Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

hahaha! His loss...your gain

But you highlight the point I was trying to come across. I have seen a lot of guys with very well built rigs that do not have air bumps and they seem fine. I would probably install a custom sway bar before air bumps.

 

Damn, I was hoping I could stay away from a sway bar haha. I'm going to see how it handles first before I even think of installing one. But Im praying that I don't need one. Do most of you guys get an antirock swaybar?

 

We aren't ultra 4 here. IMO, not needed. Get your springs right and you'll be fine.

 

Sway bars not "needed", especially if you have leaf springs in the rear. Coilovers can help minimize body roll quite a bit depending on how they are tuned and configured.

With links front/rear, however, that's a different story. In that case I think you would need to have at least one sway bar.

Having said that, if you will be daily driving your rig, a sway bar could potentially enhance the ride quality of your rig significantly on the highway.

 

Damn I might end up going with ADS once I do coilovers

 

Couple of pics of my ADS coilovers. These are the regular "plain" coilovers, no fancy bypass, reservoirs, etc. They work just fine, don't see the need for bypass....at least not yet. Well under a grand for the pair brand new with springs. Can't beat that. Really good product.

As mentioned before, they have built in bumps at the bottom of the shaft sitting inside the coil bucket. I think many other brands - if not all - do this as well. The built in bump is enough, I think, for the average person to go wheeling and be ok. I might get air bumps down the road, but for now I'm ok with the cushion the built in bumps provide.

 

I have heard good things about ADS, I was looking at them for my FJ40 but their smooth bodies are more than I want to spend.

 

Look in different online forums and see if you can find them used. Sometimes good deals come up.

 

Can't sleep so I'm just thinking about crazy ideas I'd never achieve on my Tundra -- because money -- so feel free to ignore; these are just random points I was asking myself while laying in bed.

1) Ford Super Duty (F-250/350) axles with 5.38s would be best for a swap; are there any differences in the axles between years (older generations, newer generations)?

2) Generally, how does one go about even starting a rear-steer setup.. I'm assuming you use the same front axle but in the rear and run the appropriate steering boxes (presumably with a mechanical lock to keep the rear centered when not in use)? Do you need to do something to counter the direction the driveshaft/gears rotate?

3) Being that 5.38s seem to be the lowest you can go with the Super Duty axles, my supercharged Tundra (~550ft-lbs of torque) could theoretically move 46" tires easily.

4) 4-link with dual-rate coilovers seems like an ideal setup for ride comfort and offroad flexibility.

5) Anyone have axles laying around for sale?

Edit: My Tundra..

 

1. There are many differences. You need to read the "D60 Bible" on a forum called Pirate4X4. That article has all the information you need about the differences between all D60s from various years. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much information to type here.

2. LOL

3.You can go lower than 5.38 if you go with a Chevy D60 up front and a Dana 70 rear. I think gears go as low as 7.17 on those.

4. Good luck trying to find space under the engine bay do a dual-triangulated 4-link. Rig would be significantly tall. This is one of the reasons most people do 3-link instead. But if you don't mind a tall rig, then the 4-link can work.

5. Again...Pirate might be the best place to find used 1-ton axles that are already built.

 

Agreed, LOL at rear steer.

A lot depends on what your ultimate goals/ use for the rig are. I would keep the rear suspension you have and do a 3 link plus panhard for the reasons @1999RegCab outlined. 4 links should be triangulated so they don't bind, and only really make sense in the front if you have full hydraulic steering.

The superduty front axle got upgraded in '05 to bigger knuckles and unit bearings, the next upgrade I am aware of was in '11 for larger brakes. At some point they offered a rear e-locker as an option. I would look for '11+ axles personally. Hollanderparts is a good site for used parts junkyard search, and you can often find superduty axles on ebay, they are pretty common.

Since this pure speculation/ mental masturbation I would consider doing the following: The tundra already has a pretty strong rear axle with a 10.5 ring gear assuming you have a 5.7. Ruffstuff makes a 10.5" fabricated housing for that third member. A set of those front and rear, with sterling hubs on the rear and the 05+ super 60 knuckles up front would be pretty tits, lighter than the equivalent super duty axles, and a good way to burn up some of your imaginary time/ money.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/TOY105.html

 

yeah this. I had the same issues but then again i wanted to be talk and don't mind living on my bumps.

 

Tall works. Mine is 27" right now, which is considered tall by many people's standards. Can go down 2-3" inches easily before shit starts binding, but I will continue using it that way for now.

I was just highlighting that because everybody nowadays wants a low rider on 40"s seems like.

 

What's wrong with 44s? They were all the rage back in my day.

 

When you have a 4cyl like a do...everything is wrong with 44s" lol (assuming you wanna drive the thing on the highway)

 

Clear coat to keep it looking awesome?

 

Ordered, artec upper and lower link mounts, low profile truss and ram mount. Time to start on the 4 link. Can’t wait.

 

Yeah was going to paint it black. Thought this would look better and always liked the baremetal look.