BJ Spacers, UCA Bushings, and 63" Chevies on the Runner

[amgraham]

Since I don't have a cohesive build thread on the 4Runner I'm just gonna write up a thread on this stage of the build.

Getting started:




Found my valve cover nut that fell off about January:



Reason for pulling the UCAs.. Maybe this is part of the reason for my truck wandering and that weird clunk in the front:



Cut for BJ spacers (Plasma is a nice innovation):



Got droop now:




The 63" Chevies:



Got back started on it Friday afternoon. Just as I was setting up my tools and such this crap started (view from the garage.. I need a covered work area):



Jason (BeaterToyota) was right.. Stock Samurai shocks are the perfect length for a BJ spaced IFS Yota (the white ones are the Sammys):




Got the stock rear springs out:




New shackle hangers welded up, waiting to cool:



First mock-up with the new springs:




Shackle hangers tacked on, figuring out location for spring hangers.. Ended up being about 11" forward from stock:



We had stability problems with my crappy work surface and this was the solution. Redneck FTW!:



Oh yeah, the only casualty of said stability problems:



Manning up and cutting the frame rails:






What have I done?:



As it sits currently. Waiting for a decent enough stretch of weather to bolt the springs in, set it down to check shackle angles and such, then finish welding and putting it all back together:





I'll post more when I have it.

[slosurfer]

Nice! Can't wait to see the new flex shots.

[amgraham]

Ok, I better finish this up...

Just chillin' with no springs:


Mocked up to check shackle angle, spring alignment, etc.:


Shackle angle is perfect. I ended up cutting the front hangers back out though to move them outboard for better alignment.:


Droop:


Here's a tip... When doing something like this ALWAYS take your measurements off of the frame. I was second guessing my whole setup because from eyeballing it by the body the axle is offset to the driver's side by about an inch. But, once I pulled all the measurements again off the frame it all was even and looked good so I welded it all up.

We had some fun burning the old bushings out of the old springs:





I also cut the stock Chevy overloads in front of the perches.

Preliminary stance before I finished adjusting the t-bars:


Testing flex. The only issue I had was the driveshaft rubbing on the gas tank but I had enough adjustment left in my Budbuilt crossmember to get it to clear fine:







It clears fine now and after I got it aligned it drives great! It's nice to not hit the bumpstops all the time. The stock shocks limit my droop a bit but not by much. I plan to play with the placement, length, and angles some.

I finished everything up Wednesday night, got it aligned Thursday morn, packed all my gear and tools up that afternoon, and drove to PA Friday morning. I carried a lot of weight and it handled it just fine and the wheeling was great! The extra travel on both ends was quite noticeable on the trails. I ran most of the blacks at Rausch Creek and it handled them just fine. Some more pics:

[YotaFun]

Looks great!
Also looks like you had a blast at Rausch Creek.
Sorry I couldn't make it, was in NYC all weekend.

[amgraham]

Looks great!
Also looks like you had a blast at Rausch Creek.
Sorry I couldn't make it, was in NYC all weekend.

Yeah man, I wish you could have made it. Fortunately Jason (BeaterToyota) came and did an awesome job leading us through everything. Hopefully I'll get to wheel with you sometime though...

[YotaFun]

Yeah, If I ever get my lazy ass to J's and get the lift on.
Maybe my trial run with my lift can be down there :-)

[amgraham]

Dude, I'll probably be hitting Crozet next month sometime.. That's kinda on your way back Lot's of fun there