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Thanks for the reply. Glad to know about the bottoming out issue. I was worried about that and my plan was to attach a bracket that hangs lower. Might be easier still to just attach a piece of 1/4"-3/8" bar stock to extend the flat mounting surface and put the stud lower.
Photo of the latest attempt to get the shock right. You can see the original stud mount hole centered in the axle plate and the new hole I drilled below it.
Wow this is the most specific and helpful post on lifting a Previa, I do a fair amount of dirt/gravel road travel and would like to raise my 91 2WD Previa, what year mustang springs did you use ? and what year Sienna Struts ? Any further word on the prefect rear shocks for this setup?
Thanx Chris H
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbuyan
Thanks for the compliment.
The rear springs are '65 Mustang front springs. RockAuto part # Moog 8088
The struts are 2nd generation ('06-'11)? Sienna. RockAuto part # KYB 334430 & 334431
Starting the lift on a 92 AWD today. Should be done within the week.
I'll post some progress reports & photos, including any significant differences between the '92 and '96.
Also, I'm still fussing with the rear shock setup. Yesterday I moved the bottom mount up to the lower hole I drilled in the axle plate. Results TBD.
On the '91 we're currently working on (I incorrectly said '92 in the previous post) we intend to devise a way to retain the original shocks.
Tbuyan, thanx so much for the specifics! I was going to order the parts right away so I could start mine but since you've started a '91 lift project I'll wait a while before I begin mine.
Chris H
Hopefully everyone is still around, including the OP!
I have a 1996 AT SC that I want to lift. I'm not a mech head, but still handy with wrenches, so please, be gentle. I'm not too concerned about total lift. I'll be off-road, but never anything too aggressive. I mainly want it to not look like a minivan anymore. Here are my questions:
1- For the rear, if I want to keep it simple, is it as easy as just swapping the springs? Zenseeker lead me to this post (after a few clicks) and makes it seem the rear is that easy. 2" is all I want anyway.
2- For the front, can I skip the spacer and just put the new strut in the old ones place? I may have missed the importance of that part of the process. If I understand things right, the machining is to just allow the wider Previa knuckle to fit. Everything else is used as is? If so, I'm set.
In the end, I plan to camperize it. Seats will come out and kitchen will go in behind the driver and passenger. Table for 4-6 will go behind the side door to the back. The table bench seats will be storage and the table will drop to turn the seats into a bed with the help of an extension. I also plan to make the table seats convert to a 3 seat, forward facing bench using the existing rear seat belts (and mounting the rest to the floor ) so I can haul the kids/friends on some adventures. The roof is getting a basket at the front and I'm building a fold out queen-sized tent at the back. With the tent there should be room for 5 people to sleep quite comfortably. Last, I'm building a hitch mount swing rack for propane bottles, spare tire, etc.
Attachment 6057
All in all, I'm looking forward to this little project. A taller stance, roof rack and bigger tires should make this a pretty sweet little rig. Not bad considering I bought the van so I could steal the winter tires - all for a whopping $200. It was when I was pulling one of the front tires that I noticed it was AT and SC. I couldn't bring myself to send the leftovers to the scrap yard.
Thanks to the countless people that have contributed over the years. I might be able to do in a weekend what some of you have spent years researching thanks to your hard work.
PS - I'm also considering cutting tin and building 2" fender flares out of wire mesh/foam. With some elbow grease, I should be able to make them durable enough to stand up to the elements. I'm going to plasti-dip the whole thing when done, so that should seal it up. Pros? Cons? Better ways to skin this cat?
I don't have time to search for the other threads pertaining to lifting, but ALL of the info you are asking is on this forum...Quote:
Originally Posted by ickybuck
Rear: Yes, changing springs does take care of the 2" lift, but you also need to adjust brake proportioning valve, and ideally add bump stop extensions, plus some kind of shock extender. I did not resort to adjustable control arms in the rear, have had no problems.
Front: Tbuyan's is different than mine, mine has adjustable preload/ride height from the coilover setup I built, but looks like your'e not going to get equal lift without the top spacer. This will create an un-level pitch front to rear. You may also benefit from longer brake lines... refer to timsrv's thread. You will need a fresh alignment after messing with front struts.
