1988 Samurai Turned Buggy

[Byro]

You’ll get all the build specs you’ll need this weekend man. Two of the guys are still Sami nerds and should be able to get ya squared away on what ya need.

Why hasn’t anyone said link it yet?

 

[FleshEater]

Thats what people don't get.

"Just swap Toyota axles"

"Just use yj leafs"

"Just swap in a 1.6"

The shit is all but dried up and you're lucky if you find anything remotely reasonably priced.

If a few hundred for leafs is too expensive, you're probably in the wrong hobby, at least this decade :(

That’s why I buy every Suzuki I find for $350 or less. Toyota stuff is gone over here. I can’t even believe Wuz still had this stuff.

You’ll get all the build specs you’ll need this weekend man. Two of the guys are still Sami nerds and should be able to get ya squared away on what ya need.

Why hasn’t anyone said link it yet?

I’m uh, learning all this lingo and figuring out what it all does. I’ve never built a vehicle on leaves.

Linking crossed my mind…but I’m learning how to do enough, I don’t need that right now. Maybe later.

 

[FleshEater]

What exactly am I looking for from BDS, YotaAtieToo ? They’re all lift springs…and I don’t see any 1st gen Toyota pick ups.

Tomorrow I’ll measure those Toyota springs I got off Wuz and see what they are. He can’t remember, but they were lift springs, I believe and were SPOA.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

What exactly am I looking for from BDS, YotaAtieToo ? They’re all lift springs…and I don’t see any 1st gen Toyota pick ups.

Tomorrow I’ll measure those Toyota springs I got off Wuz and see what they are. He can’t remember, but they were lift springs, I believe and were SPOA.

Bds doesn't make early Toyota stuff as far as I know. You can look at their website to get an idea of what the YJ leafs look like, but they only list lift kits. I'd think you'll want the 3" lift version.

As far a Toyotas look at old man emu either 79-83 or 84-89 Toyota pick rear leafs. They'll be a mild lift also, like 2-3"

 

[FleshEater]

Bds doesn't make early Toyota stuff as far as I know. You can look at their website to get an idea of what the YJ leafs look like, but they only list lift kits. I'd think you'll want the 3" lift version.

As far a Toyotas look at old man emu either 79-83 or 84-89 Toyota pick rear leafs. They'll be a mild lift also, like 2-3"

This is if I’m doing SPUA, right?

I really liked that Sami CoveCrawler posted. That’s why I found the stock leaves.

Basically whatever I buy, I’m going to have to just get it under this this, and figure out where I want them mounted.

 

[Covecrawler]

This is if I’m doing SPUA, right?

I really liked that Sami CoveCrawler posted. That’s why I found the stock leaves.

Basically whatever I buy, I’m going to have to just get it under this this, and figure out where I want them mounted.

SPUA will make it easier to keep it low. You can achieve the same look I had with any spring listed above. I had roughly 3-4” of lift over stock, 3” stretch in the front. I forget how much in the back. It had 94” wheelbase.

My only issue with lift springs under a samurai is I’ve never had a set that weren’t stiff as hell. Most of the lift springs will probably work with half the leaves thrown in the scrap pile.

2.5” lift BdS would probably work well mounted how I had mine, but setup SPUA.

BDS 004251 Front 42.5" x 2" Leaf Spring for Jeep CJ5 CJ7 Scrambler w/ 2.5" Lift

In the rear I like the Toyota offset pin, for better departure. Raising the spring hanger was a big plus too since they hang so low in the rear stock.
The OME CS009R 2” lift spring may work well in the back SPUA.

You could also run the CS009R on all 4 corners.

 

[ParadisePWoffrd]

Hes running 35s so them sticking out shouldnt be much of an issue. Ive had a lot of spring combinations on samurais and stock yjs with the spring clamps bent out were number 1 followed by stock rear yotas, And third samurai rears all around with the bottom leaf band sawed off at the block leaving a chunk there as a 5/8 thick block and then bending out the clamps.

I was going to say, I like stock rear yotas. The offset pushes them for me.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

This is if I’m doing SPUA, right?

I really liked that Sami CoveCrawler posted. That’s why I found the stock leaves.

Basically whatever I buy, I’m going to have to just get it under this this, and figure out where I want them mounted.

