2005 Hilux D4D 4x4 lift project

[BlouBrakkie]

Hi guys

Just want to get some advise and comments on my proposed lift for my Hilux 3.0 D4D 4x4

1) Mikem front coils 50mm
2) Mikem rear leaf springs 70mm
3) Front Coil Strut spacer 25mm (still to be sourced)
4) Diff lowering kit by 1inch (25mm) (still to be sourced)
5) Replace all 4 brake lines with extended braided hoses.
6) Extend ABS sensor wires
7) Bilstein shocks (customised for my lift spec dimensions)

I've found strust spacers and diff lowering kit on http://www.snakeracing.com.au
but was wondering if you guys know of a local place where I can get these goodies.

My second proposed mod would be very similar, but i would do away with the spacers in the front and have 80mm coils made instead of the 50mm. Only problem is, will have to chat to the guys from Mikem nicely, cause they only guarantee 50mm lifts (but that's not taking the diff drop into consideration)

Also I've found two places in PTA that can custom build me the brake hoses, but was wondering if you guys know other places?

Some pics of Brakkie below.......

Your comments would be greatly appreciated!

[BlouBrakkie]

Nog n prentjie

[Tinman]

i wouldnt bother with snake racing iv found things alot cheaper at other places like 4wd1 and a couple of others, but im not to sure what you have there, the Poms have a few good shops online at reasonable prices i think. cant remeber because i now have a 4wd store near me that gets me everything and they can source it cheap.
id try just using google alot you can find some good stuff online.
good luck :)

[BlouBrakkie]

Thanks T-man

Haven't seen any of these things locally here in SA, but will continue searching.

There are a couple of places that will custom build my brake lines for me, but as far as the diff lowering and coil spacers go, i reckon i'll have to import.

But yes, google for now...just want to do it right first time!

Has anyone lowered the front diff on the new shape Hilux?

[ThysdJ]

you mean something like this?

[BlouBrakkie]

Kaspaas!

Your lack of comments leave me in serious anticipation :D

Can you tell me what mods have been done to this lux?

Are those 31 " Muds?

How does this vehicle handle off road? Articulation etc....

I really want to increase the height as well as increase my wheel travel front and back........

[Ou Bloues]

I just have the V6 same model, How will you lower the Dif in front, on the V6 there is a solid part under neath, I cant lower it, or I must mis something.

I did 85 mm in front, Max, and 70 mm at back, the bakkie is level at this stage. I did not need to change any pipes for this, aggain, I've may have missed something, but I looked aggain, and everything stil seems long enough.

To get better high from here on like the White pleasure above, a bodylift need to be done, so your clearance dont inproof on the chassis

[BlouBrakkie]

Hi Bloues

There is a diff lowering kit available from Australia that is actually two 1inch high spacers. But because the diff is attached on 3 mountings in a triangular shape, it gets angled forward and the diff "drop" is only in the region of about 1/2 an inch. You may have to get a replacement diff cover (steel plate), but since i haven't seen this done yet in SA i'll have to hear what the Aussies say about this. (i've been reading Aus forums and found an interesting post on a site called (www.4x4earth.com.au) check this link - http://www.4x4earth.com.au/forum/suspen ... hilux.html

How did you raise you vehicle? Do you have any pics?

Still waiting to hear if anyone out there has actually lowered the diff and can tell me whether it's a good idea or not.

The brake lines I suppose is just a precaution, have you check to see the slack when your wheels are fully articulated? Also the braided hoses actually improve the brakes of the car (due to much less expansion in the hose compared to a normal rubber OEM stock issue) and the hilux in my opinion doesn't have the best brakes out there!

Cheers

[ToyX4]

You can also phone Leon. pm me for his phone number.
This is his bakkie, and IIRC, he did a 100mm, maybe more, lift.
Whether it is body or suspension, I can't remember, but I think it was a combo

[ThysdJ]

Kaspaas!
Your lack of comments leave me in serious anticipation :D

Good, that was the idea

Can you tell me what mods have been done to this lux?

50mm suspension (TJM) lift and 50mm body lift. Unfortunately no diff-drop as you want to do.

Are those 31 " Muds?

Nope, they are 32" BFG muds with the new tread pattern.

How does this vehicle handle off road? Articulation etc....

Unfortunately I dont know that. You will have to ask Allan (Hoppy). He did the modifications on this bakkie and he knows the owner.

I really want to increase the height as well as increase my wheel travel front and back........

Speak to Allan and find out exactly what he did to is, and what the pros and cons are.....

There are more pictures here:
http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/thysdj/

[ThysdJ]

Allan is also working on this black monster Lux D/C D4D with matt-black imported 18" rims and huge tyres. I will ask him to post some picks of this Hilux as well.

[BlouBrakkie]

Hey Kaspaas

Regarding that white Hilux with the 50mm body lift. Do you know what mods Allen had to do to get it right? I.e Radiator alignment, steering column extensions, fuel lines etc?

