ant71992

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums but have spent some time searching and I still have no answer to my question 😂. So i'd figure i'd ask directly.

I own a 1993 Toyota Pickup 2WD with a long bed. I love this little truck, however, I have physical issues and the truck just sits way too low for my own comfort. I also own a 22 Tacoma TRD Offroad and I would like a similar height.

Below is a pic of how my truck currently sits:



Does anybody recommend what exact lift kit I should go with? I'd love to see some pictures. I am thinking a 3" lift would be perfect but I just want to be sure. I would be perfectly fine having a stock height such as this:



Also, I would love to keep the original steel wheels but I feel like the tires would be too narrow. Any opinions on what kind of tire would go great that would allow me to keep them?

This is a 2WD so definitely will not be doing any "off roading". It is a purely errand and hauling truck for me and this lift would be specifically so I don't hurt my back every time I get in and out of the truck. I am also not physically able to do the work myself so I will have to rely on a shop to lift it for me.

Appreciate your input. Thanks!

Robert m

iTrader: (2)

If it's a 5spd you can do up to a 3" body lift to run some bigger tires. Doing this will have no real affect on the factory ride. If it's an auto with the column shifter, you are limited to about 1" of body lift and that still might mess with the shifter.
Once you start changing suspension components, the ride is going to suffer and get stiffer. You can crank up the torsion bars in the front for about 3" of lift and run some balljoint spacers to get a little bit of bump travel back. If you are lucky, you can find some lift spindles but they are pretty rare now a days.
For the rear you have 3 options: add a leaf springs, longer spring shackles, and doing a spring over conversion.
Not many options with 14" wheels. Upgrading to a 15" wheel will open more tires sizes but even then you will be limited because 15s haven't really been used and many years.

ant71992

Thank you fro your input.

Yes it is a 5 speed. So looks like I am good with 3".

What would be the easiest all around way to do this? Would something like this 3" summit body lift kit get the job done?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...RoCJawQAvD_BwE

Since it is a 2WD, I am not really concerned about upgrading to the very best lift kit there is. Just something that gets the seat to sit a little higher and that won't be a complete waste of money lol.

Robert m

iTrader: (2)

Before buying any other kit, I would try to contact Roger Brown from 4crawler. That's who I got my old body lift from and it was pretty good. He's been around this scene for many years and is pretty trusted. His kits also have options that other kits won't. Things like bumper brackets and radiator brackets. https://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/ProductLine.shtml

Discombobulated

The kit from summit says it won’t work with power steering on a 2wd…..personally if I’m having a shop do it I would do just that, have them do it, that’s what you are paying for

ant71992

I called my local shop and they recommend a Fabtech lift but said it is a 3.5 " lift. Robert m said i could go up to 3" but would .5" make any huge negative difference?

Shop quoted me $2,600 OTD. I'd probably have to get new tires and wheels before hand since they're doing an alignment and I'd rather have them do the alignment with the new tires. Will probably cost me around $3,500 in total.

I'm debating since the truck only cost me $3,000 lol. But I really love this truck and I do drive it frequently and would just like to sit a bit higher. I don't see long beds frequently in my area and the long bed is just so useful for hauling things. Otherwise, I would just sell it and get one that already sits a bit higher.

Robert m

iTrader: (2)

The fabtec kit has been around for 30ish years and is just an add a leaf and white rocket shock for the rear and an upper control arm that adjusts the ball joint angle but all the lift is in the front is still from cranking the factory torsion bars up and add on the new stiffer shock and the ride will suffer.
They are not bad setups and i ran two different fabtec setups on my pickup for a bit.
Only reasion i stopped mentioning them in these kinds of threads is because they stopped making them years ago so finding one was getting harder to do.

Even if you do the 3.5" fabtec kit, you will probably want to do a little body lift with it. Then you'll need to pick new wheels and tires. Depending on what size tire you go with, you might need to regear the diff or you will loose a bit of power.
it's a giant snowball effect when you want to change something like this

ant71992

Agreed, it's starting to look more like a headache.

I think I will just keep it at it's current height for now and save the money.