I've put so much money(for me, lol) into rebuilding and restoring many aspects of my 87 Runner, ....I had to make a choice on how to get rid of the sag. Seeing as the OMEmu lift I wanted was 900$+, and others were only half of what I wanted, ....and considering I already have Rancho RS5000's in the rear, given to me for free...I went with the Zuk's, at least for now. 60$ plus 12$ shipping....a small cut of the bump stops...it was the best choice for me, for now, to at LEAST get me through the summer to do some camping, etc.

1. Pull the wheels
2. Jack up Rear Axle and place Jack Stands near pumpkin
3. Jack up body via Hitch Mount for a lil room for cutting
4. Sawzaw with 9" Diablo and Torch Blades(I cut through them, from the bottom of the inner area of the bump stop, rolling back and forth it took 2-2.5 minutes per side.) Made a VERY clean cut and I can weld them back on, easy, later.
5. Took a torch to the Front facing metal shaft, heating it up red hot around 3/4 way to the top and up, ... then bent it out with a common hammer to make them parallel.
6. Jacked up the body by the hitch as far as I could, being careful of the Brake Proportioning Valve, etc.
7. Slid/screwed in the Zuk Coils to as far as they would go, then rolled the bottom half of the coil around the back of the rubber bump stop.
8. Placed a 4x4x4 piece of wood over the leaf pack, behind the U-bolt bracket, slipped in a small bottle jack over the 4x4x4, pressing up against the frame to lift it as much as safely possible.
9. With coil bottom behind the rubber bumpstop, I placed a 1x2x4" piece of wood over the top of the drum(e-brake engaged), slipped a 4' pry bar into the forth curl up on the coil, pried it back and up and it popped right over the rubber stop.
8$ for Diablo Blades at Home Depot;

12"x125# Springs from Superior Coil(thanks AJ!)


A 4' Pry Bar and small bottle jack, couple pieces of Wood and a 4 Ton Garage, Floor Jack(REALLY Helpful). SawZaw and Torch, ......

DONE!

It went from 10" from top of rim to top of fender well, ...to 13" on the dot.

Some before and after pics and video to follow;...........

Before;






After; (PS> I will get some pics with the top on, tomorrow, when it's light. Just put it back on at 10:30pm); .........










And a lil video explanation;

 

The company who makes the coils is Southwest Speed, and the name is "Black Magic Springs". They gave a NICE catalog with the coils, and I figured, if Zuk trusts them, and Philbert is loving them(as well as many others), ...why not! hahaha. I can always undo this and go with a larger lift, armor, etc., later on. For now, I'm going to just enjoy my rig for the rest of the summer, GRRRRRRR! lol. Still have a couple kinks to work out in my thread in yellow, below in my signature...but IT'S COMING ALONG!

Thanks Yotatech, and thanks, Zuk, Philbert, and everyone else who's been inspiring, egging, razzing and prodding me along in the last 3 months since I started.

Mark

 

very nice write-up Chef.

 

good write-up! Your rig looks way better now! Glad you're having fun with the build.

 

Lookiing great Mark - and good video!

You can always swap in the taller springs later if you want (and add BJ spacers up front if the "rake" is too steep

 

Nice job man!!

FYI-those RS5000 are a pretty stiff shock, good but a little stiffer than the average. Oh and shock boots are OVERATED. I don't run them cause they hold water and rust out your shock. Besides, shocks have wipers on the shaft there to clean it off anyways.

 

Thanks, so much, guys!

Jerry, I know how much work you've put into that rig'o'yers!...... I always appreciate your input, ....whether it's complimentary or, even, "Hey, ....WHAT are you DOING?" HAHAHA.

TonyNG, thanks, I think so as well. It's actually pretty STRANGE, at first, looking at it from the side, etc...... I almost felt like it was a Dego, initially, hahaha..., but then I realized...."NO, silly, ...it's just more 'where it should be' than it's been for a LONGGGGGG TIME" lol. Main thing though?....SO MUCH NICER ON THE KIDNEYS!

PHIL! LOVE your work ethic and attitude, MY MAN! hehe. You, as well, have inspired me quite a bit to 'Not be so apprehensive' when it comes to 'trying things' ", ....especially when they can be 'undone'. I REALLY questioned, over and over in my head, "Hmmmm, wont these make it bouncy or hokie or ...whatever?" hahaha. NOPE, they really ride NICE! , Thanks for the push!

Big Blue, thanks man! You, as well, have lots'o'respect around here, ...so I appreciate the compliment. Thanks for the info. I was given these shocks by a buddy a couple years ago, when his BEAUTIFUL 84 Longbed 4x4 was totaled out and sold! .... He offered the fronts, but obviously, they didn't work on my IFS. Soooo, for now, they're ok for me, but I WROTE THAT DOWN, honest, and I will do more research on shocks when I get new.

