So I'm heading back to the Toyota world and getting me a new (well i say new, but it's new to me) 1999 4Runner. It's fully loaded, limited, with pretty much everything you can think of. With that said.. I'm sure this topic might have been covered before but thought I would come to you guyes for the help, so here goes. I think I have read somewhere a while back that lifting the 3rd gens HIGHER than 2.5 with suspension can cause a few problem (cv-joints busting I believe). I just want to make sure of the issues and limitations before I go ordering suspension parts.

I also own, and have owned for a while, a lifted jeep cherokee but she's and oldy so while im lightly familiar with lift kits, suspension parts, diff drops, gears, drive shafts, etc.. im not too familiar with the newer parts on a toyota. I owned a 95 4Runner beefed up some time ago but that was about 6 or 7 years ago and suspension & steering parts change. I'm not a complete rookie, but if someone could lead me in the right direction that would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The problem in lifting over 2.5" without using a drop bracket lift, is your driveline, suspension, and steering angles. Your CV axles will be at a much greater angle, which will cause the rubber boots to touch each other, and they will eventually rub a hole in them. Then you have to replace the boot or if you leave it with a hole in them, dirt will get in there and ruin the joint. See this post if you dont beleive me

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=1167002

A diff drop kit from 4crawler will help with this angle.

Also, your tie rods will be at a weird angle and cause accelerated wear.

Your upper ball joint will be at a bad angle too if you go too high.

What are you trying to do with this truck? Look cool? Or actual offroad functionality?

Remember you can fit alot bigger tires than a jeep even with a 2.5" lift.

thank you for the info.. I knew it was something like what you described Adam, thank you for the article.
Toytec sales a 3" lift with diff drop kit and your saying this will help a lot with the angling? What else could I do to elminate the tie rod wear and I'm not planning to go higher than 3 unless I add another 1" for a bodylift (but probably wont). I might just go with the 2.5" suspension and 1" body.
Well, ultimately I'm aiming for this truck to be my vehicle for years to come so I want to make it look good. I do plan to do light offraod but I'm not trying to destroy her in the mud and rocks. The most mud she'll see is probably from going duck hunting. Few trail rides while camping is also in her future.
Greg, thank you for reminding me, I wanted to ask whats the biggest tires you can put on stock gears/axels? I'm thinking 33's are the highest I want to go. I know the 4runners come with 31s stock on 16" rims. I want to try aim for 33's on maybe 18s. Thanks for the help guys.

You should have no problem fitting 33's with 2-2.5" of lift.

Most 4Runners come with 4.10's, some have 4.30's or 4.56's. If you have the factory locking rear diff, you could have 4.30's. Ive ran 33's with 4.10's and you loose a little power but its liveable.

I mean, I'm not worried about the tires. I know I can fit 33's for sure with a 2.5. I did however find out that I have 3.54 gears with a 138mm diameter. So I might upgrade to 4.10's. My main concern is just the cv-joints and wear and tear through angling over a period of time. I'm guessing the diff drop for the front and the pan hard drop in the rear will eliminate this.

Where did you get the 3.54 info? There is no such thing offered from the factory. In that year, with a 4x4 V6 and auto trans, no locker, you will have 4.10. With locker you probably have 4.30. 2wd V6 can be had with 3.72 or 3.90. 4cy 5 speed 4x4 can have 4.56.


Here's a chart to decode your model code and find out what gears you have

http://www.sonoransteel.com/Toyota_axle_codes.html

Or, you can jack it up and count the number of revolutions of the tire versus the drive shaft.


138 mm is 5.4 inches. Your gears are 8" in diameter.


Diff drop in the front will help with angles, but the panhard drop in the rear will only center your rear axle after a lift, since it is off about 1 inch after a lift. Its really only cosmetic.

oh, ok... i used this guide from here >> http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/vin/ shows not only vin identification but axel gear ratios as well. In which is where I got the idea that is was 3.54. I thought it was a little low but wasnt gonna go against the identification system. Thanks for the link. It shows that I have 4.10's (4.30's with 265/70R15.. whatever that means) SO guess I don't have to worry bout re-gearing. I don't have the factory locker, woulda been nice tho

The codes you used were for 1995 and earlier trucks.

haha, gotcha.. Thanks for the other link