Rear Leaf Spring Suspension Kit

Our Rear Leaf Spring Suspension Kit is designed for a 1979-1995 Toyota Pickup/4Runner. You will get a smooth, quality ride with the serious wheel travel you need for rock crawling. For 4Runners we recommend 1” more lift in a rear spring or rear shackle then the front, due to the inherent sag with 4Runners.  This Rear Suspension Kit is designed as a match for our 1986-95 Solid Axle Swap Kit.

Getting started

 Please read the directions and call if you have any questions regarding the install first. Make sure to secure the vehicle on large jackstand before starting. A good 110 or 220 mig style wielder on gas is highly recommended. Torch, grinder, metric wrench’s and socket set, Hammer, wheel bearing grease, rags, cut off wheels and patience will also be needed to complete the job properly.

Rear Hanger Installation

1) On all Toyota trucks 79-88 and 4runners from 84-89. The front rear spring hanger will be moved 6” forward from the factory location (towards the cab). DO NOT CUT OFF THE FACTORY BRACKET UNTILL THE NEW W-HANGER HAS BEEN PROPERLY LOCATED.It will not interfere with the new hanger during installation.  You will locate the new hanger 6” forward from center spring bolt hole to center spring bolt hole of new hanger. If you are working on a Toyota truck 89-95 only, you will only move the front w-hanger 5” forward the same way described above. The side of the wielded hanger that is bent will go to the outside of the frame. The hanger will locate itself side to side on the frame. Take care when locating the mount forward as it will locate the tires in the fenderwall of the vehicle. Tack the hanger in place.

Rear hackle hanger location

2) Again on all Toyota trucks 79-88 and 4runners from 84-89. The rear shackle hanger will be relocated 2” rearward towards the bumper. If this is a 4runner or pickup that will carry more then 350lbs we recommend locating the rear hanger 2 ¾” rearward due to added weight of the application. The rear shackle hanger does nothing more the change the degree of the shackles witch will also effect the ride of the suspension. A more vertical angle will equal a stiffer ride and lift height. Mark your frame with a chalk marker preferred or a black marker. Know using a grinder with a cut off wheel or torch, remove the factory hanger.

Clean the frame with the grinder and make sure not to loose your mark for the new hanger. Once removed locate the new hanger and make sure to keep inline with the old hanger, tack the hanger securely into place. All tacks should be able to support the vehicle to check proper alignment and shackle angle before finish wielding. NOTE: On all Toyota trucks 89-95 you do not have to move the rear shackle hanger due to the longer spring from the factory. The shackle angle will be a little on the steep side. So if you would like to move it follow the directions above but discard the measurements. It should not have to be moved more then a ½” of the respectable direction from factory

Rear Spring Installation

4) Lube the inside of the leaf spring with wheel bearing grease and then install bushings. Hang the military rap end of the springs to the w-hangers first (non shackle side). Then install the greaseable shackles and attach the rear of the leaf springs.

Axle prep and Install

5) If using a CV style drive shaft in the rear witch is recommended to reduce any chance of vibration follow the pearch mounting procedure below. If not installing a CV style drive shaft witch will probably result in drive line vibration discard information below. While the axle is removed use a torch to remove the factory spring perches and grind clean once removed. Now you can place the axle assembly under the truck and place the new supplied perches on the axle. Jack the axle up to the rear spring applying slight pressure to the assembly making sure the center pin of the springs locates itself in the center hole of the perches. Center the axle to the perches left to right and rotate the axle towards the rear transfer case. Tack weld the perches into place. Place tires back onto the axle and then carefully remove the jackstands and set the vehicle back down.

Install the u-bolt flip kit supplied with the kit and tighten down the u-bolts securing the axle to the springs. Carefully check the trucks shackle angle and the location of the centerline of the axle to the centerline of the fenderwall. Making sure the axle is center in the fenderwalls of the vehicle. If everything looks good carefully jack the vehicle back up and place the jack stands back under the vehicle. Take the u-bolts back off and leaf springs and fully weld the hangers and perches into place. After everything has cooled you can paint and then reassemble the rear suspension. Check torq specs below.

Shocks and Brakes

Notes:

• Do not weld with shocks near your work, weld spatter will damage chrome shock tubes and seals, resulting in loss of oil.
• Install shocks with the "can" up and the shaft down.

6) The shocks are designed in our kit to reuse the factory mount on the frame. You will need to run a ¾ drill bit thru the bushing at the top of the can side for it to fit properly, apply wheel bearing grease inside the bushing or anti seize to help slide the shock onto the frame mount. In the shock box there should be 2 medal sleeves supplied push those into the shock bushing using lubrication. Mount the shock brackets that were supplied onto the shocks and hand tighten at this time. Swing the shock to the axle tube located approximately in the middle of the tube and tack into place, do not weld the mount, it can damage the shock shaft and bushings. Once the mounts have cooled paint and tighten all hardware. You can now mount the extended brake line and parking brake cable. Bleed the brakes as explained in your factory service manual or Chilton, Haynes etc.

Almost done

7) Once again check all components for tightness and alignment. You can now cut off the factory bracket on the frame. Grind and paint. Recheck all bolts within the first 100 miles, also good rule of thumb is to check you rig over before each wheeling trip for loose shackles, u-bolts etc. NOW YOU’RE DONE.

Torq Specs

1) U-bolts 90ft lb
2) Lug nuts 74-77 ft lb