New Hoes on 4R

[bulldog]

Got around to installing the Donahoes yesterday. So let me go through the whole thing quickly with pics.

Here is my birthday present as some of youhave seen from the other thread. Must say it is very nicely packaged.


Installation was a breeze and removing the OME was pretty easy too, no extended studs, etc to deal with. Also the bottom of the Hoes are slightly smaller making installation easier. Just remember to put in the top and tighten 2 nuts on the Hoes, they have a heim type joint at the top making moving it breeze compared to the stock or OME top plates.

Here is a Hoe compared to the OME strut.


I noticed that the Hoes are sligtly longer than the OME strut extended, about 3/8" longer (1/8" longer than with the Toyotec top spacer on the OME). SO probably 1/2" or so longer than stock, yet no issue with the A-Arm binding or rubbing against the coilover.

One thing to note is the way to mount the bottom of the Hoe. The long spacer is towards the front and NOT the back as on the 3rd Gen 4R/Tacos. This leaves planty of clearance for the swaybar and driveshaft.


Part of the kit is a swaybar relocator, which bolts into the stock frame location and moves the swyabar mount forward by 1/2" or so and down by 3/8" - 1/2" or so.



So after installation this is what it looks like.


I put some Boeshield on the Hoe threads to make adjustment easier, but I assume any penetrating oil would work. This seems to be recommended as adjusting the coilover was a breeze, plenty of holes to work with and just keep the supplied wrench flat side down.

[bulldog]

Ok so here are my impressions of driving.

Right of the bat I noticed a very bad clunck when going over uneven pavement and curbs. It was really bad. Needless to say I was concerned at first as I knew I torqued everythign down properly. After a bit of investigation I found out it was the swaybar hitting my bend skidplate (something you people with clucnks might want to check). A combination of the swaybar relocation and a bend out of shape skidplate cuased this. Nothing a BFH couldn't solve though. So after a good pounding the skid went back and all was well.

The ride is definitely an improvement over the OME struts, it feels softer over speedbumps yet more controlled over uneven surfaces. Handling is also improved and flatter during corners, guess 10% or so stiffer coils would do it. The OMEs are good, I just like these better so far. Time will tell though I only have driven them 70 miles or so.

What was interesting to note was than they say the Hoes are adjusted for 2" of lift from the factory. Yet mine gave a little over 3" on the passenger side (same as my OME lift I had 884s with one trimpacker and the Toytec 1/4" top spacers) and about 3/8" less on the driver side. After cranking 3 turns on the driver side it was pretty level. So my front is around 37" with well worn Revos at this point. So expect about 1/4" -1/2" more on V6 4Rs.

This also goes to my theory that Tacomas (what the Hoes were originally designed for) comes about 1-1.5" higher form the factory than 4Rs. I looked at it when My 4R was in for a service adn you can definitely see the top A-Arms on the Taco sitting much lower than teh 4R arms.

Will see if these settle at all, these are not supposed to sag though, but time will tell. So far they look good to give me 3-3.5" lift with dual batt, ARB and winch, but will only knwo once I have done it and they have more miles.

So far I give them a BIG

[r0cky]

Lucky guy, that looks very nice and I hope you have lots of fun testing them out some more!

[Cruiserhead]

Nice stuff!
I think with the 2.5" body and progressive rate dampening, the Hoes will do great
Look fwd to seeing how they hold up- seems like they have a great rep tho.

[expat]

Cool. Wish I could afford a Hoe or two

[Jared]

Originally Posted by bulldog

Will see if these settle at all, these are not supposed to sag though, but time will tell. So far they look good to give me 3-3.5" lift with dual batt, ARB and winch, but will only knwo once I have done it and they have more miles.

So far I give them a BIG

First off, congrats, you'll love them.

I've had my Hoes for about 5k now and they haven't seemed to settle or sag any. If they ever do you can just give them a couple of turns!

The first time you head over washboards, you will be amazed!

[Joel]

The shorter, stiffer spring doesn't mean less articulation?

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by No-IP.com

The shorter, stiffer spring doesn't mean less articulation?

Total wheel travel with the Hoes should be slightly more than with the normal OMEs (without top spacer) as the extended lenght is slightly more and the bumpstop stops the up travel. However the stiffer spring rate over the OME and stock will limit side to side flex with the swaybar in place. The Hoes have a 650lb/in rate, while the OMEs have 590lb/in and stock I believe for the V8 is in the 500-550 range.

I will need to test it out, but the biggest thing on the front is the swaybar holding flex back. So I'm considering to just remove the swaybar on certain trips at the campsite, etc. where flex will be important for wheeling. Damn swaybar design has not allowed for quick discos and I have not been able to figure out a way to do it either.

[Joel]

A lot of the taco guys on ttora that run COs up front have removed their sways permanently.

[05sport4x4]

Great write-up.
Keep us updated with your impressions. Can’t wait to hear your impressions of them off road. I like the idea of the adjustable height coils plus improved handling.

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by No-IP.com

A lot of the taco guys on ttora that run COs up front have removed their sways permanently.

Yeah I know, but my concern is that with a bullbar and winch upfront the 4R will still plow through corners without a swaybar. The V8 4R carries a bit more weight that the Tacos. I tried to run without a swaybar when I had the Daystar spacers in and the front end would dive on every fast corner, very unsafe to to drive IMHO. WHo knows maybe it will work with the Hoes, but then again it takes like 10-15 minutes at most to drop the skid and remove the swaybar (just need to figure out a quick way to unbolt the link from the spindle with the wheels on). Like everything else it will take some time and experimentation to see what yields the best results, will keep you guys posted.

