Cover photo: @arwald_extreme, whose white double cab wears Western Cape plates. Go and see the rest of the build.
Ask a South African 79 owner about suspension, and height is rarely what they are after. The real complaint is the back sitting down. The canopy went on. Then the drawers, the fridge, the second battery and the towbar. Now the nose points at the sky and the car wallows on corrugations.
Nobody at the braai brags about how high their Cruiser sits. The thing to brag about is a car that rides flat with everything on it. Owners here don’t even say “lift kit” much. They say “I did Old Man Emu on the Cruiser” or “I put Tough Dog on”. The lift is a side effect of new springs.
This guide covers what each fix costs today, what else the job needs, and what a lift does not do.
The short answer
- Empty most days, tar and gravel: leave it standard. Get the tyre pressures right.
- Loaded a few times a year, or you tow: air helpers in the rear springs.
- Canopy and drawers on for good: a 2 inch kit, with springs rated for your real weight.
- Long gravel trips to Botswana or Namibia: spend on better shocks.
- A 76 that feels heavy: weigh it before you buy anything.
What your 79 runs from the factory
Every 79 and 76 Toyota sells in South Africa has the same layout. At the front, a solid axle sits on coil springs. At the back, a solid axle sits on leaf springs, the stacks of curved steel strips you can see at each rear wheel. SA 79s have used it since at least 2012.
So why does a loaded 79 sag? It spends its life with a load it never sheds. Owners call this the constant load: canopy, drawers, fridge, water, bull bar, winch and a spare on the back. That weight pushes the rear springs down before you pack a single bag. The shocks then work near the end of their travel, and the car bounces and bottoms out.
The fix most owners land on is springs rated for that constant load, plus shocks made to work with them.
Here is how much each current model may carry, people included. GVM is the most the car may legally weigh, as Toyota rates it.
| Model (SA spec) | Most it may weigh (GVM) | Weight empty | About what it can carry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79 single cab 2.8 | 3,300 kg | 2,120 kg | 1,180 kg |
| 79 single cab 4.0 petrol | 3,200 kg | 2,015 kg | 1,185 kg |
| 79 single cab 4.2 diesel | 3,200 kg | 2,090 kg | 1,110 kg |
| 79 double cab 2.8 | 3,300 kg | 2,250 to 2,490 kg | 810 to 1,050 kg |
| 79 double cab 4.0 petrol | 3,200 kg | 2,165 kg | 1,035 kg |
| 79 double cab 4.2 diesel | 3,200 kg | 2,245 kg | 955 kg |
| 76 station wagon 2.8 | 3,060 kg | 2,265 to 2,485 kg | 575 to 795 kg |
GVM and empty weights from Toyota South Africa’s spec sheets. The last column is GVM minus the empty weight.
The 2026 range has no V8, because production ended in 2025. The 76 is now 2.8 only. V8s on the road run the same layout. Watch out for Australian videos: Australian 79s are rated to weigh more than ours, and that number does not apply here.
The five ways to fix it, cheapest first
| Fix | What changes | Price seen, 24 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Spacers and longer shackles | Blocks on the front coils, longer links at the rear springs | R3,999 (Eezi Lift combo) |
| Air helpers | Air bags in the rear springs, pumped up when loaded | R5,950 to R13,225 |
| Springs only | New rear leaf springs, or front coils | R13,797 to R24,985 |
| Full 2 inch kit | New springs front and rear, plus four new shocks | About R20,000 to R65,000 |
| Remote reservoir kit | Kit with big shocks and extra oil cans on hoses | About R60,000 to R130,000 |
Prices include VAT, from the stores’ own pages and our live price table.
Spacers lift the nose after a steel bull bar and a winch go on. They are the cheapest height you can buy, but they do nothing for a load. The shocks now sit nearer the end of their travel.
Air helpers are rubber air bags that sit in the rear springs. You pump them up when you load up or hook up the caravan, and let them down when you are empty. Fans on 4x4community like that they are cheap and easy to undo. The warning from the same forum: bags should help the springs, not carry the load. Pumped hard on an overloaded double cab, they push weight into the wrong part of the chassis.
Springs only fix the sag at its source. The advice on the forum is plain, though: buy shocks at the same time.
A full 2 inch kit is where most SA owners land. That is 50 mm, and people use both words. You get new front coils, new rear leaf packs, four shocks, U-bolts and bushes.
Live prices · 24 September 2026
Spacers, springs and air helpers for the 79, in stock now
7 in stock at 4 South African stores today, from R1 899 to R13 797. Typical price about R3 999.
