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How high can a 4x4 be lifted by the front torsin bars? What size tires can be ran ? I have a set of 32 inch tires that would look good under my 79, just wondering if it can be lifted high enough to clear them. Thanks.

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79 4x4 LUV

Cranking the torsion bars is good for about 3 inches, maybe 4 if you trim a little off the bump stops. You can get 4 solid, but the front end would be sitting hard on the bump stops and ride like it was on steel wheels.

32s would be a stretch for suspension only lift. I've got a truck sitting here on 33x10.5 tires with the torsions cranked almost to max and 3 inches of body lift. It still hits the fenders if you hit a bump with the wheels turned. If I ever get around to making that truck a driver I'll probably break out the sawzall.

You can do quite a bit of trimming on the fenders without changing the look of things and get a lot more clearance. The width of tire and offset of the wheels makes a difference too. Too far in and the tires will rub the frame, to far out and you are more likely to hit the fenders.

Body lift, T-bar crank, and longer shackles in the rear and you should come up with 4-6" of total lift.
MEPR had 30's on his Luv, but i don't know exactly what he did to get them to fit and all. 32's are possible, but fender trimming would be pretty much nessisary.

I'd say a 3" body lift should be the first thing you do in addition to the t-bar crank. Got mine for $96 shipped from these guys:
http://www.jackit.com

I personally have a 3" body lift on right now, and the t-bar crank will be added on come Thanksgiving. Was messing around with it this summer and found that for the amount of lift I wanted I'd need to cut the bumbstops in half and I didn't feel like doing that at the time. or I you want it to Not look like a hack job you could get these from Indy4x:

http://www.independent4x.com/item.jhtml?UCIDs=839915%7C1109486&PRID=1106813

hope that help ya out a little

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

Thanks,
I already have a 3 inch body lift. I think I will try it and see what happens.

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79 4x4 LUV

My 4x4 has a 6 inch lift on her, but the bump stops are smooshed. I am going to have to bring it down so not to destroy the front end.

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More LUV than one man could ever need - Spread the LUV!
- 1976 Chevy Longbed - Daily Driver
- 1981 Chevy Shortbed 4X4 - Needs Help!
- 1981 Chevy Luv 4X4 - Newly put together

yeah thats how it was this summer with mine. cranked up the bars to where I liked them and found that I had about 3cm of space between the bumbstop and upper a arm. thought about cutting 'em but found the lowprofile one's for dirt cheap, just waiting for time to do it

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

The bump stops from indy4x are 2 inch diameter and the ones on a LUV are more like an inch. I imagine you could cut them to fit the spot though.

My first 79 4x4 was lifted to the max when I got it, upper a arms just smushed into the bump stops. It made the front end feel like a violin string. You could feel every little imperfection in the road vibrating through the whole truck. The slight howl of my mud tires would generate a reverberations loud enough to drive you crazy at certain speeds. I lowered it about a half inch and got a WAY better ride on the road and a huge drop in cab noise. So if you are trying for that last little bit of lift by sitting it on the bump stops, it costs a whole lot in terms of ride quality.

who needs lift??? i have 29 inch tires on mine and all i had to do was beat the fenders in a little bit. just s little creative body work.

oops, finished that one to soon. the 32's should fit without much body trimming if you do the torsion bar crank and the body lift, but they will still rub a some while wheelin it.

i cranked the tortion bars and then did a spring over in the rear(mount the axle on the bottom of the leafs) and im running on 32 in duellers. getting ready to do an axle swap for a toyota in the rear and then change my IFS out with a toyota. i have a brand new 4" lift my buddy gave to me and a front end. i plan doing the swap sometime in early 06' and im doing with a buddy that owns a junkyard so i have unlimited acces to parts, if anyone has done it before i wouldnt mind a few pointers....thanks

man your truck must be pretty high in the back end with a spring over!!!!! did you take leaves out of the spring pack?? or did you just use different ones??

As far as the toyota IFS swap, I'v never heard of anyone doing something like that before, should be interesting as far as the rear axle swap goes, If you wanted to you could swap in a Isuzu 12 bolt, has Disc brakes from the factory and is pretty much a bolt in, if you do decide to do that route make sure ya get one from a '87-91 Trooper that had the 2.6 or the 2.8.

