Who's lifted a 5th Gen 4Runner?

[Corbet]

As the title said. Who's done it and what would you like to share?

Bridger's 4Runner is currently stock. I'm honestly in no hurry to lift or mod the truck. I does need to be leveled, at least in my eyes. The OEM rake of the 5th gen is pretty hard on my brain. I'd love to buy 285's for it but it looks like that is kind of the 35's of an 80-series. They will fit stock but rub. Anyway down the road I'm sure it will see a lift. For now I just want a solid ride quality. Spacers are not appealing. Some entry level Bilstien or Maybach front shocks look pretty logical.

I'm also curious from those who own 5th gens on what level trails the factory tupperware can survive unscathed? Definitely no armor in this rigs future anytime soon. Looks like doing the viper cut solves most front clearance issues but the rear appears to be pretty vulnerable if you drop off a ledge.

 

[nakman]

Not too many surprises... just unbolt stuff and bolt the new stuff on really. In back just pretend you're working on an 80 or 100 series. In front you need to remove the battery to get the upper control arm bolt removed on the one side... other than that, just the usual physical nature of swapping suspension parts. If you have air bags or kdss or something there could be an added step? But I don't think you have either.

One new trick I've been doing is with both front coil overs removed, I hook a ratchet strap between the two LCA's on the bottom to kinda stretch them out a little bit more... the most difficult part of the job is stabbing the new coil over into that seat on the LCA, and this trick makes that slightly easier.

Ironman does a pretty decent video on this. They make some pretty decent kits too that are reasonably priced. I know an Ironman dealer if you need one both my Tundra and GX470 have the full Foam Cell Pro kit, the 80 has the complete IM2.5 kit. drive one sometime.


View: https://youtu.be/lcA5z4YPUTk?si=486TrTLA2DXSMwlH

 

[nakman]

Oh, and maybe have new lower control arm adjustment bolts on hand... I would order those from @cruiseroutfit. sometimes the wrench required to remove the old ones looks like a sawzall.

 

[Corbet]

Yes KDSS for the record.

 

[Corbet]

@nakman Tim, would you be able to use a pair of the Iron Man foam cell front struts to level out the 4Runner with the OEM springs installed in the strut? Basically preload them.

And on a side note, I think I really want that insert style front bumper for my 250 just so I can get a winch on the front without adding a ton of weight.

 

[nakman]

Yes, you can definitely adjust those to only net about 1" of lift.. I think that's what you're after? I can request that when we order them, but if you feel the need to fine tune it afterwards it would require a press, and special wrench. But you can borrow my wrench. also note the spring rate is higher on the new ones, so the resulting ride might feel a little stiffer.

 

[Corbet]

Yes, you can definitely adjust those to only net about 1" of lift.. I think that's what you're after? I can request that when we order them, but if you feel the need to fine tune it afterwards it would require a press, and special wrench. But you can borrow my wrench. also note the spring rate is higher on the new ones, so the resulting ride might feel a little stiffer.

Tim, do you know if you can load the OEM front springs in the foam cell struts?

I keep bouncing all over the place but I’m starting to lean towards a BMC to squeeze in 285’s with just a leveling job. Buying crap twice always sucks. So I don’t really want 265 or 275’s when we all know 285 are inevitable. Bilsteins I’m sure are sufficient but once you decide to lift it I’m guessing you’d want more shock? Maybe run stock height/leveled on some foam cells at all four corners? I had the original foam cells on my 80 and didn’t really have any complaints.

 

[nakman]

afaik the diameters are the same so technically yeah, you could swap coils. but IronMan isn't going to do that, or send just the struts.. they'd just sell us the preloaded strut/coil pack ready to go. Also I don't know that you'd really net a benefit here, seems like a lot of work for not much gain...

what about a little puck on top?

much cheaper/easier way to adjust your ride height and kick the bigger can down the road...

 

[Corbet]

Oh, they show the front struts available empty on the website.

 

[nakman]

well how about that! wild. I still say just do some spacers

 

[Corbet]

Doesn’t the spacer put the strut at risk of bottoming out and damage? I agree that for now level is really all I’m looking for in the short term. There are $50 1” spacer options out there.

 

[nakman]

Well that's not something I have worried about, maybe I should have when I had spacers for a few years prior to the new suspension swap on the GX? I seem to always bottom out in back first, rarely see witness of the front bump stops doing anything, even with extended ones. But you're hoping to replace those stock struts at some point anyway right? for a high school parking lot, and 4 dudes camping up behind Pergatory, I probably wouldn't sweat it too much.

edit: curious if other 5th gen peeps with somewhat mild lifts ever hit a front bump stop? @Oh_shift @Roborado where do you guys bottom out when you send it into a wash at 45mph?

 

[Corbet]

He was asking about taking it to HITR this fall. (I said no, too much trail) This truck will get wheeled. Trick will be easing it into things when he is accustomed to my 80. He has wheeled my 250 a little with and without the trailer as well.

I hit my front bumps on the 250 pretty frequently but that's a little different front end. I had the Timbren bump stops on it for a couple days and without a lift it was into them just too often and ride quality sucked.

 

[jps8460]

I have a bilstein 5100 kit on mine and 265 70 r17 Toyo MT’s it netted about 1.5” in front and about 3/4” in the rear. It handles good with stock upper control arms. There’s just a tiny bit of rubbing, but not bad.

I’ve taken it to some dumb places like this. It drives so nice I’d hate to ruin it with all the BS. I’ve done hells revenge in it, dome plateau, a bunch of the trails in southwest colorado, a bunch of stuff around Breck, bangs canyon stuff, the tabeguache trail here in GJ etc. it has some scuffs here or there, but the plastic is all in tact.

The only armor it has is a Slee skid plate system.

 

[Corbet]

I’m surprised to hear rubbing with the stock tire size.

 

[jps8460]

I’m surprised to hear rubbing with the stock tire size.

Mud terrains. It’s just barely a rub at a specific condition.

But they take a lot of work to fit a 32 properly. They are also a bit anemic so big tires and lots of crap tend to slow them down a lot. However, they are very well balanced and the frame rails are so far below the rockers, sliders are really more of a hindrance than a necessity in my opinion. They really hurt clearance on this platform. Ive not hit a rocker on anything and it’s an sr5 premium so it has a bunch of extra cladding on the rockers.

They are great wheelers in stock trim. Definitely need a solid skid plate though.

 

[Corbet]

We are looking at the RCI or similar sliders that angle up. Bridger likes the look of those best and I agree the frame is low already. That and the front skid plate is definitely some low hanging fruit.

Searching tire fitment is definitely frustrating. So many variables. Sounds like aftermarket UCA might be required to fit 285’s no rub. If anyone made a 275/70r17 snow tire is just quit there.

 

[Runnin on E]

I'm pretty sure the suspension is the same as 4th gen. Here is a link, it's a little dated but there might be something in there to research.

Toyota-4Runner.org

The Largest 4Runner Community in the World

www.toyota-4runner.org

 

[Corbet]

I’ve got a thread going over there as well but have not found T4R.org to be very helpful yet. This graphic from the thread linked is about the most helpful I’ve found. I don’t want to lift the truck so much I need UCA. But if I need them to position the wheel/tire forward to prevent rubbing then maybe I should give up on 285s. I’ve got a couple OEM 17” wheels laying around. I’ll see if I can find an old 285 and do some test fitting.

Toyota-4Runner.org

The Largest 4Runner Community in the World

www.toyota-4runner.org