Help me figure out my new 4Runner's lift

[donnellyshores]

Howdy,

I just bought an 87 4Runner, 260k, falling apart inside but fundamentally sound under the hood. It's also lifted, and I don't know jack shit about lifts. It appears to be lifted quite a bit, and I'm planning on taking it down a bit if possible (to please the wife), probably swapping out the 33x12.5 Mud Terrains for stock All Terrains (I don't do really hardcore 4 wheeling, not enough to need monster tires). I took a few pictures- I don't even know how to identify what sort of lift this is, what components are involved in the lift, etc. Take a look and let me know what you think!

 

[Hyde802]

Looks like your standard 4" bracket lift, like this > http://www.roughcountry.com/toyota_4wd_86-96_5.html

The only way to bring it back to stock height is to remove all the lift components. Unfortunately youll need to find some stock parts, such as spindles and shocks.

How is the rear lifted? Are there blocks between the axle and the spring?

Its would also be wise to check gearing. It could have been re geared for the larger tires.

 

[donnellyshores]

I don't necessarily want to take it back to stock, just not quite so tall. Someone said I might be able to lower just the front end, to even out the butt sag?

How would I check as to whether it's been re-geared? (talk to me like I'm an idiot or tell me which terms to google!)

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Hyde is correct about ur lift. Its a standard bracket lift, possibly Pro-comp(?). A easy way to check gearing is to jack up the rear end, make a mark on the driveshaft, and rotate the tire 1 revolution. 4 turns of the driveshaft = 4.10s, 4.5 turns = 4.56s, nearly 5 turns = 4.88s, and over 5 would be 5.29s. Hope this helps. If u have a tach, check ur rpm at 65 in 4th gear. There are gear ratio calculators on here, just do a search. Good luck!

 

[Greg_Canada]

If you un-crank the torsion bars, you can bring it down 1.5-2" no problem.

 

[92-SR5]

I'd trade you some smaller tires for those :bluejump:
Good looking runner though!

 

[donnellyshores]

I'd trade you some smaller tires for those :bluejump:

Looking for stock 15" rims and new BFG All Terrains, 235 or 275 doesn't matter. If you want to make that happen and can come down to northern Cal in the next 3 weeks, I'm in. Straight trade. Right now has 33x12.5 Mud Terrains, probably 60% of tread, give or take.

 

[Hyde802]

Torsion Bar adjustment > http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/torsion-bar-adjustment-19258.html

To check your gearing like mentioned above, with an open diffieriental, youll want to leave one wheel on the ground, or the other wheel will spin instead of the driveshaft..

 

[92-SR5]

Looking for stock 15" rims and new BFG All Terrains, 235 or 275 doesn't matter. If you want to make that happen and can come down to northern Cal in the next 3 weeks, I'm in. Straight trade. Right now has 33x12.5 Mud Terrains, probably 60% of tread, give or take.

PM'ed

 

[fourwd1]

...How would I check as to whether it's been re-geared? (talk to me like I'm an idiot or tell me which terms to google!)

It's simple, with 33" tires and stock gears your speedo will be off by about 10%, so if the speedo says 50 you're really doing 55.
Just have someone pace you.

 

[Footofgod]

Like others said, it looks like a 4" bracket lift. You can probabably just turn down your torsion bars. You may even like the ride better after that.

Personally, I would leave those 33" tires right where they are and get that ***** (the car) on some trails!!!

 

[bill_runner]

Like others said, it looks like a 4" bracket lift. You can probabably just turn down your torsion bars. You may even like the ride better after that.

Personally, I would leave those 33" tires right where they are and get that ***** (the car) on some trails!!!

that's what i was thinking! take advantage of the fact that you live in norcal, there has to be designated trails there. we don't have anything like that here in SC except gulches and that's a 3 hour ride from my house. :violin:

 

[donnellyshores]

Hah, I'm not sure you guys realize how pissed off my wife was when she saw this rig. It's worth the time and treasure to make it a more "family-friendly" vehicle, shall we say, so I can maybe get some again one day. as they say happy wife, happy life. so there you have it. :rain:

I'm planning on either doing a torsion bar drop on the front myself (hmmm... maybe) or getting someone else to do it for me.

Once my new tires come in, I'm going to have to do a few things at once... new tires mounted and balanced, alignment (it's horrific right now), drop the front an inch or two, return gearing to stock if necessary, and of course install a new stereo (the old one was stolen before I bought it).

I ended up deciding on going all the way down to 235/75's on 15 inch rims. Mostly for gas mileage considerations- this is not a daily driver, by any means, but when we do go use it off-road, that's usually preceeded by a drive of several hundred or even thousand road miles- drives down Baja, out to Utah or Texas, Montana, etc. So stock size tires just makes sense. I think I'll be able to fetch at least 500 for the custom rims and Mud Terrains (@ 60% or so).

 

[Quatre Coureur]

:whipping2

 

[donnellyshores]

:whipping2

indeed.

So I went to the local 4x4 Parts store, and talked to them about dropping the tire size. They said if the dude DID indeed change the gearing, I'd be talking about a couple thousand in work to get it back to stock. :jaw:

F.................. FOR RREALZ? 2k or more? Could this dude be joking? I don't even know what "returning the gearing to stock" means, really, I just want to run normal size tires on this rig, and I've been told that to do so if the gearing has been adjusted for big tires would be silly.

So, wtf does a guy do?

 

[fourwd1]

Sorta -
R+P set - approx $250
master rebuild kit - $100
labor - approx 2 hr @ $100/hr = $200
so that's $550 x 2 = $1100

and that's if you pull the diffs and carry them in.

But, used 4.10 diffs are like $50, and you could sell the current ones depending on the gear ratio in them.

But have you even checked to see if the gearing is other than stock?

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Maybe just slap some 31s on there. That'll bring it down a bit. Put some grip tape on those big honkin nerf bars. She can use 'em as a step and won't slip and hurt her shins getting in. We're all pullin' for ya bro! Hang in there...:snacker:

 

[donnellyshores]

Maybe just slap some 31s on there. That'll bring it down a bit. Put some grip tape on those big honkin nerf bars. She can use 'em as a step and won't slip and hurt her shins getting in. We're all pullin' for ya bro! Hang in there...:snacker:

fourwd1 is right, I still need to check if the gearing's been changed or not. Guy I bought it from is getting sick of me texting him about shit all the time and hasn't responded.

If the gearing has been modified, can I put 31's on there without screwing up my gas mileage and engine efficiency too bad?

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Did u try the method I suggested? Its free n easy. If the gearing is stock(4.10) then 31s are perfect. They're not a whole lot bigger than 235s.

 

[Greg_Canada]

Hah, I'm not sure you guys realize how pissed off my wife was when she saw this rig. It's worth the time and treasure to make it a more "family-friendly" vehicle, shall we say, so I can maybe get some again one day. as they say happy wife, happy life. so there you have it. :rain:

I'm planning on either doing a torsion bar drop on the front myself (hmmm... maybe) or getting someone else to do it for me.

Once my new tires come in, I'm going to have to do a few things at once... new tires mounted and balanced, alignment (it's horrific right now), drop the front an inch or two, return gearing to stock if necessary, and of course install a new stereo (the old one was stolen before I bought it).

I ended up deciding on going all the way down to 235/75's on 15 inch rims. Mostly for gas mileage considerations- this is not a daily driver, by any means, but when we do go use it off-road, that's usually preceeded by a drive of several hundred or even thousand road miles- drives down Baja, out to Utah or Texas, Montana, etc. So stock size tires just makes sense. I think I'll be able to fetch at least 500 for the custom rims and Mud Terrains (@ 60% or so).

You'll get the same MPG with 31x10.5's....