The complete kits on sale for the 79 today
On 24 September 2026 our accessories page listed 28 complete kits that fit the 79. They ran from R18,285 to R129,999. The middle price was about R48,200. Only 16 of them showed as in stock.
| Kit | Store | Price | In stock on 24 Sep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austraxx AT-ECO 2 inch | Evorevo4x4 | R19,999 | Yes |
| Austraxx AT-Nitro 2 inch | Evorevo4x4 | R29,999 | Yes |
| Go-4LO 79 kit (parabolic rear leaves) | Go-4LO | R32,969 | No |
| Profender kit | Opposite Lock | R35,370 | Yes |
| Ironman Nitro Gas, Medium | Ironman 4x4 Africa | R38,815 | No |
| Tough Dog 78/79 kit | Opposite Lock | R42,370 | Yes |
| Ironman Foam Cell, Medium | Ironman 4x4 Africa | R43,615 | No |
| Raw4x4 79 upgrade | Alpha Accessories | R44,400 | Yes |
| Ironman IM2.5, Heavy | Ironman 4x4 Africa | R64,995 | Yes |
Ironman sells its kits by load: Medium, Heavy, Extra Heavy and Super Heavy. That suits a loaded 79 better than a kit sold by height. On the day we checked, 17 of Ironman’s 18 kits for the 76 and 79 showed as out of stock online. Phone before you drive to Midrand. Its suspension warranty runs four years with no limit on kilometres. That depends on a safety check at 500 km, and on an authorised or licensed fitter.
Tough Dog is known for its adjustable shocks, handy on a 79 that runs empty some days and full on others. Opposite Lock in Clayville is the only SA dealer on Tough Dog’s own list, though other stores sell it too.
Profender is sold through Opposite Lock, with rear leaves from Comfort to Extra Heavy.
Austraxx is sold by Evorevo4x4. Its AT kits carry a warranty of three years or 100,000 km.
Old Man Emu is the brand sellers name most in 79 ads. None of the 13 stores we compare lists an Old Man Emu kit. Most fitters sell it on quote, through 4x4 Mega World and independent shops.
Dobinsons comes in through N1 4x4 in Pretoria, which said in 2023 that it is the sole importer.
Live prices · 24 September 2026
Complete suspension kits for the 79, in stock now
16 in stock at 5 South African stores today, from R18 285 to R129 999. Typical price about R49 999.
The top end: remote reservoir shocks
A remote reservoir is an extra can of oil on a hose beside each shock. More oil keeps the shock cooler on long corrugations, like a week of Namibian gravel.
These kits start at about R60,000. The Tough Dog TD-R Pro sells for R67,775 to R85,475 at Opposite Lock. Old Man Emu’s BP-51 kit was R109,460 to R117,460 at Marlin 4x4 in Delmas. They earn their keep on thousands of kilometres of gravel a year. In town, most owners won’t feel the difference.
Pick springs by weight, not by what the shop has
This is the step most people skip. Springs are sold by the load they carry, often in kilograms: “300 kg comfort” or “650 kg constant”. Pick the wrong rate and the car rides like a cart, or still sags.
So load the car the way it lives, then drive it over a public weighbridge. One Pretoria owner on the forum pointed others to the one at Donkerhoek on the N4. Give the fitter that number, and tell them what you add for a big trip.
Some of what owners learned the hard way:
- A forum regular fitted springs rated for 650 kg on his 79. He expected a hard ride. It turned out softer than the factory setup.
- An owner of a fully kitted overland 79 found it bouncing at 110 to 120 km/h, even on a new kit. Others blamed shocks too light for the load, and air bags pumped too hard.
- Never put lift springs on your old shocks. One experienced poster said he had replaced many broken shocks on cars set up that way.
- Some shops push what they have on the shelf. Take your weight in with you.
A forum regular also makes the case for leaving it alone. Toyota’s own suspension is well sorted, he says. A few percent better ride is not worth R20,000 or more.
What else the job needs
A 79 has a solid front axle, and lifting it brings its own list.
Castor. This is the tilt of the front axle that makes the steering want to run straight. A lift tilts the front axle and cuts this angle, so the steering goes light. A 76 owner on the forum felt his car go loose in fast downhill corners after a 2 inch lift. At about 2 inches, castor bushes can often fix it. Bigger lifts need brackets or longer arms. Austraxx castor brackets were R6,499 at Evorevo4x4, though out of stock on 24 September.
The panhard rod. This bar stops the axle from sliding sideways under the body. When the car sits higher, it pulls the axle off centre. Past about 2 inches, you may need an adjustable one.
Brakes and wires. The 79 has a rear brake valve that senses the load. Old Man Emu’s own 79 kit, as ARB lists it in Australia, comes with parts to move that valve. It also has a bracket for the ABS sensor wire. Ask your fitter if the kit you buy has them.
An alignment. It is part of the job, not an extra.
No diff drop. Diff drop kits are for cars where the front diff bolts to the chassis, like a Prado or a Hilux. On a 79, the diff sits in the axle and moves with the wheels.
No SA store we checked publishes a fitting price for a 79 kit. Some say plainly that fitting is not included. Ask for a fitted quote, with castor and the alignment on it.
