Taking the 100 overseas...suspension upgrades?

RTW Trip in a 100? What Suspension Upgrade?

  • If it isn't broke, don't fix it! Keep the IFS!

    Votes: 4 40.0%

  • Upgrade the IFS...be careful and you won't have to fix anything.

    Votes: 6 60.0%

  • Let Slee have at it...buy once, cry once!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .

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V

VidereStudios

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Threads
23
Messages
830
Location
Oregon
So I have run into a conundrum in the build of my 100 series LandCruiser…I have three paths forward that I can take. I thought I would utilize the collective wisdom of ‘Mud to help make a decision. First, a little background.

I purchased my 2001 LX470 in 2009 with the goal of making it the platform for a multi-year, round-the-world on-road and off-road trip. I have VERY slowly been upgrading towards that goal. Last year, I bought a second LX470, a 2000, to be a future parts vehicle and to have a motor and tranny that can be used in 20 years or whatever. The 2001 just surpassed 102,000 miles and the 2000 just clicked over 111,000. Both are in excellent shape. I have a pick-up and a motorcycle that are my daily drivers.

I am at the point in my build that I need to decide a suspension path to go down and commit to it. The trip itself will be composed of various types of terrain…from fast Autobahn type driving to Alaska Cruiser Trek type obstacles. My major dream is to ship the 100 to Europe and then travel the BAM Road and the Road of Bones in Russia while also taking a major detour down into Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The BAM Road is decrepit railroad service road that has tons of water crossings due to collapsed bridges. A SFA is the best suspension to tackle this portion due to greater lift possibilities, bigger tire possibilities, and great articulation. This is the most ambitious 4x4 adventure I anticipate running into. The rest of the trip consists of corrugated gravel roads, rutted and washed out dirt roads, and some pavement (all a forte of the IFS in the 100).

With these two very different types of road conditions that will be encountered, I realized my mission parameters for the basis of the LandCruiser build are contradictory and problematic. I have had several e-mail discussions with various respected people on ih8mud regarding the upgrading of the suspension of the 100. I had made the focus of my suspension upgrades to deal with the corrugated roads…keep the IFS, keep it stock, and run AT 33’s. However, after running my ideas by Christo, his direction pointed to a SAS. And now I am stuck…what to do? I can see the merits of both the IFS and the SFA…

Option 1 – Keep the OEM IFS system and upgrade shocks all around (ICON), use heavy springs in the back, add front and rear lockers, re-gear, and stay on 33’s. PROS: Most economical of the three upgrade paths, everything is OEM, least amount of deviation from stock geometry, excellent for most roads encountered. CONS: Less durable IFS compared to SAS, lack of great articulation up front, max of 33’s, no major lift possibilities could be problematic with some water crossings in Russia.

Option 2 – Upgrade the IFS system with aftermarket UCA’s, shocks, springs, lockers, re-gear, and move up to 35’s. PRO: Get to 35’s for a somewhat decent cost, excellent driveability on most roads, decent articulation, good lift height. CONS: Moving away from OEM parts and stock geometry, durability of IFS system goes down (steering rack, etc.).

Option 3 – Send to Slee for the SAS treatment, add aftermarket shocks, springs, lockers, re-gear, and possibly 36 to 37 tires. PROS: Excellent durability, ease of dealing with issues in the field, awesome articulation, more easily tackle water crossings due to greater lift options. CONS: Cost, driveability suffers on corrugated roads.

I am really stuck between options one and three. Option two is not really attractive to me as it is too much of a compromise, but I would love to hear a differing opinion as well. Due to the costs of option three, I would probably have to put my 2000 up for sale to help finance the 20K+ SAS job. I like option one though because of the simplicity of the mods and the fact that I can do it all myself. Plus, Bph555 took his all the way to Patagonia and back and that is a testament to the already capable rig that the 100 series LandCruiser truly is. Anyway, feel free to vote in the poll and then respond with your suggestions in the thread.

As an aside, people may mention that I should look at the 80 versus the 100. I agree that the suspension of the 80 is what I am looking for, but the motor is not. I haul my dualsport up to Canada behind the 100 on a trailer and I don’t feel the motor in the 80 would be adequate for my needs. I would be trading one problem for another… Another option would be to go to Nicaragua or Panama or New Zealand and buy a newer 70 series (2007+). Problem is that they are so expensive. I could keep both 100’s and do the Slee SAS in one of them for the cost of a newer VDJ78. HZJ105’s aren’t attractive due to the anemic diesel motor in them. An HDJ100 would be tempting but poses the same suspension issues as the UZJ100.
 
I would map out your route and send emails to shops along your route that may be able to repair/replace components if they fail.

