Topic: Conferting an 87 yota Pickup to a Trail Rig

[Yota87Truck]

I just bought an 87 Yota Pickup Stock Everything.  I have a guy at work that offered me some used 32" Super Swampers.  He said his 94 4Runner only has a 2" Body lift and the tires don't rub, but I have heard that Body lifts are crap.  I just want to get more clearance for on the trail.  I have problems draging my rear bumper everywhere I go.  I like to do a lot of water crossings/dry creek beds.  I want to buy a Marling Rear Bumper but it costs $374 and I don't have that much money right now.  I will be using this truck as a DD but I want it to be able to perform well on the trail too.  What sugestions do you have for exhaust?  I have a 22R and I want to buy a glasspack and cut out my cat and muffler.  I would put a glasspack on now because a muffler would cost more and if I got one I would wait until Christmas. 


-Will 32" Tires fit with a 2" Body Lift?
-Is a Body lift Crap or is it just a rumor?
-How Can I Fix my draging problem the easiest and cheapest way(bobbing bed/lift & 32's/Bumper)?
-Glasspack vs. Muffler?

Remember I have a limited $

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

Dosen't anybody know any information, anything will be helpfull.  I am also re-routing my intake  because I went through a puddle and my engine died because it sucked in a little water.  I was lucky and I don't want it to happen again.  So if you have any ideas on snorkels or the similar send it my way.  Also help me out with my other options. PLEASE SEND ANY INFO

[MocKKnighT]

Not to be an ass man but, you really need to search before you ask questions that have been drilled to death!

[BLACKDOG]

Not to be an ass man but, you really need to search before you ask questions that have been drilled to death!

Hey, at least he asked them all in one post!

1. Will 32" Tires fit with a 2" Body Lift?  Probably.  You may rub some, but you can fix that with a hammer, and mabye some fender trimming
2. Is a Body lift Crap or is it just a rumor?THey aren't crap, not the greatest mod, but a 2" wouldn't hurt anything.  I've got a 3" one, and I couldn't live without it (simplifies working on the motor) BL aren't a big deal as long as you get all the pucks in, and snug the bolts down well.
3. How Can I Fix my draging problem the easiest and cheapest way(bobbing bed/lift & 32's/Bumper)? How bad does it drag?  I drag the ass end of my truck all the time, but I don't wanna sacrifice bed space right now, so I can't bob it, and it sure as hell isn't going any higher.  Bobbing is a good answer though, or a bumper that comes straight off the frame so it kinda works as a skid plate.  I can get pics of mine later this week to show you how I did it.-
4.Glasspack vs. Muffler?I don't know.

[kneedownnate]

Ummmmm...a glasspack is a muffler!  Are you saying glasspack versus stock type muffler or freeflow?  It's more a case of personal preferrence.  Lots of people don't like the sound of a glasspack on a 4cylinder, but I kinda like mine.  They tend to have a raspier, more aggressive sound than a flowmaster, etc. 

If you're converting it to a trail rig I don't think you're gonna wanna rely solely on a body life.  You'll definately wanna look into doing a sas, and most likely will want bigger tires, but this all depends on what kinda trails you'll be on.

[Mnmstoy]

http://www.texas4x4.org/gallery/MikesToyota
Although, I have a 80 truck. bob bed isn't that hard to do. I did mine in a weekend. A marker, tape, cut off wheel, and HF 90amp mig welder is what I used. Remember measure twice cut once. I removed about 13" Dovetail was 9.5" on each side. IF I could do it again I would of went with 7" on each side.
Here is my photo album of my bob bed...then dovetail....no bumper solution.
As for exhaust. I had a glasspack on it when I bought it. Way to loud for my hunting truck at the time. I have a 97 stock c1500 muffler on it. It was free.
Aside from hand signals...it's easier to hear the spotter on the trails. And not having a loud muffler helps.
Mike

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

BLACKDOG: Thanks for the info and send me some pictures of what you did if you could.  I drag my bumber quite a bit.  When I first bought it a month ago it had a homemade ball that hung down 6" and when I got stuck in a muddy ditch it almost ripped off my whole bumber.  I have also considered just taking off my whole bumper for the clearance but then I wouldn't have any protection. 

kneedownnate:  I would love do do a SAS but I dont have the money, plus mine is an 87 so if I buy one 2 years older it would already have a solid axle so I could use that money for a lift instead.  I am still looking around for a cheap 85.  I just needed a truck.

