Ok I am from Jeepforum and new to Toyota trucks. I am plannign to either get a 95 and up 4runner or Tacoma. I understand that the IFS sucks and a solid axle swap is put of the question because my Dad wants me to spend more time driving the truck than fixing it. I am highly mechanically inclined, have done my own lift kits, motor rebuilds, and ring and pinion installs. I want to clear 35" mud Terrains for my next Tacoma or 4runner. Recommend me some good lift kits, and consider price too. I do not want to go through CV joints quikly so tell me how that all works. I'm good with solid axles, IFS is not my thing. SO what does it take 4 or 5" of lift to clear 35's. I have done lift kits on Tacomas but they were aal's and spacers. BTW a body lfit is out of the question, I like pure performance lift. School me all u like.
School me on Toyota Trucks
- Thread starter yarosig
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I'm not up on the offroad setup of either but I went with an 80 series LC. Factory lockers front and rear with a solid front axle and full floating rear. 4" spring kit from Sleeoffroad and you're right in 35" territory without a huge layout in cash.
Check the 80 series forum and look at the ROTW threads to see what's going on there. We have quite a few Heep converts over there.
Check the 80 series forum and look at the ROTW threads to see what's going on there. We have quite a few Heep converts over there.
I'm not sure what your criteria is, but excluding size, I find it real hard to believe any Jeep could keep up.
But your here already and seem to be looking for a change. Don't over think it just jump in, it's all good!
But your here already and seem to be looking for a change. Don't over think it just jump in, it's all good!
Well 35's on IFS and a front locker is out of the question. Not going to hold up. The cv's just are not strong enough, period. Not even for 33's with a front locker. If you want to leave the front open, you might get away with 35's and a light right foot. The 80 series with front and rear lockers a mild lift and 35's will be cheaper than a taco on 35's because of the need for a solid axle up front.
The taco with same size tires will almost always be more capable in mud simply because of it's reduced weight, same for snow. The problem of course is you pay more for the solid axle swap if you want a front locker. I know it's not what you want to hear, but the reality is that 35's on a taco/3rd genn 4runner really need a solid front axle. If you go with a lifted IFS you will quickly reach it's limitations and wish you had gone with the SAS to begin with.
This is not a "you can't do it" it's just that a lot of us have had the experience and don't want to steer you into the same troubles and mistakes that we have made.
A mildly lifted Taco with 33's and a rear locker, maybe a front posi, will make a very capable rig that can also be a great daily driver. That's the route I would go with your criteria. Or a 80 series on 35's with factory lockers. I think either could be had for about the same price and would be pretty comparable in most wheeling situations save for rock crawling where the front locker of the landcruiser would make a significant difference.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
BTW: the Search here is free and will find you a lot of reading about what people like and dont like as far as brands and heights of lifts ect.
The taco with same size tires will almost always be more capable in mud simply because of it's reduced weight, same for snow. The problem of course is you pay more for the solid axle swap if you want a front locker. I know it's not what you want to hear, but the reality is that 35's on a taco/3rd genn 4runner really need a solid front axle. If you go with a lifted IFS you will quickly reach it's limitations and wish you had gone with the SAS to begin with.
This is not a "you can't do it" it's just that a lot of us have had the experience and don't want to steer you into the same troubles and mistakes that we have made.
A mildly lifted Taco with 33's and a rear locker, maybe a front posi, will make a very capable rig that can also be a great daily driver. That's the route I would go with your criteria. Or a 80 series on 35's with factory lockers. I think either could be had for about the same price and would be pretty comparable in most wheeling situations save for rock crawling where the front locker of the landcruiser would make a significant difference.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
BTW: the Search here is free and will find you a lot of reading about what people like and dont like as far as brands and heights of lifts ect.
Misinformation? From what I read in this thread there was some honest opinions. Not a single gun put to the man's head forcing his decision.
Having owned a Tacoma or two, I would say that lifting it was the worst thing I did without doing a SAS. I was always worried that I was going to break something on the front.
As for the trucks overall they were very reliable. I bought the 4 cylinder taco's because of their reputation for being bullet-proof in my cirlces. I'd recommend not getting a standard cab if you are my height or taller (six feet) because the leg room SUCKS.\
Theres my two cents of misinformation.
Having owned a Tacoma or two, I would say that lifting it was the worst thing I did without doing a SAS. I was always worried that I was going to break something on the front.
As for the trucks overall they were very reliable. I bought the 4 cylinder taco's because of their reputation for being bullet-proof in my cirlces. I'd recommend not getting a standard cab if you are my height or taller (six feet) because the leg room SUCKS.\
Theres my two cents of misinformation.
