3rd gen lift

Hello all, Just acquired a 3rd gen and I’m planning on doing some suspension work. I want to give it a 2inch lift. I want to know if I will need new UCAs in order to get some proper alignment after the lift is put in? Thank you.

 

With 2" on the front, you should be fine with stock UCA's. Any more than that though, it would be hard to get a good alignment with the proper caster.

 

This is my old RedSled with 5100s at 2”, no uca’s needed

 

This looks great! thank you so much for sharing.

 

Hello...can anyone help provide some guidance. I just purchased a nice 2002 T4R Limited 4x4 with low miles 112K. I want to raise the vehicle but will only be using as a daily driver. I won't pull anything and will do very little off-roading. What do I need to get the raised look without breaking the bank? Do I need new coils? Shocks? Spacers? What? I'd like a 2-3" lift...nothing crazy. My tires are 265/70/16s and they are pretty much brand new so I don't intend on replacing them. Do I need the OLD MAN EMU kit w/shocks or is there a more economical way to achieve the look with a decent ride quality. any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Zacwigs

 

The most economical way is to add spacers, but that won't change the ride quality or performance at all.

You can put a 2" lift on it for $880 with Dobinsons, all new struts, shocks, coils, strut mounts and everything ready to bolt in. 2" lift is the sweet spot of not needing to add a lot of other parts to it.

https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-2-0-lift-kit-for-toyota-4runner-1996-to-2002-3rd-gen

 

SlvrSlug, is that a 2in spacer lift?
It looks badass! Is the front the same height as the back? It looks lower to me.

 

Bilsteins with stock springs, the drivway slopes down, but i do like keeping a bit of the oem rake.

 

It's a thing of beauty! Love it!!

 

@zacwigs125 Well that’s the million dollar question with as many answers.
I went with a Bilstein 6112/5100 with OME 2906 rear springs. It’s a perfect setup IMO. Great for what I have now and I can easily change spring rates to accommodate minor gear changes. When I bought it the costs were good enough to make it all just around $1000. That included EVERYTHING from new mounting hardware, bushings, strut mounts to coil isolators - but I’m frugal as hell and can search for a good deal. My truck was raised in MN so the corrosion was enough that if I was going to touch it I had to be prepared to replace it - I replaced it all. For another $250 I also replaced the lower ball joints. In the end it leveled the truck at 36.5” all around - ground to wheel well. For me about a 3” lift but my factory suspension was trash.
excuse the odd lighting. I had to lighten the shadows to give you a chance of seeing any details. Those are 265/70R17 if your curious and I would have stayed with 16” rims in retrospect.

And to address the original question. Everyone is right, these basic lifts are as much as you can do without changing UCA. I didn’t have to with this setup and this wheel/tire size was the max for the factory dimensions with this lift system. Anymore and I would run the UCA at full droop.

 

Ok gotcha, I added some 2in spacers behind the rims to kick out the tires but now I'm having trouble with the tires rubbing. I figured that if I went up 2in I could clear that problem up. If not then it's bye bye to the rim spacers. I hope it works.
Before:


After:

 

I recently installed FJ cruiser coils, with bilstein 5100's all the way around.

I believe it is a good compromise between comfort and height, and I'm completely happy.

I run 265/75r16 Yokohama g003 without rubbing and it looks great. The coils cost me $100 off craigslist and the 5100's plus all the misc parts to install was another $500 or so.

I didn't take measurements but I set the front on the second clip and gained about 2.5 inches, and I gained about 3 inches in the saggy rear. I'd guess that if my suspension wasnt sagging, the lift achieved 1.5 to 2" from factory form all around.

I added one 10mm trim packer to each side, and I'm about to add one more to each side due to the extra weight I carry.

If you dont carry alot of weight out back, then youd be happy with one trim packer per side.

 

What is a trim packer? Also I have 2in wheel spacers on and I believe that's the reason for the rubbing. I should have done the lift before the spacers.

 

A trim packer is essentially a small spacer that helps you dial in your lift in small increments to adjust for weight, Toyota lean, etc.

Old man emu makes a 10mm (.4 inch) packer. You can stack them two of them and gain about 3/4".

That said, it would be more ideal to gain your desired lift via the lift coil itself.

On a budget the FJC coils got me close enough to where I wanted to be, and honestly if the front was on the lowest perch, it would sit exactly how I wanted in regards to rake.

I don't like a perfectly level look, which is what I have now. I like the rear slightly higher.
I'm too busy...cough...lazy to readjust the front strut assembly so 10mm packer it is.

It should be noted, I used the 3rd gen specific 5100 shocks because the FJ coils are short. If you get extended length shocks and droop too much you may pop a coil out.

In the rear the lift, with the FJ coils, is achieved due to their increased diameter/rigidity, not height of coil.

I get complements on the look often, and the ride quality is amazing. So if you want a budget lift you will like it.

Others have detailed this lift thoroughly if you search. I followed their recommendations and I'm satisfied.

 

Well color me cheap cuz I just went with a 2.5in spacer lift. My t4r has over 300k on it and everything looks OE.. and when I say OE I mean like on the truck when it was sold brand new... LoL
I figured as long as all the shocks, springs and struts have to come off anyway I bought some heavy duty rear springs, and larger Skyjacker Black Max shocks to maintain equal travel both up and down on the rear shocks. In the front I purchased a new set of OE quick struts and will get an alignment after.
Does that sound like it will work out?

 

Do you know what year FJ CRUISER those rear coil springs were off of?

 

2007 4wd.

Other threads I read prior to buying them stated the 07-09 gave more lift then the later models. I can't confirm that, but the guys on those threads did alot of detailed writing and I believed them.

 

Ok, thanks so much for the quick reply.

 

What size tires are you able to clear with a 2 inch lift?

 

I currently have Yokohama G003's in 265/75r16, roughly a 32" tire.

I dont rub at all, and they look appropriately sized (not stuffed and not small looking in relation to wheel gap).

I'm convinced this is the perfect set up for someone looking for a mild lift, that functions, and modernizes the look of these rigs.

 

265/75/16

 

T265/70r17's . I believe that the rubbing came from doing stuff backwards. I should have done the lift before I did the 2" wheel spacers! The tires don't rub at all now.