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View Full Version : BJ Spacers, UCA Bushings, and 63" Chevies on the Runner

amgraham
05-10-2008, 01:14 PM
Since I don't have a cohesive build thread on the 4Runner I'm just gonna write up a thread on this stage of the build.

Getting started:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03130.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03131.jpg

Found my valve cover nut that fell off about January:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03132.jpg

Reason for pulling the UCAs.. Maybe this is part of the reason for my truck wandering and that weird clunk in the front:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03133.jpg

Cut for BJ spacers (Plasma is a nice innovation):

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03134.jpg

Got droop now:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03135.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03136.jpg

The 63" Chevies:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03137.jpg

Got back started on it Friday afternoon. Just as I was setting up my tools and such this crap started (view from the garage.. I need a covered work area):

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03138.jpg

Jason (BeaterToyota) was right.. Stock Samurai shocks are the perfect length for a BJ spaced IFS Yota (the white ones are the Sammys):

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03139.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03140.jpg

Got the stock rear springs out:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03141.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03142.jpg

New shackle hangers welded up, waiting to cool:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03143.jpg

First mock-up with the new springs:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03144.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03145.jpg

Shackle hangers tacked on, figuring out location for spring hangers.. Ended up being about 11" forward from stock:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03146.jpg

We had stability problems with my crappy work surface and this was the solution. Redneck FTW!:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03147.jpg

Oh yeah, the only casualty of said stability problems:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03153.jpg

Manning up and cutting the frame rails:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03148.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03149.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03151.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03152.jpg

What have I done?:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03150.jpg

As it sits currently. Waiting for a decent enough stretch of weather to bolt the springs in, set it down to check shackle angles and such, then finish welding and putting it all back together:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03154.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03155-1.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03156-1.jpg

I'll post more when I have it.
BeaterToyota
05-10-2008, 02:43 PM
Got back started on it Friday afternoon. Just as I was setting up my tools and such this crap started (view from the garage.. I need a covered work area):

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03138.jpg



Oh yeah, the only casualty of said stability problems:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03153.jpg

As it sits currently. Waiting for a decent enough stretch of weather to bolt the springs in, set it down to check shackle angles and such, then finish welding and putting it all back together:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03156-1.jpg



You can get one of these, with full sides, at Costco for $200. They're 10'x20'.
http://images.netshops.com/mgen/master:NA044.jpg?is=175,175,0xffffff&cvt=jpg

That's a pretty serious "only casualty" of the instability.

The spring mounts look good.
88rnr86up
05-10-2008, 03:18 PM
that's funny jason I just posted something like this on va4x4 about
pouring some concrete and puttin one over it

a friends had one got about 2.5 years out of the cover
locknload
05-10-2008, 03:19 PM
Nice work Anthony. So the truck fell off the jackstands? Hell, I'd run the driveshaft. I doubt you'd feel any vibration from that at all.
88rnr86up
05-10-2008, 03:21 PM
it's as straight as his front bumper
amgraham
05-10-2008, 03:21 PM
You can get one of these, with full sides, at Costco for $200. They're 10'x20'.
http://images.netshops.com/mgen/master:NA044.jpg?is=175,175,0xffffff&cvt=jpg

That's a pretty serious "only casualty" of the instability.

The spring mounts look good.

Yeah, well considering that it could have been me or Clifton that got squished I think it's a good trade off.. I have a spare anyway. What happened is we were trying to reposition the jack stands to get better access and they weren't sitting right. As we were trying to stabilize it one of the stands fell over and pinched my driveshaft between the gas tank and the ground. Whenever we were working under it it was stable though, so it wasn't like a near death, didn't know what we were doing kinda thing.

I may get one of those carport things.. I'd rather invest in a shop though that I can set up in since I don't have any way to get back to my work area when it's raining either since I have to drive through the yard to get there. It's quite frustrating....
amgraham
05-10-2008, 03:25 PM
Nice work Anthony. So the truck fell off the jackstands? Hell, I'd run the driveshaft. I doubt you'd feel any vibration from that at all.

