My 4Runner's Issues..

Hi all,

So I haven't owned my 4Runner for that long, but even so, I love it..

It is not without its problems however, and the previous owner had some pretty funky ideas on getting it to look the way it does..

It underwent rust repair to all four arches, and the interior has not been messed with so is nice and original [except where they had cut giant oval holes for speakers in the rear]..

The major problem I can see is that the Suspension has been lifted on the Torsion Bar only, and not with a Lift Kit, as I would expect/prefer.. I am going to get my Mechanic to wind this down a bit so that the 4R is a little more stable at speed..! What Lift Kit should I be looking at to get this sorted properly..?

Also, I am having problems with the Rear Window, it is reluctant to wind up without "help".. I'm presuming a worn/gummy motor or mechanism.. How easy is it to take the internal panel off to check, and will this give me the access I need..?

 

It looks like it has a body lift on it. Rear window motor should be under the trim panel on the tailgate. Good looking 4runner

 

Yeah, my mechanic also said that there were spacers between the Body and the Chassis.. And that they had cut the original Brake Pipes and refitted new ones after the lift etc.

Sounds a bit Farm Yard to me..!

 

I had a 4" rough country lift on my 92 pickup before getting rid of the ifs. I picked it up used and for the money I was happy with it. There aren't a lot of lift kit options for the second gens. I've been looking at the blazeland long travel kit for my first gen.

 

You can put an aluminum spacer block between the upper A arm and the ball joint which opens up at least 1-1/2 inches of additional swing to the front suspensions A-arms. This will effectively increase the wheel travel while retaining the OEM stops. You will need longer shock absorbers to get the full droop these spacers can provide.

I put a pair on my 4Runner last Friday with some M95 SkyJacker mono-tubes last weekend and I backed down the preload on the torsion bars by approximately 20 turns of the bolt on each bar. The camber goes to hell and the toe in is extreme after you put these in. So a front end alignment is required? The cam adjusters on the lower A-arms need about 6 lines of movement on the round disk to move the lower pivot axis out away from the center of the vehicle to get the camber back to spec. The tie rods are lengthened by almost 2-1/2 turns on both sides to keep the steering wheel centered and to correct the toe in. I have the ride height about 1/2 an inch higher than the OEM specification and the track width seems to have increased by about 1/2 an inch per side. Also with the upper A arm set at this 1/2" above OEM height and with it on top of the ball joint spacer it is almost horizontal and this has made the front suspensions initial movement quite a bit more compliant and is tending to roll a bit easier in cornering. If I keep this setup with the 1-1/4" Dayco spacers on top of the OEM coil springs, I may need to get stiffer torsion bars for the front as this arrangement seems rather unbalanced when I attack speed bumps straight on. But the increased droop and travel is great when I hit driveways at an angle as the body of the 4Runner seems to certainly be more settled as I make the transition through the gutter with considerable speed over last week when all was stock. There is nothing like wheel travel for increased suspension performance and ride quality.

I have contacted Blaze-land but I did not get any reply and fear the passion has dwindled in producing the arm kits. After all these 2nd gens are 28 years old!

Total-Chaos would be another option but upper shock mounts are needed with expensive coil overs and puffy fiberglass fenders to make the huge increase in track width work.

I would loose the body lift. It is a poser approach to show and no go! But it is an easy way to fit larger tires which can help with traction and off-road performance. But there is a host of other things needed to properly run larger tires like proper gearing and brakes as well as better suspension to manage the additional un-sprung weight! Just saying with the CG higher and the track width unchanged, the handling will be decimated but it will look cool, not accelerate, not stop and not corner as well as a stock vehicle!

Kingroon, please take my post with a grain of salt as my opinion is but just an opinion. I applaud your passion with you new 2nd Gen just as I find my own with my 91. Secretly looking to have some of that magic from the early 80's when I was somewhat involved with racing several SCORE/HDRA Toyota 7S pick-ups that gave the Ford Ranger of the day a very good run for the money and the dream was to be Ivan Stewart with all the factory support that Toyota and PPG provided for the open class 1 truck that was setting all the records in that day.

 

Hey Andrew, thanks for your reply, it's certainly good for me to read up the Dos and Don'ts, and I'm in agreement with losing the Body Lift, the handling can only be worse with it..!

My intention is to make this a safe and enjoyable 4Runner, and at the moment, I'm a little nervous of the suspension setup. It will be going on the ramps at my local mechanic in the next coupla weeks as have an MOT due, and then a road trip to the SW of the UK for 2 weeks of Surfing & Camping.. Cannot wait..!

 

have just Googled for this, and found..

https://www.roughcountry.com/toyota...736s.html?find=1994-toyota-4runner-4wd-387086

..which is a little expensive, but I'm guessing may be the only way to do a 4" lift..?

Love this photo..!

 

So, MOT time..! My Mechanic found a Tear in the Space Time Continuum earlier..


..but managed to seal the Rupture before the breach engulfed the entire Quadrant..