[pickup]

With a 94 2wd. 130k miles and clean!

I'm in the middle of a coolant overhaul now. Flushed the system, but unsure of the t-stat I should go with. Have a 180 ready, but I'm thinking 160, because I'm ridding the fan clutch and don't drive in traffic.

Thoughts?

Also picked up some 2in drop blocks and plan to crank the t-bars down. But I'm not sure if I can get the t-bars to go low enough without slamming into the bump stops. I know I can get drop spindles, but budget drop is my goal. The lower the truck, the easier I can get my bike in. (To take to track days)

Front:

Rear:

I know the rear sits a bit lower than the front and I do have helper springs (cap weighs about 200lbs).
But can I crank the t-bars enough to even it out after I install the 2inch blocks?

I picked up some $17 dollar Gabriel struts to replace my blown originals.

Thoughts?

My temp gauge doesn't work. Does the gauge go bad or is it possibly a sensor?

Base model truck, no side mirror:

But I've got a third brake light!

No pick of the driver mirror (too dark now) It's in the door though, probably gonna be a pain to install the same type into the passenger side.

Thoughts?

 

[Jayota]

Nice 2wd! Looks real clean

 

[pickup]

Thanks buddy! Have any insight about any of my issues?

 

[sb5walker]

If you run the motor too cold, the computer will never go into closed loop and you'll get terrible gas mileage. Stock temp is 190 (for a 22re); but it's safe to go with the 180 and probably a good idea.

If all your other gauges work, it's probably either the temperature sender (not the engine coolant temp sensor which connects to the computer not the gauge) or a bad connection between the sender and gauge.

 

[IronNam]

honestly i think i'm more happy if i let the 22RE run in its designed temperature. runs smoother, more efficient



2" drop block is sufficient. you'd still have plenty of travel before your axle visits the bumpstops.
I have a 3" drop block, removed mid leaf, removed the trimmed bumpstops, and did a half frame c-notch.

cranking down the t-bars would be nice. BUT, before you do that, I recommend unbolting the spindle from under the arms and bolting them on top of the arms. Torque it well!
This provides a 1" drop with the factory ride, stiffness wise.
then you can ease it down an inch.
that way you can get a 2" drop up front with the ride quality of easing the torsions 1" on a regular truck. catch my drift?
I hammer clearanced the shit out of my front inner wheel wells (still not done... rub here and there), i trimmed the front bumpstops, did the B/j flip i mentioned earlier, and i eased down the torsions.


For a while I was on a 3" Drop block with trimmed bumps, up front i was riding the B/J Flip, torsions eased to the point i'm rolling on bumpstops (and still rubbed if i entered too fast... then i hammered some more)


Aside from the suspension, I haven't ran smaller tires. It's recommended, but i'm happy with factory tire sizes.... i just am.

Exterior wise... I have a 4wd bumper with 4wd fenders.
I ghetto rolled my fenders in the rear.


Wheels and brakes wise...
Brakes.. generic stufff... i forgot. Autozone?
Wheels. I recently bought $100 wheels and tires. Craigslist. 16".
the tires up front are 215/60/16 which is EQUAL to the 205/75/14's i had from the factory, maybe slightly shorter by a few mm.
the tires in the rear are 215/65/16 which are taller than the factory spec tires, but it corrected my speedometer. top speed mpg has improved. i doubt my 0-60 is any better, but probably more accurately. nevertheless, my truck isnt a rocket in the straightaways.

I'm also running 1.5" bolt on spacer adaptors. slightly heavier unsprung weight, but widened my truck generously. Significantly improved vehicle stability, ESPECIALLY when i drift..... lol.

i have a 22RE... gutcat, some "muffler", ends before the axle, so i retained SOME backpressure.... what's backpressure?
on the cold side i swapped the intake and battery. currently an air duct leads air to the factory airbox.

I have an automatic. Laugh.


here's a recent pic of what a "somewhat low" Toyota Hilux looks like. I still drive her all year round, snow, rain, shine.

 

[pickup]

Nice truck IronNam, but I don't quite understand what you mean by changing the mounting points of the spindle. Have any pics?

 

[Ajones1165]

The UCA ussually sits on top of the spindle. He flipped his to be underneath. Im sure he has pictures somewhere. Very nice truck :thumbsup:

 

[IronNam]

best i can find

 

[pickup]

So you flipped the whole control arm? Any downsides? I'm guessing so, since you said to torque it well. Any by well do you mean 100ft/lbs or so?

 

[IronNam]

no, not the whole thing.

you see where the whole spindle connects to a ball joint, and the ball joint connects to a plate?
that plate was mounted under the arms from the factory.
as you can see in the picture, i mounted that plate above the arms.

if you were to pull off your front wheel right now and look at your setup, you can easily tell what i did.

i think i did 100lb... well... to the point it seemed safe to me xD
i just remember making it tight as hell.

 

[pickup]

Oh, so It's that simple. Any funny noises or... anything?

Now I'm thinking about getting 3in drop blocks for the rear

 

[IronNam]

nope.

note on the bottom arms, you will need to flip a second plate with two nuts on it, to the topside of the bottom arms.

Here's something my fellow minitrucker collaborated.

http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5272


On a side note, I myself, did not do the washer thing

 

[pickup]

That link is excellent! I know exactly what to do now!

Why didn't you add the spacers? Seems to me like a bit unsafe. I'm really considering the 3in blocks and the bj flip with the spacers, but like I said... seems a bit unsafe.

 

[mnasholm]

Ive been running with the ball joint flip for 6 months now with Zero problems, I didnt flip the top just the bottom one though

 

[IronNam]

I did my B/J Flip long before the BJ "flip" tutorial was even posted up.

Mine's been on for about.... well over a year and a half, almost two to be honest.

The spacers seem kinda.... scary. It's not necessary.


Btw, did i mention i took out a fire hydrant with my truck?

 

[pickup]

Why did you take out a fire hydrant?

 

[Jayota]

learning to tokyo drift??

 

[IronNam]

lol never have bald tires and a huge summer thunderstorm mix together on a curved road.

 

[pickup]

I know exactly what you mean. Spun out on the freeway last month. Hydroplaned, full lock countersteer and was still coming around. Jacked the brakes and flew into an underpass, nailed it with my front left (twisted my control arm and my tie rod end) almost flipped me over and then backed into a manhole cover sticking a foot out of the ground (fucked that thing up) fortunately I rolled over it with the wheels, would have ripped my drivetrain right out had I hit it with my diff. Poor Bimmer hasn't seen the streets since. Didn't realize how my mad camber had balded the insides of my tires (lowered about 3in all around)

 

[pickup]

'Request couldn't be processed because you haven't logged in' That is a stupid feature. Anyways, Back on topic.
Almost finished tonight, gotta trim down the long ass u bolts, didn't wanna run my grinder this late. Broke the piece that goes over the BJ mount. DONT TORQUE THE SHIT OUTTA THAT ONE! Wonder where I can get another. Didn't touch the t-bars yet, curious how much the BJ flip and 2, not 3 (bolt wasn't long enough to go all the way through the nut) spacers (Metric size 12 work well btw) I'm sure the front will still be higher than the rear though.