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

i was worried about the back being alot higher than the front but then realized i cranked the tortion bars....its almost level, it has an almost un noticeable rake in the front but no one says anything and it doesnt bother me so what hell right.

i was also wondering about a good place where i can get info on motor mounts, oh and can you swap the 1.8 with any v6. or is an 8 easier. anyways let me know. later

Here is the website, u cant notice any difference in the hight between the front and rear end.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/835350

I have a question for ya.

Are you ridding on the bumpstops up front????????? The thing looks pretty darn level to me( starting to make me reconsider options here )

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

i don't remember but i think if u cut the bump stop mouniting brackets off and reweld them a little lower u will have more room and ur control arms will not hit the frame. i don't remember though its been a while since i have had indepentent on mine. i was running into the same problems so i finally went out and found a toyota front axle. still not in though. but i can tell u this with stock yota springs in front ull clear 32. matt

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1980 4x4 header stock motor lifted 4 1/2 in. in the rear and 3 1/2 in the front

I got to crank mine down. It sways down the road. Anyone know which torsion bar to crank down?

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More LUV than one man could ever need - Spread the LUV!
- 1976 Chevy Longbed - Daily Driver
- 1981 Chevy Shortbed 4X4 - Needs Help!
- 1981 Chevy Luv 4X4 - Newly put together

Hey LUVman, if you're intrested, when you get ready to install that front axle I can take some detailed pics of how mine was installed if you want. It has the front framerails lengthened and made about 2 or three inches taller so its like a built in lift so I can clear 38s with toyota springs. There's pics in the gallery. Nothing too detailed but you can see the truck with the toy axles and 38s on it. I'm running 36s now though for easier manual steering.

I HEARD THAT LIFTING THE FRONT END OF A LUV BY THE TORSION BARS IS NOT SUCH A GOOD IDEA!! I HEARD THAT ITS HARD ON THE U-JOINTS AND BALL JOINTS AND BASICALLY JUST HARD ON THE WHOLE FRONT END!! ANY TRUTH TO THE SUBJECT??
BROTHER B.
LEWISTON IDAHO

lifting or lowering any vehicle puts added strain on other parts. but if you dont over extend them be on there means then they wont be as bad. the answer to your question is if you crank them up to high then yes your ball joints will wear out faster. it happen to me when i had my Z71 i over extended the torsion bars and about a month later i was changing out ball joints.

It does increase wear on the ball joints, CV joints (only really when in 4WD) and the outer steering components. In my experience, the last inch of lift is the worst 90% of it. The steering and CVs on my 79 were in awful shape when I got it. Lowering the front just an inch put things at a much better angle at rest, which is where the suspension rides most of the time. Basically, don't get carried away and it will hold up very well. There are many LUVs and later model Isuzus (same/similar front end) running with 2-3 inches of torsion bar lift without too much for problems. Just don't try to top it out lifting with the TB, and get an alignment right after.

one way to get around the shackles in the rear or even having to use blocks. the way i did is was to just take of the old springs that maybe worn out, take them to a reputible machine shop that does spring re-arching!! DONT ADD LIFT TO THE SPRINGS, DONT TELL THEM THAT YOU WANT 2 TO 3 INCHES OF LIFT OR YOU WILL BE HAVING TO FAB UP SOME SHACKLES!! (personally i think shackles are kind of UGLY!! BUT THAT IS MY OWN OPINION!) I did that asked for an added 2 to 3 inches of lift and I had to take them back and have them re-done to stock specs! THAT SUCKED!! COST ME MORE MONEY!! HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS!! I ENDED UP WITH PLENTY OF LIFT ON THE REAR END!! JUST RE-ARCHING THE REAR SPRINGS WILL PROBABLY GIVE YOU THE LIFT IN THE REAR THAT YOUR LOOKING FOR!!! AND ITS RESONABLY CHEAP, IF DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. COST ME AROUND 60 BUCKS FOR THE PAIR!! GOOD LUCK IN THE LIFTIN' When and if you decide to re-arch your springs save yourself some headache and replace the bushings also. Unless you have already. I found out that if you dont all they will do is SQUEEK!! AND MOST OF THE TIME THEY ARE SHOT ANYWAY!!
BROTHER B.
LEWISTON IDAHO