Mnmstoy:  Send me some pics of your bob job I always like to see the different way people approach it.  I want to do one eventually.

I want to cut my stock exhaust because I think is is pretty clogged and my fried has a glasspack I can use so I think I will do that for now.

[BLACKDOG]

My hitch used to be the standard bolt on draw-tite hitch that fit right under the stock bumper.  The stock bumper was about 5" below the frame rails, and the low point of the hitch was about 3" lower.  I removed the stock bumper, and took the arms of the hitch off.  I then welded the center section of the hitch (Ignore the ugly welds, I was trying to teach myself how to weld overhead, welds are plenty strong, just butt ugly)  to two sections of 2x3" square tube that I had gotten from an old pair of sliders.  I drilled holes to mount it to the frame, and voila!  a new attachment/tow point, and because my 3" body lift lifts the body about 1/4" above the frame rails, I slide on that, isntead of sheetmetal.

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

Thanks for the pics I will have to look into doing your idea!

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

Well i never ended up buying the tires from him, but now he is moving and trying to get rid of all his stuff so he gave me the 32x11.5 Super Swampers for free!  I am going to try just to keep my rig stock height for now and see how bad they rub.  I will probably mount the SS on my stock rims and just use the SS for trail use.  i have a set of 15x10 rims that have 31x10.5's on them and they rub because of the wider rim.  So I am hoping that if i stick with the skinnier stock rim i won't rub too bad.

[Rocksurfer]

Not to be an ass man but, you really need to search before you ask questions that have been drilled to death!

Weather you like it or not THIS IS NOT PIRATE!!


Now here's the cheapest, easiest and quickest way to lift your truck:

get some of the flattest bumpstops you can find (4) install them on the upper and lower front stops, lift the front end off the ground (do not try this with the front wheels on the ground) and climb under your truck just about at the back of your door and you'll find the back end of your torsion bars. There will be a bolt on that end, on the other side of that bolt there will be two nuts one long and one short, remove the short nut. Now crank in that bolt holding the long nut in place about 5 rotations, now do the exact same for the other side. Drop the truck back onto the ground and see how much it lifted the truck, then repeat the steps above until you reach the level you want. You can get about 2 inches out of this and still have some down travel but don't crank them in until you hit the bumpstops, you'll hate the ride. Now buy a set of 4 inch shackles from Marlin http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/suspension/shackles.htm for the rear and put them on. Take a bfh and flatten the body seams in the front wheelwells along the firewalls and you should now be able to run 33's.




Oh and don't forget to put the small nut back on and tighten it against the long one again holding the long nut inplace.

[*ROKTOY*]

Question 1. as per rocksurfer 2. not crap but would not use more than 2" 3. If it is just the bumper remove it. 4.the choice is yours.

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

do the marlin crawler bumpstops work(MC-13256, Poly Bumpstops $39 (pair))?  And would I need new shackles or would the shackle plates work (MC-13216, 6 Inch Plate, $6 each)?  I already took a hammer to the front fenders cause my 31x10.5's were rubbing cause i have them on wider rims.  But other than that i don't think i have any more questions

[Yota Up]

I had an 86 with a 2" lift and 32x12.5 tires on it.  Good to go.
Also, I liked the body lift because it kept my center of gravitiy low, and made my wife piss her pants less on tippy trails.

Good luck.  When you can afford another car or something, go nuts on this thing.

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

yeah, i don't want to mod it too much for now....but it will be nice to have enough room for 32's and have a little extra clearance for when i go to moab and ouray this summer.

yeah, i am selling it towards the end of this summer. eventually i want ot get an 85 or earlier truck and go all out with it.  i just bought this one cause it was pretty clean and cheap and i need a 4WD truck bad.

