This is my first post on the forum so please forgive me if I am in the wrong thread.

Ok so let me start by saying this is my second yota. first one was an 1988 22re with almost no rust. i had it two month and had to sell it because of our new baby. Three years later and i finally found one at the same time i had some money and bought another one.

That being said i have a 87 extra cab 4x4. I have been a diesel mechanic for 8 years, so i do have a some knowledge about repair work. the truck is lift some not sure how much, but i cannot find any lifting kits anywhere, so i believe the torsion bars have been cranked to the max, and possibly an add a leaf kit in the rear. well the the guy i bought it from told me in two years he has replaced CVs like three times, shocks are history, the steering components are rubbing the frame a little which inturn is wearing them out left and right as well. what research i have done says this is caused most offtenly from torsion lifts.

I would like to take it back to stock ride hieght then re lift it the right way so the CVs are at correct angle steering components stay off the frame, so on and so forth.

how do i take the torsion lift out, and how low do i need to go to reach factory hieght so I can re lift the right way.

my other big conceren is i would like to run 33/12.50/15 tires so how high do i need to lift it, and i have read that I should re gear it as well with the over size tire so what gear should i go with and where is a good place to find them.

this truck will be an everyday driver, that see tons of time in the mountain during hunting season, and i would like to play with it too if i choose too. but being a dd i would like to get decent fuel milage.

thanks in advance

CHASE

 

welcome to YT!

I used to have an 87 x-cab - great trucks! Now I've got a 93.

For lowering the IFS back down, you'll need to soak t-bar adjuster bolts in penetrant, then lower the tension = drops the front end. After you do so, you will need to get an alignment because it will also change your camber. Alignment won't be easy if everything else is worn out - like tie rod ends, BJs, control arm bushings, etc etc. If replacing those, don't cheap out and get the eBay special complete IFS rebuild - it's junk. Recommended IFS parts come from Toyota, Moog, and Sankei "555" japanese parts - anything but cheap Chinese parts. Beck Arnley usually reboxes the 555 parts FYI.

As for the actual height of a stock IFS front-end I'm not really sure, but I think it's somewhere around 20" from center of the axle to the bottom of the fender lip. If you are planning to go with a 33x12.5x15 tire, then you may want to get those first so you can adjust accordingly since you will need some lift if avoiding fender cutting - otherwise you'll be doing it twice (and re-aligning twice). Since you mention going through CVs, most likely you have too much lift up front. I suggest you take some measurements and post up a pic from the front, showing the CV angle which is most likely too steep for operating angles.

If you're planning on keeping the IFS and are rebuilding the janky parts you have now, you may want to upgrade a few things while in there. Look into BJs that have grease zerks, BJ spacers for more down-travel, Beck Arnley idler arm with SDORI brass bushes and idler brace, tie rods can be beefed but take fab skills, IFS truss is a good idea. Your choice regarding a diff-drop but IFS brace might not fit with it. Swaybars - ditch them for more plush ride and more articulation. Shocks are subjective, but I like my Old Man Emu shocks and steering stabilizer. Plenty more info in the IFS lift sticky in the 86-95 section.

As for the fitment of tires, you can technically fit a VERY large tire on stock height - it just takes some fender cutting to avoid rubbing If you don't want to cut at all, you will end up lifting quite a bit to fit a 33x12.5 at full flex/turning due to the width of the tread when turning/stuffed. With minimal lift in the 2" range and some slight cutting and pounding at the firewall's pinch weld and possibly lower bumper area, you could fit the 33x12.5s you want, and most wouldn't even notice you had to mod the sheet metal slightly - this is what I did on my rig.

For the rear of the rig, the lift could be from add-a-leaf, blocks, lift springs, or longer shackles. Stock shackles are 3.5" I believe for your rig. Again, if going up to a 33x12.5 you may need to keep some height to clear them. As another option, many choose to run a 33x10.5 tire - this typically doesn't need any lift to clear since the tread width keeps things tucked in and not rub. Downfall to them is that there is limited selection in this narrow size and that you won't always find them sitting on the shelf since so many people run them because they fit on stock rigs. With a 33x12.5 your selection goes up to pretty much all the brands, but you will need to get new wheels or wheel spacers as well as add some lift (or cut).

For gearing, a 33" tire should get a 4.88 gear set to bring back to stock for a 5spd rig. If you are driving all hills and doing mostly DD/city driving with limited long-haul stretches you may even consider going with lower gears, like a 5.29 which will keep you more in the powerband, but your speedo/odo will be off and you may lose some fuel economy depending on driving style. Online you can find speedo correction gears to fix this if you keep it this way. factory 4.88 gearsets can be found at junk yards from some v6 4runners, usually run $200-800 for the set used, search here to find more info. Otherwise your other option is to buy gears and set up the diffs, or buy complete drop-in units ready to go if you have the cash and want brand new goods that have warranties (you'd end up spending close to that much anyways if you completely rebuild your diffs and install lockers)

I suggest reading up on the forums here and check out the IFS lift guide. The search button here is awesome and works great too, go figure Anyways, get some pics of your ride posted up and start doing some homework regarding all the mods you want. When you need clarification on something and can't find the answer, then ask - but most stuff has been asked literally dozens of times these rigs are so popular! Good luck!