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My suspension lift is not from
a single kit, per se. I assembled various pieces available from different
suppliers to give me a projected 2.5" lift. I have ended up w/
3" total front and back. I originally had 21" hub center to edge
of fender flare for both the front and rear. I now have 24". Or
as some people like to measure, I'm now 15.5" rim to fender vs. 12.5"
before. I would expect some settling and sagging over time. Overall,
it was a 2 1/2 banana job. I had already installed
TRD Bilsteins, so there wasn't a shock swap involved. The lift was
definitely a "economy" job. Here's a breakdown of the costs: Here's my 4Runner looking dorky w/ a lift and no tires yet.... UPDATE: Now w/ BFG AT/KO 285/75/16's.... As of right now, I can't wheel it until I do a few more things. First, longer shocks will be necessary for the rear. The stock length is the limiting factor on droop. When I go past the factory articulation, the driveshaft WILL contact the gas tank skidplate. I will either need to notch the skidplate, build another one, or come up w/ a new panhard arm drop bracket (no aftermarket available). The rear axle when drooped will swing in an arc towards the drivers side. With the panhard at such an angle when lifted, the entire axle will swing off center enough to contact the skidplate. Getting the panhard back to a near stock angle should eliminate that problem. The centrally located brake line will need to be lengthened when I go for longer travel as well. The following is a guideline of how MY installation went. I worked solo, but it's advised that you have a buddy in case you get your head taken off, someone can clean up the mess...It is not meant for others to use as a manual. If you try to follow it and hurt or kill yourself, tough luck, I warned you. This is meant to generally give someone an idea of the difficulty involved. Nuff said....other than liberally use some penetrant before you get started!
REAR INSTALL I first removed the spare tire to
give myself a little more room to work.
The PP springs are 16.5" long,
vs 16.0" for factory, which means to get the lift, the spring rate must be
higher than stock. That's OK by me, because I used to have butt-sag and
bottom severely w/ the factory springs. When combined w/ the JC Whitney
spacer (P/N 84ZX0661Y $7.99 ea!!!!), the The driver's side is a little more
difficult, but only because there's not as much room to work due to the gas
tank. Because the spring assembly I was putting in was 2.5" longer
than what I removed, I chose to use a spring
compressor to make sure the rubber spacer entered its' seat without distorting
due to me man-handling it. If you
choose to use a compressor, use a compact type and check
FRONT INSTALL I first started off by removing the belly pan (it's NOT a skidplate!) to have better visibility. I worked on one side at a time, but if supported properly, you can do both sides. Support the frame on jackstands pretty high in the air. Do not support on the lower control arms, as you will need the suspension to cycle properly. Remove the wheel and tire. Disconnect the sway bar end links. You now can
remove the lower shock eye bolt. I had to use a brass drift to drive the
bolt out, but it wasn't too tough. Take off the three nuts at the top of
the shock tower, and the strut assembly should come right out. The factory
spring Using a spring compressor, compress the
stock spring approx. 1.5", enough to loosen the nylock nut on the shock
shaft while holding the shaft tip w/ a crescent wrench. Be careful.
Do not remove the nut unless the top spring seat is loose ! If it's still
under tension, compress the spring more. Now comes the fun part ! There are a few
different methods of installing the now-longer strut assembly. One is pure
brute force - 6 gorillas on the end of a 8 ft bar levering down on the lower
control arm. Two is to use the spring compressor to try to shorten the
strut enough to force it in while 2 gorillas on a 4ft bar lever down on the
control arm. Three is to pop the upper ball joint to free the lower arm to
pivot as low as it wants to go, and bolt in the strut. Remove the cotter pin from the castle nut on the upper ball joint. Loosen, but don't completely remove the castle nut. Use a small two-jaw gear puller to pop the ball joint shaft free of the upper control arm. It may take some grunt...one side popped very easily, while the other side took a beer and 4 dirty words before violently releasing.
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