If you stay OEM, I would recommend carrying spare ball joints, CV axles (with rebuild kits), TRE's, rear driveshaft, and drive flanges for the front. I would also recommend the IronMan LCA re-enforcement. Also a good set of bump stops will help reduce and hard blows to the front end bottoming out.

If you upgrade the OEM components I would not try to increase total wheel travel, that will only stress components more. The benefit to going with a spherical UCA is the ability to service/replace easily. Besides that, going aftermarket UCA isn't much of a benefit besides serviceability and strength. If you are planning on remote res shocks, I would find a hydraulic shop and have them made spare hoses incase a line gets snagged by the tire, or punctured by debris.

SAS will be expensive, but it may very well be the best bet. I would use a OEM axle, or a aftermarket axle that is compatible with common parts in the areas that you will be traveling. I think having Slee perform a SAS is, in a way, your best bet. You gain more travel, and you will have the ability to fine tune everything. You remove a lot of weak points upfront (front diff, drive flange, CV, steering rack, etc). It will also allow you to traverse much rougher terrain and not have to back track due to IFS limitations. The torsion bars on the front end are very quick to unload, that can shock the driveline and damage stuff. I would think going coil overs would be your best bet.

In the end, figure out what parts are commonly available, find out who services these trucks and if they are knowledgable in the 2UZ-FE and the IFS 100 platform. The 100 (105) is common most places, but only a few regions saw the IFS 2UZ-FE version. I would worry more about serviceability than improving the suspension.

I hope that helps...clueless traveler I am.
 
Build a gas V8 105. Take an 80 frame, swap in the necessary drive train components, move out the body mounts and there you go.
 
Complete custom work on a vehicle that will be traveling around the world is a tough sell for me. I do long trips, and will soon be traveling south into central/south america in the coming years. I chose my tire size, and modifications with the expectations that i will have to source parts on the road. And if you have a custom front suspension or a hodge podge of bodies/chassis, no doubt that one custom thing you had to do to make that one part work right will fail and you are effed.

Trip sounds awesome btw. Spend the money on good container to get it across the oceans, not on ridiculous suspension mods. IFS will handle what you can throw at it just find.
 
Every time I buy a lotto ticket I go back to my plan...

Fly to Australia and start the trip there using one of their domestic trucks - likely a Troopy or 200, built and ready to roll.

If I were in your shoes, and didn't have sentimental ties to the truck, i would sell it. Fly to wherever and buy a 70/80/100/200 series there - preferably one you could find one that you could later import back to the states. If you time your return right, you could buy the first year 80 series and bring it back home with minimal import issues.

With this, you just pocketed 10-15 grand for the truck, saved thousands in transport fees, and have a more than capable rig, that's diesel, and can readily find parts for around the globe.

Another option would be to buy an imported 70 series, build it the way you want it here, and take it back to its natural environment.

It's fun for me to think that my UZJ could make it around the world and back, but I'd be more at ease with the above option when driving through vast and remote areas.
 
I've lived and wheeled over in former USSR, live part time/wheeled (and have family currently there) in Botswana, worked/driven in west Africa, driven across east africa and worked all through south America. The best advice I could give is buy something that can be serviced locally, have parts available and has the least amount complex parts to break.. simplicity and durability is key on these trips. I have a 100 in Canada, and we own a 105, two double cab 70's, and a 40 series that are on our farm in Botswana. Personally, I would take either an 80 or a 70 series. Basic, durable solid front axle, less electronics, lots of parts, can digest 'dirty' diesel (which you will find), better mileage. although somewhat gutless, most roads you will NOT being travelling quickly down. you will find near heavily populated and 'developed' cities like Johannesburg/capetown etc you will have great roads, while the rest will be mix of poor and worse.

stick basic, stick local and don't waste money on mods that will serve only to be a vulnerability. sorry to burst your bubble; I too would like to take my 100 as its comfy, but the electronics and IFS concern me.
 
Jordan345 said:
stick basic, stick local and don't waste money on mods that will serve only to be a vulnerability. sorry to burst your bubble; I too would like to take my 100 as its comfy, but the electronics and IFS concern me.
Click to expand...

I agree with this in the most part but wouldn't it be ideal to armor the truck with bumpers, winch, skid plates, and sliders? I would want to add the protection of steel and aid of a winch (if solo) and then upgrade to an OME (or other) suspension to deal with the weight while maintaining stock height. I have no experience with a RTW trip but it is in my long term future and that is my opinion from the information I have gathered.
 
