daihatsu fourtrak mods

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hi every1 wats occurin

jst bought a new (ish) fourtrak
92 leaf sprung 2.8 td

i wanna fit a sring over axle conversion but spoke to some1 bout it n they said if i did a soa i would have 2 seriously modify the drivetrain any ideas any 1?
also i would lke to put on new springs and 2 inch shackles aswell so about 10-11 inch lift in all Smile tidy but is there any further drawbcks n hw much wrk is involved

gt some insa turbo special track tyres 235/85/16 so should kick mi mates suzuki offroad any day

cheers ad

There is a good write up on

There is a good write up on spoa conversion at, http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=174 , its for a suzuki but the principal is the same. However I would recommend you drive it without the lift and see if you really need it. In my opinion 10-11 inches of lift is going to be too much and you will end up with something that is less capable off road as all it will want to do is tip over. Also 11" of lift is not going to give you any more clearence under the diffs than having standard suspension (assuming the same tyre size). I would guess you want to limit your lift to a couple of inches unless you are going to add some serious width to the truck. I would always advocate cutting wheel arches and adding body lift to provide clearnce for tyres rather than going mad with lift as it keeps your centre of gravity lower. Sorry if that sounds a bit negative but I really do think you need to think carefully about your planned modifactions.
Regards,
Steve

Just to say must agree with

Just to say must agree with above. If you want a pose mobile go for the lift, but go out as well. If you want off road performance try to get the wheels in without any more lift than apsolutly neccesary. After all it's diff clearance that really clinches it most of the time. As well as the centre of gravety thing, think about low branches and such. How many places does a Suzuki SJ go just becouse it's so small?
I plane to put 31 10.50's on a standard Sportrak (once the body is un-pritied enough) by cutting the arches to take them. Think it should just about go without majour modification.

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

Agreement

Must agree with the above comments; Nev made the most appropriate remark, it is under diff clearance which will give the most gain with the least outlay.
One local land Rover owner who proclaimed himself an expert in lifts did something similar to what you are proposing, he lifted his Landie and spent thousands in the process. The end result was a vehicle which did not handle on road, and got stuck off road sooner than before all his conversions. Biting the bullet, he asked my advice, despite the fact this galled him; and we fitted a larger wheel and tyre combination to increase under diff clearance, this increased its potential considerably.

On his first real trip into the wilds, now he could get there, this excessive lift meant it rolled his Landie, nearly killing him in the process. This destroyed his vehicle, and he lost many months of work, as well as many thousands of pounds, he is now unable to walk properly, and the medical experts do not know if he will ever be able to use his right arm properly again.

The moral is simple, stick to tried and tested modifications, which deliver provable results; ensure you have the mechanical expertise to engineer them properly.

This may sound hypocritical from someone who has pushed the boundaries of vehicle engineering, but i have the qualifications and engineering expertise to deliver them. Many other site users have considerable expertise also, so their experiences and use of various modifications need careful consideration before parting with large amounts of cash.

if you raise the center of

if you raise the center of gravity on any vehicle you make is more likely to roll. consider the two wheel brigade, a motor bike compared to a scooter, the scooter has a very low c of g and having ridden both is more akin to riding a greased cat over a hot metal plate, however you bank a two wheel vehicle into corners, a four wheel you dont so it leans out, if your on a flat surface and it breaks away then no problem, untill it hits something that will stop the slide, then inertia takes over and they topple, if your sideways on a gradient, you are in deep brown stuff and its prob going to be coming out of your collar, as far as im concerned the only reason for lifting that high is for flat hard surface wading so your feet stay dry, still if you drop it in mud that is deep enough you still have the fact its going to be stuck, the downside is you then have a longer drop into it when you get out the vehicle, recovery is better if the rope, strap is attached low down as possible or at least to the center line of the wheels, that way your not using the pull to drag the vehicle in deeper-more effort needed, go with bigger wheels, you then have higher diff and axle clearance plus your approach angles are better as well

cheers

thanks for advice guys

not gonna bother get a leaf srung gonna get an independant and not lift it 2 mch then maybe new springs n then fit some 32 inch tyres

can i also lower the gearin due to bigger tyres but not spend 2 much on it?
does any1 kno of any1 who makes/supplys snorkels and winch bumpers?

thanks adam

a simple thing for off roading

We all know that a really good tread pattern on a 4x4 will get you remarkable places, but at the end of the day look at a tractor, see how the huge dimensions of the tyres allow them to go and do what 4x4's can only dream about, its alot to do with under diff clearance, yes suspension lifts and big tyres look cool but i certainly dont want my fourtrak lifted anymore than it is, there too small in width, if you go higher you must go wider, what you need i think is a fairly good lift with a soft flexible suspension and good articulation with big dimension tyres - not width when it comes to tyres, seen to many that sit and spin like that, but thats all my opinion...

Full of ideas but no time to do them!!

www.bloodredoffroad.com
www.milneroffroad.com
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youtube: Redfourtrack

While I do think you should

While I do think you should reconsider the amount of lift you are looking at I will add that I personally don't think there is anything necessarily wrong with spoa it just needs careful planning if it is to be successful. Some thing that people often do when carrying out a spoa is to use flatter springs than standard rather than lift springs as the 4-5" you will gain from the spoa is usally enough. Also if you can fit longer springs (need to relocate the mounts) this will help with the articulation.
Another issue with spoa is that you are likely to increase axle/spring wrap so you will possibly need to build a traction bar to preserve the life of your springs.
Steve

liftin

thanks for advice guys

not gonna bother get a leaf srung gonna get an independant and not lift it 2 mch then maybe new springs n then fit some 32 inch tyres

can i also lower the gearin due to bigger tyres but not spend 2 much on it?
does any1 kno of any1 who makes/supplys snorkels and winch bumpers?

thanks adam

31 10.50's will go in just

31 10.50's will go in just by lifting the front torsion bars to stand the front wheelarches level with the normall back hight. This would suggest that to get the slightly higher tyre in will need little extra lift. However with the 31's on I was rubbing the chassis at full lock, so larger tyres will give you a larger turning circle.
As for the gearing, fit a transfur box out of an earlier 4trak. The transfures are geared diffrently for the diffrent modles. If memory serves:
Lowest, F80 / 85 (2ltr petrol).
Next, F70 / 75 Normally asperated (2.8 Diesel).
Then, F70 / 75 Terbo Diesel (2.8).
Finaly, by F73 / 78 Indipendent (2.8 Diesel).
There may also be others out there. The pick-up LWB may have had a lower ratio, and the intercooled terbo Diesel may have had a higher one.
All of these gearbox / transfure box combo's will bolt straight to your engine, except the petrol. This will need the bell housing and the primary swithed out. Not a big job. Or the transfure can be interchainged from one to anouther.
The only thing to look out for is if your initial transfur is manual or switch opperated. One can be swaped for the other, but it's easier to stick with what is already there...

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.