Topic: ** '03 PreRunner --> 4x4 SAS! **

[86turboyota]

looks sweet... can you get some more pics of that rear bumper.. i want to build something similar to that for my runner

[rocktoy83]

Sweet pics  the taco is looking bad   

[Revivalist [OP]]

Thanks guys. . . .

Yeah, I'll take some more pics when I have a chance. Right now it's in the shop gettin smogged. It turned out that it had a few bad sensors. . . .

[lilbuddy]

Wow that thing is incredably awesome. Huge change that is incredably awesome. Good job. Im also very jealous because that is the exact rig that i want! So jealous actually.

[Revivalist [OP]]

You mean cuz it's a d-cab? . . . . Yeah, I like to have the extra space to bring along friends, family, or anyone who doesn't have a seat on a trail run. . .

Hey, by the way, I think that you're the one that I brought an axle housing up to Sacramento for. . . . Did you still need that? It's sitting in AJ's shop and he's wondering what he's supposed to do with it. . . .

[6.72:1]

Excellent build-up Sir. Very clean and extremely functional.

My hat's off to you.

[unclejpl4x4]

sweet

[Revivalist [OP]]

Well I got the new heavy duty Trail Gear springs on so I thought I would have fun ramping my truck. (AJ from bentup.com was kind enough to make the ramp so I could do some flexin at home . . . )

I was looking to do three things . . .

1. Check if I need to put bumpstops to protect the steering from hitting the leaf springs or oil pan. . . .

2. See how close the tires are to rubbing so I predict what will happen if I drop the 2” body lift . . .

3. Just have fun seeing my truck flexin’ in front of my house!

Ok, so here it goes . . .

Flexing the front. . . .








I got about 33” from the ground to the bottom of the tire. The rear still didn’t lift yet. It would be nice to have a longer ramp to stop right when it does lift. . . . But I had the truck on a fork lift last week and I know the rear starts to lift at about 36”. . . .

I was happy to see that nothing was hitting even without bumpstops. . . .





The tie-rod and drag link are still a good 1-2” from hitting the springs. . . .  And it looks like the front shock was getting close to full compression anyways. So if I were to go a little further I still don’t think anything would hit . . .

It looks like the rear springs are fully flattened in this position. But at least the shock is fully compressed before they start really reversing. . . .





As for the tires getting close to rubbing, here’s the front . . . .





It’s obvious that if I drop the body lift, then I’m gonna have to either chop at that splash guard or remove it . . . . The ARB bumper is also probably gonna have to be trimmed cuz it’s already pretty close. . .





And now to flex the rear. . .








Again, it looks like nothing is hitting . . .





So it seems to me at this point that bumpstops are optional because I don’t think I’m likely to hit the steering on the springs. Maybe it would be a good idea to put the little Trail Gear bumpstops back on just in case the truck comes down hard off a drop and flexes further than what I can achieve on a static ramp . . .

As for dropping the body lift, I definitely want to do it to lower the cog and gain more stability. But there’s obviously gonna have to be a lot of cutting to clear the tires. . . .

[DTB]

  so.......what did the neighbors have to say?



Looks great! Yes, bumpstops would be good! The springs look like they actually went negative in this pic.....

[hammerdown]

one nice rig

[Revivalist [OP]]

My neighbors think I'm crazy.  . . . But one of them was nice enough to actually spot me as I was climbing the ramp . . .

Yeah, I'll be putting the bumpstops back on before I go wheelin tomorrow. . . . .

[CrazyYota]

were did you get your rear bumper? looks SWEET

[gotrocks]

Your truck is my dream rig.  I'm actually looking for one right now.  But I don't think I have enough money for it quite yet. 

Just  word of advise.  I know you said you would be putting bump stops on probaby before tomorrow.  I highly recommend it.  I actually toasted 2 sets of springs and I think it was because I didn't have bump stops.  Its worth it and even though you might loose a little bit in uptravel its worth the expense it will save you later.  Besides you don't exactly have a bunch of room with your tires against your firewall.

[6.72:1]

Excellent.

I love the double cabin.

[Revivalist [OP]]

Thanks guys . . . I appreciate the advise. I'll put those bumpstops on tonight . . . It's definitely a pain to keep swapping springs, especially because I don't have a lift at home to do it . . . It's kinda scary to do it with a hi-lift jack.   

were did you get your rear bumper? looks SWEET

AJ from bentup.com did the rear bumper.

[6.72:1]

It's kinda scary to do it with a hi-lift jack.  

I know the feeling and it is scary!

[46&2]

Nice build up man. Beautiful taco. Good choice on that ARB bumper. I knew a kid in high school that rear ended someone in his tacoma going 45 mph. He had an ARB bumper just like yours and it totaled the car he hit and screwed up his front end...but the ARB was barely scratched. a few years later he sold it a friend of mine who still runs it to this day. sturdy bumpers is right. the bumper is still straight too.   happy trails 

[AaronB]

I would love to do that to my tundra. But Im broke so Ill have to stick to the ifs for a few more years.

[Revivalist [OP]]

Yup, I love the ARB bumper. It sure is heavy, but I haven't seen any other that is as strong or cool looking . . . At least in my opinion.  . . .

A Tundra buildup. That would be sweet! . . . I was actually just thinking about that yesterday when I saw a Tundra going down the street. I already saw videos of a Nissan Titan build up, so I thought, why not a Tundra? . . . I think you'll have quite an audience when you get around to doing the build . . .

