Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

And thank you. I'm trying hard to get SOMETHING done every weekend. One step at a time till it's a truck again

 

I guess I didn't spot the FJ case cause the lefty is so nice and pretty and everything else around is dirty as shit haha. Just kiddin'

Yea, rad designs is the way to go for triple sticks.

I hate to say it man, but I do not think you will see that much of a difference between 4.56s and 4.88s. For 37"s and bigger 5.29s all the way for me. The 4.56 and 4.88 are very close to each other. I remember we in the old days when everybody starting modifying the 1st gens going from gear to gear (4.10s, 4.33s, 4.56s, 4.88s, 5.29s) until we found what we liked, swapping diffs among club members just because nobody had the balls of going with a bigger gear increase the first time around. It was such a waste of time and money.

For example, there's a noticeable difference between 4.10s and 4.88s, and between 4.56 and 5.29. I went from 4.56s to 4.88s and then back to 4.56s during a parts trade. Never felt the difference between the two other than a couple hundred rpms higher/lower. Dunno, I have a smaller engine with less torque, so your situation might be different. Hope it works out for you!

 

We'll see what happens. It was a parts trade. Another member is gearing for 35s and had the 4.88s, I had 37's and 4.56s, just seemed like a good idea to swap them before we did his install. Damn sure can't hurt.

I was planning to swap the 4.88s in Basketcase to 5.38s, now I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble/expense. I believe @NwiTACO is running 4.88s with his 40s (think his is automatic, but not 100%). I haven't seen any reports on how it does on the road and MPGs. I know he has the crawl box also, so offroad he has PLENTY of gear

 

FWIW i went with 5.29s with 37s, v6, and 5spd and it kicks ass. i flipped flopped between 4.88s and 5.29s and swung for the fences with great results.

 

I am slightly undergeared with my 4cyl, 40"s and 5.13 gears.

I got deal on a pair of 1ton axles that had 5.13s already installed in them (brand new). The issue is that for a high pinion D60 and 14bol the lowest and final gear ratio available is 5.38. When you run the numbers in a gear calculator, there is a very small difference between the two. I was not going to pay over a grand (gears plus labor) for only a mere increase (it think it came to about 4.7% difference between the two). So 5.13 it is for me

 

At least you have an RZ under your hood though. I'm really wondering how my drivability and wheeling will be affected now that I am putting an A340 behind my 22re and going from ultimate duals to a single case atlas. I really haven't seen to many with this setup so it's kind of new territory. If all else fails I will add a planetary gear box down the road if it is just completely gutless.

 

True, the RZ has more power than the old 22re's, but not that much more I think that what you are doing is pretty cool though.

I think you will be fine. What gearing are you getting in your single case atlas?

There's a guy in AZ that created a dual case set up with a single case atlas and a Toyota crawl box. Man, that's the best of both worlds right there. The atlas is a real twin stick setup and there's more gearing options. I might look into it in the future. I think AA has a plate to connect the atlas to a Toyota crawl box.

But the simplicity of a single case at times is awesome. With duals at times you shift so much trying to find the right gear as you move from one obstacle to another...it's like a workout.

 

I thought about going that route too. My initial thoughts were to eliminate the Toyota TC parts completely. They probably would have held up just fine in the long run. My wheeling has changed to attempting harder obstacles now more that just trail wheeling as before. I didn't want the Toy cases to be the weak link in the drivetrain. An Atlas was the logical upgrade. I ended up getting the 4.3 geared case as I thought the 5.0 would be way too low for my setup. I rarely used my crawl box except for hauling ass between trails anyhow when the 4.7s were just too slow. As you said with the auto and Atlas, I can spend less time shifting between trying to find the ideal ratio and concentrate more on driving. I am keeping a lookout for a 3.4 and have most of the parts to do a turbo propane setup if I need some more power.

 

Good points. Actually, I ended with an Atlas precisely because like you, I wanted to move away from the Toyota tcase parts completely - though I went all the way for the 5.0 gears in the Atlas.

I think the Toyota parts are good enough, but there's a good amount of horror stories out there about installation issues, broken shafts, bearing issues, leakage, etc. Besides, an Atlas is simply the last tcase you will ever need. Resale value is also incredibly high...PLUS...if you ever go crazy and do a V8 motor swap for big horse power, the Atlas will handle it. Big horse power is where the Toyota parts begin creating worries.

Like you said, man, there's a lot of guys that that move on from the ultra super mega low gears. My friend had duals with a 5speed and was never happy with the gear change dance he had to do all the time. It took the fun out of wheeling. The setup ended up being too low for him, and like you he rarely used the crawl box. He sold the duals and now has a has a modified Dana 300, which is basically an Atlas.

I dunno...different things for different kinds of people. One setup is not better than the other. As I get older and lazier though, I think long term I will end up with a V8 swap and an auto tranny LOL. More engine power and less gear shifting is just awesome.

 

Yep, auto trans here and loving it Honestly the trans liked the 4.56's better, it never "searched" then, but it does now with the 4.88's. Mileage is about the same at 15mpg on the road. Stock gears in both t-cases and never had an issue where i needed lower gearing...yet

 

I guess I'll see what the 4.88s are like when it's back on the road and go from there. I don't even get 15mpg in my DD on 37s. More like 12

 

Who needs tires?

 

Just ordered my 37s

 

sweet discount only i can still get 40" treps for about the same money.

 

can i order some through you? ?D

 

Only if you pick them up at my shop. Shipping becomes the deal breaker for a good price.

 

Where you going to store your 41.5s Nathan?

 

There goes the idea! Lucky you man that you can get those deals like that. 40"s are expensive

 

Yeah they are I think it's amazing I can get treps for under 1600. The 42's are double that