Run to the Hills! - Jason's Completely Stalled Colorado GTFO Build

I see you found a helping hand....

Nice work!

 

Yep. That was Brody

And thanks! The welder has been doing great after switching back to gas, but I still suck at overhead

Ended up getting about halfway through welding up all the shock stuff and I’ll get the rest done tomorrow.

 

Did you move the upper mounts, or did that measurement end up perfect?

How much shaft is showing at full droop?

 

It worked perfectly. I have about 3/8 clearance between the shock body and the flip plate at full flex.

The Expos cycled about 9.5” at the shock which was just about perfect. That left me with about a half inch to spare at full droop, so I honestly don’t think I’m going to limit strap these, at least not for a while.

I’m super happy with how flat the lowers are. At full bump I’m just hitting the shaft bump stop when the leaf is slightly negative. I figure I’ll set up the Super Bumps to be at max compression at that point too. Do you recall how much they compress?

 

Wheeler's told me to measure from the shoulder. I have yet to compress mine that far though but it hasn't seen any air time either.

 

Wow, great build and great documentation.

If I ever set up a build thread it will be modeled on this

 

They compress a lot, but it takes quite the hit to get there.

I would weld up your mounts so that you're into the shaft bump around half way through the superbumps, and then hole saw some spacers out of a cutting board or similar. Just keep an eye on it, and if you see yourself getting into the shaft bumps frequently, and a little spacer.

 

Thanks, man!

 

Thanks for the replies, fellas.

I like your idea of locating the bumps, Brett. I ordered some of the 3/8” spacers with the bumps, and I can always throw those on there if I need to. And I just remembered that I have the anti-wrap leaf thickness that I need to account for. Glad I thought of that!

On a related note, it looks like I need to either relocate my strike plate back a little bit or maybe just chop it and make a newer beefier one. You can see in the picture at full bump that the stock strike plate is pretty forward of the center of the flip plate. Best theory I can come up with is that the Expos, being a “lift” spring, are longer than stock when they’re flattened and push the axle back at full bump. I think some 1x2 tubing that’s boxed would be plenty strong, and would allow the bump to hit squarely.

 

I offset my bump mounts to the front, but new strike plates may be a better option.

 

I was thinking about that too.

Decisions...

 

how is the parking brake cable going to interfere with the shocks? That’s the only thing I have noticed in other build threads with the pre 2003 1st Gens due to being on top of the leafs...

 

It’s gonna be a PITA. I have some ideas, but I’m waiting until the rest of it gets done. Gotta be careful extending things to clear because it could change the leverage on the bell-cranks.

 

Slippery slope... next up on your list is the Front Range Off-Road 4Runner rear disc upgrade...

 

I “just” replaced my rear axles with some 4340 shafts which is as far as I want to go with the 8” e-locker housing. Next upgrade way down the road would be a FJZ80 9.5” full-float setup with discs.

You’re exactly right about the slippery slope though

 

I cut off my strike plates and welded in some 2x2 square. Some of my finest welds are holding those on Got lazy and didn't feel like pulling the wheels lol

 

This man knows what’s up!

I’m about to hit up the steel supply here in Longmont to see what they have. I’m almost certainly going to just make new plates.

 

It looks like the upper shock mount tube is sitting right on the frame rails? With the 1" BL, have you thought about pushing it up all the way under the bed? Maybe you'll run out of travel at droop, not sure.

 

On mine with the 1" BL and the tube I used in a similar location it actually became bed support. Fits like a glove in there. It's easy to relocate the lower mount to "balance" up and down travel.