Custom links

[troyboy162]

I decided against doing custom mounts since all my plans of raising the mount closer to the frame will make it preform worse then it already does. Eventually I would like to 3 or 4 link it but thats down time and effort I dont want or need right now with a stock front end. So the game plan is to beef the links and plate the stock mounts. Our stock lower frame mounts are quite proprietary in design and angles so I think a ghetto plating is all they will recievce. The mounts them selves will see less abuse due to eliminating the binding effects of stock bushings.

Lance your Hiems lasting that long is interesting. Jason is using ruff stuff hiems partialy due to thier cost being lower then most others. Both he and another guy experienced them wearing enough to get clunking noise as they developed some slop. Granted they never wore to failure or lost any function. Ruff stuff 7/8 hiems are $18 I think and the miss alignment spacers are reused when they are replaced.

Ive looked for other joints hoping to find something that will wear longer and also absorb some road vibration while still fitting. Thats been pretty hard. The Krawler joint is the only thing that meets all the requirments so far.

more later

[4x4mike]

I know Ballistic Fabrication screwed a lot of people but on paper their stuff seems well built and designed for long life. They are more expensive but if you're replacing joints every year that cost is going to add up, not to mention it's more maintenance. These joints are big so the force is being spread over a larger surface which they say helps the ride. More money up front might save money in the long run.

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/...ings_c_12.html

[troyboy162]

I know Ballistic Fabrication screwed a lot of people but on paper their stuff seems well built and designed for long life. They are more expensive but if you're replacing joints every year that cost is going to add up, not to mention it's more maintenance. These joints are big so the force is being spread over a larger surface which they say helps the ride. More money up front might save money in the long run.

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/...ings_c_12.html

there is plenty of good joints out there far cheaper then Balistic, but like most these are jeep width and will not fit stock 4runner mounts. That is the only reason I have zeroed in on Krawler joints, hiems, and bushings.

[Seanz0rz]

I'll keep my eye on this. So far in all the years I've been offroading, I have managed to avoid smashing up the lower links.

I would like some more flex in the back and my bushings are pretty worn out as well.

[Good Times]

$18 heims? heims come that cheap that's good enough for lower links? that doesn't sound right.

my heims for the upper were like 75 bucks (bro discount) and the lowers...well you can say it was stupid expensive (even w/ the bro discount). I wasn't about to cheap out on suspension parts considering the high speed stuff I was doing with the Total Chaos group. They love speed and I needed to make sure my junk wasn't about to fall apart because I decided to skimp on parts.

some other things to consider. those will uniball upper arms have seen it last a long time (50k miles) so if you buy the right product it should last a long time. though it also means you need to maintain everything well. but that's true in general for the whole truck.

happy modding! btw if you do go w/ the custom links, make sure to make 3. that way you have 1 spare just in case you bend it or things go haywire.

[troyboy162]

I'm not too afraid of cheap heims as long as the materials are good. non-rebuildable Heim joints are a industrial part and not 4x4 specific. They are more expensive with all the misalignment spacers and nut, but the joint underneath is likely to be a mass produced part. Your $79 units were probably bigger and rebuildable.

I gotta figure something out. I like my flexing but I hate working on the truck lol

[Good Times]

I totally understand Troy. The challenge is to try to get it as capable without mucking on it too much so that it doesn't becomes a chore to maintain. When I look back at my 4runner I wish I took a completely different route building it up. At this point I've gone so far that there's really no turning back but to continue down the crazy path.

I think I look at it at a different light now because I'm also driving the Land Cruiser and I feel that all of the mods that I've done to the 4runner was really "a bit over the top" per say. I'm sure many of ya will say "yeah you did go a bit too far on some mods... lol" but honestly I'm happy with the outcome and have enjoyed the ride so go figure.

[troyboy162]

Sean this stuff gets expensive so the choices are stressful. The money is all in the joints and it sucks since all joints are slightly different lol.

this is motivation though...Look at the cheap components used and the top shelf price.
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/...CAs_p_105.html

[Seanz0rz]

The toytecs and others have their place. mainly for people who don't want/can't fab it themselves. I am kind of at that point. I don't want to make everything for my truck anymore. It would be nice to buy a piece of kit, bolt it on, and run with it. That being said, I am cheap and my cheapness does not lend itself to bolt on products.

[troyboy162]

I hear ya but these are pretty straight forward to make though I will be hiring Jason to do the welds with his TIG. No room for my bumbling on these lol