Hey Scotty!
I own a 2002 4Runner SR5 4WD with the original engine/trans getting close to 270K miles. I recently bought it from an old friend, and I enjoy taking it off-road. I don’t do any heavy rock crawling or river crossings, but I enjoy driving through some challenging terrain. Anyways, I’m looking at installing a 2.5” lift for 2 reasons. First, my 265/75/16 AT tires rub a little bit on the frame at full turn, and the lift should fix that. Next, a little bit more ground clearance would be fantastic. I don’t want to affect the drivetrain angles too much, and I’d like to keep my 4Runner running for a looooong time. Would a mind (~2.5”) lift be bad my 4R? If I installed a front diff drop and extended brake lines, would that cover most of the problems? Are there any other aspects I should take into consideration before buying this lift?
Thanks so much,
Cameron
The cares are built based on the engineer's designs to have the optimum performance. So any change will affect it and it is not recommended. With that being said, if you want to use it for off-roading and you need more clearance, I would say go ahead but do not expect to have a maximum lifetime for your vehicle.
I'm ambivalent about that. You can usually lift a truck of that type up to 2" without affecting the geometry too much; the further you go beyond that the more parts you need to change out and the more $ it takes.
But even though 4Runners are reliable, they aren't indestructable. With 270K on the clock, you undoubtedly have suspension and drive train parts that are close to end-of-life; if you put a lift on it now, you will likely find out which ones.
I would say go ahead, but 1) take it to a shop that has extensive experience lifting that generation 4Runner and 2) keep a couple $grand in reserve for unexpected expenses. You would hate to build your dream truck and not be able to enjoy it.
