Rears up front. Help

[RHG]

I plan on running rears up front when I do my SAS and I am curious to know how much lift that gives the front... I know I know, it all depends on how worn the springs were. Well the body of my truck has 210,000 on it and I have had the bed loaded real good once or twice. Just give me an IDEA of how much it will bring up the front. I am going to use Marlins front spring hanger. Also, rears up front moves the axle forward correct? Whats a good spring pack to compliment the rears up front?

[MiniSimp]

I used:
85 Main leaf
85 2nd leaf
85 Main leaf
85 3rd leaf
85 4th leaf
Stock Front Hanger
2" over shackle

Ended up with around 6" of lift

[Ramrod]

Your rear springs from your 3rd gen truck are longer then the ones people typically use up front.  I would get a set of rear springs from a first gen truck and then cut down the springs u have from your truck for a total of six and you would be ready to go.  The reason I said first gen truck is because they have a little more arch then the second gen ones and will give a little more lift.

[Hyena]

Mine are:

top 3 leaves are the top 3 from my stock 84 rear pack
middle leaf is a cut down chevy spring leaf
bottom 3 are the bottom 3 from a stock front wagoneer pack

total of 7 leaves.

then i have a 2 inch drop hanger and 2 lift shackles.  I have rancho 5012 shocks and they are maxxed out.  prolly could go a couple more inches down.

It gave me a total of about 7 inches of lift.  the axle is moved only 1 inch forward of stock becasue i moved the front spring eye 1 inch back from stock.  I tubbed my front fenders and i clear 37's easily.  Had to do a little fender trimming with 35's.  you can see my shackles hit the frame at full sompression.  But the springs go flat right when they touch so it doesn't hurt anything.

[RHG]

I still think that setup is perfect. Thats a thick pack for the front compared to what most people are running isnt it? It sure flattens out nice. I think I am going to try and make a pack similar to yours. Hyena hows the rear set up working for you?

[mr4x42u]

thats about normal...you want 6-7 leafs depending what leafs you use..thicker more arched leafs I would use less..softer thinner leafs with less arch i would use more..

[RHG]

Sooo im still lost in my decision. I dunno about making a imbreed spring pack or just going with marlin 4in. I am already going to be shelling out a few dollars to get the parts for the SA so do you think I should go with the kit? I'd imagine marlins springs get just about as good a flex as anything else...as good as hyenas setup? thats what im shooting for cause that shits tweaked out real fine

[Ramrod]

Just thought I would put this pic up.  I am not even close to flexd out in this pic.  big sluice 8-26

[Hyena]

I love the my front springs, they kick ass.  Thats why i am sticking with them when i build my buggy.  I don't really like the chevies much.  They do flex great, but they are rock anchors.  That is the weak link in my suspension.  I have been thinking about getting a bigger shock like a rancho 5034 or 5036 to see if i can get a little more down travel.

[red90runner]

Just thought I would put this pic up.  I am not even close to flexd out in this pic.  big sluice 8-26

Damn! Nice flex man. What is your setup? Could any of these spring packs be used on a daily driver. Thanks. More PICS!

[Ramrod]

I am running 5 rears leaves up front but am going to step it up to 6 or seven in a couple of days. Yes these springs can and are used on daily drivers.  This truck is my commuter car I drive it every day of the week and it is about a 30 mile one way drive to the colledge I go to and the same for work but a different way so this truck is definitly not a trailer queen and never will be.

[Hyena]

I use to drive my toy every day when it had 35's.  But after a couple trips through little sluice, not everything worked on it anymore.  My drivers seat belt broke because the cab got smashed in so far.  I replaced them with lap belts, but those aren't street legal.  I do drive mine to or from the trail sometimes when i have too and it rides smooth.  So ya, these springs would be good for the road too.

[red90runner]

what year rear spring pack should I look for? I am planning on putting them on my 1990 4runner when I SAS it soon. I am really impressed with the flex you guys got with yours. Is there much body roll on the street? What shocks are you running with what mounts? You are both running 63's in the rear? Thanks

[Hyena]

Body roll is noticable but not scarey.  I am running the FORD shock mounts with rancho 5012's.  Really any year rear packs will work.  But you have to know that the newer rear springs are 3 inches longer.  I am running chevy springs in the rear, but i wouldn't do it again, i would go 4 link from the begining.

[red90runner]

What do you mean by "newer" rear springs? I am definately doing a leaf suspension in the rear, so 4 link is out of the question. Are the 63's a good leaf for the rear in your opinion after running them or would you switch to another spring? Thanks for all the help by the way.
-Pat

[kneedownnate]

88 and older are short, 89 and newer are longer

[Poowoo]

Sweet pickup!

