How much lift on my FJ40?

[mdman]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to calculate how much lift I have on my FJ40, but the number seem too high. In the front, he previous owner put a front shackle reversal kit with 1.5" of lift, shackles that add 2" of lift, and leaf springs that add 2" of lift. In the rear, the springs add 2" of lift, and the shackles add 2" of lift. If you add up those numbers alone, I should in theory have 5.5" of lift in the front, and 4" in the rear. I figured the springs have sagged some, but these numbers don't seem right.

Also, will the shackle reversal kit affect my caster angle?

 

[tlc762]

On the caster angle- the extended shackles will change the caster angle from stock. Depending on who designed/installed the front spring hangers you may need shims to correct the angle. The common LCAH/Man-a-Fre type reversal kit gives 1 1/2" of lift to the front end because the front mount towers and surface mount shackle hangers move the springs down that far from the stock positions. The kit was also designed to use stock shackles to maintain stock caster angle. I used to have a Man-a-Fre reversal kit installed on my 74 with rearched rear springs to level it before I put parabolic springs on it. Can you show some pictures of the front fixed mounts and rear shackle mounts on the frame. This would give us a better idea what was done during the reversal.
On the shackle lift- the lift gained is half the length of the amount of extension from stock length. Since you are only moving one end of the spring mount down from the stock location you only get half the lift of the extension. Thus your statement of "shackles that add 2" of lift" would require that they be 4" longer than a stock length shackle to give 2" of lift.
HTH,
Will

 

[bikersmurf]

Hard to tell from the pics... How far are the axles from the bump stops? Stock in the front would be around 3"... Most stock rigs are sitting closer to 2" after years of driving.