Most likely spua will work better with "lift" springs.

SPUA will make it easier to keep it low. You can achieve the same look I had with any spring listed above. I had roughly 3-4” of lift over stock, 3” stretch in the front. I forget how much in the back. It had 94” wheelbase.

My only issue with lift springs under a samurai is I’ve never had a set that weren’t stiff as hell. Most of the lift springs will probably work with half the leaves thrown in the scrap pile.

2.5” lift BdS would probably work well mounted how I had mine, but setup SPUA.

BDS 004251 Front 42.5" x 2" Leaf Spring for Jeep CJ5 CJ7 Scrambler w/ 2.5" Lift

In the rear I like the Toyota offset pin, for better departure. Raising the spring hanger was a big plus too since they hang so low in the rear stock.
The OME CS009R 2” lift spring may work well in the back SPUA.

You could also run the CS009R on all 4 corners.

The ome rears I have in my 81 are very soft. I had to add an over load leaf the po pulled to keep them from going negative to easy. They're still too soft for the front of a Toyota imo.

The bds 3" springs I had were also too soft for 4cy 4runner and I ended up going with the 4.5" (3 leaf vs 4)

The trail gear rear springs I have in the front of my samurai in spua are great, much softer than the stock YJs in the back.

I'm pretty confident these would all work well for what he wants to do. I'm. Not a fan of flat stock leafs any more. Too much wrap and no flex with out going way negative.

 

[FleshEater]

Here’s a closer pic of the Toyota leaves from Wuz.

Eye bolt to eye bolt straight across is 44 1/4”. Length along spring, not including eye bolts) is about 43”. 2 1/2” wide.

And free.

There is so much information here about springs and set ups…I have no idea what to do.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Looks like a front Toyota leaf, don't use that, not worth it.

 

[DannyK]

I ran stock YJs SPUA on my Samurai with great success. I had 34" LTBs with a fair amount of body cutting.

 

[2big bronco]

Ok, went for a walk and got some pictures of non stock setups.

First is 2" ome springs with lengthened shakle under axle with 30x11.50 sx's

Next is new stock leafs sprung over with 31s

Here is tg 3" yota springs over axle on 31s. and +1" shackle lifted samurai on 235s behind it.

This is roughly the amount of fender triming necessary to clear 235s wheeling hard with hacked up stock leafs.

14" oris and 39s

2" lift springs otherwise stock

Maybe tommorow ill walk a little further and get some yj leaf pictures. I think I have spring over and spring under

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Ok, went for a walk and got some pictures of non stock setups.

There you go flaunting your wealth around again

Here is tg 3" yota springs over axle on 31s. and +1" shackle lifted samurai on 235s behind it.

Looks like this one has had a little more work done than just slapping springs in.

Does show how the frame should be lengthened correctly though. When I did my first Sami. I made the mistake of just adding ~6" to the frame. The problem is that the rails point down after the motor mounts.

 

[2big bronco]

There you go flaunting your wealth around again



Looks like this one has had a little more work done than just slapping springs in.

Does show how the frame should be lengthened correctly though. When I did my first Sami. I made the mistake of just adding ~6" to the frame. The problem is that the rails point down after the motor mounts.

Everything from the frame down was actually done well on that one. From the frame up leaves a lot to be desired. Ill grab some more pics tommorow of the important details.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Everything from the frame down was actually done well on that one. From the frame up leaves a lot to be desired. Ill grab some more pics tommorow of the important details.

Thats a nice way of putting it

I'd like to do some front zuk shackles like the old formula toys used to run in the rear. That and some frenched in hangers, I think you could go spoa in the front to gain some clearance while maintaining a low ride hieght.

Pic for reference

 

[FleshEater]

Ok, went for a walk and got some pictures of non stock setups.

First is 2" ome springs with lengthened shakle under axle with 30x11.50 sx's

Next is new stock leafs sprung over with 31s

Here is tg 3" yota springs over axle on 31s. and +1" shackle lifted samurai on 235s behind it.

This is roughly the amount of fender triming necessary to clear 235s wheeling hard with hacked up stock leafs.