What would you recommend for the fronts, guys? If I get Bj's for the front, what size would I need? And, what length shock, accordingly? I found a site that wholesales suspension stuff and they seem pretty reasonable for bilstiens(64$ I think) and Pro-comps(25$-30$ Max). I just don't know what I'm doing,and this is the first 'suspension mod' I"ve done. The only repair I've done is to replace the Idler Arm on the Pass. side. It was pretty intimidating at first, as the pickle fork took QUITE a while to get it out, hahaha. MAN that thing was stuck! I had lots'o'play in it and it was wabbling hard on the road(Info for anyone who's getting the shakes at lower speeds AND higher speeds).

Any ideas, guys?^^^^^^

NOW; If I can just have the staff remove everything after the "Just did a Zuk Mod...." ??? hehehe. Sorry guys, mistake!

 

Ok, got some pics with the top on..............
Before Zuks with Top on;

After Zuks with Top on;




As you can see, I'm on quite a hill and can't get the wheels even due to rain trowel. But, I will get pics in a parking lot, later. I'm also going to load it up quite a bit to test the coils, then drive it with the load on them. I would imagine that it'd be even smoother, but maybe lose a LIL height. lol.

 

i wonder what that top would look like black.....hmmmmm.....oh cheeeeefffffffff

 

PS> As of Today, .... I have, officially, 100,000 miles on these BFG 31x10.50x15 AT/Baja's! I've not kept up as to which tires have gotten better/worse.... but I've had these on 3 TRUCKS, and I have to say, ...while they DO NOT perform like MT's, .....they HAVE got me out of MANY sticky situations, as well as rode smooth, provided GREAT mileage and are fairly quiet. Not as quiet as the 31" Long Trial BFG's I had(ALSO A GREAT TIRE!) ...... but DEFINITELY quiet 'enough'.

Sorry for the tangent, ...but I REALLY love great quality for a good price, and btw, ....3 PLY SIDEWALLS ARE BAR NONE the best way to go. Many rocks have tried to sabotage me...TO NO AVAIL! Plus, when I DID puncture a side wall(slow leak), BFG Lifetime Warranty at American Tire gave me a new tire, no run around, minus labor! Hey, 140$ is 140$, right?????

 

You really think so, Jerry? I was thinking of that, just the other day! Only thing is, .....IT'S HOTTER! hahaha. And I do the desert, quite often. What about that Navajo Beige? I'll find it and post it up here for ya. I've seen that tan type top on a Red one with the gold stripes.....it looked REALLY nice!

 

PS> LOOK AT THIS THING!!!!!!!!!

 

How's the ride now? A lot smoother i bet!

 

SORRY for the tangent. Any ideas on the top or shocks or if the front needs Bj's? If so, what size Bj's, which shock 'will do' in the front, and WHICH CARRIER/RACK? hehehe

 

WAYYYYYY smoother, Brian! Most importantly, when I was hauling a load of produce, yesterday, I hit a Cali-Nanny State Style-Parking lot Bump(TRUST ME, they're like made by the devil! lol)...and it was a lil rough in front(haven't touched that YET), ..but the rear felt like my dad's mildly built up 4x4 Tundra with a 3" lift, leaf pack and shocks! They used to TOTALLY bottom out, Brian, ...I MEAN HARD! lol. Now, it compresses, with a load, about an inch(what it feels like anyway) and it's VERY smooth on them at the same time.

As Blue mentioned, above, "RS5000'S are a bit stiff", ...but that's ok, considering I carry LOTS of weight, camping, and sometimes for work.

In short; I LOVE THEM, Brian!

 

Good to hear, i may have to reconsider doing this.

 

Very solid and descriptive write up, I really need to do this on my 90.

 

Yeah, Brian, ....

I'm not trying to 'sway' anyone, by any means. I'm just sharing "MY" experience, ya know? I mean, ....why not though, right? It's an EASY switch back to factory, with just a 30$ or so visit to my welder shop. Maybe less. Take em 10 Minutes, max, to weld them back on, ya know?

This way, I get a smoother ride, more flex and it can carry WAY more than without them, lol. Plus, if I get "iffy" leaf packs, ...I'm just going to have to replace them again in a few years. Maybe not with the OME's, ...but I CAN NOT afford that for now. I'd rather focus on other things. And really, if you look at the pics, ......I think with Bj's I could easily get 33x10.5x15's on there, or 32x10.5's, for sure, without. I really feel like I have enough clearance to do the more 'moderate' wheeling that I love to do, ...and I'm telling you, I ROMPED on my White one(you've seen that, right?)....and it was pretty much stock with an add leaf and 1.5 spacers, shocks, and I GOT AIR at times, doing the desert stuff, ....and it NEVER gave me a problem. The CRAWLER stuff is a category all in and of itself. It's just not for me, Brian. I just can't afford to 'keep fixing' things or to give up comfort, thousands of $'s, mileage, etc., for the sake of crawling MAJOR rock stuff, lol. I ADMIRE THEM, and I love watching that stuff. I guess I'd rather live vicariously through them, while still having "my practical/economical applications", ..make sense?

 

thanks, pruney! :d

 

Chef....one more thing.....my son's 88 has really no appreciable sag, but then again, it's been topless for over a year.....your description of this mod makes me quite certain i could easily do this. i even measured , like you did, from the lip of the wheel to the trim and got 11 inches....so i believe there is a sag, but not bad.

thanks again for the write-up and accompanying video.