I did a search for BJ spacers, and I know there is alot of info already about what kind and who/where to get them. I wanted to gather the opinions of the people who have done BJ spacers on their IFS rigs.

Tell about your experience with the spacers including:

What brand/where you got them

Installation info: How long it took, any problems, did you do it yourself, trouble with alignment afterward?

Did you raise, lower, or leave the T-bars alone after putting the spacers on? Your thoughts on which to do?

How they have held up; did you have to tighten anything back up, did it hurt any other aspects of the tires or suspension?

How long have you had them on?

And so on. If you think of anything else that might be relevant be sure to mention it. Hopefully this thread will be a good concise source of info on BJ spacers. (maybe it will reassure me before I buy them too)

 

All BJ spacers are made by one company. The few places that sell them are just a distributor/vendor.

I did week/months of research about most of your questions.

You only need to know the following: Manual hubs are a must, keep T-bars at the same height or slightly lower them. Use OEM or equivalent (lifetime replacement) CV axels. Buy the spacers from 4Crawler and pay extra for custom 1" or 1.5" spacers.
IIRC, they are actually 1 5/8" but why nobody says this is beyond me.
You can use the "normal" spacers but be sure you have manual hubs and that your CV's are not 10~ years old. Get an alignment after installed.

Also, I've said this before and i'll say it again, diff drops are absolutely pointless.

installation info...
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...owTo.shtml#4WD
http://www.sdori.com/SDORI_4WD_Spacer_Install.html

Theres a ton of BJ spacer threads/pics/tips/installs/info already posted here on yotatech and IMO every single one of them is worth reading before purchasing.

 

I've had them for almost 2 years.

Install took about 2 hours

I lowered my Tbars a bit after putting them on.

I put them on to help me fit 33" tires. Since doing so, i have been destroying every part of my steering several times over. A 31 is about right for this set up. I also beat the truck, so you should be fine without any problems if you don't wheel too hard. If you do, you'll have issues.

 

My thing is, I have 31s, but with my bull bar, my front suspension is already compressed a little more than it should be If I get a winch it will be worse.

When I wear out my 31s I definatley want to go to a 33x10.50. But if it will cause alot of trouble I might as well not, but I'd really like to have that slightly larger tire and a little more space in the wheelwell.

Oh yea, my CVs are stock from 87....so I suppose they'd break pretty easy.

 

I ran them for about 2 years with 32x10.50 Super Swampers, which are about the same size as a BFG 33x10.50. They fit just fine.

I had them on my '88 truck, with the factory original CVs and CV boots that it rolled off the assembly line with. Never had a CV problem ever.

I beat the ÅÅÅÅ outta my truck, so in two years with bj spacers I ruined all four ball joints, two tie rod ends, an after market idler arm, and a braced Toyota idler arm (the ball joint part of this arm broke, but the brace kept the arm from bending). Even with all that wear, if you mostly daily drive your rig, or if you only wheel occassionally, I would recommend bj spacers. They're eleventy billion times better than a 4" bracket lift such as ProComp or Trailmaster.

 

Yes, i am with beater there...all the steering breaks all the time, but i drive it pretty hard.

As for CV's, as with beater, never had a problem. I have an arb in the front, as well as crawler gears, and nary a problem. The only person i know that had continual trouble with CVs had a 3.4 swap, dual cases and 5.29's. pretty much a whole lot more torque going to those axles.

Wouldn't worry about the cvs, and if not wheeling too much, 33x10.5's would probably be fine.

 

I run with SDORI BJ Spacers, stock T-Bars, Aisin manual hubs and a front Aussie Locker.

I haven't had any problems with the CV's, they're stock (94).

As for the T-Bar crank, I've them cranked due to the weight of the bumper and the winch, I had the nose higher before putting them, but I won't lift as much the front. Now its simillar height than a stock 4Runner with cranked T-Bars.

If you combine the BJ Spacers with low profile bumpstops (Only the compression ones!) you'll get a nice flex for a IFS rig.





Ah! And swaybar discos!

David

 

Those who break alot of steering parts: Is this something that comes directly from hard wheeling with the BJ spacers, or did you/do you break those same parts as easily without them?

 

I stole my BJ spacers off an IFS that was taken off for a SAS... I assume they are SDORI They work fine, grinding the control arm is a little bit of a pain, though (very important, they don't just bolt on, you have to grind your upper control arm to make them fit). They are a great way to increase front end flex. You will be limited by your shocks, unless you buy new ones.

EDIT:
Also important: stock rims with 4.25" back spacing may cause 10.50 or wider tires to rub on your upper control arm, watch out for that! I had my stock spare with a 33x10.50 Baja T/A on it, and when I needed to use it in the Dunes, it turns out it rubbed some on the control arm. Good thing I didn't drive too far!