I would say you could buy a 70 series, use it for the trip and sell it at the end without much devaluation. Also if you decide to keep it I would wager that the 70 series itself would be just slightly more money than a SAS on a 100, maybe even cheaper to get a 70 old enough to bring back to the states easily.
 
I would go with option 1 or a different vehicle as the others have stated. You figure 80% of your travel is going to be on easy roads. 37" tires will make highway driving a mess and expensive.

The more changes you make the harder the vehicle will be to fix if something goes wrong. Would ICON even be the way to go? Would OEM or OME be easier to source if things went wrong?

Ewan McGreggor's support team did the road of bones in a Russian style VW Bus in spring with flood level waters. You could do it in a lightly modified 100. Plus I think there is a new road of bones that runs alongside the old road.
 
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I shipped my 100 series to Africa in 2012 and have been bombing around off road and in cities here ever since. For suspension I only have an OME heavy lift and it's all that's needed. All 3 of your grand suspension options are way too complex for a long trip through the developing world. Keep it simple and serviceable. The 100 series and parts can be found in nearly every country. If you add all that fancy aftermarket stuff and something breaks, you will be stuck waiting for FedEx or DHL. And that would suck.
 
There was a group of Overlanders from Expedition portal that did the Pan-American highway and Africa to Europe in a Nissan Patrol with 37" tires. They would be worth talking too.
 
Around central and South america are bunch of places to be in big trouble if you thing with 37" you are all over the place .. nop .. altho, overlanding around here does not require more than 315 and a good winch / pull pal / straps to save you from any complicated situation you voluntary get into ..

In a related note, we have plenty of gassers 100 / 80 etc .. but lacks of mechanics / parts that could save you in a failure situation are not so common ..
 
You don't need more than 33's. You won't be 'wheeling' hardcore and need anything more than a well serviced Hundy.
at most for armour, a bullbar for animals in the road in an emergency. The roads will rough but you can do it in a Camry. Africans do it all the time in the most dilapidated vehicles. Ome would be a good choice as you can get them throughout Africa, but again, factory is easy to source and cheap.
If you want more opinions from more folks than us plebs that have done this before and want an expert, chat with Christo.


Sent from my iPhone
 
patrickfinley said:
There was a group of Overlanders from Expedition portal that did the Pan-American highway and Africa to Europe in a Nissan Patrol with 37" tires. They would be worth talking too.
Click to expand...

^^^^ definitely. This was one of my favorite stories to read on there. I believe it was "UNurban adventure" or something like that for the thread title.
 
Virdere,

I just did something similar this past summer. We shipped a 2000, 100 and 1995, 80 series Lisbon, Portugal then drove them to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (then shipped them home). The 2000 had 135k miles and the 80 had just at 200k.The 100 was stock other than a 2" OME suspension upgrade/33" Toyo MT Tires and the 80 was a built rock crawler with a 4" OME lift, 35" tires, snorkel, and lots of other goodies... having driven both for thousands of miles, the 100 won hands down.

The only area that truly challenged either rig was Mongolia and the 100 outperformed the 80. The bigger engine and better ride really matter from day 10 through day 50. You can get the day by day blog at the following site: www.drive4sight.org (scroll to the bottom) or if you want a quick five minute video of the trip go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVlviW343s

You'll have an incredible time, with Mongolia being the highlight (1,500 miles of no roads and crazy conditions).
 
Thanks for all the replies. Sorry I have not responded individually to any of them. They all got me thinking and diverted my LC obsession to overseas rigs (hence not spending any time on ih8mud). I have spent the last couple of months scouring Australian forums and looking at various 78 series and 100 series rigs overseas. I have my dad looking into diesel 78's and 100's in Europe (he is Czech citizen), so I am keeping my options open at this point. I am going to either keep the rig stock and go that route or sell both 100's and buy something overseas.
 
Awe come on..
Just take the 100!
Full maintenance, a mild lift, a bunch of spares,and some good tires- you're good to go.
We often needed to "put down miles", and were so happy to have the 100.
After days of offroading and ripping down endless dirt tracks, we would pull back onto a highway like nothing happened- just smooth,fast, and quiet.....
 
Hi Bph555...thanks for the reply and encouragement. I read your posts about taking the 100 down to South America with great interest. That is what I want to do after I travel through Russia. Keeping the 100 and driving it on the trip is the top option at this point. The only way I would go another route is if I can get an HDJ100 (with arguably Toyota's best turbocharged diesel motor, the 1HD-FTE, so I can maximize range) or a HZJ78 (so I can throw a small dirt bike in back and still have enough room to live out of it). Right now keeping the 100, putting a mild lift on it, finish baselining it, and put some armor on it is my best (and cheapest) option.
 
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