IFS does not suck.
jeep libertys with IFS that have a recall on ball joints that fall apart sucks.
I have a 89 truck. there is supposed to be three bolts in the spindle. the PO broke off a bolt. i have tried to extract it, but never did and gave up on it.
i was hesitant to wheel it, but slowly gained confidence 5 years later, and 75K miles of wheelin and driving it has not failed me.
This is a well desinged and built truck.
IFS articulates and handles differntly than a solid axle, but IFS does not suck.
jeep libertys with IFS that have a recall on ball joints that fall apart sucks.
I have a 89 truck. there is supposed to be three bolts in the spindle. the PO broke off a bolt. i have tried to extract it, but never did and gave up on it.
i was hesitant to wheel it, but slowly gained confidence 5 years later, and 75K miles of wheelin and driving it has not failed me.
This is a well desinged and built truck.
IFS articulates and handles differntly than a solid axle, but IFS does not suck.
Yes, misinformation. Funny, I don't remember stating anyone was putting a gun to the guys head...
35s and a locker does not equal mandatory CV breakage. Too many factors to consider before making a blanket statement like that; terrain, weight of right foot, type of life, type of tire, etc. Many years of wheeling IFS here, many friends wheeling IFS with 35's and lock-rights. It can be done safely.
An 80 is a beautiful rig, but as the OP stated it's heavy and in some cases not the right rig for a jeep-sized trail. I like the 80's series as much as the next guy, but it's simply not the end-all be-all solution to the wheeling problem that people seem to think it is.
I only mentioned the 80 as an alternative to the high costs that can be associated with taking a IFS truck and installing a solid axle, suspension lift and then selectable lockers.
I did mention the size of the 80 in my second post so I'm not sure where the misinformation from me on the 80 is?
It would help if instead of a blanket negative statement you could quote and then address them for all of us to understand things better.
Yes, misinformation. Funny, I don't remember stating anyone was putting a gun to the guys head...
35s and a locker does not equal mandatory CV breakage. Too many factors to consider before making a blanket statement like that; terrain, weight of right foot, type of life, type of tire, etc. Many years of wheeling IFS here, many friends wheeling IFS with 35's and lock-rights. It can be done safely.
An 80 is a beautiful rig, but as the OP stated it's heavy and in some cases not the right rig for a jeep-sized trail. I like the 80's series as much as the next guy, but it's simply not the end-all be-all solution to the wheeling problem that people seem to think it is.
What king of wheeling are you doing? if you are on a trail where you need a front locker, the cv's should be snaping like crazy. That's been my experience with 33's. And that's not rock crawlin, its just trail riding in mixed terrain in a 3.slow powered 4runner. What vehicles did you use? I don't think I'd lock the front of my stock 3rd gen 4runner. Did you use aftermarket cv's?
I guess IMO 35's on a solid axle running trails that need a front locker is beyond the capacity of stock birfields, which should be far beyond the capacity of stock ifs cv's.
"School me on Toyota Trucks"..........
Not including 95 and up........
I'd say you got to own one to know, opinions are like proctologists/ insurance adjusters'.
"IFS is not my thing"....IFS isent anybodys thing just 86-95 Toy IFS is the best and only IFS like it made....
1979-1994, 4r 95
22r/e
+/- IFS
It's hard to tell you about a "Root's" Toyota if you are talkin about buying something, well............
NO 22r/e
slightly, run of the mill better coil spring IFS and way different than the TB, "torsen bar" one above.
I.O.W's, ask someone about the history of a 10 year old something
it's more difficult knowing how good something was/ is the newer it is.
It has to endure in order to become a legend. (95+ won't)
DAMN, I thought this was chat, sorry, my mistake.
Last edited:
You say that now,
But the 95's are already 12 years old. And here we are talking about them.
hey dump your money into a 40 or and 85 runner or something if ya want small and they come stock with straigt axles and youll leave most heeps behind or rolling backwards
I've wheeled my Taco over some tough trails in the Central Sierras. I've got Donahoe coilovers, ARb
bumper/winch supported on 33' BFG AT's and my IFS seems to be holding up fine. Would I rather have a SAS, yes, am I willing to spend the $$, no thank you.
bumper/winch supported on 33' BFG AT's and my IFS seems to be holding up fine. Would I rather have a SAS, yes, am I willing to spend the $$, no thank you.
you must have not been doing it right then. a 3rd gen 4runner or taco CAN be ran with 35's and a front locker without 'snapping CV's like crazy'. ive done it, lots of people have done it. were you running stock gears? probably. we werent...and thats a big thing. ive followed many a SA truck and theyve all been surprised to see where my old 4runner went with em.
