Offroad-Express

Ok, I'm getting dragged deeper into this Kingroad... I'm going to have to fit a 50mm body lift to it (and a 100mm susp lift which I think I can handle ok... although do you need adjustable panhard rods for this?)

The questions I have are:

What diameter pucks to use? 80mm?

What will get stretched? What do I need to look out for?

Are all the bolts the same length or do I need to measure each one individually?

Its an auto, will this stuff up the selector?

Any and all help appreciated and paid for in beer - especially if you offer to help

Steve

Oh, GO OTAGO

Good on ya

Welcome to our world

Yes panhard rods.
Yes rear radious/control arms.
Your the cut and weld god, so do your worst

Will find all you need:


Shock length for 4" lift.
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... hp?t=51623


BODY LIFTS
http://www.gqpatrol.com/bodylift/index.htm


BODY MOUNT GEOMETRY LAYOUT DRAWINGS
http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/album146/aav.jpg
http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/album146/aau.jpg


CASTOR CORRECTION
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... php?t=3295

Spring and shock changeover method.
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... hp?t=22883

Go for 40mm body lift and don't need to cut the tunnel for extra gear lever travel. And less water ingress probs! That is what I was advised and did! I used 80mm plastic and can give you the adress in Chch plus some I had left over if you are a Chch peep.

Regards...Robbie

Thanks Rob - We're going to go with 35mm because I have a complete set of 35 x 80mm spacers here I made a while back for another truck that never got fitted.

Steve

Just noticed that post Rob!!

Awesome bit of info, that the whole reason i haven't done mine yet, i didn't want to hack the floor or bend the levers.

In yours, did you remount the radiator, or just remove the shroud, or just pull out the removeable bit at the bottom and leave it were its was??

Those are my two bigest concerns. Radiator and gear levers.

Also, was 40mm enough to run 35's on yours??

The general consensus is a minimum of 50mm sus and 50mm BL for 35's.
If i can do a 40mm and squeeze them on, i might decide its worth the effort........

Just remove the bottom half of the radiator shroud. I have no over heating problems. The hardest bolts to get at are the back four...might need a gas axe! When you do the lift there are some wireing looms that need eased, and if you have swaybar disconnect it will need altering.
Just do it slowly and keep an eye out for problems. Other wise it is relatively simple!
I still run 33's because that is what the truck is certified for, but 35's will fit. Just expect some binding at extreme articulation. Not a problem with 33's.

Regards...Robbie

My mate has just set his safari up for 35" tires, 50mm body lift, about a 3" suspension lift and cut guards all round, also spaced the front diff forward 15mm to help with the guard rub. Had no problems with gear levers but his is a manual, also just removed the bottom half of the radiator shroud.

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.

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

If he is into the type of driving that your into, then I wouldnt bother with minor mods, as I'm sure your truck isn't set up for road handling. Find a 5 link front end, they pop up on ebay now and then.

What size lift did you go for? Was it swb? (can't remember )

I still have minor driveline vibes after a 3" lift, but I'm getting 16mm longer heavy duty lower trailing arms from oz which will solve it. Was going to get the adjustable uppers, but these will do the same and help get rid of a weak point.


Dave

I have 50mm spring lift, 40mm body lift, and on 33" tyres and the only vibration I had was when the rear driveshaft rear universal seized. This because it don't get enuff grease from the nipple on the sliding part of the driveshaft! If you pump enuff grease into this one to reach the rear universal it will hydraulic the driveshaft and it will explode! Still it lasted 175000 k's before it seized!

Regards...Robbie

Thanks for all that. We went with standard rate 100mm lifted coils (I suspect they are more like 80mm from the measurements I took). I've used long travel shocks front and rear, and we will pack the front shocks down like this but at both top and bottom:

in order to get a bit more droop... its the compression thats not happening in the front.

We've done the plates on the trans crossmember - 12mm, still vibes... might look at renewing the UJs just in case - presumably they are cheap? Toymota ones are around $20.

Interested in that engine mount mod... might look at that as well. I believe he ordered a set of adjustable rear upper arms, need to see if they have arrived yet.

I appreciate all the help, and will keep you all posted with information and inspiration if and when it comes to hand

Steve

How did you go with the front shocks Steve??

