Trail Gear Hi-Steer install on my 1985 Toyota 4x4

Trail Gear Hi Steer Kit on Amazon: amzn.to/38fO6fd
IFS Steering Box Frame Mount plates: amzn.to/3ruIOUM
Here's some old footage from when I installed a Trail Gear Hi-Steer kit on my 1985 Toyota Pickup 4WD. I included a little bit of Wellsville off-roading toward the end of the video.
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6thGearGarage

[@evanhughes1083]

thanks for taking the time to film this and put it up for others as a reference, very helpful

[@WheelinPNW]

Gettin ready to do Emu springs and high steer on my 85 factory Straight axel. This video helped a ton as far as the power steering unit positioning which was hanging me up pretty good! Thanks!

[@6thGearGarage]

That was the hardest info to find online. There's no exact measurement, people just say as far forward as possible.

[@manosmanolidakis2768]

Did you do it man? I have OME 2,5" springs, I am not sure if it fits

[@WheelinPNW]

@@manosmanolidakis2768 Yes I used ARB/OME CS009R leaf springs. They're technically 2.5" lift springs for the rear, but you flip them around and put them up front, provides about 4-5" of lift and pushes your axel a good bit forwards. You'll most likely need a longer front driveline, I did.

[@WheelinPNW]

@@manosmanolidakis2768 also you remove the smallest spring from them, the little short overload spring

[@manosmanolidakis2768]

No I have front and rear set. Too much lift for me the other way

[@landbasedfishingnz8109]

Love the vid! Taught me everything I need to know to do it to my toyota hilux

[@Ironsights85]

oh man! sweet truck! makes me miss my old 85, rolled it when i was 17, not a straight part left on the poor thing.

[@skipperskipper2936]

I watched till you said wellsville. I was looking for atv ps. I m from Jamestown ny. 1966. Never went back. You must know that youtuber straight east of you over in xxxx

[@mikedeyoung7219]

Great video man. Thank you for all the detail really appreciated since I am about to do the same on my 85 4runner

[@6thGearGarage]

It's a great setup. It's been over 4 years now and I haven't had any issues.

[@NoSirAnder19]

Cone washers is the best invention ever hehe i love em

[@cbh148]

Dunno if you had that Simply Orange bottle out in the garage for draining fluids into, but they work great -- and a plastic milk jug, cut in half, fits so tightly into the top of the Simply Orange bottle to make a funnel that you'd think they were designed this way. Oh and the OJ tastes good too haha

[@martinez1701a]

Man I'm not into imports but I always loved those mid 80's Toyota trucks, little underpowered but beautiful! Think my next project might be an 85 if I can find one for the right price and not beat to hell.

[@6thGearGarage]

Do yourself a favor and shop in the south/west. Everything out here in the midwest/northeast is rusting away.

[@tristanmoore2154]

You don't need to be fast when you look that good!

[@webkikif]

Nice pretty cool .. i really wish i knew more about cars

[@6thGearGarage]

KZbin is a great place to learn!

[@zakaroonetwork777]

You Want TOE In. Never Toe Out! Toe In Toe In. Toe In.

[@anthony202586637]

What is toe in and toe out ?

[@rdmanone]

I've put 1/8th in toe in on my 87 Toyota 4x4 and it's perfect. Toe in for sure.

[@Sfcustoms117]

strange thing is mines an 85 and has the side motion steering box buts its also efi and independent front diff. awesome truck by the way

[@6thGearGarage]

Never seen anything like that before... thanks!

[@blowinkk9396]

This truck is beautiful! I wish my 90 4Runner was this nice!

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks! The only downside to having a nice truck now is i don't wheel it off road as hard as I used to.

[@blowinkk9396]

Yup that's how it goes. Way to many hours of hard work into and don't want to wreck it

[@Jay-fq8uz]

I think I have this same setup and omg is it scary to drive on a windy road in the hills especially downhill….. def don’t like to go over 40.

[@6thGearGarage]

Mine is fine at highway speeds. You might have other issues somewhere in the steering system or even excessive wear in the front knuckle bearings.

[@Jay-fq8uz]

@@6thGearGarage mine is fine on straights roads and highway no problem 70mph. I’m saying for windy roads. I also dont have a steering stabilizer though so that might be the problem.

[@vibmx]

You appear to missing the spacer on the leaf spring mount driver side. Your truck probably sits 3/4” lower driver side

[@AndysAutoCarePlus]

Beautiful truck and great video!

[@Underdogsaccount]

Great video. Thanks for posting

[@teamtoyota9048]

Beautiful truck. I'm building mine

[@6thGearGarage]

Subscribed!

[@athaothao2880]

nice trail gear toyota offf-road

[@skyybluu3118]

Great video thank you

[@coreydemarce4652]

It's called toe in. Not out.

