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lifting a hilux

General Tech Talk

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lifting a hilux

Post by mattress_821 »

hey im looking to buy a standard hilux dualcab 4x4 93 model 2.8 diesel.
I would like to lift it roughly 6 inches and was jst wondering what this would involve and roughly how much it would set me back? thanks in advance
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Post by thehanko »

so many ways to skin a cat. and depends a bit what you want the end product to achieve.

is it for clearance? or bigger tyres? if what size. as the extra mods you could require for certain goals will change methods and costs.

will it still be your road car?

you would probably go 4inch springs, 2 inch body lift kit, longer shocks, longer brake lines, drop drag link and probably some other stuff if keepingit basic.

but may also need.

if you have a 2 piece tail shaft then its gonna kill center bearings so maybe a 1 piece tail shaft or a rotated f/r diff.

if its to fit tyres 33 + then you will probably need to shift you front diff forward as well.

do some serches on this stuff and check out other peopes builds in the members thread for info an what worked for them.
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Post by mattress_821 »

thanks for that mate, as for the centre bearings i thought chewing through them may come into play as my mate lifted his hilux and put spacers in to drop the tailshaft to give it a straight line which seems to work good..im hoping to fit 35's and yeah it will be my road car as well as my weekend playtoy.
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Post by Weiner »

Why lift it 6"?

It would handle like crap.

Mine only had 2" in springs and extended shackles and they only rub on the firewall with 35"s. I feel even this is too high for a hilux.

Image
'89 Hilux Single Cab - 3RZ, 35" Kreepy Krawlers, 4.88's, F & R Air lockers, RUF, Longfields, TG Highsteer, Highmount and no money
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Post by mattress_821 »

just figured go big or go home right?
i test drove a hilux with 8 inch sittin on 35's and it was awesome. my mate has a hilux with a 2 inch lift on 31's and it doesnt real stand out at all. he is also in the process of goin to a 6 inch. pic:
Image
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Post by big_al_31 »

hey mate,
i agree with hanko here, there's so many ways to go about it. I would personally go 2" in the springs, 2" in the shakles and 2" on the body. What weiner has is a pretty good setup and you don't need to do much more than that in my opinion.

BTW i've fit 33x12.5's to my 2" lifted lux with minimal scrubing at full twist. :armsup:

Good luck with it all though
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Post by berad »

What do you mean 2inch and 31's doesnt stand out? of course not, standing out and looking cool is not the objective most people aspire to.

2inch and a few other mods is enough for 35s not to scrub and not fall over on its lid on angles. 35s on road on a hilux is asking to be done up the bum by the police, 8inchs on a lux on 35s driven on the street is nothing more than a city gutter jumper imo.

mine has 2-3 inchs and 35s, the front has about 3 or 4 inchs of clearance to the firewall, and 31's for on the road, it doesnt look as cool as some of the skyhigh hiluxs :P, but would love to see them look cool offroad haha.
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Post by mattress_821 »

for the cops always been after me about it i shoudl be fine.i spoke to one of my mates who does 4x4 mods and he had a patrol on 37's with 9 inch lift and he only got pulled over once and tht was a rbt. i have a mate in highway patrol and he said as long as the headlights are under 1200 from the ground im sweet if i get pulled over.
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Post by booflux »

mattress_821 wrote:for the cops always been after me about it i shoudl be fine.i spoke to one of my mates who does 4x4 mods and he had a patrol on 37's with 9 inch lift and he only got pulled over once and tht was a rbt. i have a mate in highway patrol and he said as long as the headlights are under 1200 from the ground im sweet if i get pulled over.
I suggest you do some more research as basically your mate is wrong ;)

Also if all you want to do is run huge lift and join the growing list of ex ricers trying to ruin the 4wd scene as they did the car scene with ridiculous cop bait mods then please go and find another sport.

