Wheel Spacers – Good or Bad?

[Wohni]

Fact is, the new Land Cruiser LC79 Pick-up has a front track 4” wider than the rear track (or axle). This was apparently done to accommodate the larger V8 Turbo Diesel engine, which absurdly may not even become available in Southern Africa.

Common sense dictates, and some seem to have experienced this already, that the narrower track in the back may present a problem, especially in sand. In our specific case we have added worries, because Wohni definitely has a higher centre of gravity than a non-converted Pick-up would have – plus – we will more often than not travel on the limit of gross weight, thus exaggerating any phenomenon and/or occurrence.

The obvious thing to do would be adding wheel spacers at the back. However, a 2” extension of leverage on each side is no minor alteration and may or may not cause havoc in difficult terrain. Doing a quick thumb suck I guesstimate the increase in forces applied to be approximately 3-4% each side, yes?

On a positive note, we are ‘only’ concerned about the rear and hence don’t have to deal with reinforcing ball joints, etc. Also, as far as roll stability goes we would definitely have an added bonus. Still, forces on the diff, bearings and the axle itself are reason enough to be concerned.

I feel somewhat between a rock and a hard place about this, but tend towards going for the added benefit of the spacers versus the minor risk of breakage, hoping that Murphy is not around when push comes to shove.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and/or input.

All the best
Tommy

[the dude]

Bolt on spacer of a high quality are fine.

I have been running 1.5" spacers in the rear of my Cruiser for 5 years and had them checked for cracks recently and found nothing. They are as good as new. I do re torque about once a year.

For reference I weigh in at over 6500lbs and run a 38x14.5 tire on a 16x10 steel rim. That is a lot of force on that spacer...

[RAB]

Is a new rear axle an option for land cruisers. I know in the states you could get a dana 44 or dana 60 in a lot of different sizes, bolt patterns and tube lengths. pretty much available for any application, if you have the funds. places like Currie Enterprises can custom make just about anything you can thing of.

[adventureduo]

I agree with Dude, bolt on spacers are just fine (and our rig weighs just as much if not more on our axle).

We ran them on our adventure trailer and our Sportsmobile came with them on the rear axle from their factory.

You shouldn't have any problems if you buy a high quality piece, keep an eye on them and use common sense with size and maintenance.

[lowenbrau]

Odd.

I just can't imagine Toyota doing that. That was always something Toyota fans could goad domestic owners about because it is very uncomfortable when the rear tires don't follow the fronts. Until the aftermarket creates a solution, spacers will do nicely. If you can find steel ones, so much the better. I run aluminum spacers on the back on my BJ74 and as long as you keep them tight, they're fine.

[RocKrawler]

Being in the 4x4 industry and selling wheel spacers for a living, I agree with lowenbrau - they have to be a good quality spacer, and they have to stay tight, just as a poor quality wheel would jeopardize safety (I've seen the American Eagle 589 center blow out from the outside of the rim due to massive air pockets in the cheap casting) and the lug nuts being loose (that speaks for itself) would on the wheel itself. The rule of thumb is to torque them down with a torque wrench, NOT A IMPACT DRIVER, to the specified torque, drive it 100 miles and retorque - if it didnt hold, retorque every 100 miles until it does, then every 3rd oil change.

[Ireland]

Not to hijack the thread but what do you guys think of running them in the front?
I have being doing this in my Hilux for about a year now with no problems that I am aware of but I have heard they are hard on the steering parts ect...?

[dieselcruiserhead]

LOL, tight... Exactly...

(30 mph, luckily the road was dirt and had a nice layer of snow on it so no damage (and luckily no danger) at all... The front wheel did go flying by me though, about a 1/4 mile down the hill. Very funny looking back at it... )

[Wohni]

Thank you all, much appreciated.

Dude, are your spacers steel or aluminum?

RocKrawler, I suppose they should be machined not cast, yes?

[Martyn]

Originally Posted by Wohni

Thank you all, much appreciated.

Dude, are your spacers steel or aluminum?

RocKrawler, I suppose they should be machined not cast, yes?

All of the spacers we have made are machined from Aluminum. The only issue we have ever seen is a stud stripping in the spacer. It was on a well used 2 year old spacer and the problem was easily fixed by inserting a new stud with a larger shoulder.