High Alt Gold Miner

This is my $500 work in progress (3vze). So far: Timing belt, water pump, alternator, and set of five 15" steelies with BFG KO2 31".
Very curious about the suspension and would like to replace it. I believe it has a 2" body lift now, which is why I slapped 31" tires under it. The suspension looks old and beat, although the ride and handling is nothing to complain about. The previous tires showed some irregular wear so i know things aren't quite right. I'm not interested in lifting the little beast any higher but looking for a full replacement, rear leafs and all.
Seems difficult to find full suspension "kit" replacement that isn't a lift. I'd be happy with stock or 1" to 2" at the most. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr

High Alt Gold Miner

I apologize for the duplicate images above... flickr is having problems today and I am unable to correct it.

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

Is anything loose in the front? Ball joints, TRE, idler arm,.... might explain weird wear. But i’m Assuming those are parts you wanting to change out not control arm or control arm bushings. Toyota sales best parts period for a stock rig but are spendy. I’ve been out of IFS game for awhile so perhaps someone will chime in with quality alternative to Toyota. As for rear leafs be careful on brand as not all are equal OME seems to be a favorite and loads of guys have posted positive feedback on their products.

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

I have done what you need to do. Lots of hard work if you do not have a 50 ton press and a big hammer & bar. Rock auto has tie rod ends and ball joints at decent prices. Just lots of big hammer work. I do recommend you put in the 23mm front torsion bars from Arbusa. Mine had an older name on them but same outfit. trust me go up in bar size.

Rear springs any truck spring shop can fix what you have and add a leaf to it so its not dragging butt. the big problem is the 14mm bolts that are probably frozen in the front bracket. That hole has to go to 18mm so a pair of bolts from Marlin Crawler can go in there with Arbusa bushings. Do not lose your face opening those brackets up with an 18mm drill.

Darn; I forgot who they make a big thick plate for the front cross member where the bumper goes. Put that in too while you have it opened up. Factory is just cheese cloth.
Drop me line if you have any questions.

High Alt Gold Miner

muddpigg and pilot, Thank you for this advice, you've given me a lot to chew on. Nothing seems loose in the front but I noticed that one of the front axle boots is torn near the wheel. I'll need to address that before I attack the suspension, sigh. I'm not considering control arms but definitely should look at those bushings. Suspension will be a big job, not as easy as my Wrangler was from the looks of it. I'll inspect the leafs further and may take your advice of just adding a leaf, they're a little flat. That would probably bring the rake closer to where it should be.

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

id advise backing down the T-bars. lots of guys used to crank the torsion bars up to give lift, but if you dial them back, youll have better ride. might be a bad alignment after a t-bar crank.

High Alt Gold Miner

Any shock recommendations?

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

There you got me. My biggest frustration, shocks just stink. Bilstiens ride harsh, other brands wear out way too fast from heat buildup. Beat myself silly looking for a decent pair, still have not found any good ones. ProComps have a short life, actually very short. Try Fox brand, I have not used them yet.

I have a busted set of Rancho's on right now. Just gob smacked on what to replace them with.

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

OME makes a good shock. also Doetsch makes killer but expensive shocks.

89fourrunner

Can I give you a nickels worth of free advice? (Especially in regards to your $500 price tag): Get the truck on a level surface and check the IFS ride height. If the torsion bars are tired, the truck will sit below factory height. Follow the procedure to adjust and level the torsion bars and you will restore the front end to its former glory. You are looking for 13.5" from the top of a 15" wheel to the lip of the front fender. No need to replace the torsion bars, it simply is not worth it unless one is broken. Pair that with new shocks (and of course all the new front end parts) and the suspension should be tight and handle well again.

The rear is a crap shoot. You are looking for around 11.5" from top of 15" rim to fender. The OME medium springs will easily put you way above that, and most people wind up being unhappy because the truck looks ridiculous. Measure the current height. If it it sagged, say sitting at 10", g to a spring shop and have hem add a nice long leaf to the pack to beef it up and restore height. If you want new bushing and whole new leaf packs so be it, but I would visit a spring shop first. I think Alcan spring makes one close to stock for your truck, but no guarentee.

At that point, move on, you are done.

High Alt Gold Miner

Thank you! I'd say that is way more than a "nickel's worth" of free advice and I really appreciate it. I'm going to measure today to see where it's at. All of the bushings under there are in terrible shape. I may just end up going with a suspension "kit" which should solve a lot of the wear problems. Honestly though I'd say it drives and handles well now so I don't think that anything is too terribly out of whack. I'm not in a hurry and have access to a full garage with air and 4-point lift. I may do it this winter or spring. I'd prefer a 3" front + rear lift kit but they are hard to find for this year of Yota PU for some reason.
I stumbled across this one. The price is $1316 in cart which would be within my budget, but it's a 4", I could live with that. Any thoughts? https://www.4wheelparts.com/Suspensi...l_productSpecs

High Alt Gold Miner

.... today I am replacing the passenger side CV axle assembly since the outer boot is torn. Also replacing the master & slave clutch cylinders (master is leaking into the cab).
Rebuilding this little beast one part at a time on a priority basis.

High Alt Gold Miner

Success with the CV, wasn't extremely difficult. Busted the swaybar link in the process but was able to replace it immediately. Clutch Cylinders were also relatively easy, as was bleeding the clutch. The brakes are spongy. Pads and rotors look very good so I bled all four... and still spongy. Not losing fluid. Next will be the Master Brake Cylinder replacement.

High Alt Gold Miner

I lied. Starter solenoid was acting up on cold mornings, so I replaced the starter next instead of the brake master. Easy swap. Brake master is my next priority for this rust-o-mod Yota. One part at a time....

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

There are 5 points to bleed for brakes on a 4rnr/truck. Order is DR, PR, PF, PD, and finally LSPV behind gas tank. Might fix spongy pedal.

High Alt Gold Miner

That's interesting. I followed the instructions from a Haynes repair manual which states: "There are five locations at which the brake system is bled; the master cylinder, the front brake caliper assemblies, and the rear brake wheel cylinders"... "if more than one wheel must be bled, start with the one farthest from the master cylinder".
I didn't locate a bleeder valve on the master cylinder so I just bled each wheel as described above. I'll need to re-bleed using your advice and locate the LSPV. Thank you!

High Alt Gold Miner

Just a quick update on the brakes issue. I replaced the master cylinder, bled it... then bled the entire brake system again in the order that muddpigg recommended. Success! Brakes are working well now.

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

Just something to keep in mind, it seems brake parts from a T100 will work just fine. I just did the MC on mine and the 1" bore gives less pedal travel.