FJ45LV: OME vs coils

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woytovich

woytovich

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I'm in the planning stages of the re-build of my 66FJ45LV. I was thinking the OME springs would be the suspension solution but I have become aware of a couple other possibilities. The truck will be a street/highway/dirt road truck... with no "serious" wheeling.

I was wondering about a conversion to a coil suspension... either custom built or a swap from an 80 series. I would love to use 80 series axles but I think they would prove to be too wide. Narrowing them is an option that I would consider if there was enough of a reason to go that way.

My question revolves around the ROI (return on investment)... will the ride quality be ENOUGH better with the coils to warrant the significantly greater work involved in swapping in coils vs bolting up OME leafs?

Note that I MAY be sourcing an FZJ 80 to harvest for a drive train swap so those raw materials would be "free".

Thoughts?
 
In my experience the coil suspension of my 80 really showed its "comfort" superiority over leaf springs in off-road situations. My leaf sprung 40 series would beat you to death after hours on a rocky trail where as the 80 felt buttery smooth. But when it came to an on road comparison the difference between the two was less noticeable. Also the longer wheel base of the LV is going to give a "softer" on road ride compare to a regular 40.

So I wouldn't say it is a worth while swap if your LV is going to be a mostly on road cruiser. Because regardless coil or leaf you are still driving a solid front axle, you're not going to get real on road comfort until you go IFS.

HTH :beer:
 
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If done right coils are going to ride much better than leaf springs, especially at higher speeds and on washboards. I'd think you'd need both front and rear to get the full benefit though, along with good shocks and anti-sway bars. A nice set of worn in leaf springs will give you a decent ride, be careful to not over-spring the rear with HD spring packs.

Tucker
 
I have Alcan leafs on my 60 and after removing a leaf from the brand new packs it rides ok... not a Caddy but not a stiff FJ40 either. I'm fine with that ride quality.

What should I expect from new OME springs and shocks designed for the LV? I've never owned OME springs but I have been led to believe that they will offer the best ride out there from off the shelf springs.
 
woytovich said:
What should I expect from new OME springs and shocks designed for the LV? I've never owned OME springs but I have been led to believe that they will offer the best ride out there from off the shelf springs.
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We put a full set on my dad's LV and I really thought the ride was good especially for new springs. You will likely want to remove the HD leaf from the rear spring pack unless you are planning on heavy loads. Don Smith has a good write up on the exact leaf to remove from when he did OME on his SWB.
 
woytovich said:
Well.... It's not really a 45LV now is it. It's a 100 with a modified LV body.

I'm talking about swapping an IFS under/to a 45LV frame...
Click to expand...

woytovich said:
Thanks JP...
Should I be the first person to ever convert a solid axle cruiser to IFS? :crybaby:
Click to expand...

You didn't say "LV". Regardless, you will be hard pressed to do anything to a classic Land Cruiser that has not already been done/attempted.

Back to the subject. I really like the idea of Multi-link and coil suspension on an LV. You can basically control every aspect of the suspension by the way you build it. Wheelbase, ride height, articulation, and stability, are all tunable.

With OME or custom leaf springs it just is what it is. You can mess with shocks and shackles but beyond that the parameters of desired ride quality are mostly locked in.

If I had decent funds/time for my LV, I would link the back with coils and SOA the front. But my wishes for the wagon is that of an off-road beast. I want to wheel the piss out of it someday.
 
Scott Parsley said:
If I had decent funds/time for my LV... But my wishes for the wagon is that of an off-road beast. I want to wheel the piss out of it someday.
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While it is certainly your LV to do with as you please I would hate to see the piss knocked out of such a relatively rare truck.... how about getting a 60 or 80 to wheel the piss out of and find a way to preserve the LV?

Just my opinion... no need to reply.
 
I have an LV

I had and wheeled an 80.

I have converted both a 40 and a 55 to coils.

When I built the new LV I kept the leafs despite running an 80 drive train.

Coils are a huge undertaking. It's very difficult to go back. You'll never appreciate the amount of engineering and development that goes into making a vehicle work properly and dependably until you try to change everything.

I get why you would want it. If you do - use the 80 frame. It's already engineered to work.

Otherwise, embrace it for what it is, a leaf sprung solid axle beast of a station wagon.
 
woytovich said:
While it is certainly your LV to do with as you please I would hate to see the piss knocked out of such a relatively rare truck.... how about getting a 60 or 80 to wheel the piss out of and find a way to preserve the LV?

Just my opinion... no need to reply.
Click to expand...

This should be your answer then.

Don't cut up and modify a LV frame. There's not enough of them out there. You want an 80, get an 80.
 
Yeah Gumby, you are right... it was really just an academic exercise. I had seen someone that did the coil swap and thought it was worth talking about since a 94-ish 80 series is on the list of possible drive train donors for the LV.

While I am not FULLY a purist I would generally tend to want to keep things stock... or at least Toyota. Thus the anxiety I am experiencing trying to decide on a drive train for the LV to replace the Chevy 6 and Toyota 3 speed that is in there now. (1FZ, 1UZ, 2UZ, LT1 are on the short list and I'd love to stay Toyota if I can get the power I'd like... I'm afraid the 1FZ will come up a LITTLE short...)
 
Gumby said:
It'd be twice what the stock was. More if you put a SC on it.
Click to expand...

SC is WAY to expensive... I could do a 2UZ for the cost of the SC.... almost....
 
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