I would be interested in doing a 50mm body lift provided I don't need to re-seat everything on the lux...

Also does anyone know where to get a body lift kit?

[ThysdJ]

Sorry, mate I dont have all the info on that. Give him a call, his phone no is here :

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1272

[ToyX4]

Deon, het jy toe vir Leon gebel? Was hy van enige hulp?

[BlouBrakkie]

Hey, Riaan, tried to call him in the week, but he'll only be back at work on Monday. Spoke to a guy called Hennie who works with him. He says Leon did a 50 mm Ironman Suspension lift and a 75mm body lift.....oh and running 35inch tyres!!!!

Will give him a call next week.

[BlouBrakkie]

Ok, so I've spoken to Leon from Potch and he told me officially what's been done to his White lux.

It's got a 50 - 60mm coil lift up front and similar lift at the back, and a 50mm body lift (but no steering rod extensions etc)

And the tyres are 33". He's also fitted a front locker. As told by him, this is more a marketing vehicle.


I then spoke to a guy from Aus who told me the following about my proposed 80mm suspension lift. Apparently the lift does not only affect your driveshaft and CV angles, but also your upper control arms and they can fowl the coil springs on upwards movement.

Also with an 80mm lift the downwards travel on your wheel can max out the ball joints (but i don't see how this will be any different compared to a stock OEM suspension)

So my dreams of doing a 80mm lift has been put on hold until i've done further research....thing is I don't just want lift, I want travel as well. (should have bought an SFA.....he he) but I love the D4D

[ToyX4]

Deon, doen n solid axle swop (SAS)

Eendag as ek groot is gaan ek n 4.0 V6 koop en SAS

[BlouBrakkie]

Ek dink n SAS is dalk net n bietjie te "extreme" vir my "elke dag kar"......maar moet se as ek geld gehad het sou ek nogal n 100Series GX of patrol like......veral die GX met die standaard voor en agter ewenaar slotte!!!!

But until then, I'm dead set on lifting my D4D.....

Ok guys, found a really awesome thread on an Aus forum....check this guys mods out:

http://www.newhilux.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2683

Also after reading lots and lots of threads, I've found that it is in fact possible to do a 40mm body lift on the Lux without having to worry about steering rod extensions and gear levers. Apparently the only change required is to allign the radiator....seems like a lot less effort than all those changes for adn extra 10mm lift....

Just wanna find out where i can get such a body lift kit locally...wanna do the mods myself...else might order from AUS.

Will keep you updated...but thus far, I'm in the process of ordering the diff drop kit and the 25mm Coil strut spacers (for 35mm lift) from Snake Racing, then I'm gonna couple this to the 50mm coils and the 70mm rear suspension from MIkem.

Should be able to get a 85mm lift for about the same price as a 40 - 50mm iron man complete lift kit....just hope i don't learn the hard way!

[BlouBrakkie]

Oh and that thread i posted should get you clicking on this thread.....this is awesome

http://www.newhilux.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=747

[Ou Bloues]

Deon, ek sal die naweek vir jou meet watter lift ek gekry het, dit was 80 mm, maar die vere kon al ietwat gesak het voor ek dit gedoen het. Toyota het vir my gesê ek is op maks sonder dat enige veranderinge gedoen hoef te word to ek dit gediens het na die tyd.

[BlouBrakkie]

Hey guys

So i ordered 50mm body lift spacers (made from Nylon) from hoppy. I asked him about the whole 40mm lift not requiring any mods to the steering rod and he says he can't believe that.....so, seeing that I'm the student and he is YODA, i will take my steering rod out and have it extended at an engineering firm by 40mm to allow for the 50mm lift. (apparently 40mm according to Allan is the way to go)

He said why go for 40mm if you can go for a standard 50mm, both will require a rod extension........Deon happy

I found a place in Randburg that make nuts and bolt so when i get a chance i will take out some of my existing mounting bolts, take them in and ask for 50mm ontop of the originals.

The only other mod i need to do is maek 4 little spacers (drop brackets actually) for my radiator. But this is a really simple exercise.

Will let you guys know how it goes!

Bloues, my final lift should be around 85mm, but I am going to do the diff drop (whic gives me a 7 degree correction).
Also to see if i can get more downward travel, i'm gonna get longer shafts on the bilsteins...just them have to make sure that the shocks don't bottom out on the up travel, so might have to put spacers on my lower control arm bump stops.....but this is easy to do!!!

[BlouBrakkie]

So the body lift is almost done.....

Took the old bolts and steering shaft out on Sunday and got new ones yesterday. The steering shaft is still with the welders. Hoping to get it back today! Can't wait!

In the end I had to do the following mods to accomodate my 50mm body lift.

1. I couldn't see how to drop the radiator by 50mm cause there's a welded cross memeber about 30mm below the radiator, so this wouldn't allow 50mm downward movement. So instead i left the radiator i the same place and cut the bottom of the cowling to make sure the fan doesn't touch. Cut about 30mm out the bottom half of the plastic. Then had to get 2 longer hoses. One from the radiator to the motor and another smaller one that has nothing to do with the radiator.

