FJ40 Spring under lift options

[Uncle Ben]

Jeff, Matt is correct. You facts are close but because of the steeper angle of the 40 drive shaft it will bind much sooner than a 60 will with it's longer/less angled drive shafts.

 

[nakman]

I would go for the 2.5" OME if it were me.. easily clear 33's especially if you stay skinny. I would also keep it open until you want to do ARB's.. in the mean time if you need to run a harder trail take the 60!

 

[Rzeppa]

Jeff, I would think the opposite would be true. Don't 60s have more distance from the pinions to the t-case, and thus are better able to handle a larger difference in height due to a lift?

Intuitively (as an engineer) I would agree, thus my disclaimers in simply relating what others, who I greatly respect, have said and written.

 

[Rzeppa]

Jeff, Matt is correct. You facts are close but because of the steeper angle of the 40 drive shaft it will bind much sooner than a 60 will with it's longer/less angled drive shafts.

Again, simply relating what I've been told by others who have done this - I haven't. As far as binding, there are other ways to deal with it such as clearancing yokes. If I were going to do a SO on my '71 40 (and have thought about it long and hard), I would not choose a SR, but would consider a cut and turn, and adding the double cardan on both driveshafts that would require from pointing the pinions up.

$$$

I like low budget, and like not having to trailer. Some places, I'll take the bypass

 

[wesintl]

just run a 2.5 lift and be done whether it's ome or whatever. your 82 will be too nice to hack up further for some radical lift when your done. It's much more driveable with a 2.5 lift.

I do think that OME's are kinda bouncy but overall not bad. I don't like they way they sag with a bar and a winch either. Where they shine is gravel roads and washboards. Overall it's good fit for most of the passes in colorado. I don't think they are that great for moab slickrock but work better for alot of the dirt roads around moab.

anyway. good luck

 

[Jacket]

I agree with the 2.5" comments.

For most with 2 4x4's in the stable, one of the rigs becomes the primary wheeler for difficult trails. The way you've built the 60, now with 35's, gears, lockers, hysteer, etc., that truck will run all but a few hardcore trails.

So to keep the 40 smaller and closer to stock makes sense to me. And if you change your mind, it's pretty easy to sell the parts and slap some 39.5" Iroks on it.

 

[rover67]

Yeah, I am thinking keep it smaller. Matt, I'll take a look at your truck, I'm interested in seeing the shackle angles.

I know I have to do something.. I pulled the front shocks off tonight and noticed that they were only letting the axle droop about 1.5". coupled with the thing only sitting a few inches off the bumps stops it yielded pretty much no articulation. I guess they had the wrong shocks on it, but hey, might as well rebuild the suspension right?

Thanks for all the input, it has helped tremendously.

 

[PabloCruise]

Some good reads in here!

A few comments:

I run the Downey 4" lift. You can still get it from Mark Algazey (sp?) of Mark's Off Road.

I do not think it is too rough, but I run it with the rear springs flipped for wheelbase, with Doetsch Tech shocks and a longer rear shackle. I think the shock absorber you choose to accompany a spring will make a difference.

The reality is that these are a short wheelbase vehicle (the 40), and they will feel the terrain differently than a wagon. I love the way my 55 rides!

I am in the category 1 that Matt and Jeff described, mostly stock, mild wheeling and low cost are my preference. 33's, rear auto locker and PS get me most of the views I want to see. Wrenching (and life) prohibit most of my wheeling weekends anyway. So it is fun to be able to drive my 40 to work and smile when I go outside to drive home.

Regarding SOA and cut-n-turn, I wonder if what Jeff has heard from the wagon crowd is due to a shorter front driveshaft than the 40 front driveshaft? I know my front shaft on the 55 is pretty short...

Good luck!

 

[LARGEONE]

Marco...all I will say is that I paid someone a lot of money to do a SOA on my '76 and it is the biggest reason I no longer own the vehicle! With the spring pack and the thickness of the axle, it turns out to be about 7" of lift. 35" tires looked small on it after the lift. Also, as Uncle Ben has suggested, I ran it without a torsion bar which made things even more expensive after popping the rear pinion.

One day, I will own another 40 and I will stay spring under with about 3" of lift. My SOA was so unstable and had so much bump steer (I didn't do the hi-steer) that it was almost undriveable on the highway. I felt like I was needing to buy a trailer to get it to the trails! Hence, the reason I sold it...I couldn't afford a 3/4 ton truck and trailer just to own my 40!!!

Talk to Jeff (Mendocino)...he has two 40's and I think both are sprung under. I think they have two different springs, so he might have some input on which is better?

Good luck Marco...can't wait to see it.

 

[Jacket]

Yeah, I am thinking keep it smaller. Matt, I'll take a look at your truck, I'm interested in seeing the shackle angles.

I left the rear shackles that were already on the truck when I installed the OME springs, since they were a bit longer than stock (maybe 1") - just to see what it would do. There's too much of a rake, and with the top off it rides pretty rough. I've got the OME shackles in my garage, just haven't taken the time to switch over to them.