The information above shows you how to have a capable safe and legal rig, personally I am over the tools like your mate with 9" lift and 37s ruining it for everyone else :roll: :roll:
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Post by mattress_821 »

i want something that looks tough as well as capable off road. im not one of those f%^&wits that drive around town that hav never taken there 4X4 off road. i was told by manell motors down near newcastle that lift would be fine just not the tyres. they have an engineer that does there work and he said it could be engineered with smaller tyres.im only passing on what ive been told
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Post by mmaaxx »

For offroading you only need a mild lift, then its trim guards and bumpers if needed to make the biggest tyres fit for that mild lift.

you'll get great performance offroad and still have a decent Centre of Gravity so you wont roll the thing over the first small boulder you come across.

working on approach and departure angles can benefit you alot more at times than a lift can.

gaining 2 inch more approach angle at the same lift is just as good as lifting it 2 inches extra except you havent raised your COG.....make sense?
[url]http://www.monsterrides.com.au[/url]
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Post by mattress_821 »

yeah mmaaxx i get what your saying. what would you recomend for a lift been capable as well as legal. around 4? 2 spring 2 body?
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Post by bogged »

booflux wrote:personally I am over the tools like your mate with 9" lift and 37s ruining it for everyone else :roll: :roll:
people are starting to see the light.
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Post by mmaaxx »

mattress_821 wrote:yeah mmaaxx i get what your saying. what would you recomend for a lift been capable as well as legal. around 4? 2 spring 2 body?
Mate, I dont have as much experience with older trucks as others on here, but Id recommend a 2" body and 2" suspension as plenty for decent wheeling.

after that, trim guards, get a high clearance bumper/bar and either cut the rear quarter panels for more clearance or fit a tray.

if need be, move the front diff abit forward for more tyre clearance...many ways to skin a cat.

get lockers for more traction.....you centre of gravity will be decent.

sometimes its the driver and picking the right line not always the biggest vehicle.

Ive upstaged quite a few bigger rigs, only with my 33's and front locker, plus a couple of other mods to gain more approach and departure angle.

Boofs spot on, Huge trucks bring unwanted attention, and usually its the drivers behaviour in these vehicles that labels the rest of us as Hoons.
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Post by Weiner »

mattress_821 wrote:i want something that looks tough as well as capable off road. im not one of those f%^&wits that drive around town that hav never taken there 4X4 off road. i was told by manell motors down near newcastle that lift would be fine just not the tyres. they have an engineer that does there work and he said it could be engineered with smaller tyres.im only passing on what ive been told
Trust me, I doubt a 6" lift is going to be capable offroad, if you are still going to go for it, get a decent rollbar, as you ill probably use it a bit.
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Post by dirtyGQ »

i seriously would never lift a lux higher than 3' as the tend to be very unstable and they don't call them rolluxes for nothing.
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Post by 83-mud-lux »

mate i got a hilux with just 2'' lift n 33's n they only rub at full flex.
but like every1 else said that u dont need 6'' lift.
i mean hiluxs roll easily when u go ova 3'' n u want to keep a low centre of gravity aswell. i would go wat weiner has dun n mayb just a 300mm b.l
but thats just me
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Post by chimpboy »

Weiner wrote:Trust me, I doubt a 6" lift is going to be capable offroad, if you are still going to go for it, get a decent rollbar, as you ill probably use it a bit.
I agree. Go two inch lift, guard chop as required, and go 33s (or bigger if you want to deal with the driveline issues,but I wouldn't).

You will outdrive the luxes that are lifted higher although the cruisers and patrols are another story.
This is not legal advice.
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Post by mmaaxx »

do you need 6" and if so, for what sort of wheeling?

would like to know what your thinking?

or is it all about wank factor?
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Post by Rissole »

Your all wrong, ya dont need any lift in a hilux, as a few of you may hav seen my standard ifs hilux go almost everywhere at LCMP hahahahaha
Who need's lift, all ya need is a heavy right foot and heaps of Rissole. . . :finger:
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Post by ferrit »

i just chucked a body lift in my truck, which gives me a 2+2" lift (OME springs) and im running 285/75R16 MTZ's