Seems like all these posts (and Aus posts) where people say it's very easy and no mods excepts for radiator drop is a bit off.....unless my hilux is different to the others.... :o

2. Then when fitting the lift blocks at the back, the fuel filler pipe also had to be extended, but i was able to do this by getting some extra play out of the current pipes. Had to make a little relocating bracket for the filler pipe to fit properly in the fuel flap housing....(there where you goo diesel into the car)

3. 2 of the load bin's 6 mounts require the bolts to go from the top down to the bottom and cause i now have longer bolts, couldn't get this into the hole, cuase the loadbin is to close to the ,ount, so have to bash that a bit and dent the load bin up a bit to get the bolts through.


But was all fun. Hopefully will get the steering rod back today and fit it tonight.

Will post pics asap....but looking good!

Then seeing Darryl tom......

[BlouBrakkie]

Ok the lift is in a looking good. My low range gear lever is rubbing however against the body so have to have a look tonight how i'm gonna allign that.

Didn't have to dent the loadbin to fit the bolts of the front most body mounts. All I did was get slightly shorter bolts and lift the bin a bit higher in the air and in they went no hassles.

It's better to get 40mm longer bolts for the 50mm lift and in some places i still had to add an extra washer here and there.

I was able to refit my front bumber with a slight nip & tuck at the bottom. Had to cut about 3cm out the bottom middle of the bumper (still the original Toyota plastic for now) to get it to allign. But all in place now.

Only thing I'd like to change is my rear Onca bull bar/tow bar. It's now sitting a bit lower (in relation to the back) but not sure how easy that'll be. Might just give them a call and see what they can come up with.

Gonna go see Darryl over lunch time to discuss the suspension lift!

[BenHur]

[BlouBrakkie]

Ok, took some pics over lunch time in the parkade (with the cell phone). *a* lighting, but anyways.

The ve-hii-icle really does look the part now. Took a bit getting used to but the handling dynamics honestly remained unchanged. I don't notice any body roll at all.

Parked next to a standard Hilux in the parkade yesterday and it really does look much higher.

I went to go chat to Darryl from Mikem yesterday so soon as they get my parts and have a time slot, "die Brakkie" is going up another 50 -60mm. Plus i'll have the bilstein struts so i can adjust the height. (e.g like when i oneday after this can afford to add a front bumper....love the burnco bar for the Vigo Lux, by far the best looking I've ever seen here in SA!)

[ToyX4]

Mooi man! Daai outjie gaan "mean" lyk na die suspension lift!

[BlouBrakkie]

Hey guys

The suspension is in!!!! wa wa wee wa!!! (borat style) he he

So the front went up 40mm (for now) and the back by about 65mm.

The front coils were kept the same (Toyota OEM spec) as they are the best you can get and the back was replaced with a new set of leaf packs.
The leafs (leaves - dunno the plural to this) consists of thinner but more blades (9 now compared to the original 5) This gives it better flex and a bit of a softer ride.

The bilsteins were extended to give some extra articulation at the front and rear. (will still get the final figures from Darrell from Mikem and post them)

Gotta extend the rear brake line, as at full droop the line might snap (so keeping it on road for now until that's complete)

The front will probably go up another 30mm in the very near future, using some coil spacers and negating the cv and driveshaft angles using a diff drop kit.

Have to give an extended "thanks" to Darrell from Mikem and Ted from Afrishox. These guys must be the most clued-up okes on suspension in SA. Ted's been involved with suspension and specifically bilsteins for the past 40 years. This guy really knows his stuff!

Here's 2 pics for now. Will post some more when i get the chance. The body lift along with the suspension lift really looks awesome and the ride feels great. No body roll and going over speed bumps now feels much smoother at the back.

Thanks MIKEM!!!!!

[BlouBrakkie]

O and here's a pic of me and my other "Brakkie" doing a water crossing. Notice us trying to keep the water out of the air-intakes....he he

[Family_Dog]

Deon, very nice! Mikem suspension makes a lot of sense, especially $$-wise.

It's my guess that the picture of you and Brakkie was not taken too recently ;)


-F_D

[BlouBrakkie]

Hey Eric

Mikem definately makes sense, but not just $$ wise. The quality of their products and R&D is top class. Darrell's partner (and father) Len, has been involved in the manufacture and design of OEM suspension for the automobile industry for over 30 (or even 40) years.
That's how they got involved with Ted from Afrishox. The guys go back a long time.

And around 10 ( or 15, can't remember the exact years) years ago Len, decided to persue his entrepreneurial spirit and go "after market". They also do alot of security vehicles suspensions due to the heavy armour etc.... so they've been churning out suspension big time.

The pic of my "other" brakkie is pretty recent - about a year ago in the T'skei. His name's Flex. Coolest mutt in the world!

[BlouBrakkie]

Here's a pic of how i understand the strut coil over at the front of the lux IFS