[jimbo74]

if you are going to do a bodylift, go with a www.4crawler.com ultimate body lift, they are a littel bit mroe expensive than the commonly available mass produced body lifts, but their quality is a lot higher and the pucks are wider, thus reducing the chance of smashing the puck through the bodymount sheetmetal.... there is tons of info on that site

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

I did more research on the torsion bars and it sounds like unless i rub super bad i don't know if i want to crank in the torsion bars cause my vehicle is a DD and i don't want to spend the money to get the front end aligned (http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=14671.0).  I may just end up adjusting it a tiny bit.

Captain4x2: thanks for the link, if i decide to go w/ a body kit i will look into their product.

[Rocksurfer]

If you do a body lift I wouldn't go more than 2" either or even better do a hocky puck bodylift that stuff is a tough as nails and they don't slide around but you only get an inch out of them.

[jimbo74]

If you do a body lift I wouldn't go more than 2" either or even better do a hocky puck bodylift that stuff is a tough as nails and they don't slide around but you only get an inch out of them.

rs, i am surprised you of all people recomeend a hockey puck lift!

that said befoer this gets into a flame, i am against hockey puck lifts for several reasons. if you may be interested search for it. hockey pucks were never designed nor have been tested to support the body of a vehicle..

[Rocksurfer]

rs, i am surprised you of all people recomeend a hockey puck lift!

that said befoer this gets into a flame, i am against hockey puck lifts for several reasons. if you may be interested search for it. hockey pucks were never designed nor have been tested to support the body of a vehicle..

They work just ask the Canadian's on the board. 

[jimbo74]

They work just ask the Canadian's on the board. 

well in that case, you can stack a couple of them and get more lift

[Rocksurfer]

well in that case, you can stack a couple of them and get more lift

True but an inch is enough to clear bigger tires. I had a 2 inch on my 4Runner, cranked in the torsion bars and never looked back. All that was required was to pound the seams flat in the front wheelwell.

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

If you do a body lift I wouldn't go more than 2" either or even better do a hocky puck bodylift that stuff is a tough as nails and they don't slide around but you only get an inch out of them.

thx, but ill stick with a reg. body kit if i go that route.  Yeah i wouldn't want anything bigger.  i heard you run into problems with shifters and stuff if u go with a bigger than 2" body lift.

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

True but an inch is enough to clear bigger tires. I had a 2 inch on my 4Runner, cranked in the torsion bars and never looked back. All that was required was to pound the seams flat in the front wheelwell.

what size tires?

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

Yeah I took off my bumper off last night, and i really don't like it.  I like the way it looks and all but i don't have a place to put my handyman now.  I think I might end up taking off the chrome part of the bumper and just mounting the black part.  Does anybody else have any other sugestions.  I would like to make my own bumper but i don't have a welder, and i don't have the money to buy a tube bumper from marlin (all my money is going into my engine)

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

With my bumper I ended up just putting back on the brackets for the rear bumper because they will give me a place for my handyman and they will also keep my rear end off the ground for the most part, plus they won't act as a big plow like a bumper would.  This past weekend I also Took apart my hubs and cleaned them out because they weren't turning very well and one of my tire studs was also broken so i replace that.  I have 1 1/2 weeks until my engine is supposed to be done and then I should be able to drop that in over a couple of days and I will be ready to roll!

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

got my rebuilt engine in, and it is running strong.... i just moved to provo, ut and am looking for nearby trails so if anybody knows of any that are close it would be great.... i will be going to moab in a couple of weeks hopefully...

[wflaw45]

got my rebuilt engine in, and it is running strong.... i just moved to provo, ut and am looking for nearby trails so if anybody knows of any that are close it would be great.... i will be going to moab in a couple of weeks hopefully...

with a toyota on 32's?

[bigarms23]

I have a 2inch body lift on my 1988 4runner Havent had any problems but i also have a 5inch sas lift as well. I would go with the body lift if your strapped for cash but i would go with a suspension lift run a flowmaster exhaust and lastly have fun

[Yota87Truck [OP]]

with a toyota on 32's?

to moab? yeah, why not on 32's?