Visitor # 40120 since 14.OCT.2005
2" Lift Coil Spring Spacers are now available from 4Crawler Offroad Products!
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| '90-95 4Runner Coil Spacers | A Coil Spacer Installed |
They are a perfect match in height when used in conjunction with the 1.5" ball joint spacers up front. The extra 1/2" of lift is usually just the ticket to counteract the classic rear end sag common on the 2nd generation 4Runner (1990-1995). Also, since the rear wheel wells are cut lower than the front wheel wells, even a perfectly level 4Runner will look like it is sitting low in back. So having the rear end a little higher than the front can make the vehicle look like it sits level.
The spacers are designed to slip in on top of the rear coil spring. Made of resilient polyurethane, they should give many years of trouble-free and noise-free use. The inside of the spacer is designed to slip over the upper coil spring seat on the frame and then provides a new seat for the sping to rest on. The inner lip helps keep the coil spring centered on the spacer.
Coil spacers are a good and low cost choice for leveling the rear end sag on the 2nd generation 4Runners. This is if you are otherwise happy with the rear springs, aside from their lack of height. If you find the rear coils are worn out and just too soft, then the spacer is probably not the best choice, since it will do nothing to stiffen up worn out coil springs. In that case. a set of heavy duty or lift coil springs would be a wise investment.
And will anything else in the rear suspension need to be changed after adding the coil spacers. Well as always, the answer is "it depends". If you have a typical 2nd gen 4Runner with ~20 year old stock springs that are sagging 1" - 2" from their original ride height, then adding the coil spacers will essentially just get you back to stock ride height, maybe a little higher. As such, it is unlikely that you'll need to change much of anything in back. However, if you have recently replaced the springs, either stock height or lifted, then yes, you may need to change some things in back to account for the lift. How to tell what may be needed? Grab a tape measure and start checking things. For the shocks, you can jack up the rear end to let the tires hang freely and measure the extended shock length. Then unbolt the bottom of the shock and see if it can extend any farther and if so by how much. If it can extend about 2", then it'll be fine with the spacers, if not, you may need a longer shock. On the panhard rod, measure the height of the bolts at each end of the rod and if those are not close to the same, you may need to install a panhard drop bracket along with the coil spacers. And if you notice your rear brakes are a little weak, you may need to adjust the sensing rod on the Load Sensing / Proportioning Valve (LSPV) on the inside of the passenger side frame rail. For small adjustments, you can use the adjusting nuts on the rod end, otherwise, an LSPV bracket may be needed. For more information, feel free to contact 4Crawler Offroad.
The standard 2" coil spring spacers are available below as well as combined with the 1.5" front ball joit spacers for a front+rear lift kit at a savings of $10.00 over the separate price:
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| 1 Pair 2"/50mm Coil Spring Spacers, US Delivery - $90.00/pr. plus $13.00 for insured Priority Mail shipping |
1 Pair 2"/50mmCoil Spring Spacers, Canada/Mexico delivery - Telephone number required for customs paperwork - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" on the order form - Lack of phone number will delay shipment - US$90.00/pr. plus $28.00 for Priority Mail shipping |
1 Pair 2"/50mmCoil Spring Spacers, International Delivery - Telephone number required for customs paperwork - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" on the order form - Lack of phone number will delay shipment - US$90.00/pr. plus $45.00 for Priority Mail shipping |
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| 1 Pair 2"/50mm Coil Spring Spacers and 1 Pair 1.5"/38mm Ball Joint Spacers; US Delivery - $179.00/set plus $13.00 for insured Priority Mail shipping |
1 Pair 2"/50mmCoil Spring Spacers and 1 Pair 1.5"/38mm Ball Joint Spacers; Canada/Mexico Delivery - Telephone number required for customs paperwork - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" in the order form - Lack of phone number will delay shipment - US$179.00/set plus $28.00 for Priority Mail shipping |
1 Pr. 2"/50mmCoil Spring Spacers + 1 Pr. 1.5"/38mm Ball Joint Spacers; Intl. Delivery - Telephone number required for customs paperwork - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" in the order form - Lack of phone number will delay shipment - US$179.00/set plus $45.00 for Priority Mail shipping |
Be sure to to print out a copy of the installation instructions below. Printed instructions are not included with the spacers.
Replacing the rear coil springs on a 4runner is relatively easy. The short step by step is:
By jamming a 2x4 between the brake drum and the wheel well, the axle should be low enough to work on the springs. The only tricky part of this, if using the spacers with lift springs is getting the springs compressed a couple of inches, as the spring compressors are difficult to work with in this confined area.
Here is a writeup on the installation process with additional photos and tips:
With variations in rear suspensions, you might find that the rear springs might pull away from the coil spacer under full spring droop. If this happens there are several options available. One option is to install some limiting straps on the rear axle to keep it from dropping low enough to take the tension off the springs. Straps are available from many off-road parts shops. Another option is to install some small u-bolt clamps to attach the spring to the spacer. This will involve drilling a small (~1/4") hole into the edge of the spacer to slide the u-bolt in place. Typically, you'll need 2-3 u-bolts per spring to hold it in place. U-bolts should be available from most hardware stores. If you can't find any locally, a set of 6 can be supplied for a cost of $20.00 plus shipping. Contact 4Crawler Offroad for more information.