Thanks.. Yeah, description above.. I may practice making a schedule 40 shaft with the bent one.

it's as straight as his front bumper

Funny guy. Maybe if you kept a rig long enough to get it driving you might be able to get some trail damage too :flipoff1:
Rover
05-10-2008, 04:53 PM
this past winter i was pulling the front axle out of a cherokee that was sitting on cinder blocks. ( i know, stupid) about 3 min after i got out from under it the cinder blocks crummbled and the cherokee came crashing down. ended up hooking the axle up to my bosses welding rig and ripping the front axle out
larc68
05-10-2008, 05:41 PM
I want to see how the rear turns out. I was looking at putting 63"s in the rear but I thought it would give me too much lift. I also have Bj spacers in the front.
locknload
05-10-2008, 05:47 PM
it's as straight as his front bumper


Funny guy. Maybe if you kept a rig long enough to get it driving you might be able to get some trail damage too :flipoff1:


Yep. I was going to say it's actually from wheeling. Ya know, showing up to a run and driving a truck.
locknload
05-10-2008, 05:51 PM
this past winter i was pulling the front axle out of a cherokee that was sitting on cinder blocks. ( i know, stupid) about 3 min after i got out from under it the cinder blocks crummbled and the cherokee came crashing down. ended up hooking the axle up to my bosses welding rig and ripping the front axle out


Nick, no more stupid shit like that PLEASE. Sounds like we almost lost you.
88rnr86up
05-10-2008, 08:20 PM
so true
you want to know what is sadder
called my buddy about parts said he scraped it all
2 4runners,1 x-cab and 2 reg cabs complete
it's a sad day for me
amgraham
05-10-2008, 11:50 PM
I want to see how the rear turns out. I was looking at putting 63"s in the rear but I thought it would give me too much lift. I also have Bj spacers in the front.

Yeah, I'm curious about that too.. I'm using 2wd springs but I figure if it doesn't have enough lift I can snag a set of 4wd springs.
amgraham
05-19-2008, 03:42 PM
Ok, I better finish this up...

Just chillin' with no springs:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03175.jpg

Mocked up to check shackle angle, spring alignment, etc.:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03176.jpg

Shackle angle is perfect. I ended up cutting the front hangers back out though to move them outboard for better alignment.:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03177.jpg

Droop:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03178.jpg

Here's a tip... When doing something like this ALWAYS take your measurements off of the frame. I was second guessing my whole setup because from eyeballing it by the body the axle is offset to the driver's side by about an inch. But, once I pulled all the measurements again off the frame it all was even and looked good so I welded it all up.

We had some fun burning the old bushings out of the old springs:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03179.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03180.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03181.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03182.jpg

I also cut the stock Chevy overloads in front of the perches.

Preliminary stance before I finished adjusting the t-bars:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03183.jpg

Testing flex. The only issue I had was the driveshaft rubbing on the gas tank but I had enough adjustment left in my Budbuilt crossmember to get it to clear fine:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03184.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03185.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03186.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03187.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03188.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1987%20Toyota%204Runner/Suspension%2005-08/DSC03189.jpg

It clears fine now and after I got it aligned it drives great! It's nice to not hit the bumpstops all the time. The stock shocks limit my droop a bit but not by much. I plan to play with the placement, length, and angles some.

I finished everything up Wednesday night, got it aligned Thursday morn, packed all my gear and tools up that afternoon, and drove to PA Friday morning. I carried a lot of weight and it handled it just fine and the wheeling was great! The extra travel on both ends was quite noticeable on the trails. I ran most of the blacks at Rausch Creek and it handled them just fine. Some more pics:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/Big%20Event%2005-17-08/DSC03269.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/Big%20Event%2005-17-08/DSC03240.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/Big%20Event%2005-17-08/DSC03241.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/Big%20Event%2005-17-08/DSC03237.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r207/gmacsurfin/Rausch%20Creek%205-17-08/S6301540.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r207/gmacsurfin/Rausch%20Creek%205-17-08/S6301680.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r207/gmacsurfin/Rausch%20Creek%205-17-08/S6301739.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/vaxcevents/014-1.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/vaxcevents/016-1.jpg
locknload
05-19-2008, 06:06 PM
Nice and flexy Anthony :D.
BeaterToyota
05-19-2008, 06:10 PM
Now all you need is some gears...
amgraham
05-19-2008, 07:50 PM
Now all you need is some gears...

No joke. That crap was killing me on the trail. My clutch hates me.
locknload
05-20-2008, 04:21 AM
No joke. That crap was killing me on the trail. My clutch hates me.

Yep, been there done that. What ratio do you want? I'll keep an eye out.
amgraham
05-20-2008, 11:05 AM
Yep, been there done that. What ratio do you want? I'll keep an eye out.

My axles are ok. I need a dual case adapter. I already have another case.