Offroad-Express

hey guys this is probably somewhere but cant find it. i have my new 85 surf (2liter 3y petrol hated the 2lt in my 88 that got stolen) and am going to put the hilux leafs in the rear i bought for my old surf which means i have the old standard rear which are in good shap no sag or anything cause it runs air shocks. now i have seen on here that you guys say you can put the rear leafs up front which moves the front wheels about 30mm forward away from the rear of the fender. was wondering if this is just an unbolt and rebolt or if you have to do anything else inorder to do the swap.

if any of you know or if you know the link to get info on it.

also any of you guys know how hard/expensive it is to put an ecu on this engine just out of interest?

cheers
chris

It is not an unbolt and rebolt, you will have a few steering modifications to do to allow the diff to move forward and the torque bar on the top of the diff to modify, you also need longer spring shakle hangers and go up about 4 or 5 inches in height so you need to replace the front driveshaft and change the shocks and bump stops and I had to loose the front bumper to stop it from killing the tyres.

If I was doing it again I would go crossover steering as all the modifications and welding will need a cert anyway, rears up front is a good option but a standard lift is cheaper in most cases. It depends what you are after, a club truck a front locker will avoid the front limitations in the standard setup (drivers side articulation).

PM me if you want to know more.

Cheers man just was wondering how much of a pain it is going to be and from the sound of it to much effort think ill just put extended shackel!! only want about 2in of lift cause its my DD and dont want to go get it certified.
cheers

It is worth doing but not quick easy or cheap especially if you want to do it right with crossover you also need to extend the steering shaftswap an ifs power steering unit add some strength to the chassis under the power steering

yeah def something for the future. if i wanted to put extended shackels on all four corners what else would i need to do to the vehical besides maybe shocks and brake lines? really would like that 2inches!!

To get 2" on shackles, you do realise that you have to make the new ones 4" longer than they are now don't you?
That will make it handle like a pig (wallowing from side to side etc), will chew out bushes a bit quicker than before, not to mention it will look ridiculous.
Get some new main and second springs made with a bit more arch in them to give you the lift, then make the rest of the pack up with springs that you have left over (some of these may need a reset as well).

sweet cheers for that havn't dont many of these mods. whats the best place to get new u bolts from round auckland area going to need longer ones definetly.

what is the cheapest and easiest way to get 2 inches of lift? is it just getting 2inch lift springs??
cheers guys

Cheapest and easiest way is 2" body lift. Only of any use if you are wanting to fit bigger tyres or just wanting the aesthetics.

There is a lot of talk of talk about body lifts not lifting chassis etc up and therefore you are gaining nothing, but if it allows you to fit bigger tyres, then your actual ground clearance is no different, because the axles are still the lowest point, and the only way to lift them is bigger tyres (or portal axles ).

yeah portals would be nice but one would be worth more than my surf lol dont think the 3y will take much big than my 31 10.5 15R just want a bit more clearance one for looks but 2 for going up the trails over rocks so on going up Paragliding and such bit more travel.

think i need to take her out to wood hill or somewhere and see how she runs. still going to put the hilux leafs in the rear so i dont have to keep my air shocks pumped up so much stiffin the rear up going to put nolethane bushings on them as well .

chris

2" springs will lift the middle of the truck and give better aproach, ramp over and departure angles.

Larger tyres (and wait for them to turn) will give the look, diff ratios can give you back your gearing, from memory 33's rub a little nothin g a sledge cannot massage out in the front

If you want to go further and make the surf more capable for the least money a locker up front this can also help in the ruts but it does have some potential habbits to work around depending on what you choose, remember the further up you drive the longer the walk back.

If you indicate what you want to spend we can probibly help more

rokhound wrote:Cheapest and easiest way is 2" body lift. Only of any use if you are wanting to fit bigger tyres or just wanting the aesthetics.

There is a lot of talk of talk about body lifts not lifting chassis etc up and therefore you are gaining nothing, but if it allows you to fit bigger tyres, then your actual ground clearance is no different, because the axles are still the lowest point, and the only way to lift them is bigger tyres (or portal axles ).

you realise you just contradicted yourself
maybe i just read it wrong :d
but i do know you know that i know that you know what your saying

only want to spend a couple hundy max at the moment so would probably have to look at second hand 2" leafs out of maybe a rold surf or hilux or maybe ill just leave it and just have fun with how it is.
cheers for all the answers

ive got 33 muds on standard height, tho it does seem to sit a little higher than any other standard surf ive seen, ive had to get writen conformation from toyota to say that it is standard setup up as the w.o.f man always questions it.... mines a daily driver and i dont notice any diffrence between the 33s and my road tyres, and i can spin the 33s no probs off road... (ive got a 3y to), im doing bodylift shortly so guards dont get in the way anymore, cheapest option