Good luck!
1- The rear really is that easy, except for the shocks. Just swap in the Mustang springs and adjust the p-valve. Forget the adjustable link rods. Extended bump stops are optional. I haven't found a good solution to the rear shock issue. There are no parts shelf replacements that are 2" longer. I have longer shocks with eyes on both ends mounted to clevis brackets in the stock lower mounts. Works OK, but I'd rather find a way to use the stock units. My pal is running the stock shocks on his, but they top out now and then. Tim's shock mod is prolly the best option so far. BTW, the rear lift displaces the axle to the right an inch or more because of the Panhard rod droop. Poses no vehicle dynamics issue, although it looks kinda funny after you're aware of it. The alignment shop didn't even notice.
2- The front strut spacer simply makes changing the struts much easier next time by eliminating the need to take the dash apart. The added lift is a bonus, although I'm glad to have it. But, yes, you could bolt the new strut directly into the Previa. It will seem a little high in the rear, but with all that origami you intend to put in the back it'll probably level out OK. And, yes, the Previa knuckle must be machined to fit the Sienna strut. And as mountainhick pointed out, you'll need longer front brake hoses.
This is not a cheap project. You'll need to completely strip the front knuckles for the machining shop. That means all new bearings and seals in addition to the machine shop fee. You'll also have to pay someone to strip and reassemble the front knuckles. Don't try this at home, unless you have a press and a bunch of mandrels. New springs, struts/shocks, and tires all around, brake hoses, alignment, and probably something else. I think I spent about $2500 all in, and I did all the labor except the machine work and alignment.
That said, the results are excellent nearly 2 years and 20K miles later. I would do it again without hesitation.
Keep us posted.
tb
Thanks for all the information on this. I have a '92 AWD Manual transmission van that I want to do this with. Anyone with one of these knows they turn about 3700RPM at 70 mph. Part of the reason I want to lift the van is to get those 235 75 r15 tires on it so I can do 80 mph at that RPM. These are estimates because I have not done the math yet, but the goal is to get some big tires on there, possibly even 31s. Yes, i will be cutting and rolling sheetmetal, at least. If anyone has a hi/lo transfer case that will fit, let me know. The 80's breadbox t-cases were a direct fit to the M/T Previa, right? TBUYAN is your '92 lift started? Is it an automatic or manual? The van in question is the second blue one on the left side.
Attachment 6072
We completed the '91 lift about a year and a half ago. Manual trans with breadbox transfer case. Yes. it's a bolt in for manual transmission Previas only. The owner installed 235/75 R15 tires and they fit without any body work, although they certainly rub as you'd expect. Although those tires are great off-road in low range, the van is seriously overgeared on the hiway in hi range - a real dog in the Colorado mountains where he lives. As I mentioned in a previous post, the supercharged Previas can regain some gearing by fitting differentials from unsupercharged Previas, but since yours is unsupercharged you're stuck with no option for lower gearing. So be judicious in your tire selection.
Hi there, thanks to this site and Sammy the well known Seattle previa mechanic, I had enough knowledge and wisdom advice to lift my van in the same way as the above.
So I used the 1965 mustang springs from summit racing and the 2005 Toyota Sienna AWD KYB struts recommended on Zen Seekers website. Unfortunately the fist set of 2005 Toyota Sienna AWD KYB struts I brought on amazon didn't work the lower spring perch was the wrong shape for the Toyota previa's spring coil and was a different part number than Zen Seeker recommended. So i brought the correct part from oreilys for around a hundred dollars more than i would have paid if i wasn't in a hurry and had time to buy online.
I took off the two front knuckles(I did not take out the wheel bearings, I do recommend putting some sorta cloth or seal to protect the bearings from the metal shavings) and brought them to a machine shop, spent a hundred fifty dollars (i had a friend offer to do it for 50 or less, i was out of time and needed it done, seems a 150 stokes the machine shop people, they would have done it for less i could tell) and they shaved an 1/8 inch off both sides of the knuckle (perhaps more accurate measurements where made and cut but as i recalled it was basically exactly an 1/8 inch). I had to really work the struts onto the knuckle because the machine shop didn't shave far enough on the knuckle so i used an c clamp, hammer, a jack and a bit of bending to work the strut cleanly onto the knuckle in the end. probably took an extra hour and half to get the struts on.