[@winchoutdoors]

I thought it was typically 1/8" Toe IN for solid axle vehicles? 👍

[@6thGearGarage]

Yeah you're right. I fixed that later on and it drove better!

[@SkullFrog2]

love your videos man, very helpful. while our yotas arent the same...... ive got an 85 22re 4runner im taking down to frame and building

[@6thGearGarage]

I looked for an 85 4runner a long time... they're getting really hard to find around here. I'd love to own one some day.

[@SkullFrog2]

i bought mine from my uncle, who has had it for the past 18 years, he worked on it for a year or so then parked it. i finally got it running this month after a 15 year nap lol. cant wait to have it completely done

[@6thGearGarage]

You should upload a video of it sometime!

[@SkullFrog2]

6th Gear Garage i will eventually but its too rough rn

[@ibrahimercansungur87]

Great video👍 Which car is the steering box you installed?

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks! The box was from a 1986 4wd

[@jakestech28]

Great video, I need to do this soon, I'm going to Moab spring break and the stock steering on my 85 Worries me. I'm keeping stock sized tires with a 4 inch lift, so hopefully it won't be to bad.

[@6thGearGarage]

I put the stock steering setup through a lot and it held up just fine. Yours should be ok as long as you don't get crazy and everything is in good shape to begin with.

[@jakestech28]

6th Gear Garage​ Oh I'm sure I'll be fine too, stock tire size is below 31's so I highly doubt I'll break anything.

[@IAMADIRTRIDER]

Were you running the 4" Pro Comp lift?

[@6thGearGarage]

Yes I was. Truck also has a 2" body lift.

[@IAMADIRTRIDER]

Awesome, thats what I'm about to put on my truck. How do you like it? I have some longer shackles for the front as well.

[@buildadventure404]

Hey, I know this is a super OLD video but were you running a RUF setting with the push pull steering before swapping to the HiSteer?

[@jaydenbarrow3574]

Hi there, I am doing the box right now on my first gen frame, I also have rears up front so mine will be pushed back further. I was wondering if your inner plate got into the curved edge on the inner frame

[@ramblerclassicman221]

At the beginning of the video you mentioned an aftermarket drag link. I just put a 3 inch lift in my 84 and encountered an issue with the stock drag link being to short. Where did you find the aftermarket drag link? Also, are carrier bearings supposed to get hot? The angle down to my rear axle is kinda screwing with my carrier. I will probably shim it down to accommodate the extra height.

[@6thGearGarage]

That drag link came on the truck when I bought it, not sure who made it. To be honest, I've never felt the carrier bearing on my truck, but hot probably isn't good. Shimming is always recommended with a lift, or it could be that your carrier bearing is near the end of its life already.

[@ramblerclassicman221]

6th Gear Garage ok. How much lift did you have on your truck? How much would you shim it down for a 3 inch lift?

[@sciflyer67]

Can you use the steering rods out of the donor 86-95 4x4 4Runner or truck too? Marlin Crawler board states that the steering box must be from a 4x4.

[@6thGearGarage]

I’m not sure, I did not. I’d follow the directions that came with your exact kit.

[@nickkinnaman9371]

What body lift are you running? I'm currently doing a SAS on my 88' pick-up and luckily the parts truck I bought had a hi-steer kit with the IFS steering box. It's going to have a 4-inch suspension lift but I'm planning on running 35s and probobly couls use a small body lift as well.

[@6thGearGarage]

This truck has a homemade 2" body kit and 4" suspension kit. Clears 35's except for the bottom of the front fenders under full flex.

[@nickkinnaman9371]

How easy is it to make a homemade body lift? Or do you know of any decent ones for sale

[@6thGearGarage]

The best material is solid plastic or metal stock.. Stay away from rubber hockey pucks. There's some good info in this link www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BodyLiftKit.shtml

[@WaterMiLoan]

how does the truck handle at high speeds once you remove all the stabilizers?

[@6thGearGarage]

This truck has always done well at highway speeds. It never had a stabilizer when I bought it and never felt the need for one. It’s a lot better on road with the 33x10.5 AllTerrains compared to the 35” mud tires.

[@clayton203]

What kind of power steering pump setup do you have and how does it do with the big tires

[@6thGearGarage]

The power steering is all OEM and it does fine with the 35's

[@redlinegarage575]

Where did you get the plating for the steering box

[@6thGearGarage]

I think I bought it from trail gear when I bought the hi steer kit.

[@charliesybert2683]

What do I do if my dash just toast and I don want to glue crap and don't want to cut and patch the old dash?

