The Does Everything, but Sucks at Everything Build

Buddy I was hoping would be able to help me bend tubing has been too busy and flakey to help me out......so fuck it I'll do it myself. Bought a JD2 Model 32 and finally got everything up and running. Got lucky and picked up some DOM remnants that were the perfect size at IMS and started screwing around.


I took 1 piece of 1.75" tubing and bent it over 180-ish degrees to try and see if it was possible to fit a true "hoop" style shock mount in there but even angling it in goofy ways it doesn't seem to be possible to get mounted well on the driverside, either the gas tank lines or the bump stop gets in the way. I was thinking about using 1.5" since its smaller and might squeeze in there but I don't think it would fit in that shape either.

Next I bent up a shape similar to what @jberry813 used on his, it doesn't have the right angle welded like his, but I think I can make it work with different/less frame plating.

Now just waiting on Deaver to finish my springs.......was quoted 4-5 weeks and it's going on 9 weeks....

 

Is that just bolted into the ground? How did you do that?

 

So after....

2 Vehicles
7+ Years
80,000mi+ of road trips

My

$310 CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

CKMA12 finally shit out on me.

A month or 2 ago, shortly after I installed my dual stage ARB the single stage finally shit itself. I stopped using it after it started making weird noises and have been thinking for the last 2 months that when I turned on the front locker that it was actually turning on, figured out in Calico that since the air locker is wired to the single stage compressor it wasn't actually turning on for the last 2 months, so I had to turn on the single stage to activate the locker on a couple obstacles, it still sounded like shit.

Taking everything apart is pretty easy, only think I'm uncertain of during the reassembly is how I'm going to get the rotor back in between the brushes, looks like that's going to be a pain in the ass.

A couple photos of the endeavor......















Turned out the piston bearing failed and was letting the piston slap around a little which is where the noise was coming from.

About 3-4 months ago the power plug melted out and blew the fuse, I wonder if that's when the bearing locked up and finally failed.

The 6906Z bearing is also going out, it hasn't completely locked up but its grinding like a champ now.

Finding replacement parts is a fucking shit show. No company seems to have all the parts needed, most seem to be missing at least 1 part I need. I probably should have just called up ARB and tried to order the stuff through them but I have had bad experiences with customer service and try to avoid calling if possible. I think I can get it up and running again for less than $100.

 

Seems like that might answer the question if a single is good enough for most things. That's a pretty good moneys worth.

 

So this is the reason you forgot to Turn on your front locker.......

 

are you doing a SUA or a Jberry813?

 

Most likely a jberry813 style, I tried to squeeze a true "hoop" in there any way I could but it doesn't look like it's going to fit with the bolt-on hydro bump mount and gas tank fill/vent lines. I think I'll be able to use a 90 degree bend instead of a welded 90 joint though. After I cut off the shock mounts I'll see if I can squeeze a hoop in there again but not expecting to make something work.

Going to keep the SOA to help with the heavy rear end. Also I tend to be pretty reckless when crawling or going over rocks, don't want anything more than I need hanging off the bottom of the axle.

 

if you can find a T50 pack, that would be an excellent option for a SUA and load carrying.

 

Never heard of them, springs and

I've already ordered deavers, going to pick them up tomorrow and the axle. Too late to turn back

 

Did someone already pick up the trashed skids? If the other guy doesn't get them let me know. My t case is getting smashed lol

The bamf ones look WAY better. I already have the pelfreybilt ifs skid but was about to buy the mid and t case skid

 

Sorry.. I picked them up a while ago, his trash was my treasure. I've already put some new dents in them.

 

Damn

Been looking for t case and mid forever

 

Whelp, wasn't planning on doing all this at the same time but that looks like how this is going to play out.

 

All these nice parts and you're not going full float?

 

But so much worth. I've rebuilt my driver side rear axle shaft at the backing plate, twice, and rebuilding semi-float axles is such a pain.

 

Ehhh, for one thing I wanted to keep all the safety crap ABS/VSC intact. Reality is, I and most people drive a lot of pavement to get to where we off road and I do believe that the safety features can help in emergencies. Yes, I do drive defensively on pavement, but sometimes crazy shit happens and all the defensive driving in the world won't help if someone wants to do some crazy shit on the interstate in close proximity to you.

Also I haven't heard of any reports of people breaking rear axle shafts on 2nd gens. I am sure they are out there, but haven't actually seen any reports. As long as these are as strong as the OEM ones I don't see a whole lot of benefit over a full float for the rear of a Tacoma.(for my usages anyway)

Lastly, I live 30min away from Currie, if I ever want to have it converted I can take the housing back and they can convert it to full float. (For a steep price of course)

Unfortunately like with most other mods there isn't a one size fits all solution. Pick what you want to prioritize and go with it. I haven't run across anyone using one of these at all, much less how I intend on using it. Only time will tell how it's going to work out.

 

True enough. The safety stuff is definitely nice to have in sticky situations. I daily drive my truck so that alone is a good enough reason to keep the rear semi float.

 

So much win in this picture. I don't think you'll bend this axle.