Long travel setup questions for slow crawling

MonkeyProof · Sep 12, 2013

blackhawke88 said: ↑

i should technically have skid plates before doing any crawling!
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Make it happen clown

SoCaltaco65 · Sep 12, 2013

Supermoto said: ↑

To put it simply, there is pretty much not a single thing that leafs are better at that links. Towing really heavy loads might be the only exception
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Cost?

blackhawke88 · Sep 12, 2013

MonkeyProof said: ↑

Make it happen clown
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That's gonna happen with a lot of other stuff together soon

MonkeyProof · Sep 12, 2013

blackhawke88 said: ↑

That's gonna happen with a lot of other stuff together soon
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Do it! Mister I wanna build a race truck do it

SoCaltaco65 · Sep 12, 2013

here ya go Tom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvZLOcdxj_I

sirhk100 · Sep 12, 2013

Linked and towing? Impossible!!!! LOL Wouldn't do it with a heavy load though. That's just two bikes and gear for a weekend trip. The rear has a spool too so it should be ultra impossible.

And wait a second... What's that about leafs towing heavy loads? LOL

(only drove it around the block to see outta morbid curiosity, only reason it was even hitched up was we were tight on time and I needed my buddy to be able to just back under it, drop it on his hitch and take off so I used the exploder just to load with. But since it was loaded... Well you gotta try it right!!! LOL)

MonkeyProof · Sep 12, 2013

Nice!

There's another video at calico of me and my taco trying to get up a 9' ledge but my break over angle prevented me from making it

MonkeyProof · Sep 12, 2013

Found the video I mentioned..

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iS1YhEgFSKk&desktop_uri=/watch?v=iS1YhEgFSKk

SoCaltaco65 · Sep 12, 2013

ohya, I was looking for the monkeycrawler

troyboy162 · Jan 19, 2014

thanks for the help everyone. Shes not too bad with 600 lbs springs and they are breaking in alot. This is her first trail run and already I'm happy with the improvement over mid travel.

twf007 · Feb 26, 2014

troyboy162[OP] said: ↑

thanks for the help everyone. Shes not too bad with 600 lbs springs and they are breaking in alot. This is her first trail run and already I'm happy with the improvement over mid travel.

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How do you like that kit? I have a 3rd gen 4runner and am looking into an affordable kit like you were. How much did the kit and coilovers cost you if you don't mind me asking?

M C M · Feb 27, 2014

twf007 said: ↑

How do you like that kit? I have a 3rd gen 4runner and am looking into an affordable kit like you were. How much did the kit and coilovers cost you if you don't mind me asking?
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He paid 2600 for the kit with coilovers. I offer the modified axles for 600. I'll let him chime in on how he feels about the kit.

troyboy162 · Feb 27, 2014

The kit works very well. For crawling the extra articulation and width is a big increase for me. I've taken a few lines with ease now that used to be a bit hairy with mid travel. Unexpectedly the truck also handles better on the street with much less body roll. Cant forget that she's now stupid fast in the bumps and that been a ton of fun. Without tuning its still faster then I need it to be.

I went with the FOA option and I would have to say thats a great way to save money if you not afraid to work on your own shocks. One is already leaking and both need more oil/ and re-positioning of the piston inside the reservoir. That is no fault of the kit though and I am glad there was a entry level option to get me to make the leap to LT.

I wrote up what I learned on my home forum but I'll copy paste it here in case its helpful to this forum. I was/am a complete noob to LT but I'm getting there lol. oh and you dont need to weld in the spindle plug. I had to since my spindles were already egged out with a previous mid travel plug.

Place holder for post

First and foremost this is all about fitting 35" tires in long travel configuration. 33" tires should be alot easier and give you more room to play with in the rear.

The kit:
www.mcmfablv.com sells this complete kit for $2600. includes everything needed to bolt it on right down to the res mounts. Everything is powder coated for those that care. Hot tip for dummies like me. See the lower spring perch on the coilovers? I thought those were way to big and would ruin travel. Turns out they are hollow and the body of the shock can go way into them.