14" oris and 39s

2" lift springs otherwise stock

Maybe tommorow ill walk a little further and get some yj leaf pictures. I think I have spring over and spring under

Gosh, you have some absolutely awesome specimens out there. Especially that last one.

 

[Byro]

Anyone ever use XJ springs? I know they aren’t terribly long and they have an offset pin. That and they can still be found in pull a fart yards.

 

[Covecrawler]

Anyone ever use XJ springs? I know they aren’t terribly long and they have an offset pin. That and they can still be found in pull a fart yards.

I had them in the front of this Toyota, I loved them, but they’d be too long for a samurai.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Stock XJ leafs are too flimsy imo. So are the Toyotas, but at least you get a mil wrap to keep the main leaf alive.

 

[2big bronco]

Stock XJ leafs are too flimsy imo. So are the Toyotas, but at least you get a mil wrap to keep the main leaf alive.

Yep, its really weird how different springs react on different vehicles... take 63" chevys for example. They will support a half chord of oak in the bed of a full size truck towing a trailer.... and all of the sudden they are super flexy on a mini truck

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Yep, its really weird how different springs react on different vehicles... take 63" chevys for example. They will support a half chord of oak in the bed of a full size truck towing a trailer.... and all of the sudden they are super flexy on a mini truck

Well the 63"s come in 2, 3, and 4 pretty commonly and maybe even more in heavier trucks. I think most of the Toyota pickup guys are running 2 leaf? Mine in the 81 are 4 leaf, but it's a 5 seater now.

The kids bone stock XJ at my work has majorly negative leafs maybe they would be OK in a zuk if they weren't all 200k miles+

Maybe I'm picky, but I won't install leafs without mil wrap and I'm pretty much against junkyard leafs. They all just seem to bend easy except 63s. Free or cheap leafs aren't all that cheap after you build all the mounts, driveshafts and steering for them then they suck. The exception is if you go with a common leaf that is also available in the aftermarket like YJs or Toyotas. I don't think ~$120 per leaf for brand new is bad at all.

 

[2big bronco]

Maybe you can get someone from the reno thread to grb some of these from Amber

 

[FleshEater]

Maybe you can get someone from the reno thread to grb some of these from Amber

What Reno thread?

 

[2big bronco]

What Reno thread?

In gcc there is at least 1 "what to do in reno" threads in the first couple pages where there are some locals.

 

[FleshEater]

So I ran wheelbase numbers. Sami stock is almost 80”. The Tracker is 86.6”.

I’m thinking the 7”-8” stretch would be optimal. If I could do that SPUA it’d be awesome. I can add spacers to the front if need be and keep the rear much narrower to navigate these trails.

 

[FleshEater]

Started refreshing the front Toyota axle.

Since it’s a winter project, I might as well keep it as clean as possible.

This hub was full just goopy dark green muck. I’m assuming the outer seals are shot and dumping gear oil into the hubs.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Started refreshing the front Toyota axle.

Since it’s a winter project, I might as well keep it as clean as possible.

This hub was full just goopy dark green muck. I’m assuming the outer seals are shot and dumping gear oil into the hubs.

No way! Not in a Toyota axle

 

[FleshEater]

Anyone know where to buy separate internal parts for the hubs?

I was cleaning up the other hubs I got from Wuz and the 4th one seems to have either an incorrect gear or it’s badly worn.

And a before pic, just because, of the ones that were under the Toyota pickup before.

They all cleaned up nicely.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Most of the zuk parts should swap, except the inner gear.

If you're replacing anything, just go with aftermarket chromo. But fwiw, most chromo birf kits come with a chromo inner gears.

 

[skyhiranger]

I am running SPUA custom YJ leafs on my samurai. I currently run 34x10.50 LTBs on it. It is a mix of YJ leafs and Blazer/S10 leafs to give it some lift, since I moved the rear spring hangers up and frenched the front spring hangers into the frame.
Moving the spring hangers up made a world of difference on it to keep from getting hung up on rocks/ledges. IIRC, I gained around 4" of clearance at the hanger by moving the rear spring hangers up. Of course the fixed ends of the springs have been relocated, so I am still running the stock wheelbase with YJ length springs and the fenders were cut by approximately following the original fender flare lines (since my samurai was pretty much as rusty as the OPs is).