[jellymanLRT]

I REALLY REALLY want to be riding as tall as a Desert Runner. I do have the KADET 2.4 but the height, fender flares (including the front bumper), and the wheels are the ONLY things I want from the DR... I walked into 4x4 Parts today and asked about what a body lift might cost me. They quoted me 469$ for 3.5" body lift and 1300$ for a 3 inch suspension lift...:crikey: way ridiculous if you ask me. It really shouldn't be hard to find parts on ebay or even on this site (if anyone has any for sale for cheaper?) for an affordable cost but I cant seem to find them on here ANYWHERE nor do I know exactly what parts I need.. I dont know exactly what goes into a body lift other than finding all of the frame mounts and putting a 3.5" rubber block between the body and frame change a few bolts and im done. Its got to be easier than what I imagine it to give my truck a much needed lift. I cant find the DR wheels for cheap either. I havent even started looking for the DRs fender flares.. And I am not willing to spend 500$ on a few pieces of rubber/steel when I know I could find alternatives and completely do it myself for WAY less!!!!! I want to learn how to do this lift and do it but I dont have tools nor the knowledge, but when theres a will theres a way! So my question for everyone on here is: If I want to convert a regular ol' KADET 2.4 KC to a 2.4L Desert Runner what parts would I need? (try to keep suspension lift seperate from body lift if y'all can so that it doesnt confuse me )

I mean, its not that I dont know everything there is about these trucks (roastbeef.........) but I do want learn stuff that I dont know about like the lifts and how there are done... Like I said Im not completely dumb, just dont know much about rear ends, body lifts, and axels.. if anyone can explain my question I would be so much happier!! Help!!

 

[Mathster]

I haven't compared suspensions between the trucks, so Im probably way off base here.
I would think you could do a torsion bar crank, and longer shackles and get close.
Outside of that, I would look at your local JY for a crashed DR and get the rear springs, shackles, axle, and front A-Arms.

 

[ScottXGTR]

if i recall, the desert runner is built on the 4x4 frame, and your truck is on the 2wd frame. chances are some parts wont just bolt on.

unless someone else can chime in, id advise climbing under a desert runner and noting the differences. i know the front suspensions will be different designs (A arms on the v6 model trucks vs straight arm with tension rod on the 4 cyl). the rear you might get lucky since they are both spring over axle.

 

[Mathster]

if i recall, the desert runner is built on the 4x4 frame, and your truck is on the 2wd frame. chances are some parts wont just bolt on.

unless someone else can chime in, id advise climbing under a desert runner and noting the differences. i know the front suspensions will be different designs (A arms on the v6 model trucks vs straight arm with tension rod on the 4 cyl). the rear you might get lucky since they are both spring over axle.

actually, my 00 DR is spring under...

 

[ScottXGTR]

correct sir. according to the fsm

01 2wd ka24 is pictured as spring under
01 2wd vg33 is pictured as spring under
01 4wd is pictured as spring over

again, going out and crawling under something is the best course of action before attempting a desert runner conversion on the cheap. Or paying for a lift kit that will work guaranteed.

 

[Frijolero]

Aren't DRs all V6? There is almost nothing from the V6 suspension that will be bolt on to a 4cyl truck.

 

[Firebreed]

TheTRue rear end of a v6 fronty should bolt up but u would be better off doing th suspension lift and if needed the body lift. In order to fit the front end of a v6 fronty you would have to ge custom mounts made for the upper and lower a-arms. As the mounting points are different.

 

[Frontier2]

They were built on a 4x4 frame and came with an LSD rear end.Then they stopped putting the LSD in them.

 

[jellymanLRT]

if i recall, the desert runner is built on the 4x4 frame, and your truck is on the 2wd frame. chances are some parts wont just bolt on.

unless someone else can chime in, id advise climbing under a desert runner and noting the differences. i know the front suspensions will be different designs (A arms on the v6 model trucks vs straight arm with tension rod on the 4 cyl). the rear you might get lucky since they are both spring over axle.

How different are the two? All I really want is my fronty to see eye to eye with a DR.. Mathster says replace axel, shackles, front A-Arms, and Leafs. I see why the A-Arms and the leafs/shackles... but why the axel?

Thought about cranking the Torsion bar but.. dont know how I feel about that... not sure if it would even give me 1.5" lift. and Id hate to see my Fronty lookin like he wants to grow wings and take off for flight (if i dont do anything to the rear end)

Ughhh, I just wanna do this for cheap, I really wish I had a DR and I wouldnt be in this predicament. Just gotta make do.

I Appreciate the info from y'all. I love my Fronty but I wish he was taller

Anyone know where I can get the DR Aztec Red fender flares plus mounting kit and weather stripping (besides Junk Yard) for waaay cheap?

 

[LE-Medic]

Let me see if I can help you here.

