Toyota IFS Truck - Custom, Modified Truck Suspension

The off-road performance of '86 and newer IFS Toyota trucks leaves a lot to be desired, especially when compared to the earlier-model straight-axle trucks. We prefer to build our trails rigs with straight-axles too, but wondered if we could build a more versatile long-travel IFS setup that would perform well off-road without compromising the ride quality or on-road ride quality.

Total Chaos Fabrication of Corona, CA, has been building desert-racing-inspired IFS systems for over a decade. Their Gen. II Caddy Kit for '86-95 4WD Toyota trucks increases wheel-travel and tire clearance with minimal suspension lift to improve high-speed off-road performance. The Chrom-Moly upper and lower A-arms are extended 3.25" per-side and use 2.5x8" stroke coil-over shocks to dampen 12" of wheel-travel without eliminating four-wheel drive. The setup clears 33" tires (with fiberglass fenders) and is adjustable to achieve anywhere between 2-4" lift. As a secondary benefit, these suspension modifications actually improve the ride quality and the truck should handle better than stock. We ordered a Gen II Caddy Kit from Off-Road Warehouse to install on a '89 4Runner to compare the performance of an IFS overhaul to a straight-axle conversion.

All of the components included in the Total Chaos Gen II Caddy Kit are shown here. To complete the installation we ordered a pair of Sway-A-Way Racerunner 2.5x8" remote reservoir coil-over shocks and two 500x18" Eibach coil-springs. These race-quality coil-over shocks should allow us to really dial-in the spring-rate and shock-valving for a great ride and improved performance on/off-road.

Stock Suspension
Removing the stock suspension components on any older truck is a wild card. Almost every bolt and bushing in the front-end of our truck was seized in place. After removing the shocks from our `89 4Runner, we still couldn't cycle the stock suspension through its limited range of travel because the factory bushings were so worn-out and dried-up that they were holding the suspension in place.

With the vehicle supported on jack-stands and the front wheels removed, we began by removing the torsion bars, shocks and anti-sway-bar.
With the vehicle supported on jack-stands and the front wheels removed, we began by removi
We removed the preload from the rear torsion adjuster bolt and then removed the rear torsion socket from the frame mount. Moving to the front mount, we unbolted the torsion bar socket from the upper A-arm.
We removed the preload from the rear torsion adjuster bolt and then removed the rear torsi
The tie-rods were removed from the knuckle, along with the flexible brake lines. Then the hubs were disassembled in order to remove the CV's from the spindle.
The tie-rods were removed from the knuckle, along with the flexible brake lines. Then the