Well thanks to all the info here I was able to lift my van. New shocks and spacers and a torsion crank now she's sitting pretty. Still rubbing a hair on big bumps up front. Still a little more shaving to do. Putting the custom roof rack on soon as well. I will post a photo of it when Im done. Just wanted to thank everyone here for the info.
Jay
Looks awesome!!! One of my 5 speed 4wd vans has the same window set-up as yours (2 little slanted ones in the back on each side). One of these days I'm going to lift it with the 4 runner upper ball joint mod. That will probably not happen for a long while though. Tim
Nice work! Looks like my same setup....are those general grabbers? I sure like how they look and perform but the rubbing is an issue for me too....
Thanks Tim! They are my favorite windows for these vans. I love them. Hope you get the ball joint mod on. I am really interested in that route.
Originally Posted by timsrv
Yeah they are General Grabbers. I love them. But man the rubbing is a pain. I will be grinding a lot off today I think in hopes of getting this problem resolved. Did you do any cutting or grinding yourself?
Anyone who has done this and knows of the general problem areas let me know. I have a good idea but I'm worried I will have to take a bit off the corner of the doors as well.
Here's some pics of what you'll need to do. These are General Grabber's too. Pics courtesy of Gevans (member here). Tim
I removed those small trim pieces that go just in front of the tires and bent the tabs up and back with a hammer. Didn't want to grind them off incase I ever want to mess with putting the trim back on. My passenger side front rubs against the mud flap when I turn to extremes but I know its coming so I just do those slowly and deal with the noise. My lift has taken most of the rubbing spots out of play so for the most part its a non-issue for me.
So what did you end up doing? Six cranks on the torsion bar and spacers in the rear?
That's my next project.
Not sure how many cranks it ended up being. But yes. Also you will need new shocks that will reach.
Oh yeah, those too. What did you end up using?
Wow the van looks great lifted, check these out for down the road ideas!!!
oooooohhh......aaaaaahhhh😍😍😍
Nice glad it worked out. A loooooooong time ago with the first van, i put 215 75 14 tires upfront and 235 75 14 on the rear. It was a leaf sprung cargo van. I didnt know about the torsion bars at that time. I ended up trimming the doors heavily. It wasnt so bad, but rain did come in. Next time i will be more selective, i may even re hem the bottom of the door and fender? So its nice and smooth.
Quick question for anyone running with the Grabbers. I recently lifted my '88 4x4 auto with the torsion bar crank in the front and coil/spacer & Bilstein shocks in the rear. Anyways, I went to the local Discount Tire today to place an order for a set of these and nearly got to the part where we shake hands when the guy working the counter told me that I would have to buy new rims as well. I am running the original 14" rims that came with the van and know that a lot of people run those tires on the stock 4x4 rims. He told me that the width of the rim is "too narrow to be within our specs," to mount safely with the Grabbers. It being a Saturday and later on in the afternoon I stopped by Walmart (I know) and had their head mechanic look at it. I asked if there would be any problem putting those rims on those tires and he gave a shrug and told me that he didn't see any issue.
So, to anyone with the Grabbers, are there any real concerns with mounting 27x8.5Rx14 tires on the stock rims or was the guy trying to throw me for a loop?
Also, thanks to Tim and everyone who contributes to this site. My van would have been done multiple times over if it wasn't for my stubbornness and all the great information here!
Technically our rims are too narrow (just barely) but many of us have ran these tires on stock rims with no issue. According to the specs given on General's website, approved rim widths (in inches.) = 6.0" - 7.5". Our stock rim width (4wd) is 5.5". Most tire guys won't have an issue with installing these, but some will. When it comes down to it, the liability falls on the installer, so you can't blame the guy who refuses to install (technically he's in the right). I personally don't have an issue with these and happen to be running tires this size on stock rims (IMO, these are possibly the best tires out there for the 4wd). BTW, you'll probably need to do some minor trimming and pounding on your front fender wells to make these fit without rubbing. Tim
I recently wore out a set of LT27x8.50R14 BFGoodrich AT and am currently running the same size in another brand with no issues. I have a coworker whose brother in law has worked his way up through the Discount Tire ranks over the last few years. They apparently have gotten a lot more picky about mounting any questionable tire/wheel combinations. My coworker has a '87 Corolla FX-16 GTS that's lowered and has the wheels hanging out the side with the tires stretched on and wheel lip sticking out. It looks a lot like this.
He bought it this way from his brother in law and the last time he needed tires he was told they weren't going to be allowed to do those anymore. It was ironic since his brother in law built it this way and he bought it from him for this look. Now he needs to buy different wheels.
No issues here running on the same set up with the Grabbers. Have had them on for about 5,000 miles now. The major chain tire stores locally all told me they couldn't do it due to liability. So I drove a couple more miles down the road to a small ma and pa shop who said they'd do it.
Thanks for the prompt answers guys, I put in an order for the grabbers this evening and should be rolling on them next week! I ended up purchasing the tires from Walmart as they had a good price for them and the manager said he'd mount them for me. It being Walmart and all I've got a backup plan and I believe I can get the guy at the mom and pop shop down the street to mount them for a 30 pack. Also I saved around $100 going this route than what Discount Tire nearly had me for so there's that.
I also need to buy a set of manual hubs this weekend. The original automatic hubs are hell spawn and I broke one on reassembly after replacing a rotor that gave up the ghost :/ Once those are done my van will be upgraded as much as I can (financially) justify for now, unless a totaled 4x4 manual appears somewhere in Arizona.
I have a question for the folks who have lifted their vans using the coil spring spacer method, hope you don't mind my asking it here. I thought it might be good to consolidate all this good info into one thread. I am happy to post progress as I go along. I am lifting a 87 manual 4x4 cargo, in the rear, do you leave the stock spring isolators in and use the mr gasket 1285 around them?
Also I have one side installed without the stock insulator on the bottom and the spacer looks a bit off center .. Sketchy since the spring isn't flat like the top. Is it possible to run both spacers at top? Or I'm guessing that is equally as sketchy with so much rubber on one side of the spring.
thanks in advance, I will get some pictures up soon hopefully.
my plan is to try and run a 215-75-15 hankook mud tire, I have one arriving today I was planning on test fitting before buying the rest.
that looks really nice!
Not sure if you have already done it but if you search for crusty lift here in the forum you will see he did some slight modifications and kept the old bushings in place so it was a true 2" lift. I couldn't because mine were so toasted they had to be tossed. But if yours are good you can.
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