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ZPDFJ

ZPDFJ

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Threads
103
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953
Location
San Diego CA
I just got this 85 p/u, actually I am going to get it in a week. I am pretty excited about this. I will have about a week or so to get it tuned before I take a little trip with it. That brings me to my questions: I don't know a whole lot about these trucks, their suspension, SOA, and so on. It looks like it has some home brew set up, kinda worrys me.:rolleyes:

1985 Toyota 4x4 extracab,
Well-maintained low mileage 85 Toyota Extra Cab 102k on strong 22re
Bed bobbed 12" V6 rear w/limited slip, gusseted front 4.88 gears
5 spd and transfer case in great shape
4" lift with spring over, pro-comp front springs, new marlin rear springs
V6 power steering, brake calipers new, rotors new,
power windows, Procar bucket seats…
35" bfg tires on 15x10 rims about 40% tread left

Replaced
Timing chain, Cap, Rotor, Plugs, Wires, Air/Oil Filter
I am putting a/c in and hopefully a radio soon. I also want to redo the exhaust and route it out the back.

Should I change any of the suspension?

Do I need to upgrade the birfs for 35"s?

Do you think it would look a little silly with 33"s?

I am inclined to make both front and rear marlin springs and maybe order some different shocks, something better?

Any suggestions considering a road trip is in the near future?


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All Hilux's are spring over...

And an IFS box is what you want, along with high-steer...

It looks great to me so far... A bit high for me, but bad assness none the less...

Great looking rig. Looks well thought out.


EDIT: If you don't have vented discs (FJ60 rotors), I'd plan on getting some.

And as far as the home brew and a road trip. If it drives and brakes ok, with no signs of
death wobble, I'd say it's ok. Jeez, you can use those front hangers for recovery points:D
 
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Two rear axle front spring mounts... Chevy springs, anyone?
 
Hilux said:
Two rear axle front spring mounts... Chevy springs, anyone?
Click to expand...

Most of the aftermarket 56" springs All Pro, Marlin, TG, etc require a new front spring perch.



Stock birfs should be fine with 35's as loing as your not locked in the front. If you ad a locker then I would consider upgrading. 5.29's are the most common axle gear selection for 35" tires and a 4cyl but 4.88's will do. The truck sits kind of tall to be dropping down to 33's. just my 2 cents.
 
I'm not too keen on the welds on that front spring hanger, look kinda booger-y to me.

I also don't like the angle of the draglink, puts a lot of strain on the pass side steering arm and the pitman arm.

Not crazy about the driveshaft angles, especially in the front.

Some flatter springs and/or shorter shackles will help, plus lower the CG and make it more stable.

Looks like the pass side knuckle is leaking.

Tires are about worn out, if you wanna go to 33's I would get rid of them now while they still have some value, ditch the 10" wide rims too.

How's the interior?
 
Hilux said:
Two rear axle front spring mounts... Chevy springs, anyone?
Click to expand...

Can you translate? Does this mean the pro-comp springs are made for a chevy truck? If so is that good or bad?

KLF said:
I'm not too keen on the welds on that front spring hanger, look kinda booger-y to me.

I also don't like the angle of the draglink, puts a lot of strain on the pass side steering arm and the pitman arm.

Not crazy about the driveshaft angles, especially in the front.

Some flatter springs and/or shorter shackles will help, plus lower the CG and make it more stable.

Looks like the pass side knuckle is leaking.

Tires are about worn out, if you wanna go to 33's I would get rid of them now while they still have some value, ditch the 10" wide rims too.

How's the interior?
Click to expand...

What if I was to replace the shackles only at first, can I do that and would it mean I need to tweak the steering stuff? Do I have hysteer from the look of it? Why no 10" wide rims?

Thanks for the feedback guys ... keep em coming.:hhmm:
 
A common cheap rear spring swap for these trucks is to get some Chevy pickup springs out of the junkyard, but they are really long so you have to move both hanger points on the frame. Hilux was guessing (incorrectly) that someone had done this on your truck, those are not Chevy springs, too many leaves. AFAIK all the aftermarket springs also require welding on new front hangers, kinda lame that they didn't take the time to grind off the old hangers, but I guess it doesn't matter.

Putting shorter shackles in the front might throw off your steering, as it will change the caster angle. You could fix this with wedge-shaped shims but I think I spy a set in there already. IMO the front hanger is too low, definitely much lower than the original factory ones. I also don't see any gusseting behind it, think of the leverage on that hanger when you slam on the brakes (or if you were to hit something really solid with the front wheels), that hanger will bend backwards, I've seen this happen. Given those sketchy welds, I see a potential for disaster.

Yes, you have hi-steer on there now, with an IFS steering box.

10" wide rims are usually used by posers for the big fat tire look. The tire beads won't be very strong if you air down and pinch the tire between rocks, you are more likely to pop the bead off the rim. A 12.5" wide tires fits just fine on an 8" wide rim.
 
toyminator said:
56" springs
Click to expand...

ZPDFJ said:
Can you translate? Does this mean the pro-comp springs are made for a chevy truck? If so is that good or bad?
Click to expand...


That's what I meant... B/c I couldn't remember the "56 inches"...

That's the 3/4 ton lengths b/c 52" is the half tons, IIRC...

Anybody can see they're not OEM springs b/c of the, duh, LIFT, wear pads and snail wrap...
Sorry for the mass confusion.
 
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Combat Chuck said:
Pinion/DS angle scares the hell out of me.
Click to expand...


Me too, but I guess the alternative is to cut and weld the knuckles...


OP could put a high pinion in there and shore that up, but it's a part time 4WD...
and it's not gonna be cheap... So it'd be low on my list of importance...
 
sheesh

Well seeing as I am not a welder, I might be looking at a trip to Yota Masters. I wonder what it will run me to get things cleaned up. I guess by that meaning the welds redone, proper angles on everything and suspension working properly, and lowered a bit.
 
do what you think is right, but the first thing I would do is cut and turn those axles before a bump in the road makes you eat a pinion. Sloppy though that front spring perch setup may be, it also looks pretty beefy, and may hold well enough, I've seen much worse than those welds.
the leaking axles would be dealt with during the C&T, and while you're in there, you could get some cleanup, but hows the motor and transmission?
 
well...

PO reports that motor and tranny are in good shape. At 100k its just a young truck, provided it has been well cared for.

If I could snap my fingers I would just like it to be a bit lower and for all the geometry to be right and the thing to be strong/solid.
 
hmmm

Where does someone find a high pinyon front diff that would bolt up? Do you search yards for something in particular that works with this truck.

:hhmm:
 
You want a front diff from an FJ/FZJ80. Hi pinion from the factory. An open one will bolt right in, even the driveshaft will bolt to the flange. An e-locked version takes some fabrication to get installed.

The e-locked one is actually much stronger, it is a 4-pinion carrier. The open diff is only a 2-pinion, just like the mini-truck 4-cyl diffs.

Good luck finding one.
 
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KLF said:
Good luck finding one.
Click to expand...

And thus people resort to a cut and turn eh?

Would installing dual cases eliminate my need for a HP diff or cut and turn procedure somehow. I don't get how this would resolve the angle of DS issue, unless the dual case set up hangs lower than stock and sets it better from the top down? Am I getting it??:idea:
 
duals will just extend the length of the drivelien, and likely make the angles a little more funky
 
Dual cases will lessen the angle of your front drive shaft, but make the rear drive shaft angler steeper. You are basically pushing both drive shaft flanges back 6 inches.
 
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