As I understand it, you want a taller truck. Likely to fit bigger tires to go play in the mud and look cool with the other kids. I get it. That's all cool.

What you need to understand is that your truck is engineered, designed and built a certain way and it is not going to be easy or cheap to make it into something else.

The first thing to do is decide on what size tire you want to run and figure out the lift required from there. Lifting a 2x truck can be very expensive and the results frequently aren't great.

Are you really hot for a lifted 2x or do you REALLY want a 4x? The reason I ask this is that I have been to GA and most people run around is 4xs. I see very little PreRunning hi speed stuff going on out there. Be honest here.

A body lift, especially a 3" body lift, is a significant undertaking. It is MUCH more complicated that just slapping a few hockey pucks under the truck. Body lifts may seem easy, but they frequently run into difficult to solve problems.

Please consider all the items that are connected to both the body and the frame for a moment. The steering angle changes and should be addressed. Frequently, there are interference issues, or the shaft just runs out of extension. The wiring harness may need to be addressed. There are wire and connectors that run from the frame to the body. These were not designed to be extended 3+". Also the gas filler needs to be extended. These are all NOT minor issues. Also consider the nasty gap left between your bumpers (on the frame) and the body of the truck. Finally, a tall lift creates a huge amount of additional leverage on the mounts that the vehicle was not designed for.

Summary: body lifts may seem cheap and easy, but they are neither.

As for your suspension, you have some options in the rear. It seems your vehicle is spring under. This means no lift blocks for you. So you have some choices to make. Add-a-leaf, which is cheap and will give some lift. The ride in the rear will stiffen up, but that probably isn't an issue for you. You may also need longer shocks so you don't limit travel or tear them up.

Or you could go with a custom leaf pack. More expensive, but better ride. You could also get an extended shackle set. Do the 2x's have normal or tension shackles? I don't know.

You could also do a custom spring over and pick up about 4", but that' may be beyond you right now.

The front is much more tricky and will require aftermarket parts. Cranking in lift via torsion bars is a bad solution all around. You are just basically increasing spring preload without increasing the rate. You are also limiting the droop available. All this will add up to a crappy ride.

The bottom line on all this you are going to end up spending a bunch of money to get what you want.

You may be better off selling your truck and buying something that is 4-wheel drive. By the time you get your truck mod'd up and lifted, you could have dumped it and put the money into getting what you really want.

Also, as far as resale goes, you will NEVER get out of mods what you paid for them. Maybe 25% if you are lucky. So again, consider selling what you got and getting what you want.

Another serious option if you want to run bigger rubber is to cut your fenders. This may be the best option in that it gets you into bigger tires without raising the truck and negatively affecting the handling.

Also be careful putting bigger rubber on any light duty type truck. You may find out that your axles, brakes, etc... were really not designed for the additional stress.

That's probably more than you ever wanted to know, but there it is anyway...

-Z

 

[Mathster]

I threw the axle in for the H233 upgrade from the C200.
Also, the DR and all v-6 trucks had a two inch wide fender flare. I dont know if it was wheel offset or axle, but I think my wheels are further apart than on the I4 trucks.

 

[ScottXGTR]

How different are the two?

significantly.

here are some diagrams for you to review:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/frontier/2001/su.pdf

basically, you bought the wrong truck. you wont be able to use stock parts without cutting off the front half of your frame and grafting on a desert runner frame.

your options are:
A. buy the lift kit, and spend the money
B. trade your truck for a DR or 4x4 and spend some money

notice "spend some money" was in both options. I completely understand trying to do stuff on a budget, but working on cars isnt a cheap hobby. Might want to take up sewing or something else before you get sucked too far in like the rest of us.

 

[Mathster]

ya know, honestly, if your gonna get another truck, you might as well get 4wd.

 

[jellymanLRT]

significantly.

here are some diagrams for you to review:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/frontier/2001/su.pdf

basically, you bought the wrong truck. you wont be able to use stock parts without cutting off the front half of your frame and grafting on a desert runner frame.

your options are:
A. buy the lift kit, and spend the money
B. trade your truck for a DR or 4x4 and spend some money

notice "spend some money" was in both options. I completely understand trying to do stuff on a budget, but working on cars isnt a cheap hobby. Might want to take up sewing or something else before you get sucked too far in like the rest of us.

Thanks for that PDF. I read the entire file lol! There are A LOT of Major and minor differences between the KA24DE and the VG33E/VG33ER trucks.. That explained so much to me! But I realize now of I want to sit as tall as a DR I need to just buy a DR.... : ( bummed out becauase I'm not switching to a truck with two more cylinders I have to feed ya know? (as nice as a v6 is compaired to my tiny powerless i4... It's cheaper to run.) now when I'm out of school and don't have to worry about a new truck payment and school bills: Titan, with the DIESEL option, here I come!!