Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

Ya know... That thing is "scary" as in sexy and beasty.. Or it looks "mean" Thats what i meant "scary" by

 

True that... haha, but its scary too.

 

So 30 miles from me i found a 1985 Jeep Wagoner sitting in a U-Pick junkyard that received a month ago. The Yard says they would sell the complete front axle for under 100.00 bucks...

Is that the correct axle for an SAS on my rig?>

 

Didn't know there was that much to it - wana run 4:88s, my truck is a driverside drop, and i do not plan on running Dual cases if that's what u mean. And i want an axle that's about same length as my rear stock.

 

37's. (Don't dispute me needing 5:29s, been there done that )

 

Hahaha there's going to be a more to a SAS than I think you realize. But you're on the right track! Sounds like the waggy d44 would be a good axle for what you want to do... 61" wms-wms to our rear 60". Only probelm is that the 83-85 wagoneers came with vacuum disconnect and you want to avoid those axles since they are weaker and more prone to failure getting you in 4wd! =\ If you want to keep your chain-driven taco case then it'd probably be best to look for wagoneer axles with drive flanges from 80-81 (and some 82s) and late 86-91. If you really want to get the 85 axle, I think you can swap in a 1 piece shaft from a waggie d44 with no vacuum-disconnect and just bolt on some manual hubs, you will need to find the correct axle seal for the swap. You can block off the pump on the cover but aftermarket covers will not fit....

The culprit:


The way it works is actually pretty much the same as an ADD 7.5" front Tacoma diff with a vacuum operated actuator. These are easy to convert to "always actuated" with a simple hose clamp next to the shifting fork keeping it in the locked position.

Here's a pic of the taco 7.5" add vacuum actuator when I made it a "full time" diff to go along with my manual hubs..


Maybe the 85 waggie 44 could be converted the same way? Swapping in the one-piece shaft would be better and stronger, and I've never seen anyone use the hoseclamp mod on a d44.... so I don't know! I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

Lol i realize what the SAS is/would take... im talking about ONLY the axle right now. Thanks for the Vacuum crap which i have been told to avoid. I wasn't told which years between 1980+ to avoid. I just know they have the same width, bolt pattern, and drop side.

 

Did some more re-search, on TTORA, one post says to use late 70s waggy axle and another to use 81+.... i found out (Wikepedia) the Vacuum was started on 1983 for the front axle. So basically only options are a 1981-82 axle?? too many mismatched information.

 

Cool. I mostly just meant that there is always something you won't expect when it comes to a SAC for the first time. It's just how it works...

And you're welcome, man. You want to stick with the years I mentioned (1980-82, and 1986-91) because the 70s axles are all pass drop. You could get a 70s waggy d44 and swap out the taco chain driven case for a stronger (and more versatile) yota pass drop gear driven case... but that's up to you. (Marlin now has a driver drop gear driven case that you could swap for the taco one as well, so you don't have to get a pass drop axle to get a gear driven case)

I think Jeep started using the vaccum disco in the 1983 Wagoneer (and maybe a few late 82 models) in an effeort to increase gas mileage. It didn't work, and they can be unreliable, so they went back to good ol drive flanges in 1986. Be careful though, becasue I have seen a few 86 wagoneers with the vacuum diso...

 

Trying to weigh options on what to do with the gas tank if I make a tube bed... problem is all the little details about tanks is quite foreign to me. Anyone know of any articles or threads explaining this stuff? I can't seem to find much of anything.

 

Thanks for the info bud!!!! I'll be keeping my eyes peeled!

 

Most people either run a fuel cell or just leave their tank in the same spot... It's a pain to move them, but when you do it's worth it...

 

For sure, man. Keep in mind that while I like to read a lot about this stuff since I want to fully build up a taco someday, I've never actually SAC'd anything before. lol Good luck!

 

Yeah it's a real PITA where it's at. Even if I keep it, I'd like to move it anyway for added clearance and avoid possible trail damage. I'm just not familiar with all the inner workings of tanks so I don't want to fuck it up if I try to build one.

 

Very nice

 

Thats a badass shot. Why do a lot of the solid axle guys run super swampers? Is there some secret that I dont know about?

 

Ooober fat tread.. haha idk

 

Quick question, thought it would be appropriate here... in regards to bead locks, I hear people bitch that they aren't DOT approved but others say it's not even something covered/regulated by the DOT anyway. Whatever the case may be, my question is are they perfectly safe for road use? Or does shit come loose at highway speeds or something?

 

Perfectly safe, i believe its only illegal to run them on the street because people dont check the nuts/ bolts on them and the rings can fly off