SupraLux wrote:I've been pretty dissapointed by the Safari I've been working on that a mate just bought. Lifted it bugger all and it shakes itself to bits... the front just won't articulate at all, and the back articulates all over the place... its just not a capable truck for the types of driving I like to do - keeps lifting wheels and spinning, with no cheap solution in sight.
Still, he sold his 70 cruiser to buy it - madman!
Steve
After this much lift all round:
Shaking:
Caused by the rear drive shaft universals being at different angles.
Possible options to fix: (try in order)
1: New universals. They are the most common cause, they have always been working through a shallow angle and will have worn in one range of movement, you do the lift and they start work through a steeper angle and a bigger range of movement and they don't like it.
2: insert 20mm packer between chassis and T case crossmember.
I have combined everything i mention here and have gone to 10mm
3: Modified Toyota Surf engine mounts to lift the engine and further alter the angle of the drive line (the 3L Turbo Diesel ones are what i'm running)
4: Set of adjustable top control arms to rotate the pinion shaft back towards the ground to make the angles more even. Added benefit of leveling up the spring platforms and ensuring good oil supply to the pinon bearing.
Front end articulation:
It is tricky but can be achieved:
The biggest problems are spring rate and asking the radious arm to diff bushes to twist . If you get heavy duty springs for the front to handle a winch and bullbar, obviously the rears are going do the work before the fronts do anything, and then when the fronts do start to move, the weight on the wheel is bugger all and you loose traction.
Again, step by step untill you get what you want:
1: remove sway bar and cut into as many pieces as you feel like
2: Find the longest shocks you can get hold of that will fit (this is whats wrong with mine at the mo)
3: Loosen the nylock nuts slightly that hold the radious arms to the chassis.
4: Replace panhard rod bushes with eurethane ones and grease really really well.
5: Failing all of that, do what i have done, and get heavy duty rears for carring heavy loads, and add standard rate lifted fronts and insert coil spacers to level out the vehicle. (standard rate i mean 20% higher spring rate, not heavy duty for winch and Bullbar)
This is not bad, all i have done is the above, plus i have nice soft eurethane bushes all round. some say the standard rubber ones are better but i dissagree.
Thats not bad for an essentially standard vehicle with no special fancy radious arms.
So what have you tried so far??
I'll ask the Aussies or GQTrol from NZ for some more ideas if you have tried all that and still want more!!!!
Pete.
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