Maldito's 99 4Runner Build

[Kevin B.]

Well cool. I need to get my own sliders back on the truck, so maybe you can come drink my beer and watch over my shoulder and tell me what I'm doing wrong.

 

[sLcREX]

That sounds good to me, I'm usually free in the afternoons during the week and mornings on weekends so I'm happy to give you a hand whenever you need.

 

[sLcREX]

I installed my OME lift kit today. I gained just a bit more height over stock but more importantly it feels a whole lot better and firmer. I didn't like the factory suspension at all, it felt very sloppy but now it feels the way I think it should. I haven't hooked up the rear sway bar yet because I ran out of time today but I should knock that out tomorrow.

Dont have any pictures to report today but I'll upload some tomorrow.

 

[Max Power]

Glad you got it installed! I have been enjoying the build.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Wait 'till you get it off-road, the OME setup will really shine then.

 

[sLcREX]

Sorry guys, I got a bad case of bronchitis and was bed ridden the last 4 days, it's been rough so I haven't had a minute on the computer. I'll try and have them up tomorrow though.

 

[Thardy]

I would also look into beefing up the lower rear links and possibly moving them back an inch or so (check with the 4runner guys, they'll know better than me).

I don't know if I would recommend beefing the lowers they seemed to hold up really well. The uppers on the other hand are 1/2" rod and bend very easily. as far as extending them, I would leave the lowers and extend the uppers about an inch. I did mine and it pointed my pinion back up in the right direction.


These were mine before and after.

 

[Thardy]

The other thing I would recommend is an extended or adjustable panhard. I extended mine and it worked great. I never could understand why you would pay a crap ton more for an adjustable one, but I'm sure there is a reason!

 

[sixstringsteve]

Oh yeah, good catch. Those uppers are weak too.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

who did you purchase the rocker guards from? looks like they are a nice universal kit that might work on my range rover.

 

[sLcREX]

Thanks for the info Thardy, I could see the uppers needing some help with extending them because I saw a big change in angle after the lift. But I'm not too clear on the panhard bar, how will it affect the geometry of the suspension?

Sawtooth, The rock sliders are from Trail-Gear. I just bought the universal kit from them and it turned out perfect. They were the 67" ones and they fit the length of the 4Runner perfectly. I just cut down the legs to size and it was about $100 cheaper than buying '4Runner' specific sliders which I bet would've been the same finished product.

 

[Kevin B.]

The axle end of the panhard swings on an arc, not straight up and down. The farther you lift the truck, the farther the bar is from level and the more it'll move laterally as it moves up and down with the suspension. Your axle is a little off center now due to the lift, and it'll get farther off center as your suspension droops, until stuff binds. THardy lengthened his panhard to recenter his axle, but I wonder if the better solution might not be lengthening the bracket on top of the axle to bring the stock panhard back level-ish?

 

[sLcREX]

I'll have to crawl down there to see what you're saying. I dont remember enough of how the geometry is setup. But good idea on the bracket, not sure if that would in fact correct the issue though, I've tweaked sway bars before on an unrelated note and what made sense in my head ended up not making sense once applied lol...

 

[sLcREX]

So here's the pictures of the lift on the 4Runner, I'll just post a bunch of random ones just because.

Here's a before picture

During..

Thank you Bryce over at Cruiser Outfitters for getting the fronts assembled for me on short notice...first one installed...

Then it started to rain/hail in the middle of it all....10 minutes later everything was dry again

Finished Product....Front/Rear

Comparison Photo

 

[dutchman]

Looks good!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

 

[Thardy]

The axle end of the panhard swings on an arc, not straight up and down. The farther you lift the truck, the farther the bar is from level and the more it'll move laterally as it moves up and down with the suspension. Your axle is a little off center now due to the lift, and it'll get farther off center as your suspension droops, until stuff binds. THardy lengthened his panhard to recenter his axle, but I wonder if the better solution might not be lengthening the bracket on top of the axle to bring the stock panhard back level-ish?

I've seen it done both ways. They sell a bracket drop as well as an adjustable panhard. The reason I did mine the way I did is I didn't see a need for adjustable and it was easy.

I still have it and I'm going to list it for sale. Let me know if your interested.

 

[Max Power]

Awesome!

 

[sLcREX]

So not too much to report right now. I took a trip through Skyline Dr. this weekend because I just needed to get out, no real wheeling just mainly driving around. I did see a Olive Drab buggy with a stencil'd white star coming down the B when I was on my way up and then on my way out I saw a 3rd gen 4Runner driving through Skyline Dr with gauges on the pillar and aftermarket bumper. I'm wondering if either of the two are on here?

The suspension feels pretty good, handles the rutted roads pretty well but I need to add the bumpers to weight it down a bit because I think they're not loaded down enough so it's still a stiff ride. Nothing that I'm not used to already though so I'm not complaining

Today I had some free time in the afternoon and finally got around to finish installing the sliders. So that's one less item to deal with now, here's how that turned out and as usual I like to keep them tucked into the body...

And here's a few pictures of my welds between the frame and the plates. The picture kind of makes it look like I barely welded anything onto the plate but that's just because I grinded the edges of the plates making it appear like it's the side but it's just part of the face.....

 

[sixstringsteve]

looking good. What's next?