Just thought I would put this pic up. I am not even close to flexd out in this pic. big sluice 8-26

[Hyena]

chevies work good for driving and for flex.  But the mounts are rock anchors.  They stick down too low and seem to hang me up on all the big rocks.

[RHG]

What about a frenched mount or making a slider for the mount? I am assuming that your talking about the front mount correct?

[mr4x42u]

a frenched in mount would be sweet..and if your running springs for sure thats how I would go with out a doubt..if you plan on 4 link sometime I think the french mount would be a waste of time due to laxk of use from the link set up..I run the chevies and there great on a runner,,I don't think there all that great on a truck..the weight displacement is not right on a truck to make the chevies work well..I would look at the f-150 springs for a truck over the chevies..Like hyena said,,the chevies hang up and are too long..I also agree on the 4 link..I'm counting down the days for my 4 link install..

marlins front springs are sweet if you have the coin to drop..if not rears up front work just as good if not better just cause they can be tuned to what you want,,softer,,stiffer and so  on...

here is my runner with rears up front and chevies in the rear..






Now that I cut the rear of my runner off I lost some flex due to lack of weight,,,however I gained a much more stable rig..cutting down on the weight was the best thing I could have done..shackle angle is also jey to making your springs work and how you set up the clamps..I have mine set up with a traction bar so all my clamps do is keep the springs from fanning out,,yet its moved far enough forward do the springs and seperate..with the clamp on the front half of the spring it lets the back come apart,,yet keeps all the springs inline..I let the traction bar do the work and keep axle wrap down so the speings dont slap together while on the throttle..
chevy 54 inch springs make great main leafs for rears as well..they are the same length as all pro rear springs and can be tuned to be soft or stiff,,and when matched right make a decent set up..

[Ramrod]

yah the chevies are real good on the street and flex very well but I kinda don't like how long they are.  They obiously work because when you go up the to rubicon 95% of the trucks are running them but that is another reason why I want to do something different.

[red90runner]

Wow! Thanks for all that great info. If you guys were in my situation (1990 4runner wanting to SAS with leafs all around and daily drive it and on a budget) what would you do? I am pretty set on the rears up front because of the awesome flex everybody gets out of them but I am not sure what else to do. Any suggestions would be great and help me out alot. Thanks
-Pat

[MiniSimp]

But the mounts are rock anchors. 

That is why I made my mounts like this:

[Hyena]

But the problem is they still stick down far enough to get caught on.  Even if you have a ramp for the rock to slide on, if the majority of the vehicles weight is on the mount it can still get the truck stuck.

[RHG]

Yeah but your truck also gets stuck on your doors!    Just playing, I think you cant get rid of the problem completely but the slider mounts would help ya out. I dunno what the hell I am going to do. Probably just buy the marlin set up. If later on down the road I decide I want something then I will start messing with custom packs but I just want to get my truck on a SA as soon as possible.

[red90runner]

anybody want to answer my previous question on what you would do in my situation. Please.
-Pat

[yotaboy79]

Wow! Thanks for all that great info. If you guys were in my situation (1990 4runner wanting to SAS with leafs all around and daily drive it and on a budget) what would you do? I am pretty set on the rears up front because of the awesome flex everybody gets out of them but I am not sure what else to do. Any suggestions would be great and help me out alot. Thanks
-Pat

lock it front and rear rear springs are  a pain because to get good flex you need a realy long spring that becomes a very effective rock ancor sense its a 4 runner you would probably have some pritty good luck with some waggys in the rear
heres some picks of my rears up front and my jeep comanchy rear springs im gunna get rid of the rear leafs for a 4-link


edit: the front leafs are hybrid toy rears and waggys the main leaf is the original toy rear then the cut down waggy main leaf and the bottom 5 leafs from the waggy pack

[mr4x42u]

anybody want to answer my previous question on what you would do in my situation. Please.
-Pat

ditch the rear coils and go with marlins springs all around..with the extra weight its going to flex nice..or go with chevies or 44044's..even keeping the coils would be cool if your not going to get real crazy with it..if your going to see alot of rocks then leafs are better..the stock runner links are not real stonk and you cold rip one off..that wahy I say leafs in the rear..

[trailhunter]

   great thread guys...........i was like this      before  i read this thread now im like  

[red90runner]

yeah thanks guys. I plan on doing some harcore stuff with my 4runner so I am definately ditching the stick coils in the rear. As for springs, I have heard that the 44044's are stiff nd don't flex well. I have the 22re 4 banger in the 4runner so I don't have the extra weight up front. It sounds like you guys like the marlin springs. Should I do those in the front or do rears up front? I want it to flex really welll but still be able to drive on the street everyday. thanks for everybodys help
-Pat