I went with the "Ultra-low profile bump stops" for compression, and "Low profile bump stops" for droop. I would say my font end flexes pretty well with this set-up, haven't had any problems with CV's, but I try to be careful when I can... you know how that goes.

Definitely get/make some swaybar disconnects, they are WAY worth it.

P.S. Blizzard: I am WAY jealous of your Turbo Diesel

 

i'm about to do my SAS so if you want to buy my BJ spacers let me know.

Install: fairly quick and easy. you must have a 4" angle grinder to do it.

T-bars: stock

Problems: I've torn 5 CV boots since installing them last summer. (Thank god for AutoZone unlimited lifetime warranty) Manual hubs are a must. i thought the diff drop did help, it lowers the cv angles a bit. there is minor rubbing on the tire and the edge of the upper A arm. (not that big of a deal, but still something to know and watch) but my main concern was yesterday when i was looking under my truck, i noticed my steering arm had been rubbing on my oil pan and put a good sized rub mark in it, however i am not 100% sure if its from the BJ spacers.

overall: some people love them, i am more indifferent to un-impressed. they do provide more travel, they level out the front with LC coils in the rear, and they do raise the truck up a lil to give it a more aggressive look. but for me, the problems with the CVs alone are enough to advise against them.. but take this with a gain of salt, cuz someone else is going to come along and rave how great these things are... so it really personal opinion.

like i said, i'm going to have most of whats in my sig for sale here soon lol... BJ spacers, OME shocks, LC coils, 2 brand new (again, thank autozone ) CVs let me know if you want anythign.

 

I break the steering because i'm running tires that are way too big on a truck that gets wheeled too hard.

Honestly, the steering on these early model trucks sucks. It was a poor design, and won't hold up to hard wheeling.

Heres what we are saying. You'll break steering if you run above a 31 and wheel it hard. Mostly street, you'll get along okay with 33's.

The ball joint spacers are good to relax the tbars so you can get a better ride.

I'd get em. See what you think. They're pretty good.

Oh, and a cut off wheel is a must. Tried grinding the one side, took forever.

Cut off wheel took less than 2 minutes to cut out each side.

 

Ok, I just did a little research on my tires.

My mastercraft's stand right now at 30.5 inches for a 31x10.50. The same size in BFG stands at 30.8, and the 33x10.50 stands at 32.8".

SO, the question is...is 2.3 inches worth spending 100+ for spacers, the money for alignment and the time it takes to install and cut. Not to mention the possible trouble with steering and CV shafts? Then if I don't like them...taking them off, and getting another alignment?

 

Well, you still haven't said how much, and what kind of wheeling you do.

 

well...I actually went to a OHV area once this past fall, and I'm going to tellico in august. Other than that I've just been to local powerline trails in the past 6 months. And there's a place up around my college that I went to a few times last fall.

Thing is, I want to go more often, it's just, I don't see much point in going wheeling alone at a park, or camping by myself.

 

I ran them for the last 2 years, and wheeled my IFS the last 4. They made huge difference. They are inexpensive, and indestructable. My IFS finally gave up in the way of destroyed control arm bushings.

The ball joint spacers can make you go from this...


To this...

 

I have 'em and they've been installed for a little over a year. I'd definitely recommend them. I've wheeled some pretty serious trails (for an IFS) since installing them and the additional clearance and flex they allow has been a very worthwhile benefit. I've had mechanical problems that have kept me from doing as many trail runs as I'd like, but I haven't had any broken components from the wheeling I've done -- about six or seven trails at rating of 3 and harder.

I didn't do the install, but it's clear that some cutting/grinding is necessary to get them to fit. My t-bars got lowered about an inch, but I'm going to crank them back up since I have a little droop in the front with the TJM bumper. As for wheel size, I'm running 32x11.50 and get some rub when wheels are cranked left or right and I'm going over any sort of obstacle. No rub at full crank when on level ground.

Ed

 

Yeah, then i'd say go ahead a get them. You should be okay. Good luck, and remember, cut off wheel, not grinding wheel, on your grinder.

 

I really don't know what an extra 2.3 inches would do in that situation. I've been in stuff like that and from the picture. it looks like even 5+ inches wouldn't do much.

so i guess what I'm asking you guys is. Do you think it would be worth it to spend the money on the spacers and getting them put on and all that. or would the 200+ dollars be better spent on my E-locker rear and detroit trutrac front with 4.56 or 4.88 gears. proabably 4.56 since w/o BJ spacers I'd proabably stay with 31s.

200 bucks is also almost 1/3 of a warn M8000 as well.

What would you do in my position?

 

Is your tranny manual or automatic? If it's automatic 4.88 gear ratio is ideal for 31" tires. At 32", I'm wishing I had gone with 5.29. Manual is a different matter entirely from what other indicate.

IMO, the ball joint spacers are the best way to get lift inexpensively on the front end and well worth the money.

Ed

 

Sport runner 5speed manual