Question: I am 15 and looking for a truck. i am thinking of purchasing a late-'90s Dodge ram and turning it into a prerunner. i am building it on a high schooler's budget, but i still want something that i can take on the trails in the Colorado mountains. i am going to use 37-inch tires but i am confused about what to use for the suspension and shocks. i want a suspension that allows me to be able to jump it and run it on the trails. But i don't want anything too harsh since it's my daily driver for a long time to come. i have thought about a basic 8-inch lift, but i don't think that will work too well when i want to jump. So i also considered using coilovers or leaf springs but i am still not sure.
Nicholas H.
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: Unless your high-school budget is equivalent to that of a stock broker, let me give you some advice. Jumping your truck costs a lot, can leave you stranded with no daily driver, and is hard on equipment. however, a basic suspension kit will allow you to enjoy your solid-axle truck without too much worry as long as you keep it close to the ground. Every time you take your truck for some air time you have to deal with tires stuffing into wheelwells, drivetrain parts trying to fall out the bottom of the frame, and frames and suspensions dealing with abuse the engineers didn't feel would be that common from truck buyers back in the '90s. We all like to get crazy with our 4x4s, but in some ways the old adage holds true: if you want to play you have to pay. and the harder (or higher) you play, the more you pay. A custom coilover shock suspension is possible with some highdollar fabrication, but let me suggest you stick to a basic suspension kit for now; in fact i'm even going to get rancho to send you some of its great adjustable shocks for your truck to help get you ready to wheel. rancho (www.gorancho.com) is a name that has been synonymous with suspension since before you were drooling on 4-Wheel and Off-road, and rancho's suspensions are a great starting point for almost any truck you end up buying. Though they are not 8 inches tall, you'll find that whether you're jumping or going fast, a low center of gravity is a major benefit. and like i did so long ago, you need to learn to crawl before you learn to run, so start small, build your truck safe and stable, and then go wheeling. See what it will do and where it can take you before you go hog-wild with a crazy expensive buildup. you'll be a better driver in the long run if you learn to wheel with a truck on small tires and a short lift. Then as your skills progress and propel you up and over things, so can your 4x4.
Question: I want to put my Dana 60s with 4:88 gears, lockers, and 39-inch Swampers under a late-'80s Toyota truck or 4runner. i want to use my divorced np205 to put the output shaft on the driver side. Even with two transfer cases i'm concerned that a 22r or even the 3.0L will not have enough power to turn the tires. Then i was thinking of using a chevy S-10 with the 4.3L. That should have the power, but i'm unsure if the transmission and transfer case will hold up to rough wheelin'. i plan on using two transfer cases on whatever truck I choose. i've researched full-width swaps using leaf springs on these trucks and it's doable, but what are your thoughts?
Should i consider a different rig?
Joe
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: I have 39-inch tires under my Toyota "clampy" with Toyota dual transfer cases, a Dana 60 front axle, and a Dana 70 rear axle. I think it wheels fine with the 22rE. however, i have 7.17 gears. i have seen many Toyota guys running 5.29 gears in their Toyota axles with dual cases and 37-inch-tall tires, and i think you could make the four-cylinder work, but you need lower gears than 4.88. i'd try 5.86, 6.17, or the 7.17s. however it's never going to be a rocket ship. The V-6 in the S-10 would be a better engine than the Toyota fourcylinder for power, but the frame under the Toyota was built to support a solid front axle in other parts of the world so it would be a better choice than the S-10. I would probably stick with the Toyota over the S-10 simply due to the greater number of aftermarket support for the swap you want to do. i used the Sky's Manufacturing (541.736.3743, www.sky-manufacturing. com) full-width axle swap kit on clampy and it worked out great.
Also you talk about the 205, and i think it might be overkill for what you are doing. Though big and strong, unless you have big power from your engine it's going to be a heavy transfer case to haul around and the low range is a dismal 1.98:1 versus the Toyota low range of 2.28:1. plus you will need to build a mount to install the 205 and then you will end up with a very short rear driveshaft. i would consider getting the dual cases kit from Marlin crawler (559.252.7295, www. marlincrawler.com) and using a Tacoma chaindrive case, or look into the inchworm gear (530.677.8111, www.inchwormgear. com) "Lefty" transfer case that has the front output on the driver side.