Old 79 or new-shape 2.8: what fits
The new-shape 79, from 2024, with the 2.8 four-cylinder, keeps the same coil front and leaf rear. Where a kit gives years, it says “2007 on” or “1999 on”. None of the kits in our table says “2024 on” in its name.
The engines are not the same weight, though. A 2.8 single cab weighs 80 kg less than a V8 single cab. So give the fitter your engine, your year, and what hangs off the front: bull bar, winch, lights. The 2.8 also has stability control. Ask if that changes the kit. Our 2024 facelift fitment guide covers the wider new-shape story.
A word for 76 owners
The 76 station wagon can carry the least of any current model. A 2.8 76 may take about 575 to 795 kg, people included. If yours sags, you are probably close to that limit. Stiffer springs hide the sag. They do not add capacity. Weigh it first, and read our 79 vs 76 guide on how the two differ.
Live prices · 24 September 2026
Complete suspension kits for the 76, in stock now
4 in stock at 4 South African stores today, from R18 285 to R45 460. Typical price about R41 400.
Legal, roadworthy, insurance and warranty
Is a lift legal?
We found no fixed lift limit in South Africa’s road traffic law. The “50 mm limit” some SA sites repeat is an Australian rule. None of them cites an SA regulation.
There is one hard number. Regulation 159 caps the height of your dipped headlights at about 1.4 m, measured to the centre of the lamp. A big lift on big tyres is the one way a 79 could get close. If you go that far, measure.
The roadworthy test
You need a roadworthy certificate when the car changes owner, so that is when your lift gets a proper look. The test covers the suspension, the shocks, the alignment and the lights. The lift itself is not what fails. Leaking shocks, worn bushes and badly aimed headlights are. Re-aim the lights after any lift.
Insurance
Tell your insurer about the lift in writing, and keep the invoice. Insurers can turn down a claim when the details you gave them are wrong. At least one big insurer’s plan guide excludes a car that is not roadworthy. A tired lift with worn bushes and the wrong castor is how a modified car ends up in that box after a crash.
Your Toyota warranty
Current 79s and 76s carry a warranty of three years or 100,000 km. Since 1 July 2021, the Competition Commission’s guidelines for the car parts trade have applied. In plain terms, fitting other parts should not cancel your whole warranty. In 2021, Toyota itself said only the affected area could be voided.
So a lift does not kill the warranty, but expect claims on the parts it touches to be questioned, like the steering and the front axle. Ask your dealer in writing before you fit. The kit’s own warranty has rules too, so don’t mix brands without asking.
Weight: a lift does not raise your GVM
Heavy-duty springs make a loaded 79 sit level. They do not change what it may weigh, and the GVM on your licence papers stays the same.
Here is an example with Toyota’s own figures. A heavy-spec 2.8 double cab has about 810 kg to play with. Five adults of 80 kg each take 400 kg of that. That leaves about 410 kg for the canopy, drawers, fridge, water and luggage. Changing the legal limit is a separate job, and our GVM upgrade guide covers it.
Does a lift pay you back?
On our live listings, used 79s advertised with a suspension upgrade ask about a fifth more than the same year and engine without one. That is a median across 98 cars. But most of those cars also carry a bull bar, and many have a snorkel or a canopy. The premium belongs to the whole build, not to the springs. Don’t buy a kit to raise the price.
Who should buy what
| You | Do this | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Empty most days, tar and gravel | Nothing. Check tyre pressures | R0 |
| Tow or load up a few times a year | Air helpers on the stock springs | R5,950 to R13,225 |
| Nose low after a steel bar and winch | Front springs rated for the weight. Spacers only as a stopgap | From R3,999 |
| Canopy and drawers on for good | 2 inch kit with springs for your weighed load | About R35,000 to R50,000, plus fitting |
| Long gravel trips, Botswana and Namibia | Kit with bigger or remote reservoir shocks | About R60,000 to R130,000 |
| 76 wagon that feels heavy | Weigh it first. You may be at the limit | R0 to start |
| Want 35 inch tyres | A bigger job: castor, panhard, brake lines. Plan it with the fitter | Ask for a full quote |
Every kit, with today’s price, is on our suspension and lift kits page. For the rest of the car, see the 79 accessories page and our bull bar guide. If bigger tyres are the goal, start with our 79 tyre size guide and the tyre buyer’s guide.
The bottom line
A 79 that sags does not need height. It needs springs matched to what it carries, and shocks matched to the springs. Weigh the car before you shop. Buy shocks with the springs. Put castor and an alignment in the quote. Tell your insurer and your dealer in writing. And remember the kit makes the load ride better. It never makes the load legal.
A big thank you to the people whose photos made this guide. Thanks to @arwald_extreme for the two builds. Thanks also to Toyota South Africa Motors, Ironman 4x4 Africa in Midrand, Opposite Lock in Clayville and Evorevo4x4. Support the local shops that keep South Africa’s Cruisers on the road.