Did the spacing work to gain more downwards travel??

What did you put inplace of the upper and lower bushes or did you leave them steel to steel straight onto the shock mount??

I'm keen to try this my self if your results were any good!!!!!

Don't really know what he's doing with it now. Haven't spoken to him for a bit. Last I heard he was going to fit ARB's front and rear to solve the problem... more money than brains I think After all, he sold toyota to buy nissan.

I'll let you know when it happens... if it happens...

Steve

went to see a certifier about my 50mm body lift , and he said the only problem coul;d be the steering shaft, it has been eased a bit. he recommended a new longer shaft welded in and the weld had to be crack tested. is there an easy fix? i know with some hiluxes you can use the early model hilux steering shafts.

You can buy steering shaft spacers from snakeracing, or get one made
http://store.snakeracing.com.au/cache/i ... l?cache=no

Maybe find annother certifier, i havent heard of any other certifiers having a probem with the steering shaft whan doing a body lift.

My lift blocks have showed up, so i want to collect as much of the rest of the parts i am going to need to get lift done in a weekend.

Can anyone tell me what length/size bolts i am going to need to get??

And if there is anything other than the fuel lines in the engine bay, wiring loom on passengers side, fuel filler set up, clutch cable, steering shaft and brakelines in the engine bay that i jeed to be wary of??

What have you guys done to the hose from the filler cap to the fuel tank to make it reach??

So many questions and so hard to find some reliable information so i go in prepared, with no surprises, and to speed things up

You need M12 x 130 with nylocks for the front 6, and M12 x 130 metric fine for the two rear ones, unless you want to undertake surgery and start making big holes in the floor of the truck at the rear... been there done that on the last one I did... nasty!

Is yours auto? You need to release and re-tighten the linkage adjuster thingamywotsit if it is otherwise all the gear changes are out of whack.

Other than that, its easy peesy on the SWB Nissan

Hell... what just happened here??? A Toyota guy gave a nissan guy some useful advice

Steve

Oh, have never worried about anything on them in regards to fuel lines, wiring, etc... it all seems to have plenty of stretch...

One thing I didn't ask... block size? I only ever go 35mm in them... if you have 50's then get M12 x 140 bolts...

Oh and the front two are a bugger to get at... I use a 600mm extension on my ratchet to get to the bolt head, then a long extendable magnet to pull them out.

And buy some big heavy flat washers with the bolts as well... just in case you think you need them...

Steve

HI,
Then check it still stay's in low box. A couple of club guy have done it and both jumped out of low till the lever got a bend.

It was only under load when things twisted on their bushes a bit, one was in the cascade river on the coast, not the best time to jump out!!

I have done it 3 times and you will have to cut or bend the transfer lever so you can get it into low range.

Each time i have had to chop away at the bracket holding the rear body mount nuts as the cease on the bolts aswell and spin in the mount. Give them a good dose with CRC the night before and you may get lucky.

Cheers for that guys.

Now i can get everything i need ready to go

The Blocks are 40mm, so there is a chance i might get lucky and just be able to jack the bugger up, lossen the steering slip joint and drop the fan shroud off.

Hopefully i works out like 4x4Robs did and i don't have to shag with the leavers to much.

Cheers,
Pete.

Just to double check Steve, by Metric Fine you mean 1.5 Pitch??

No one in town has any in stock, so have to order, wanna make sure i have the right ones so i can get it done over the weekend with no hiccups other than those i make myself :drunken:

metric fine is 1.0mm i think mate

True. I wasn't sure and the guy reckoned 1.5.
Will track some 1mm down tomorrow.

dont quote me on that bro, but 1.5mm metric is pretty standard sort of thread. could be that or 1.25 or 1.0...... too many options

Sweet, looks like its 1.0mm pitch.

One more urgent question for ya Steve, ya reckond M12 bolts. Cross referenced that with the ozz site i have been using and he recond M12 aswell.

The existing are 10mm dia. Is there somethin i'm missing????

Think i had better exchange my bolts for M10 X 140's.

The hole through the body mount is 13mm dia.....I use 1/2" dia bolts and they work fine.