cut. I will have some pictures of them tomorrow.

Here are a couple pictures of progress from tonight.

Kind of hard to see with it being dark out but you can start to get the idea of the clearance that has been gained so far.

Rear of the flair

And the front of the flair

All the while it will look factory when complete.

 

[crazydubman]

Post 91

Progress has been made on the fenders last night but I didn't get a chance to snap any pictures.

I was able to get the bolts epoxied into the original clip holes on the flairs.

I used 3/4" long 1/4x28 bolts. On the back side of the fender sheet metal will be a standard 1/4" washer with nylock nut. One thing I found is that the only clip hole that didn't line up was the front one so a 1/4" hole will have to be drilled for that one. The other one that I can't really do anything about other than maybe a zip tie.... is the lowest one at the rear. It should be fine without anything as there is a bolt coming up through the bottom of the flair by the rocker that holds it tight.

I will have some pictures when I get home today when its light out. So far I think things will work out great and provide the room I need. If it wasn't for the lack of firewall tubbing yet, I think I could get 35's to fit in the fenders no problem.

 

[crazydubman]

Post 92

So I was able to get the flairs mounted today after work. Lovin the extra clearance and should be able to keep the front from rubbing for the most part except for full lock on the firewall and frame which im ok with.

Enjoy the pictures.

Enjoy. Next up is to try to get the rear to stop rubbing that rear corner of the body.

 

[TheArkMaster]

Enjoy. Next up is to try to get the rear to stop rubbing that rear corner of the body.

Thanks! Did you end up trimming the rears at all? What did you do to clear 35s back there?

 

[NateMob]

Thanks! Did you end up trimming the rears at all? What did you do to clear 35s back there?

Todd is running a wider 33 than most. A 305/70/16 is a true 33" tire as opposed to most 285s being closer to 32.7" per the manufacturers.

 

[TheArkMaster]

Todd is running a wider 33 than most. A 305/70/16 is a true 33" tire as opposed to most 285s being closer to 32.7" per the manufacturers.

Thanks for the correction Nate. I guess I mixed up multiple rigs here.

 

[SantaCruzRunner]

Saw these pictures at the top of the page and was like "wait he went back to the racelines?" lol

 

[crazydubman]

Thanks! Did you end up trimming the rears at all? What did you do to clear 35s back there?

I didn't trim anything in the rear at all. Only beat back the fender lip with a hammer to not catch on the tire.

Also, I think part of the reason they look big is because I am running no body lift so even with how tall the runner is, it is still shorter than a lot out there with similar tire size.

 

[BrandonF]

How do you find the tru-trac up front in terms of traction, drivetrain reliability, and price compared to an ARB setup?

 

[crazydubman]

How do you find the tru-trac up front in terms of traction, drivetrain reliability, and price compared to an ARB setup?

Driveability hasn't changed at all. Even in 4wd. It only engages when you ride the brakes slightly it seems.

Traction is there when you need it. When i'm crawing up an obstacle ill ride left foot braking anyways. When doing so, the trutrac engages and pulls you through. Price its less I believe, (I purchsed used) plus it is easier in the long run. No air lines, solenoids or anything to wear out. It acts similar to a limited slip in a car. You don't really know its there until it starts working.

Hope that helps.

 

[BrandonF]

Driveability hasn't changed at all. Even in 4wd. It only engages when you ride the brakes slightly it seems.

Traction is there when you need it. When i'm crawing up an obstacle ill ride left foot braking anyways. When doing so, the trutrac engages and pulls you through. Price its less I believe, (I purchsed used) plus it is easier in the long run. No air lines, solenoids or anything to wear out. It acts similar to a limited slip in a car. You don't really know its there until it starts working.

Hope that helps.

I have a manual trans and 4.10 gears so when I'm crawling, my left foot is occupied with riding the clutch, not the brake.
Would you recommend against a trutrac?

 

[crazydubman]

I have a manual trans and 4.10 gears so when I'm crawling, my left foot is occupied with riding the clutch, not the brake.
Would you recommend against a trutrac?

That I can't really say.

I have have only used it with an auto.

Maybe someone else can chime in and comment. :noidea:

 

[crazydubman]

Shameless plug to try and get some intrest for my 4th gens total chaos lift spindles.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-...05-4th-gen-total-chaos-3-5-lift-spindles.html

Seems the Classifieds keep deleting my ad for some reason...

 

[crazydubman]

Any updates on the rear suspension? Your truck looks great.

I realized I never posted pictures of the rear limit straps and everything all buttoned back up. Sheesh its been a while...

Here are some pictures of the limit straps, bump stops, spacers, and shocks. Tight fit but it all works very well together.















Here is a shot from the back to show my panhard bar angle at ride height as well. (Sending my diff out to rebuild which is why all the parking brake cables and everything are just hanging there)

 

[Jedrattle]

All of your pics are gone

 

[crazydubman]

They seem to be working for me just fine. :noidea:

 

[infamousRNR]

They seem to be working for me just fine. :noidea:

so would you say that the 305's were worth the extra rubber?,.....

I'm really trying to convince myself to go 305 over 285 this time around.....

i have a 3" suspension lift and 1.5" BL