I was sold on buying steel braided brake lines for around fifty bucks. They are two inches longer to accommodate for the lift. I simply zip tied the ABS and brake lines to the brackets on the sienna strut and that's been working fine.
I also replaced the strut mounts with KYB brand and unfortunately didn't order the correct coil spring insulators so i reused the old ones and that has been fine. I suspect the junk yard front spring coils are sagging too much so i plan on replacing them when i run across a part i can buy new hopefully, though i have been looking.. a lot and I cant find any.
For the Camber being off I used Moog - Alignment Cam Bolt Kit K90477 I think the part number was different though it worked... I believe... at least it made a world of difference, I still have to take it to get aligned more. its been several thousand miles and tread wear looks pretty even. When i figure out what wheels and tires i want and get an alignment ill post again to see if the camber is sufficiently adjusted. Tires rubbing on the wheel well is all I need to consider now, no worry's about the strut rubbing!
Whole project should cost one around five to seven hundred in parts and custom work from my estimates depending on part prices and how much new stuff one tosses on there.
Took me four days to do, mainly because I had wrong parts, found broken parts (cv axels), had to wait on ordered parts, etc. Otherwise it would have taken me two days, I believe it could be done in one long day providing one had the parts tools and knowledge on hand, the machine shop work lined up and an spare vehicle to run errands. I did all the work myself excluding the machine shop work and the custom brake lines. mmm I also had the coil springs compressed by Sammy, thankfully because the fool before me (junk yard parts) had done the job wrong and had very much misaligned the upper spring perch, only one was damaged. I went to a junk yard and scooped one up for a replacement.
With Kind regards to anyone who gets use out of this post. ~ ; ~
pics?!?
Eeeventually ^ _ ^ ill post pictures. I did spray paint the grey plastic around the whole rig with Rustolum black truck bed liner and I highly recommend it, It looks great.
6/20/18 Well cant say I would recommend the Rustolum Black truck bed liner, any dirt sticks to it for a long while and its relatively hard to clean off. However I think its still in an improvement over the grey, if I do it again ill try another mat black.
this is fantastic! I've never seen one of these lifted before!!!!!
So, your machine shop was able to machine the steering knuckles without disassembling them? That saved you a couple or three hundred bucks in parts and labor for bearings and seals. I'd love to see how he fixtured them in his mill. Do you have any pix?
Didn't take any pictures, I thought about it but my phones usb port was damaged and I worked on several previas (one to many) while doing my lift, my sleep deprived self felt like i didn't have time to document the process.
I called and drove to several metal shops, the two shops that agreed to do the job cocked their head to the side staring at it and then said they could do it. one shop if i recall correctly was concerned about the bearings but when i said i didn't care if they messed them up ill replace them and also that i wasn't going to hold them to their work on the metal shaving job they smiled and agreed to do the job.(they very much so seemed like they knew deeply their trade as old school metal shop experts, though I didn't end up having them do the job) They were concerned because it was an auto part heh basically every metal shop gave a sigh and uhh auto parts when i mentioned what the part was for, but not all of them and they all liked why the part was being worked on; )
I understand the metal shop shaving job to be quite simple and take 5 or 10 min an knuckle, that's what a metal working friend of mine says ultimately i don't know.
Cost of wheel bearings thankfully can be quite cheap for the previa, on rock auto i saw one as cheap as five bucks. I brought mine for around thirty five when I replaced mine on my 91 dx (I loved that van) and had a shop press it in for forty bucks and the seals were several bucks. (so basically a couple hundred if i would have had to do both bearings on my lift project, including food and gas;) ~ ; ~
This is great stuff.
I sure would like to get some 235’s under my rig.
New to Previa ownership and naturally, I'm interested in mods. Found this build thread recently. A friend of mine in Seattle shared a pic with me yesterday - gotta wonder if this van belongs to anyone on this board. Potato quality - can't read the plate.
Attachment 6812
Same color and stance as my Previa, but it's not. I avoid Seattle.