Front
Finding CV's is a pain in the butt. As in 4runners, the Tundra OEM CV is the one you are looking for. It has true CV joints on both ends and that allows it to have more travel before binding(tacomas and 4runners have a tripod inner joint). Car parts stores will sometimes carry them in there re-manufactured brands. The tell tail thing to look for is the steped down of the inner CV before the boot. Aftermarket CV's will not have this step down. Your best bet is junk yards for 1st gen tundras or sequias.

modifying the CV Like Trails less traveled and total chaos will be needed if the suspension is designed to droop past the normal range of motion of the stock CV. Not all kits are made this way so you have to test your kit/shock combonation by hand for binding. All entry level kits end up at ~13 inches, but some incorporate more up travel to achieve it without a modded CV. I believe the limiting factor to ~13 inches is the stock LBJ. Turns out this mod to the CV's is very easy providing you have the right tool to release the clip inside the goo. The mistake I made at first was grinding off too much. You wouldnt think that would be bad, but it turns out the balls of the CV can escape and eject on your first test run lol. Just grind off the lip where the stock boot clamps and no more then that. literately just underneath the stock boot clamp itself.

Adding grease fittings to the arms can be done following this tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQfx1C1e7-w&feature=youtube_gdata_playerplayer

Limit straps on the front are used when the shock is capable of more down travel then the suspension can hande. When the truck becomes airborne the suspension will slam down to a binding point (ushually UCA uniball) and the forces will transfer to the spindle arm(sometimes bending it). If the suspension can cycle with no binding then a limit strap is not required, but is still desirable to lessen the strain on the expensive shock. Shocks used in long travel will have internal bump stops at the end of their travel(FOA's dont) so that there is no metal on metal bang. Limit straps will obviously do the job better and off load that stress.

Reinforcing the spindles is important to protect the spindle arm from forces it was not meant to see. When the truck bottoms out some of the force is transfered to the spindle arm in a side to side fashion. The spindle is pretty weak in that direction and will bend. We can all bottom our suspension but the bending of the spindles is usually limited to long travel where the stresses and leverage are much higher. Typically people just buy the gussets from total chaos. They are cheap.

Re-position the stock bumps by drilling where they used to hit the frame and taping the hole to M10 1.25 pitch. Have some washers handy since your new arms might need some spacers on the bump stops like total chaos

smooth out where the poly bushing will slide in the lower control arm frame brackets. The old stock bushings have narling that scars this area up. Sand it down smooth to be nice to the bushings

reinforced stock cam guides can be done like this, but for the love of god do a nicer job then me

Grind off your steering stops since there is no where for it to meet up with on your new LCA. in the mean time it runs the risk of being stuck on the LCA if your suspension droops out in a turn. Your new steering stops are your rims on your LCA or the limits of your rack. Lovely huh? Fab something if you want but that how 3rd gen(1st gen tacoma) LT rolls.

-clearance stock fenders and other items
-reservoir mount
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this is the mcm kit maxed with FOA shocks and ADS top hats. Its over 13" but this is not bumped or strapped.

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twf007 · Feb 27, 2014

troyboy162[OP] said: ↑

The kit works very well. For crawling the extra articulation and width is a big increase for me. I've taken a few lines with ease now that used to be a bit hairy with mid travel. Unexpectedly the truck also handles better on the street with much less body roll. Cant forget that she's now stupid fast in the bumps and that been a ton of fun. Without tuning its still faster then I need it to be.

I went with the FOA option and I would have to say thats a great way to save money if you not afraid to work on your own shocks. One is already leaking and both need more oil/ and re-positioning of the piston inside the reservoir. That is no fault of the kit though and I am glad there was a entry level option to get me to make the leap to LT.

I wrote up what I learned on my home forum but I'll copy paste it here in case its helpful to this forum. I was/am a complete noob to LT but I'm getting there lol. oh and you dont need to weld in the spindle plug. I had to since my spindles were already egged out with a previous mid travel plug.
Click to expand...

Hey thank you so much for the response I learned a lot and I think this will be the kit I'm going to install on my 4runner. I just have to come up with the money!

SoCaltaco65 · Feb 28, 2014

Supermoto said: ↑

1st off great choice with MCM. You don't want to go with a lighter spring, you will have so much preload on it to get ride height that it will be useless. With valving my experience is that it matters so little with crawling. So valve it for fast stuff and you'll never notice the difference when crawling. Fiberglass can not hold up to bouncing off a rock, it will snap in half real fast if you wedge it on a rock. Hope that helps!
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100%, Im a crawler Expedition wheeler with LT dont go light spring and push pre-load to acquire height, it will become too bouncy. my Valving is for fast and with a load, makes "0" difference crawling.

last time out wheeling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMRY1oETvu0&feature=share&list=UUWFjD4HpxQCpzQ5DFgTbapw&index=2

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Long travel setup questions for slow crawling

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blackhawke88 wo ai ni bao bei ^_^

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Long travel setup questions for slow crawling

#41 MonkeyProof Power Top

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#43
blackhawke88 wo ai ni bao bei ^_^

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