 

[mbella1]

I went with the Rancho Soft Ride Springs and Rancho Shocks. The ride is great but you definitley feel the lean when tiurning or driving around town. It took some time to get used to the sway in the ride, but I have much more spring flex when wheeling.

 

[Rezarf]

Your right Corbet! I always assume most folks do not have the tools or knowledge to do their own cut and turn. The high majority of spring-overs out there are hacked. It is labor intensive to do it correctly. A track bar for the rear is also required whether it is fabbed or purchased. The springs on a 40 are designed to be SU so if your going through the efforts to do it right, longer springs will also benefit both the longevity of the springs and the available wheel travel at each wheel. Another factor that has to be considered in a SO is how much lift you will need in the long run. Even at 5" over stock the CG/track width becomes an issue so will you be happy with just wheel spacers or off-set wheels? In my opinion if 36" and larger tires will be the ultimate goal then wider axles might as well be planned in to the build early! If you going with FJ-60 axles you need to either outboard the front springs of come up with another plan on how the chunk will fit the springs.

You talk like you've done this before

I am running TPI's smokey mountain 4" lift kit... but I don't wheel, I'm mostly a poser.

In all honesty, it rides like an empty dump truck, I guess it flexes okay, but I'd go to a OME lift if I ever changed things up... and probably back to 33's with skinny tires on it They have a good reputation. I'd be half tempted to go all out and either SOA or put 80 axles underneath it with coils... did I mention there would be an 80 on top of those axles?

 

[nattybumppo]

I just installed the OME on my 40 last weekend with Steve Crase' help. Rides much more comfortably than the previous stock set-up on the road. Have not taken it off the pavement yet. The old setup was really saggy, esp on the driver's side. Shackle angle looks good on the driver's side after the lift install, but the passenger's side is close to straight up. Hopefully that will correct after some break-in miles. Or maybe I'll have to convert to right hand drive so my considerable middle-aged bulk will weigh it down there and make the angle better!

 

[Hulk]

If your only doing 2.5+ OME is hands down the best quality and ride. If I was to buy a 4"+ today I would go for BDS or Alcan. But that's just me....

I've been running a 4" BDS lift since 2001. I like it a lot, but it required much modification to get it to fit my 1981 FJ40. BDS doesn't make a true late late model FJ40 lift kit (or didn't at the time). A bunch of stuff changed in 8/80 that means most FJ40 lift kits WILL NOT work.

My recommendation is to start with the 4" lift. You can run 33" tires easily, or cut the rear wheel wells and run 35" tires. If you go 2.5", you'll be doing it again in another 12 months when you decide it's not enough lift.

Here was the list of all the FJ40 lift kits that were available back in March 2001. Woody still has it as a page on ih8mud.

 

[rover67]

awesome, thanks for the info.

Matt, thanks for reminding me that th elater model ones are different. Is is spring lengths or aomethign else?

I know I have to do something because when I pulled the front shocks off they only had about an inch and a half of "droop" left in them from where they were bolted.. coupled with it sitting about an inch or so off of the bump stops it wasn't gonna flex really well at all... Wrong shocks I'd assume..

I was gonna do the suspension anyways I guess.

 

[Hulk]

The width of the springs are wider and the spring eyes are a different size too.

 

[LXBRADY]

You know you want 35-37" tires on it....I know you will do the right thing!

 

[Rzeppa]

The width of the springs are wider and the spring eyes are a different size too.

I knew the eyes were larger, but didn't know they were wider too?

 

[rover67]

I think I am going to go with Man-A-Fre's safari springs:

http://www.man-a-fre.com/pa2/images/sss-404Dome.gif

Mainly because I don't think the OME's have quite enough lift. I like the Idea of 4" especially since the 33's that are on it now rub quite a bit and the lift it has on it looks similar in height to Matt's 40 which I checked out this weekend.

Hopefully with a 4" lift I can lower the bump stops a little bit to keep everything from rubbing with the 33's.

Off we go

edit: I also couldn't really find a place selling the BDS stuff online. I'll double check that that's not an option tomorrow.

 

[Hulk]

I think I am going to go with Man-A-Fre's safari springs:

http://www.man-a-fre.com/pa2/images/sss-404Dome.gif

That kit comes with a lot of good stuff. The only thing I'm not sure I like is the shackle reversal system they use: it lowers the front of the springs so they become rock finders. Probably really improves the on-road manners, however.

If you're really looking to do the shackle reversal when you lift your 40, one suggestion before you buy: call Proffitt's Cruisers and talk to Jeremiah to see what they are offering. If you get a shackle reversal from them, it will be tucked up nicely in front for better clearance.

Also, did you look at the Cool Cruisers lift kits? They have kits specifically for the post-8/80 FJ40s, too.

edit: I also couldn't really find a place selling the BDS stuff online. I'll double check that that's not an option tomorrow.

BDS never had a late model FJ40 kit. I installed their earlier kit with a bunch of modifications (including machining the pin in the shackle so the bushings would work). It was a complete PITA and I recommend not going with BDS for your late model FJ40.