Toytec lift front and rear on the FJC

[Pathrat]

Today Brody installed my new lift from Toytec, with a lot of able help from Tye and me looking on, snapping photos. The kit consisted of new shiny red front springs that worked with my existing Bilstein 5100 adjustable shocks and aluminum adjustable 'spacers', providing an adjustable coilover using some of my existing parts. Included were swaybar relocator bars, which Brody let me install by myself. The first thing to come off, after the tires, was the swaybar, and that was promptly wired up to the bumper with good old baling wire. No need to remove the big heavy skid.
We dropped the lower control arms, removing what the instructions called "the lower ball joint mount bolts". We were looking for ball joints, and we found none. They were just the bolts from the A-arm to the axle. Spring compressors were applied to the stock springs. Brody strapped the axle up over the fender into the engine bay and used the bottle jack to manipulate the lower arm so he could get the old spring out.


http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift2.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift10.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift4.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift8.jpg

[Pathrat]

Then Tye showed up and for the rest of the afternoon all I got was grief about how dirty my truck was and how I did a sub-par job of maintaining my vehicle. There was a water spot on a hose, dirt on the bumpstop and that transfer case. I was so embarrassed that my detailer had done such shoddy undercarriage work. Now Tye will only offer me $4500 for my rig.

Now it came time to put in the new and shiny. As Brody said, it took three people and two dogs (who were wandering around the garage at this point) to figure out that we needed to wrestle the top shock bolt into the bolt hole at the upper A-arm apex while Tye held the shock eye on the bottle jack and that bar in front of the axle (don't remember which one this is) was jiggled and the axle was strapped up some more and the spring compressors fit into place and turned so we could get a nut on that top bolt on the shock, bringing this long run on sentence BACK to where we started. THEN we bolted it in. That took more jostling of parts and Tye moving the jack around and Brody stepped on parts. I helped and put the bolt in on the passenger side. I found an opportunity to help and not be in the way getting fingers smashed.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift12.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift14.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift15.jpg

[Pathrat]

The spring compressors stayed on as the guys adjusted the spacer thing up to one inch of thread showing from the bottom ring. That took some force with Brody's Torque Pipe of Doom. The swaybar relocators went on and the bar was re-attached. Sometime during this process, the strap holding the axle up was bolted into the suspension and gave up it's hook to the knife. Someone put a scratch in my new red paint, but I will only resent their carelessness for a short time. (:D) Tires on.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift17.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift18.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift19.jpg

[Pathrat]

I wanted the front suspension to match the rear and increase my capacity to carry water, gas and gear into the remote reaches of Utah, while having more than one inch of room between the top of my tire and my fender well. After stopping for the, from what I hear, rare treat of getting to eat during a job with Brody, we started in on the rear. The back end went pretty quickly. Toyoto does not give you much room to undo that top shock bolt and unfortunately Tye left some DNA on my truck. The new springs are taller and sturdier, so theyhad to manipulate the back end in a similar fashion to the front. Tye bounced on the axle while Brody manuvered the spring into place. Brody was getting tired and lazy at this point and was going to just let the spring sit in there at a 20 degree angle but Tye told him that if he is going to do a job, do it right. (:D) there was more bottle jack action too, put between the axle and bump stop, to get some room to move the spring into plae. The saw only came out once to get a better fit on bushings for the new shock eye.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift24.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift21.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift26.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift28.jpg

[Pathrat]

And the last set of pictures are the finals, and the before and after. I think I owe Brody about a dozen suture kits, at least, and I don't know about Tye, I don't think he wants suture kits. I owe him too though. These two men did a great job installing my new parts, making my rig more capable and teaching me more about what I own and what I do with it. :cheers:

I will do a follow up post on how the FJC handles with the lift.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift20.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift31.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift1.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Lift%20install/lift35.jpg

[Funrover]

The ol' FJC is getting sexy!! Looks good!

[Pathrat]

The ol' FJC is getting sexy!! Looks good!

OOH BABY is right.

Measurements:

81" tall

From ground to fender well, I range from 37.5 to 38.75 inches.

[Funrover]

So when you getting bigger tires?

[Pathrat]

So when you getting bigger tires?

You and Nay with the bigger tires! I don't want to have to relocate parts, I think I am just about maxxed on mods that I can just kind of bolt on. I will, instead, rely on my skills as a driver :smokin:

[Funrover]

Skills are overrated LOL.. It took me awhile to get larger tires on my first lift... Becoming a better driver is more important!

