The mini truck is a popular vehicle to modify for many different reasons. For one, they're cheap to purchase. They're also easy to find parts for them. But the best reason is that they're easy to work on. Lowering a mini truck when done correctly, can be done in a day. In this case, the vehicle is a 1994 Toyota, but the process is similar for other mini trucks as well.
Instructions
Front Suspension
1. Measure the distance from the top of the front fenders to the ground, and note down that number using the pad and pencil. This will be used as a reference point later, once the vehicle is on the ground.
2. Lift up the truck using the jack, and place it on jack stands, all along the frame, and underneath the rear axle. You want the vehicle to be secure on the stands before you crawl underneath it.
3. Use the tire iron to remove the tires from the vehicle, and place them to the side. Make sure they're out of the way for this project.
4. Crawl underneath the front of the car, and locate the torsion bars. They run the length of the truck, and are connected to the lower control arms.
5. Loosen the torsion bar adjusting bolts using the 1/2-inch ratchet and sockets. Make sure you loosen both sides the same amount, because this is how the front of the truck is going to come down.
Rear Suspension
6. Move to the rear of the vehicle and unbolt the u-bolts that secure the leaf springs to the axle.
7. Lift the axle off of the jack stands using the jack, and lift it up so that you have about 3-5 inches of space between the axle pad and the leaf spring.
8. Slide the lowering block between the leaf spring, and the axle. There is a pin on the leaf spring, and a hole on the axle pad. The leaf spring block will have these same mounts, so make sure that it's lined up with both the pin and the hole so everything aligns correctly.
9. Place the longer u-bolts over the axle just like the stock u-bolts were mounted, and loosely tighten down the nuts on the u-bolts.
10. Tighten the u-bolt nuts down once the axle is properly aligned and everything fits in place using the 1/2-inch ratchet and sockets.
Final Measurements
11. Lift up the vehicle off of the jack stands using the jack and place it on the ground.
12. Measure the distance between the top of the front fenders and the ground using the tape measure. Reference this number against the number you wrote down before.
13. If you need to raise the front of the vehicle up, then lift the vehicle back onto the jack and jack stands, then tighten up the torsion bar nuts, one turn at a time using the 1/2-inch ratchet, then drop the vehicle down and remeasure. Repeat this process until the numbers are where you want them to be.
Tags: jack stands, leaf spring, 2-inch ratchet, using 2-inch, using 2-inch ratchet, using jack, 2-inch ratchet sockets
