LJ78 100mm lift on 35s (1 Viewer)

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GTSSportCoupe

2LTE abuser
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Threads
237
Messages
9,078
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
Been playing around a bit with different tires and suspension this year. Previously I've run both OME and Dobinson ~60mm lifts. Recently I came across a used unknown brand JDM 100mm lift locally for $100. Thought I'd give it a try. The Pro-comp 9000 shocks it came with were far too stiff and a bit short. So I paired the springs with new Dobinsons long travel shocks. Still have some possible tweaking to do such as maybe extending bump stops, and some longer brake lines from frame to axles. May also look at adjustable panhards. But so far very happy.

Earlier in the year I came across this tire/rim set in brand new condition completely unused for about 1/2 new price and couldn't resist. Kumho KL71 35x12.5R15 on 15x8 -27mm offset rims. With removal of front mudflaps there are no rubbing problems.

I also swapped out my super crappy solid poly caster correction bushings to some very flexible ones. This greatly improved articulation.

Truck is very daily driveable (super comfortable ride and handles fine), except my family has a hard time getting in. May source some sliders to help serve as a side step.

Factory 4.88 diffs suit 35s perfectly. Perfect rpm's on the highway now. Can't say I'd recommend for a stock 2LTE tho. Intercooled/tuned 2LTE is fine though - no power problems.

Anyhow, don't see many coiled 70's on 35s in north america, so thought I'd post some pictures.


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Here are the mystery springs before install. I was lucky to find these locally, as 100mm lifts for the LJ7x series are very hard to find. I sand blasted them and sprayed some heat cured engine enamel on them. No idea how long it'll stand up...

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looks like you can clear those front tires at full compression as long as you drive in a straight line ;)

A set of control arms that space the axle out to the front might be handy I guess
 
So you decided to stick with the stock control arms?

Once I changed out the caster correction bushings with a different style I gained full articulation easily. Custom arms would still be better, as they could be lengthened with caster correction designed into them. Not sure my truck is worth the investment tho.


looks like you can clear those front tires at full compression as long as you drive in a straight line ;)

A set of control arms that space the axle out to the front might be handy I guess

Believe it or not the tires clear even when turning at full compression. I did 'massage' the inner fender a bit to make it so. Also had to remove front mudflaps. Followed @kbushnz 's recipe which seems to have worked well.

Longer radius arms would be better for sure. But don't think I'm going to bother for my truck.
 
Nice! Do you have any photos of the truck sitting level ? And, by any chance, did you measure the springs before installing them ?

What material are the new caster bushes you installed ? I had rubber ones that flexed really well but they wore out pretty fast.
 
Nice! Do you have any photos of the truck sitting level ?

Thanks. Snapped some pictures this morning. The truck sits with the rear a bit high if not loaded; however when loaded it sits level. This is partially because my front winch/bumper are quite heavy (70kg?) and compress the front springs an extra 25mm or so. I think the truck would sit level with the stock front bumper. I'm fine with this though, as I despise my truck sitting lower in the back when loaded. The truck also has the 'toyota' right side lean by about 15mm. I may put in spacers to correct this, but honestly I'm pretty used to it now, haha.

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And, by any chance, did you measure the springs before installing them ?

Here is a little table I made. The highlighted items are what I'm using right now.

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What material are the new caster bushes you installed ? I had rubber ones that flexed really well but they wore out pretty fast.

The new ones are rubber with cavities. They are from Ebay Au and are identical to some extra ones I recently got from Dobinsons. Maybe they will wear out quickly; but it's worth it considering how much more comfortable and flexible they are compared to my previous solid polyurethane ones.

I think the ultimate would be custom radius arms, or castor correction brackets (like you can buy for the 80 series). If using these options, a person could use regular bushings that both flex and last.

Here are the bushings I'm using now compared to the ones I was using.


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The new ones are rubber with cavities. They are from Ebay Au and are identical to some extra ones I recently got from Dobinsons. Maybe they will wear out quickly; but it's worth it considering how much more comfortable and flexible they are compared to my original solid polyurethane ones.

I think the ultimate would be custom radius arms, or castor correction brackets (like you can buy for the 80 series). If using these options, a person could use regular bushings that both flex and last.

Here are the bushings I'm using now compared to the ones I was using.


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Yeah these are identical to the ones I had, they wore out pretty quickly. Make sure your steering link tie rod clamps are rotated away from the arm cos the more they wear the closer they get. Mine almost made me have an accident in a parking lot.
 
Yeah these are identical to the ones I had, they wore out pretty quickly. Make sure your steering link tie rod clamps are rotated away from the arm cos the more they wear the closer they get. Mine almost made me have an accident in a parking lot.

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep an eye on them. Maybe I should splurge for custom radius arms.... I'll think about it and maybe bump that other thread.