The panhard rod drop bracket lowers the frame end of the panhard rod to compensate for the rear end lift. The panhard rod helps to locate the rear axle side to side and if not adjusted for the lift, it will tend to pull the axle towards the passenger side due to its higher angle from the frame to the axle bracket. An easy way to check the offset on the panhard rod is to use a tape measure and measure the height off the ground of the center of the mounting bolt on each end of the rod. The height difference between the two ends would be amount of drop your rod needs to be restored to level. Note that it is not critical to match that height difference exactly. For example, if your rod is offset 3" from level, then a 4" drop brkt. would leave you with a net 1" offset, but that would be far better than the 3" offset that is currently there. See the image below for a view of what all this looks like:
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| Panhard Rod Overview |
In the above image, you can see how the rear end of the suspension should look like. The light blue line is horizontal and it lines up with the panhard rod showing that it is too level. And to ensure it is level, simply measure the height of the two ends of the rod from the ground (shown with the green and red arrows in the above photo). If the left and right side heights are the same, then the bar is level. If they are not equal, then the difference is the height of the panhard drop bracket required to restore the rod to horizontal. If you can look closely in the above image, you can see this 4Runner has a 4" panhard drop bracket installed and it also has 3" lift coil springs installed. This just goes to show it is better to measure the height of bracket you need than to just go with the advertised lift of the springs. This page has a good description of the Panhard Rod Geometry. about half-way down the article. And as quoted in this article from suspension designer John Hotchkis:
"The Panhard Rod should be as long as possible and be mounted horizontal at static ride height. An angled Panhard Rod will cause the suspension to move side to side during suspension travel."
Note that if you search the web for Panhard Rod geometry, you will find references to angled Panhard Rods, however, these are typicaly found on circle track race cars where you can adjust angle and location of the Pahnard Rod in order to improve tire bite in one turn direction. While this works fine on a dedicated race vehicle, for an on-the-road type vehicle, it is probably more important to have equal handling in both left and right hand turns.
Note: This drop bracket kit is the perfect addition to to complete the popular Landcruiser coil spring swap. The cruiser coils give about 3"-4" of lift and that works great with the 4" panhard drop bracket to keep your rear axle centered under the vehicle after the lift. One other "clue" that you may need a Panhard Rod drop bracket is that after installing your lift springs or spacers, if you have to struggle to get the Panhard Rod back into the bracket, you may need the drop bracket. Also, it is a good idea to add a matching bracket to raise the sensing rod for the rear brake Load Sensing Proportioning Valve (LSPV).
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| Panhard Rod Drop Bracket | Panhard Drop Bracket Installed |
Two drop bracket kits are available. The basic kit includes just the drop bracket itself, you'll need to supply a smaller (7/16" - 1/2") bolt for the top of the bracket and a larger (9/16" - 5/8") bolt to attach the bottom of the bracket. The deluxe kit includes the bracket and also the additional bolts required to install the drop bracket on the existing frame bracket. The bracket is set up for a 4" lift, that is it will relocate the panhard rod 4" lower than the frame bracket. It is possible to drill the bracket for less lift. This can be done by the end-user or the bracket can be ordered custom fit down to approx. 2-1/2" drop. The standard 4" drop brackets are typically in stock for immedeate shipment via Priority Mail (2-3 days typical shipping time). Custom drop brackets take 1-2 weeks to fabricate. Domestic shipping runs $7.00, international shipping runs $13.00 to most countries with US Priority Mail International service - 6-10 day typical shipping time. For questions, please contact 4Crawler Offroad.
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| Basic Brkt Kit/US ($49.00.00+shipping) | Deluxe Bracket Kit/US ($54.00+shipping) | Custom Brkt Kit/US ($69.00+shipping) |
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| Basic Brkt Kit/Intl. (US$49.00+shipping) - Telephone number required for customs - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" |
Deluxe Bracket Kit/Intl. (US$54.00+shipping) - Telephone number required for customs - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" |
Custom Brkt Kit/Intl. (US$69.00+shipping) - Telephone number required for customs - Add phone number in the "Note To Seller" |
If installing a lift at the same time as the drop bracket, first remove the passenger side panhard rod bolt. Then install the lift before proceding. For easiest removal and installation of the panhard rod, do so at normal ride height on level ground and not while the rear tires are off the ground. If a lift has already been installed, you may find it necessary to compress the rear suspension somewhat to aide in panhard bar removal. A few people on the rear bumper or a several hundred pounds of cargo on the back may do it. You are trying to reduce any tension on the panhard rod in order to allow the eye bolt to be removed.
Insert the drop bracket into the factory panhard rod bracket and insert the larger bolt (if ordered) to locate the drop bracket. Mark the location of the upper bolt hole and drill it out to fit the small bolt (7/16" - 1/2" hole). Install the smaller bolt (if ordered) loosely, then the supplied 9/16" bolt and finally the factory panhard rod bolt through the passenger end of the panhard rod. Once all 3 bolts are in place, first tighten the upper bolt in the drop bracket, then the middle bolt and finally the panhard rod bolt.
[Last updated: Thursday, 04-Feb-2010 14:19:46 PST]