What will a stock 96 sr5 4x4 manual with rear locker...

[Gumballf355]

What will a stock 96 sr5 4x4 manual with rear elocker go up and through, and what would stop it? I've contemplated taking it through deep snow and some deep mud pits but I'd really hate getting stuck in the middle and have to winch or dig myself out.
I've always wondered the extreme capabilities of my 4runner but haven't tested it's prowess other than some steep dirt trails and such. Could anyone give me any insite on what a beginner offroader like myself could do with my rig? What good mods should be done to dramatically increase it's abilities without decreasing it's drivability and comfort?

This is my truck.

My previous 4x4 was a 91 Cherokee Limited 4.0 with 4wd... would the 4runner be just as capable? More/less? Seems like my 4 runner has more ground clearance... I'm on 265/75/16s at the moment.

 

[longhaul747]

My Brother n Law has a 95 Jeep Cherokee Sport with the 4.0L inline 6. His Jeep is totally stock and rides on stock size tires witch are currently Toyo Open Country A/T's. They seem a few sizes smaller then my 265's but can't remember the size. I am also running Toyo Open Country A/T's.

My folks have a cabin up in the mountains that tends to get a fair amount of snow in the winter. We have to check on it occasionally and we have to drive on a dirt road about 3 miles deep and it gets anywhere from 1' to almost 3' of virgin snow. Interestingly with 2' give or take of snow my B&L's Jeep can make it but my 4Runner gets hung on one uphill part with a sharp left turn then a small but rather steep hill almost every time. Not sure why as it seems my 4Runner looks a lot more beefy then his Jeep. Only theory I can come up with is his Jeep being a bit smaller can get a better running start around that corner and up the hill. I do find myself wondering though if I had a rear locker if I would easily make it? I think but not sure my B&L's Jeep has limited slip in the rear. That might help a little.

It could also be that I suck driving in such conditions and my B&L has been doing it for years. So he is definitely more experienced.

My 4Runner is not equipped with a rear locker. An ARB is on my wish list but in today's economy it might be a while before it happens. If and when it does I might put one in the front just for giggles. Really don't need it but I think it would be cool.

 

[Gumballf355]

Would having a solid axle in the front automatically make the jeep slightly more improved?? People seem to brag about that ALL the time. Coil springs better than leaf springs?

 

[pat161]

Not knowing the trails where you wheel its pretty hard to say what you can get through around there. Aside from that the truck's ability and the driver's ability are 2 different things. Your truck will make it through a lot, but how far are you willing to go. You can go over a pretty big rock, but are you willing to risk slipping off and crunching a quarter panel or some other body damage. A solid axle is nice in the rocks but for moderate trails IFS works well, the Jeep and Runner are probably about equal, aside from reliability of course. The rear locker will help you a lot, but being comfortable with the truck is key.

If you don't have clearance issues I would start with better off road tires, I run the Toyo AT and they are nice but an MT tire will get you way more places. Then I would look into armor so you can push the truck with less worry about body damage. ARB and others make nice front bumpers, sliders are available from many sources, its the rear bumper that is tough, you may need to have one custom built. Then when you get serious enough to start blowing CV's in front you consider a SAC. Many seem to want a SA just because others say its good but they have never run their IFS to its limits, it's a lot of work and will make your truck less desirable to 99% of people if you ever need to sell it. Not to mention the SAC will do exactly what your last sentence says you don't want. They can have good road manners but it will not match the stock set up.

 

[Gumballf355]

I am relatively close to holister hills... and can get up to tahoe relatively easily aswell.

 

[Matt Starr]

umm, thats what you can do
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[Pritchnakoff]

Gumball,

best way to find out is to hit the trails...
Why don't you try and roll out with a couple of us to Hollister Hills on March 29:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48053&highlight=bay+area+meet

Should be fun!
:biggrin2:

 

[Matt Starr]

Would having a solid axle in the front automatically make the jeep slightly more improved?? People seem to brag about that ALL the time. Coil springs better than leaf springs?

Ok, I just started wheeling again after about a year. I used to have a 2000 Tacoma V6 5spd with rear locker and I did the solid axle swap. I actually only had about a 4" lift and ran the same tires that are on my 4runner. After wheelin with my 4runner and Tacoma I have to say I'm kinda dissapointed with myself that I did the SAS to my Tacoma. First of all, in my opinion, I think the coil springs are much better for wheelin than leafs. I did coil suspension on my front solid axle on my taco but the rear was leaf. The lift I did was an add-a-leaf on the rear which "should" make the leaf pack stronger right? No, I snapped a leaf almost every time I went wheelin. The people at Denver Spring (local suspension shop) knew me by name and after a year would keep leafs at the shop ready for me. They even gave me a discount after the 10th time. 1 of 2 things would happen. Either a leaf would just snap under stress or I would hit a rock. Which leads me to problem #2 with leaf suspension. I cant tell you how many times I got hung up on my leaf hangers. That is actually the reason I stopped wheelin and decided to sell my taco was because almost every time I went wheelin I would get stuck on my hangers. Now givin I was doing some of CO toughest trails but still, I think leaf suspension is just stupid.

Your 4runner is more than capable off road and personally, of all the vehicles I've ever owned (cherokee, camry, tacoma, audi a6, 00 eclipse V6 and my 4runner) I would deffinately have to say the 4runner is by far the best in the snow. Just know your limits and that 4runner will take you as far as you want to go :biggrin2:

 

[smallfry]

You can do this with it.

I've had mine though mud, snow and sand but never really pushed it to it's limits and didn't have any problems.

Keep in mind though just because you have a rear locker doesn't mean you won't get stuck.

 

[Gumballf355]

Obviously I know that you can always get stuck... I've also been up some stuff steep enough to need a winch to ascend... front locker probably would have worked in that situation. Never been over rocks tall enough to bottom out on, but I've come close. I'd probably look into atleast a 3 inch lift and one inch body lift to hopefully fit some 35s on my 4runner.

 

[ssssteveo103]

I also have a 96 SR5. Haven't pushed it too much but I have gotten it stuck. One night we got like 22" of snow out here and what do I do? Go play around in the 4Runner of course! It did a lot better than I thought but I tried to blast through a snow drift and lost my momentum and got stuck. The snow drift was probably 2 feet deep, about up to the front bumper. I looked underneath and it was just packed snow. So after a LOT of digging and 3 different people trying to pull me out and a cop driving up to see what happened, I decided to put some chains on the front tires and it popped it right out. I love chains. The end.

-Steve