Most '03 and newer Toyota 4Runners may serve as Momwagons hauling kids to band practice, but underneath their sporty urban looks is an off-road machine waiting to be unleashed. Offered with ahearty 4.7 V-8, a coil-link-suspended rear axle, and a small nimble body on frame construction, these trucks offer an excellent building platform for an all-around trail/camping rig. Unfortunately they also come with an independent front suspension offering dismal wheel travel.
The complete Total Chaos 4Runner...
The complete Total Chaos 4Runner long-travel suspension offers a true 13 inches of wheel travel yet reuses the factory A-arm mounting points on the chassis. This means no dropped center differential cradle to rob ground clearance when rock crawling, yet still plenty of tire travel for high-speed desert romps.
Lance Kuboyama brought home his '03 4Runner a few years back and immediately decided that it was going to become a trail machine for both rockcrawling and desert prerunning. He has since done tons of upgrades, from bumpers and winches to wheels and rocksliders. We're going to show you the awesome Total Chaos suspension kit Lance uses on the front of his 4Runner.
Total Chaos Fabrication has its roots in desert racing, but Lance has proven that this suspension works fine on some moderate rockcrawling trails as well. The secrets behind the TC long-travel kit are the wider track width and the uniball joints at the top and bottom of the steering knuckles. Plus, in order to make this all work, special longer-than-stock axleshafts and steering parts are available. We talked Lance and Total Chaos into tearing down part of the 4Runner's front suspension in order to show all the benefits of the kit. If you want to read more about Lances's personal buildup, check out his Web site, www.chaosedition.com.
The suspension kit includes...
The suspension kit includes A-arms longer and stronger than the factory units. The upper arm is a welded tubular chromoly unit that houses a 1-inch Teflon-lined uniball with stainless misalignment spacers. The lower arm is boxed with internal reinforcements and designed with a removable billet 1-inch uniball that attaches to the factory steering knuckle. In addition, a skid plate accessory is available to add even more strength to the lower A-arms.
The upper A-arm attaches in...
The upper A-arm attaches in the factory position using polyurethane bushing and the original hardware. And in the end of the uniball is a small machined chromoly adapter so that no modifications need to be done to attach it to the OEM steering knuckle.
On the lower A-arm is a removable...
On the lower A-arm is a removable billet uniball that bolts to the bottom of the steering knuckle. These uniballs offer more angle of deflection than the factory ball joints. Some folks claim uniballs don't have the longevity of ball joints, but we feel their strength and performance are compensating factors.
Another accessory part of...
Another accessory part of this kit is the secondary shock hoop that allows adding a second shock up to 2 1/2 inches, which can even be an external bypass shock like the one in the photo if you're into heavy desert bombing and high-speed wheeling. Lance's 4Runner had an early prototype shock hoop so we're showing you the display model of the final design.
Because the longer-than-stock...
Because the longer-than-stock A-arms push the knuckle farther away from the axlehousing, longer half-shafts are needed to connect the inner and outer CV-joints. Total Chaos offers 4340 chromoly intermediate shafts that are designed to be much stronger than stock, but because of the wider stance the factory CVs are not overextended.
Also due to the wider stance,...
Also due to the wider stance, longer steering tie rods are needed. Total Chaos supplies these tie-rod extensions to keep steering geometry in tune. They looked pretty spindly to us, but Lance has been rockcrawling a bit with his and hasn't bent them yet.
With the A-arms and knuckle...
With the A-arms and knuckle installed it's time for the coilover shocks. The kit can fit a 2 1/2-inch coilover as well as a second shock or bypass if your budget or wheeling type requires it. Lance is running a 2 1/2-inch Fox 8-inch coilover with an external reservoir and an 18-inch-long, 600-pound spring-rate King coil spring.
Since the spacing from the...
Since the spacing from the factory shock mount to the lower A-arm shock mount doesn't really change, the new shock is the same size as the factory one. However, the tuning available with the coilover and the different springs available offer greater adjustability and performance than what came from Toyota.
With the shocks in place you...
With the shocks in place you will need to then charge them with nitrogen. Many 4x4 shops now have this capability, or you may need to purchase a kit with a fill adapter. The shocks are filled in the reservoir to 200 psi. On Lance's 4Runner a custom body lift and fiberglass fenders are added to clear a set of 315/75R16 tires that equal just under 35s. The Total Chaos kit will clear 33s with just the fiberglass and is not recommended with the factory fenders as they hinder clearance dramatically.