Absolutely no scrubbing at all- i had to wind the drivers rear steering stop out 1/4 of a turn to stop a tyre rubbing on a spring (its only that side?) but nothing else comes close to touching! :D
2005 HDJ100 Manual, ARB bar, XD9000 winch, ARB rooftop tent + awning, Drawers, Engel, 2" OME lift, 285/75R16 KM2's, iCom, HID XGT's.
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Post by ferrit »

ferrit wrote:i just chucked a body lift in my truck, which gives me a 2+2" lift (OME springs) and im running 285/75R16 MTZ's

Absolutely no scrubbing at all- i had to wind the drivers rear steering stop out 1/4 of a turn to stop a tyre rubbing on a spring (its only that side?) but nothing else comes close to touching! :D
oh- and with a 2" lift, i killed a Hardy Spicer centre bearing in 10,000kms! :cry: Found that the shaft from a 2000 3.0D hilux single cab (which is a one piece) is a direct drop in! :D
2005 HDJ100 Manual, ARB bar, XD9000 winch, ARB rooftop tent + awning, Drawers, Engel, 2" OME lift, 285/75R16 KM2's, iCom, HID XGT's.
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Post by mattress_821 »

i wanted to go big for clearance as alot of the flood waters i hav to cross etc. cum up pretty high. the hilux i drove with the 8 inch was all about wank factor as he replaced the live front axle with an independent to stiffen it up on road. if i was to go 2'' body and 2''spring how much mould i be lookin at? and just put 33's on it.
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Post by big_al_31 »

ferrit wrote:
ferrit wrote:i just chucked a body lift in my truck, which gives me a 2+2" lift (OME springs) and im running 285/75R16 MTZ's

Absolutely no scrubbing at all- i had to wind the drivers rear steering stop out 1/4 of a turn to stop a tyre rubbing on a spring (its only that side?) but nothing else comes close to touching! :D
oh- and with a 2" lift, i killed a Hardy Spicer centre bearing in 10,000kms! :cry: Found that the shaft from a 2000 3.0D hilux single cab (which is a one piece) is a direct drop in! :D
:armsup: :armsup: 2000 3.0D hilux single cab you say, direct drop in you say :D I know what i'm doing this weekend
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Post by Weiner »

mattress_821 wrote:i wanted to go big for clearance as alot of the flood waters i hav to cross etc. cum up pretty high. the hilux i drove with the 8 inch was all about wank factor as he replaced the live front axle with an independent to stiffen it up on road. if i was to go 2'' body and 2''spring how much mould i be lookin at? and just put 33's on it.
Probably get the body blocks for $100-$150 and the price of springs.

Or push the diff forward as well and whack some 35's on.
'89 Hilux Single Cab - 3RZ, 35" Kreepy Krawlers, 4.88's, F & R Air lockers, RUF, Longfields, TG Highsteer, Highmount and no money
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Post by RDM »

I'm building a 85 4Runner at the moment and have done heaps of research, it's all over the web (same chassis and running gear as yours).

To get you started:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/forumdis ... f23d3&f=12
http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?board=37.0
http://www.4crawler.com/4Runner.shtml

I've fitted 2" springs and 33" MTZs, I'm going to Bob the rear for a better departure angle and fit a high clearance gearbox cross member and lift the fuel tank, I've fitted 4.8 diff gears and have some 4.7 gears to go in the transfer case, I've just acquired the calipers and disks off a later IFS to upgrade the brakes.

This should give me a pretty capable stable truck that shouldn't attract to much attention from the law. In NSW extended shackles and lift blocks under the springs are illegal, talk to an engineer in your state, I'll have to have the 33"s and rear Bob engineered.

The trend in the states at the moment appears to be building their trucks low for stability.

Using 33" tyres saves $$$ on not fitting upgraded axles, cv's etc.

Do your research, learn from other peoples mistakes, save your self some $$$ and heart ache.

My 2c worth, good luck with your build.
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