lifting a 1987 pickup

i own a 1987 toyota pickup. it is very clean and looks brand new. (factory paint and chrome etc.) what do yall think about putting a 3 inch suspension lift on?

It is a 4 cylinder automatic

 

Definitely makes the truck look better. Plus you can fit larger tires. I had an 89 4Runner with a 4 inch trailmaster lift. Looked awesome!!! Plus it made seeing over cars in heavy traffic really easy.

Check out this thread for some good pics of them lifted. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/toyota-trucks-suvs/87667-old-school-toyotas-whos-got-em.html

 

i was thinking bout it, but i dont wanna ruin the transmission, and i need something that gets good gas milage. but ill worry bout lifting it when i get enough money i just bought the truck so im broke now. do you have any specific lift you would use?

 

4" susp lift with 33s don't sas it

 

I always went with the more name brand. Trailmaster is what I had on mine. My dad also has an 87 turbo pickup and an 89 4Runner one with a rancho lift and the other with a trailmaster.

The only brand I was ever sketchy about was the rough country lift, seemed too cheap for me.

 

ok ill look into it thanks for the help. do you think its gunna mess with my transmision?

 

My brother and I always ran trailmasters in all our trucks.we ran them on an 86 88 yota pickups and an 88 4runner.I ran a trailmaster
on my 2000 dodge ram. Never had a problem.I'm not even sure they are even around anymore. I wouldnt cheap out on the lift.

 

http://www.trailmastersuspension.com/

Still around. Possible that they have been bought out like so many other companies in America.

 

i want a lift that is good and will last. im not gunna get a cheap lift. ill find out bout trailmasters.
nevermind that answered that

 

Why is this in the SAS forums?

 

Good question. But we already helped the OP out with his concern about 4 days ago.......

 

agreed

 

Im all for a lift but an 87 can run 33's with no lift. you can run a 33/10.5 on stock wheels with no lift. If anything a tiny trim of the plastic liner. Id say you can add a 1.5" ball joint spacer and relax the Tbars a little and put a longer shackle in the back if you want the height. Bracket lifts suck. I ran a trailmaster on my truck IFS and the only time it worked well was when i added the bj spacer and relaxed the bars. It was super soft. The bracket lift as close as it keeps everything to stock angles its not exact. The idler arm brakes more then it should. $300 for the TC unit makes the cost climb for reliability.

My plan is to restore an IFS rig and do just as i listed. Balljoint spacer up front with a 1" longer shackle in the rear. Nice shocks and 33/10.5/15s on stock SR5 chrome wheels. I plan to gear the truck and add an elocker in the rear and call it good for a daily winter rig.

EDIT: Because of the auto id think gearing higher. Some say 4:56 is plenty but 4:88's is the norm here. Im planning a little taller cause im in CO and plan to haul stuff.

 

Why not SAS? With a lot of the springs out there you can make it ride nice and keep it low on 33's for a bad ass daily drive. Plus, the solid axle would be much stronger and more reliable.

Do what you want, but I am not a fan of the ball joint spacers. My friend had them on his 94 4runner before he finally SASed. He could never get the alignment just right, so it wore out a brand new set of 33x12.5 MTZ's in no time. When we would go wheeling he would have to bring two spare idler arms because he was going to break one, guaranteed

 

Thats weird, I never had the issue with a BJ spacer. with the bracket lift i had problems like crazy. alignment was always off, never could get it to track right. I not a lot of people know with that spacer you need to relax the T-bars so i wonder if that had anything to do with it. When i lift my daily im not looking for a set amount of lift i just want a little more movement out of the front and the spacer allows for a nicer ride due to the relaxed tbar. the shackle is just to combat sag if it has any. Add a leaf would make it stiffer and i dont want that for daily use.



A SAS would be a better lift option. By the sound of the OP's post it sounds like the truck is mint and he likes it that way. Some people are not able to cut those up...I wouldn't be able to either. A SAS would be the way to go if you want usable offroad lift. Ride quality is not as good up front as the IFS in most cases but its not way worse. I daily drove my SAS truck for 3 years. I still drive it about 50% of the time cause i enjoy the truck and feel much safer in it with all the armor then my car.

my truck backwith the IFS bracket lift and the BJ spacer. 36/12.5/15 TSL's


And now with the SAS and 37's.

 

His may have been improperly installed, I don't know. It just seemed to give me a fit.

That's a sexy yota sir! Any specs?

 

Thanks...

Specs:
87 dlx longbed- bobbed a foot
Solid axle swap with 4" leafs all around
Diamond front axle 67.25 wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface.
TRD FJ calipers, Brembo rotors with FROR brake caliper conversion
Trenuin bearing eliminator kit
High steer
Hydro assist going on anyday with TC pump
14" hoops and 14" 5125 shocks. Replacing all the shocks this week with Fox remote res.
5.29's with elockers front and rear
FJcruiser rear axle, brembo rotors
4" leafs
12" shocks 5125's
all the shafts are chromo all the bolts are ARP, 8.8 on small stuff and 12.9 where i can.

Motor is a 3rz from a 00 tacoma
K&N intake for tacoma and borla cat back
Tacoma dash- everything works a/c and all
FJ cruiser steering wheel with stereo controls
FJ clinometer
Corbeau flofit seats and wedge engeneering brackets.
TRD floor mats,
Power windows added. Made from 01 taco motors, 86 4runner regulators and 01 switches. Panels are not finished but all the switches are in 90's pick up panels and a custom speaker enclosure in the bottom.
Stereo stuff
Alarm/remote start
Dual cases all 23 spline and 4.7 gears in the rear case.
120 wall shafts
TG sliders
Addicted front bumper
Rear bumper i built. 120wall tube, bumper and supports are 1/4 and carrier is 3/16's using iron pig hinge...built to hold a 42
Raceline beadlocks and 37/12.5/17 MTR kevlars.
Super white paint


There is more i just cant remember. I also have more planned. I have a once car garage full of stuff for it still.

I am about to respray it, have the interior wrapped and make some small changes. I planned on a 1gr-fe swap but after buying everything I figured out i needed to change a few things and so im going to sell it all. It was my first ever build of a truck so i am learning as i go still. I have built cars forever but offroad is way different then street cars.

 

That would look stupid. A 4 inch clears 35s will plenty of room. If you can see it my avatar is a 4" and 35s.

To the OP. If staying ifs do bj spacers and 33s and take some load off the torsion bars to allow more travel. If you have the skills to you can fit 35s on ifs with no lift. Honestly just save up and sas it, can be done for pretty cheap for these things if you stay with all toyota parts.

 

if you're going to run 32s-33s then why lift it more than an inch or two? I don't understand a lift if there is no need for larger tires. Your pickup will run 33s with no lift and some cutting so why not get some reliable suspension under you and if it brings you 1-2.5" of lift then so be it, no need for any more unless you do some serious wheeling and need 35+ inch tires. at which point your suspension is only one factor to what you'll be modifying.