[BLUE THUNDER]

Looks great!!!!!!

[Brody]

Thanks, Tye and Stephanie!!

Yep, I forget to eat when I am projecting, so thanks for the eats, too. I guess you forewarned people with that one...

Lift went well once we sorted out the directions:


'Put it together, slap the 'ol spring compressor on it, slide it in place and bolt 'er up' doesn't equate to the real world: put it together following the directions, find out that the compressors won't allow the spring assembly to fit in the hole. Take it out, take it apart. Remove compressors. Reassemble. Try again. Take it out. Reassemble. Try again, this time putting the one and only spring compressor that you can get on on the spring and cranking down on it only after you have it sort of wedged in the hole. This finally gets the shock bolt through the hole. Then have someone stand on the bottom arm while someone else jams the bottom of the shock in place. Cool...the spring set up is now in place. Following the directions again, 'a light coating of oil' on the collars allows for two people to attach cheater bars to the crappy collar wrenches ( absolute total cheese-we had to keep hammering the bends out of them, 1/4" steel or not..) and get the specified 1" of spacing needed. 'Hose down the damn collar with regular motor oil' would have been more appropo, which we did on the second one and worked much more smoothly.

"Remove the two lower ball joint bolts" should have read: " remove the two bolts HOLDING THE LOWER BALL JOINT IN". This had me looking for two lower ball joints, never having worked on an FJ before and, being older, I get confused easily, semantics be damned....

Some real pictures of the install in the directions would have really helped...Hey ToyTec--take a listen here...You guys have a nice lift going on, but how 'bout spending $.05 more on the install directions, huh?? Or you can pay me $45 per hour and I'll redo them for you...

Anyway, looks and works well. Can't wait to get an off road report. I love doing stuff that improves a ride...

[Tye]

That went real well, the FJ looks great and should be a real improvement...

[Funrover]

Didn't anyone check the loose nut behind the wheel? ;)

[Chris]

Looks good! How much 'new' lift did you get?

[Brody]

Stephanie took before and after measurements, so she will be able to give the specifics. Certainly hiked the back up and raised the front an 1" or so. She noticed that the hood was higher and that it took a bigger step to get in the rig..

Springs were beef all the way around, so besides a lift, she should have a better ride overall.

[DETN8R]

Great job guys.

[Pathrat]

Chris, I went up to 38.5" and almost 39" from rear fender well to the ground, gaining almost 2 inches in the back. I don't know what this is from stock. I forgot to take measurements a year and a half ago before I started messing with tires and such and we forgot to take measurements after the tire swap, and right before the front shocks were installed. The front is up about 3/4 of an inch, according to the notes I have after the adjustable shocks were put in last November. It seems higher. I had to take the Hi-Lift off to get into my garage.

Trail report to follow but I can say that I went and did Bill Moore today. I chose a rutty trail with moguls to try out the flex, and I do have flex. I kept my tires on the ground while not taking any line in particular. Running straight up the first part of the trail was much different this year, as I could just go straight up (within reason) without three-wheeling.

On the pavement, the body roll is noticeably reduced. I can turn tighter without feeling like I am going to tip over.

Brody and Tye did a great job! :wrench:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Misc4x42008/BillMoore102008/Flex1.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Misc4x42008/BillMoore102008/flex2.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x102/pathrat40/Misc4x42008/BillMoore102008/flex3.jpg

[Chris]

Looks nice! Always great to have suspensions improvements, good work. A couple more inches sure doesn't hurt either. No comments about bigger tires. ;)

i like this one, really shows the new flex.

[Pathrat]

Looks great!!!!!!

Thank you Blue Thunder and Chris. :) Love the new flex.

[Brody]

Glad to see that improvements all around were noticeable!

Thanks to Tye for his help with this and again for coming by yesterday to help me swap rear axles and finish my front brakes on my rig!

You de Man, Tye!

[Tye]

:thunb:

Truck looks good Steph, nice flex...

[Pathrat]

Didn't anyone check the loose nut behind the wheel? ;)

I don't know if anyone could tighten that up :D

[Pathrat]

Looks good :thunb:

We will have fun this coming weekend seeing what your FJC can do now. Then we can talk about those new tires you are going to want :D

Rear bumper, front bumper, winch! Rims! Not tires! :D

[Pathrat]

:thunb:

Truck looks good Steph, nice flex...

You helped make it so! :)

Like your new quote btw

[Funrover]

I don't know if anyone could tighten that up :D

ROFLMAO Yeah it's a permanent problem here also hahahaha :lol::lol::lol::lol: