SDORI Balljoint Spacer Question (95 t4r)

[Red]

So the previous owner of my 4Runner lifted it by cranking the T-bars 2" in the front and added OME springs and Rancho shocks in the back. Since he cheaped out on the front, my CV boots are ripped and now I have to replace the CV's. I've had OME front shocks and SDORI BJ spacers sitting in my closet for a couple years now without being installed.

Now that I am going to be doing the CV shafts I thought I'd install the spacers and the shocks.

My question is will the BJ spacers negatively affect anything? will they harm my new CV shafts the same way the T-bars being cranked did?

Also once you install BJ spacers can you take them out without having to replace the control arm? I understand the BJ spacers require a bit of trimming to install.

Thanks for any help provided.

 

[Hyde802]

Put your torsion bars back to stock, then add the spacers.

Do you have auto hubs in the front? If so, consider switching to manual hubs.

If you feel the CV angle is still too steep after the spacers, look into a front diff drop.

 

[KidVermicious]

2 inches is really the absolute max you want to lift the front, and it doesn't really matter how you do it, spacers or torsion crank or whatever, the kicker is the angle on your CVs. The spacers are 1.5 inches for a reason. If you want to go higher, do what Hyde says and lower your front differential to keep your CV angles groovy.

Auto hubs don't help either - my understanding is that your CVs are constantly rotating with auto hubs, and that can aggravate a bad CV angle.

The spacers themselves are a really straightforward install, assuming your junk isn't all fused by rust (ask me how I know ) and removing them would be just as easy.

Whether or not you get control arm rubbing depends entirely on your rim and tire combo. I got away with a little flap wheel work, but it was close. I'm told that if you're going to trim the arm for real, the smart thing to do is to box the end, because the lip adds strength. You can't do that with the spacer in there, so if you need more than a 1/4in or so I'd recommend wheel spacers or a rim with better backspace.

 

[Red]

Yeah I only want 2 inches of lift. My understanding is that adding ball joint spacers instead of cranking the torsion bars will get me a better ride and will be less hard on my CV's. Is that correct?

I have auto hubs in the front. If I see manual hubs for sale locally or a good deal on the net I might pick them up.

My wheel and tire combo is in my sig, its pretty straight forward. I'd like to get slightly larger tires though, maybe 32x11.5 BFG AT's or whatever that size is. just to fill out the wheel well a bit more.


I have a lifetime warrantly on my new CV shafts though so that's good at least, I might not have the truck long enough for these new ones to wear out.

 

[KidVermicious]

Yeah I only want 2 inches of lift. My understanding is that adding ball joint spacers instead of cranking the torsion bars will get me a better ride and will be less hard on my CV's. Is that correct?

Yes and no. Cranking your torsion bars will limit your up-travel, and make for a harsher ride compared to spacers. They will be equally hard on your CV's, because all the CV cares about is the angle it's at. If you're planning on going 2 inches, you'll need to combine the 1.5 spacer with a little bit of torsion bar lift, and you probably should lower your diff. 4Crawler sells a set of diff spacers and sway bar drop brackets for nice and cheap, and Roger is a good guy to buy from.