[@6thGearGarage]

Oem dashes I’m nice shape show up on eBay once in a while, but they’re not cheap $$$

[@charliesybert2683]

@@6thGearGarage then what do I do my dash is like unusable and unfixible it's falling apart and crap

[@6thGearGarage]

@@charliesybert2683 If you dont want to glue on a cap and you dont want to refinish, time to search ebay. Nobody makes a replacement dash for these trucks :(

[@charliesybert2683]

@@6thGearGarage well you seem smart why don't you start a ebay store and make plastic reproduction parts and sell them ordering off of pcb way making custom molds

[@charliesybert2683]

@@6thGearGarage what do you think about that?

[@ceciliomadrigal6908]

Can I hire you to help me install ??

[@6thGearGarage]

Sorry, I don't have enough time to work on my own projects.

[@chiseledslinky1314]

Did you use flat or drop pitman arm cus im not sure whichone to buy 😭

[@6thGearGarage]

chiseled slinky it’s Been a few years... I can’t remember, but I remember asking the same thing. I’ll get a look and let you know.

[@6thGearGarage]

chiseled slinky ok I got the kit with the drop pitman arm, not flat. But it really depends on how you end up mounting the steering box. The angle and how far forward it is on the frame will make a difference

[@samlepage8079]

What size of drill bit did you use???

[@6thGearGarage]

Sorry, I don't recall... it's been too many years. I just grabbed one from the set that was the same size as the sleeve. Maybe in the range of 3/4 to 1"?

[@skipperskipper2936]

Avoca off 390

[@IAMADIRTRIDER]

What size drill bit did you use to drill the holes in the frame for the steering bracket?

[@6thGearGarage]

I think it was 1/2" or just under that.

[@basketballplayerant]

Hello sir . I want to buy toyota ln106. You share a list of renewal operations that you have done. Thank you in advance.

[@6thGearGarage]

Since buying the truck in 2010, I have replaced the engine with a lower mileage engine, repaired the frame, done body work and repainted the truck, replaced the rusted cab floor, replaced the original rusting bed with a fiberglass bed. I've also done regular maintenance such as: new brakes, battery, cap/rotor/plugs/wires, timing chain & tensioner, water pump, U-joints. I think that is all, but I'm probably forgetting some things :)

[@basketballplayerant]

Thanks for your explanations. I am thinking of buying a hilux, but all the hiluxes on the market are in bad condition and need maintenance, so thank you in advance for your help if necessary.

[@basketballplayerant]

Thank you, sir, I know now where I will find you when there's something I want to learn.

[@lanebrowning4328]

So I also have an 85, it's a regular cab, and I need a door panel template. Do you have one or know of where to find one. I have my passenger side but not my driver side panel so idk how to make it. Any help would be great

[@6thGearGarage]

Couldn't you just make another passenger side and then flip it over? Then the other side would be for the driver's door.

[@lanebrowning4328]

6th Gear Garage That's what I figured, but I'd have to make some other cuts and I don't want to start it off and find out some thing is wrong if you get me

[@markwalsh4870]

What did you do for the shims under the steering arms?

[@6thGearGarage]

I left the shims as-is

[@kahokuokalanimakaiwi4456]

I wanna ask what lift and tires are you runnin on your toyota

[@6thGearGarage]

6" of lift (2" body + 4" Pro Comp) and 35x12.5 R15 DC Mud Country tires.

[@garrettsmith8286]

Maybe I missed it? What brand & size lift?

[@6thGearGarage]

Lift is a Pro Comp 4" plus a 2" body lift.

[@garrettsmith8286]

Thanks. Funny thing is my Black 85 ext cab has a 6" lift from all pro but I'm trying to get it closer to stock. Don't want to beat up the Back to the Future truck to bad. You still have yours right?

[@jamesblackburn6301]

Hey would it be okay if we embeded this onto the www.lowrangeoffroad.com page for TG high steer kit?

[@6thGearGarage]

Sure thing man! If my doo doo welds are worthy, be my guest.

[@jamesblackburn6301]

Awesome thank you!

[@WLRChris]

what wheels do you and what color are they painted?

[@6thGearGarage]

They're Fuel Anza 15x8" and I painted them the bronze/red combo. The came black with a silver rim edge.

[@6thGearGarage]

The bronze was Duplicator Wheel Paint and the red was their Engine Paint (since they didn't have red wheel paint)

[@zulazmi23]

Where to get the ifs steering?

[@6thGearGarage]

zul azmi eBay, junkyard, marketplace or craigslist.

[@jamesblackburn6301]

Toyota should not have 1/8 inch toe out by the way.

[@6thGearGarage]

Oh did not know, as that's what it had before I did the hi-steer. What should the toe be? Cant wait to have it drive better than it already does!

[@rdmanone]

@@6thGearGarage 1/8th toe in.