2wd toyota pickup

[Goose69]

Hi, I just got a 1987 toyota pickup 2wd, would putting a lift kit on be stupid?

[rhandwor]

It depends on your money supply. Normally you need the kit,Four new tires more expensive,rims,wheel alignment and ect. It can get expensive and your gas mileage will drop.

[jdmccright]

First off welcome to AF!

Mild lifts aren't unheard of for 2wd trucks, but I think you'll find the availability of parts and lift kits slim pickings compared to a 4wd version. Most of the time for 2wds, people want to raise the front or lower the rear to level out the truck.

The easiest way, but not necessarily the cheapest, is taller tires/wheels. You'll have to make sure you have the fender clearance and you'll have to have the speedo/odo recalibrated for their larger diameter. Your off-the-line acceleration will be slower, but mileage may increase slightly.

Cheapest alternative would be either to swap out the stock front spindles for "leveling" ones (fairly easy) or use a body lift (moderately difficult) or a combo thereof. The spindles are easy...unbolt the caliper, remove the two ball joint nuts, pop them loose and put in the new one. New ball joints wouldn't hurt here if they're old. The body lift consists of thicker isolation mounts and requires jacking up the cab, bed, etc., to fit the new mounts in...usually 8 in all, but if your originals are old and cracked, you might as well take the opportunity.

I've also used some air pressurized shocks in the back to add 1/2" to 1" of rear lift (Monroe "Max-Air" or Gabriel "Airjackers") but will add some ride stiffness when you pump them high...35-45 psi is good for everyday driving. Off-road purists will spit fire, but for the $60-65 it is a cheap lift and are nice to have when you have a heavy load to keep level. I have used both and the Airjackers are smaller in diameter so interference is less an issue. But they can take a higher air pressure to compensate. Install is fairly easy. Just plan the air line route so that it doesn't get kinked, bent, crushed, or melted by the exhaust or other moving suspension parts. I mounted my air valve in the frame (the hole was already there and makes routing easy). I could post pics if desired.

Welcome again and hope this helps!

[fourwd1]

You can also lift the front up to 1.5" with ball joint spacers, and the back with longer shackles. Both fairly easy to install.