[DaveC]

What do you have in the rear, did you leave an OME set there?

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by DaveC

What do you have in the rear, did you leave an OME set there?

Nope I'm using a custom setup at the moment. It is supposed to be published soon in a mag and they asked me not to make it public till then. If you are looking at a setup right now I can PM you the info if you want, but it is not to be shared till later. I still need to make a couple more adjustments to the rear before it will be good for my use. ANd then at some point I will get a rear bumper with tire carrirer and I will have to revisit the rear again. At least in the front I should eb able to just crank up the Hoes a little for a bumper and winch and be done with it.

[my034runner]

I think that I have a way to go. I think that I'm going to use one of 4 front setups: Donohoe coil over + UCA's or Sway away coil over + UCA's, or Camburg coil over + UCA's. But, then I talked to Sarah @ AllPro Off Road. She said they about to release their new coil over w/ UCA's this Feb. She said that it's set up for the 2nd gen Tacoma's, which should be the same as the 4th gen. 4Runner. They're using Walker Evan hd shocks, with or with out remote reservoir's and adjustable, with 650# coil springs. She said that they have been perfecting parts where they feel everyone else has failed. One important thing, that their sway bar relocate will work, without having to disconnect or having to buy a replacement. But, the question is what to do with the rear? She's going to check and see if I can get just the rear OME hd. But they don't have body lifts, and neither do a few other place that I've checked on. Who sells the body lift? I've checked 4wheel parts, AllPro, Off Road Warehouse, Slee, ad a couple of others. Someone point me to where I can get at least 1 1/2" lift (poly only, I don't think that I want metal) I need to get this equipment put on by the 44th annual Tierra Del Sol Off Road Safari @ Truckhaven in California on the first weekend of March.
[url=http://www.tds4x4.com/]http://www.tds4x4.com//URL]


Although this is more than I wanted to spend on this truck, I think that it will be better than the Revtek kit that I have now, not that there's anything wrong with that. But these items should help my sagging in the back, and get my tires out of my wheel wells a little. Any thoughts as to what I'm thinking?

P.S. I don't want to refer that I'm cheap, but I still have to save up $$$ for the eventual build up of my874runner.

[bulldog]

You don't have to buy UCAs with coilovers, or that is the case with Donahoe and SAW at least. The 2.0 SAWs are cheaper than the donahoes and you don't need to relocate the swaybar or need a new swaybar with it. That might not be the case with the Allpros. From what I have read and heard DOnahoes are the best, but also the most expensive COs followed by SAW and Camburg. Allpro does not seem to rate as high as those brands, but they are cheaper. TTORA board have lots of CO users so it might be worthwhile to do some research on it (I spend a lot of time on that board before deciding). Besides all of the current UCAs availible tend to be noisy, at least the new designs allow you to grease the bushings without taking them off. I'm waiting to see how the stock UCAs last with the COs, and maybe see when Donahoe release their own UCAs how well they do (at least a year out).

PM me on the rear as their is probably a far cheaper solution for you.

[Dealmaker]

try Roger Brown / 4crawler.com

Originally Posted by my034runner

.... Who sells the body lift? I've checked 4wheel parts, AllPro, Off Road Warehouse, Slee, ad a couple of others. Someone point me to where I can get at least 1 1/2" lift (poly only, I don't think that I want metal)

[r0cky]

Originally Posted by Dealmaker

try Roger Brown / 4crawler.com

Yep, most 4th gens with a body lift got theirs from Roger.

And bulldog, arg, I'm still anxious to hear that rear set up explained!!

[my034runner]

Originally Posted by Dealmaker

try Roger Brown / 4crawler.com

I need to call him tomorrow. I'm on his site, there's a ton of info, maybe easier to just ask him than it is to try and find time to go through all of that. But, seeing that a lot of you seem to have this kit, if I go 1.5" - 2", is there anything else that's needed? Do I need to drop the radiator, change or add any hoses or any other custom mods that are needed? I need to have enough time to get this as well as whatever kit or set up that I change my suspension to, finished before the first weekend of March for the TDS Safari @ Truckhaven.

[r0cky]

Originally Posted by my034runner

I need to call him tomorrow. I'm on his site, there's a ton of info, maybe easier to just ask him than it is to try and find time to go through all of that. But, seeing that a lot of you seem to have this kit, if I go 1.5" - 2", is there anything else that's needed? Do I need to drop the radiator, change or add any hoses or any other custom mods that are needed? I need to have enough time to get this as well as whatever kit or set up that I change my suspension to, finished before the first weekend of March for the TDS Safari @ Truckhaven.

Definitely call and talk to him, or email him if you are confused. But no, you do not need to drop the radiator or change any hoses or anything like that ... then again, I have a 1.25" BL, so perhaps someone with more can chime in.

[my034runner]

Originally Posted by r0cky

Definitely call and talk to him, or email him if you are confused. But no, you do not need to drop the radiator or change any hoses or anything like that ... then again, I have a 1.25" BL, so perhaps someone with more can chime in.

I'm looking all over this voluminous web site of his, but where the hell is the damn phone #? Anybody know the #?