its all in the driver when theres a weak point like ifs + front locker + big tires. the 3rd gen 4runners/taco was a much better IFS than the 2nd gen 86-95 trucks/runners. if you had a locker up there...you just gotta know its breaking point, and a proper setup for it. knowing to get off the throttle helps too. not to say nobodys snapped CV's...but to say that its out of the questions is just plain misinformation. it works...and works awesome. besides, changing a CV on an ADD truck (flanged hubs) is about as easy as it can be and can be done under half an hour.
to the OP: a locked IFS 3rd gen (96-02) 4runner or taco (95.5-04) setup is much better (read: stronger) than any stock jeep D30 front setup. find one with an oem rear locker (should be a button to the left of the steering wheel labelled 'RR DIFF LOCK'. to fit 33s, youd need about 2.5" to 3" of lift..which is about as much as you'll want on these trucks. to fit 35's add some body trimming, firewell pounding, and a 1-1.5" body lift. much more fender trimming if you want to keep it low and eliminate the body lift. check out yotatech.com or ultimateyota.com for lots of specific 3rd gen runner info, and ttora for taco stuff.
that being said...a locked 80 is the cats meow. it handles trails just fine..even a lil mud if youve got big enough tires on it. muds not our thing really (hence the sites name
) but its an excellent all round performer with oem lockers and solid axles. kinda like a JK rubi...but came out 16 years ago. as awesome as my old 4runner was...and well it wheeled...it was still a notch under my 80. and yes... stock 80 birfs (solid axle cv joints) CAN handle a front locker with 35s..id say up to 36 and maybe 37's with longs, cromo'd gears and shafts..etc.
you must have not been doing it right then. a 3rd gen 4runner or taco CAN be ran with 35's and a front locker without 'snapping CV's like crazy'. ive done it, lots of people have done it. were you running stock gears? probably. we werent...and thats a big thing. ive followed many a SA truck and theyve all been surprised to see where my old 4runner went with em.
its all in the driver when theres a weak point like ifs + front locker + big tires. the 3rd gen 4runners/taco was a much better IFS than the 2nd gen 86-95 trucks/runners. if you had a locker up there...you just gotta know its breaking point, and a proper setup for it. knowing to get off the throttle helps too. not to say nobodys snapped CV's...but to say that its out of the questions is just plain misinformation. it works...and works awesome. besides, changing a CV on an ADD truck (flanged hubs) is about as easy as it can be and can be done under half an hour.
to the OP: a locked IFS 3rd gen (96-02) 4runner or taco (95.5-04) setup is much better (read: stronger) than any stock jeep D30 front setup. find one with an oem rear locker (should be a button to the left of the steering wheel labelled 'RR DIFF LOCK'. to fit 33s, youd need about 2.5" to 3" of lift..which is about as much as you'll want on these trucks. to fit 35's add some body trimming, firewell pounding, and a 1-1.5" body lift. much more fender trimming if you want to keep it low and eliminate the body lift. check out yotatech.com or ultimateyota.com for lots of specific 3rd gen runner info, and ttora for taco stuff.
that being said...a locked 80 is the cats meow. it handles trails just fine..even a lil mud if youve got big enough tires on it. muds not our thing really (hence the sites name
Wow, this came back from the dead.
You must have some golden cv's. I'm sure everyone else would like to know what you have. I would. Heck I used to break about 2-3 birfields a year (stronger) with only a posi up front on a minitruck (lighter) with a 22r. I had 5.29's in the diffs, although I'm not sure why that would matter. It's simply a fact of cv's being small and weak joints. I've seen them break in the snow on 33's. Get into the rocks and it's over. Even the IFS diffs aren't strong enough for serious wheeling if the CV's were. Ever try to pull someone out in reverse? I wouldn't recommend it.
They might hold up on old mining roads, but 35's and a front locker is too much for stock birfields on any hardcore trail of the type that you would actually need a front locker. I do think it would be a waste of time and $ to put a front locker in. Yes you can get to the mall and back. You might even drive over a parking curb. It would be out of the question for me to have that weak of front end with that size tire.
I have never heard of cv's holding up well on harder trails with 35's even with an open front diff. I'd like to know what you've done to keep them intact. My guess is that it's primarily due to the difficulty of trails that you run. It may also have to do with tire choice. An all terrain isn't going to be nearly as hard on an axle as something with more traction like an LTB or TSL. They also aren't going to get you down the harder trails.
Last edited:
This is a funny thread. I guess you shouldn't expect much in the way of positive feedback on mini's when you ask a Cruiser forum. Oh well - we'll just keep driving our crappy trucks for 300k miles and pretend like they break all the time.....