Slanted Body Lift
- Thread starter D Farms
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
kammando808
New member
Pretty sure that's not a good idea, besides don't think that would look right................idk maybe an expert on here will give some advice
I can't really think of a reason why it couldn't be done, there's no critical alignment between the body and frame that has to be kept parallel. The only tricky part would be in making all the spacers front to back the correct heights. The angle is probably flat enough that they don't need to be slanted, but you'd still need to drop the height from 2 to 0 (well, that's one's easy lol) in 4 or 5 steps, based on their position between the front and rear mounts.
Front bumper is mounted to the frame, you'd need to move that up 2" either way (the slight difference between 2" at the front body mounts and the bumper is meaningless). The rear bumper mounts to the body, so no issues there until you get a cooler looking bumper that mounts to the frame. But even then, 2 inches over 15 feet is a very slight angle, you're probably not going to notice it even if it fit fairly snugly around the rear quarters like the stock one does (and frame mounted rear bumpers can't fit as closely anyhow).
It does seem to be a case of the tail wagging the dog, though. Raking the body to make up for a difference in the front and rear suspension ride heights.
It does seem to be a case of the tail wagging the dog, though. Raking the body to make up for a difference in the front and rear suspension ride heights.
A.Wilson013
New member
Once you're able to upgrade to larger tires that rake won't look nearly as bad.
I would do the tires, and revisit your idea later if you think it's still needed.
That said, if I were to do it I would cut the pucks at angles to be sure they'd still line up and sit flush.
I would do the tires, and revisit your idea later if you think it's still needed.
That said, if I were to do it I would cut the pucks at angles to be sure they'd still line up and sit flush.
MStudt
official vendor
I haven't seen it on a 4runner, but I have on a Jeep. I know a couple people that did it on some YJ's to help even everything out. You just to to taper to pucks in the middle. Install your front and rear most pucks, and then cut the middle ones to fit. There's nothing to it, and it's just as safe as a normal body lift.
D Farms
New member
cool! thanks I dont know when ill do this but Im pretty sure I will at some point. I dont mind the rake, but Id like to have the same amount of clearance in the front for bigger tires.
A.Wilson013
New member
How big of tires are you looking to run...? I have about 3" of lift in the front, and simply by adding some positive caster I have a stupid amount of room up there with 285/70/17s.
Picture after caster added...
Of course you can do whatever you want, I just think that it's strange that no one has done this before if it's a viable option. In my head it makes sense that it would work, it's just weird... Haha
So you can't just tell me what that thing is? Not really interested enough to go looking for your build thread.
Not sure what "then" you're referring to that would make them straight up and down if the pucks at one end are thicker than the other end. The body where the pucks mount should to be parallel to the mounts on the frame.
Not sure what "then" you're referring to that would make them straight up and down if the pucks at one end are thicker than the other end. The body where the pucks mount should to be parallel to the mounts on the frame.
D Farms
New member
Well that's how it came from the factory, the body is mounted directly to the frame, with the factory spacers. Just because it didn't come from the factory slanted doesn't mean it won't work, at the factory if they wanted to level out the suspension they would just move the suspension mounts, I can't do that so I'm going to use angled body lift pucks to level the body to the way its meant to sit. I'm still unsure of why you think this won't work.
How big of tires are you looking to run...? I have about 3" of lift in the front, and simply by adding some positive caster I have a stupid amount of room up there with 285/70/17s.
Picture after caster added...
Of course you can do whatever you want, I just think that it's strange that no one has done this before if it's a viable option. In my head it makes sense that it would work, it's just weird... Haha
I've been thinking about this point. I've seen so many fj cruiser guys talking about running more positive caster to get more tire clearance at the firewall, yet I never hear this mentioned by 3rd gen 4runner guys. It will also give a better approach angle, which is another big plus, especially for my ARB bumper.
I will be getting 285's on wide, low backspacing wheels soon, and I have the plan to eventually run 315's with no body lift. And before you go on about how it can't be done, I've seen two builds where it's been done. Interestingly, neither of these builds have mentioned running more positive caster either.
What was your caster measurement and how much were you able to push the front wheels forward over a more standard setup?
D Farms
New member
Sorry for the rant in advance. So a few problems I have with adjusting the caster, these are mostly applicable if you use the vehicle as a dd, because of the higher lift in the back, my caster angle is already negative by about 1.3 degrees and that's on top of however more negative it is because of the lift as well. Basically when you have positive caster the wheels have to lift the vehicle up when the wheels turn left or right. Positive caster keeps the vehicle going straight down the road, the closer it is to zero the more the tires get turned left and right from the road being uneven, because there is nothing keeping them straight. Basically you want the caster angle to be positive so it keeps the vehicle going straight automatically, it also helps return the wheel to center after you make a turn. Obviously you don't want to over do the positive caster because it makes it too hard to turn the truck, and also increases the turn radius of the truck. So if you are just using your truck off road, I'd say having the caster closer to 0 would actually be ideal and give you better maneuverability, and clearance, but it makes the vehicle less stable at high speed, so for a DD its crucial to have the caster positive, and also the entire alignment should be set to the factory specified angles.
Last edited:
I believe you have positive and negative caster mixed up. The factory toyota caster spec is +2.5-4 degrees. I am getting +1.25 degrees with my 3" lift and stock uca's. I've gotten used to it now and I think it drives ok, but it does feel twitchy at highway speeds and the wheel returns to center quite slowly. Ideally, I'd get aftermarket uca's and run at least +4 degrees of caster.