[rockcrawlinredneck]

I believe there was a guy on Pirate who SAS a Tundra. Can every one else see the Wheelin trip pic's? All I see is red X's for those one's and I would love to see those pic's.

 Kevin

[46&2]

I believe there was a guy on Pirate who SAS a Tundra. Can every one else see the Wheelin trip pic's? All I see is red X's for those one's and I would love to see those pic's.

 Kevin

Hey, I cant see the wheelin' pics either. I couldnt find the thread on that SAS tundra but I found a pic i saved of it a while back. badass rig, thats for sure.

[Gittinit]

I met the owner of that tundra last summer. He was a verry frendly fella and the Tundra is nice.

[Revivalist [OP]]

Can every one else see the Wheelin trip pic's? All I see is red X's for those one's and I would love to see those pic's.

Sorry about that. I reorganized my photobucket album and broke the links. But the pics should be back up now . . .

If you want to see the video, check it out here . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrpqxDhzUHQ

[6.72:1]

Very cool video...the monster truck breaking the floor is a good one too!

Haha....

[Revivalist [OP]]

Very cool video...the monster truck breaking the floor is a good one too!

Haha....

Huh? 

[Revivalist [OP]]

Just thought I'd post some updates as I (hopefully) approach the last fine-tuning of this build . . .

1. Airbumps are getting installed at Marlin's. They'll looks something like this . . .





(I put a bumpstop on the axle to show where the strike plate is gonna be.)


2. Firewall is getting tubbed and plated.

3. Body lift is getting dropped this weekend. It's gonna be quite a job, but I think I'll be much happier with the lower ride height, less body roll, etc . . . Here's what it's gonna take . . .

• Refab rear bumper mounts
• Refab front ARB bumper mounts
• Cut the edges of the ARB bumper to clearance the wheels
• Cut under front fenders to clearance shock hoops (if needed)
• Shorten steering shaft
• Lower t-cases
• Shorten rear drive shaft
• Refab t-case crossmember
• Adjust tranny linkage
• Refab rear shocks crossmember (it's sitting ON the frame rails so it needs to be lowered between them)
• Clear wires between body & frame (speedo sensor, brake line, brake lights, etc.)
• Notch the body for the sliders

Lastly, I'm thinking about adding a leaf in the back cuz it's kind of sagging back there. It's about 1" lower than the front. When it's loaded for the trail, the back sits almost 3" lower. . . . I currently have front 5" leaf packs that I don't need. So I'm wondering if maybe I could just pull a leaf from them and put them in the back. Is that possible? . . . And would I need a new center pin? . . . Thanks for any input.

[Oregon Crawler]

 awesome, awesome truck!!! Good choice on the rear bump stops. I want a pair of fox's for my truck someday. and if u still have problems getting the truck in the garage, U can always put the incab deflating/inflating kit on it. Like the hummers do, and I think there pretty reasonable $$$, compared to most of this truck.

[Revivalist [OP]]

Thanks! . . .

The airbumps are actually going in the front. That's where the truck is coming down real hard on certain obstacles. . . . In the back I'm just gonna put those big 4.5" polyurethane bumpstops to avoid buttoming out the shocks or reversing the springs. . . .

As for fitting in the garage, I still barely fit right now. (I've actually put quite a few scratches on the roof, but that's ok.) . . . . After the body lift is removed, it should fit perfect. . . .

[Revivalist [OP]]

Well I got the truck back from Marlin’s last night. . . . Rocky did an awesome job installing those air bumps. He welded some nice pedestals on the axle for strike plates. And he mounted the can low so I can have the airbumps engage right away or if I want I can just slide the airbump upward for more free travel. . . . . Here’s some pics. . .











I like the little gussest on the can too . . .





Evidently Marlin took a look under my truck and noticed that the speedo sensor was about to burn. Somehow it got routed over the exhaust heat shield. So he swapped it out for free! . . . He wouldn’t even let me pay for it. . . . . Man, he’s gotta be one of the nicest guys I know. . . . He said the speedo sensor he put in is a new part he's carrying now that uses pwm rather than the old mechanical ones. Here’s what it looks like . . .





We’re gonna hold off on tubbing the firewall until I drop the body lift. That way we only cut what is necessary. . . .

As for the add-a-leaf, I think using a leaf out of the old front packs should work. The old pack still seems to have a nice arch. . . .





I’m thinking I’ll take out the third leaf down. . . .  It’s about 19” from the center pin to the front, and 23” from the pin to the rear. . . .





Looking at the rear leaf pack on my truck, the third leaf is 21” from the center pin to the front. The leaf just below it is 18”. So if I put the add-a-leaf between those, it will end just about where my finger is . . . .





In the back, the third leaf down is 23” from the center pin to the rear. So the add-a-leaf will just end at the same place. . . .





It looks like I can still use the same U-bolts since the height of the bolts above the nuts is greater than the thickness of an extra leaf. . . . So does that seem like something that will work? . . . .

The only thing I need is a longer center pin. . . . Can I find that at a local Napa or something? . . .

[havik]

yes i agree marlin crawler is great. i have a hard time understanding why people still go with T.G
allpro is good to but they have become to huge and pricey. i bought their springs about a year ago. i wish i had went with marlin
good customer service is priceless.
and marlin is unreal nice