Also, I should mention that my front Dobinsons were much too light duty for the weight of my bumper/winch. They had deformed/sagged quite a bit. When I removed them they had lost 1" of height. Here is a picture right before I removed them (at one point I had to add the rubber spacers to keep some height). I don't think my new springs will have this problem, as the coil steel is thicker and there are more coils to take the weight.

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Yeah I was thinking of doing some custom arms aswell but I realised I don't really have issues with caster with regular bushes (that's what I'm running atm). If I ever lift it more though I would def need to address that. Really curious what brand your springs are cos I'm liking them 😄
 
Too much free time Nick!
My Dobinsons are doing the same. And after having them on the truck for a couple of years now I am finding the quality might be lacking just a bit. I actually hardly drive my truck and the powdercoat has failed like crazy. And they have sagged more than I would like.
All my OME finishes lasted longer, I just found them to sag too quickly. And,forget your truck sitting level on OME's. They are nice enough to sell you spacers of various sizes since they can't seem to get their spring sag constant.
 
Too much free time Nick!
My Dobinsons are doing the same. And after having them on the truck for a couple of years now I am finding the quality might be lacking just a bit. I actually hardly drive my truck and the powdercoat has failed like crazy. And they have sagged more than I would like.
All my OME finishes lasted longer, I just found them to sag too quickly. And,forget your truck sitting level on OME's. They are nice enough to sell you spacers of various sizes since they can't seem to get their spring sag constant.

Hey Nas, nice to see you on the forums! It's too bad about the Dobinson's, because initial lift and ride is great. The Old Man Emu setup I had before didn't lift or ride as nice, but the springs did not sag at all (I measured again when I removed them); so I think their quality was better. Actually I should clarify I did like the rear OME springs; just not their fronts.

I think the Japanese got a lot of nice quality lift options for these trucks that we'll never be able to get ahold of unfortunately. Many probably not in production anymore either.

I was looking at the springs offered by this company in NZ. Was about to spend a fortune just before I found the 100mm used springs local to me. 4WDbits Toyota Prado 70 Series Shipping is the killer - was going to cost as much as the springs.
 
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That thing rocks. Where did you get it? You can put me down as envious.

Not sure if you're joking or serious? If you're serious, thanks for the compliment.

The truck is part of the 'light duty' 70 series lineup. They've been getting imported to North America for quite some time now. The 2LTE engine in this version is small for the truck, and was prone to cylinder head issues from OEM. So a lot of people steer clear of the trucks. Later models got the better 1KZTE engine.

IMHO the trucks are a well kept secret and quite under appreciated in some regards though. Other than the engine, they're tough as any other landcruiser, and have the added benefit of the coil suspension with solid axles. They're relatively affordable because of the poor engine reputation. The engine can be swapped out, or improved to be totally reliable with decent power and good economy. They're comfortable to drive and have nice options. They have excellent offroad potential that most in North America have not really tested the limits of...

I really like my truck with the modifications I've made to it; and honestly I like the engine too with the upgrades I've done.
 
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I've been definitely been quiet for a bit. Just busy with various other pursuits.
I agree there are so many options I have ran across that we just don't have access to.
I really like how yours turned out. Hopefully you have found something that will give you loads of service without getting itself to out of level.
I am just reluctant to put the work in to replace my Dobinsons because the question is,as you are saying. With what? It's sagging, but pretty even, so I feel good about that.
Sounds like your OME experience was better than mine. I had 3 different Land Rovers sag in weird directions. One of them just started dipping the right front so bad it looked like it was broken.
 
Here is a little table I made. The highlighted items are what I'm using right now.

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Great Table.

Can you confirm where you were measuring from on those Dobinson GS59-633's?
I rang Dobinsons on Monday and they said they were only a 525 extension(although he was a little confused about what I was after), and so instead of buying them on Monday I've spent the week looking for something closer to 550 to suit a set of HD 80 series King Springs I'm going to give a go, but are close enough to popping out at much more than 550.

Annoyingly my old Dobinson GS59-631(? - the shorter ones) had been wandering around in their mounting hole, destroyed the bush, and snapped the pin mount when I tried to undo the nut. So now I have the back of the truck in the air and am trying to find a set of shocks that will work.
 
Great Table.

Can you confirm where you were measuring from on those Dobinson GS59-633's?
I rang Dobinsons on Monday and they said they were only a 525 extension(although he was a little confused about what I was after), and so instead of buying them on Monday I've spent the week looking for something closer to 550 to suit a set of HD 80 series King Springs I'm going to give a go, but are close enough to popping out at much more than 550.

Annoyingly my old Dobinson GS59-631(? - the shorter ones) had been wandering around in their mounting hole, destroyed the bush, and snapped the pin mount when I tried to undo the nut. So now I have the back of the truck in the air and am trying to find a set of shocks that will work.

To be honest, I think I grabbed the Dobinson dimensions from someone else. I believe they were measured from bushing center to bushing center though.
 

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