Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

Has anyone four linked the front of a second gen? I don’t see any way to do it now that more stuff is out of the way. oil pan, cats, driveshaft. I don’t see it happening.

 

Just 3 link it and call it good. Lot easier to package. As you get deeper into it, you’ll realize how much stuff goes where it fits as opposed to where the link calc says they should go

 

Yeah the rear was pretty wide open compared to the front. I was able to get away with a lot. Once I get the front cut out I’m going to throw some pvc up there and see if I can triangulate enough to do away with a pan hard, but I’m doubtful. I’ve seen a few four link first gens, but no second gens.

 

Any particular reason you want to 4-link as opposed to a 3?

 

I just feel it’s a superior system, but with what’s required to do it properly in the front it may not be worth the effort as opposed to a well thought out 3-link. Once I get the rest cut out it may take 5 minutes or 5 hours for me to come to that conclusion haha

But to answer your question- better because no pan hard, no arc movement of the axle throughout travel, limited flex steer (if triangulation allows), ability to break a link or bracket and not dog shit on everything else. Basic reasons people do 3 over 4 in any other case I guess

 

Are you going full hydro? If you are, then fuck it, it’s a buggy at that point. No reason not to 4-link it and shove the axle way forward to make things clear the engine.

 

Definitely full hydro. Would love to push it forward a bit, but don’t want to be super long. Can’t shorten the rear any being a double cab. Kinda stuck. I don’t know the logistics of relocating the radiator either.

 

True. Those link calculators are more relevant for people building something from scratch with an empty tube chassis. That's pretty much the only way to build a link suspension with "perfect" geometry.

 

I think it’s helpful to plug in numbers and see how things are related and get a good idea of what to shoot for, but yeah most of it comes down to packaging in the practical application.

 

Im not sure you’ll have a whole lot of choice but to push it forward if you’re packaging triangulated uppers and a hydro ram. Most of the buggies I’ve seen with it place the axle in front of crank pulley. The 4.0 is a big bitch of a motor too

Here’s a picture of a bomber chassis for reference on the axle to motor relationship. It obviously wouldn’t be as extreme on a Tacoma but it paints the picture

 

I'll give the not fun answer which is focus on the driver mod for a few more years. Or just build a buggy. If you did manage to pull off a 4link front that wasn't godawfull from a geometry perspective, the trails that you can really use it down here are death climb style trails in the woods. I would 100% not want to be in a Tacoma backflipping off a ledge in a forest.

Either way you will need driver mod, or you will just be another doofus in the woods with a trail tampon breaking really expensive parts.

 

Yeah that’s about the only way. Not sure if it’s worth it if it turns the truck into a school bus. I like what this guy in GA did with his first gen. Little more than I want to build lol, but he was able to shorten the rear and extend the front being an access cab. Dude is playing a totally different sport though haha

 

I enjoy pushing the build as much as pushing myself driving. I’m pretty new to both, so I could use more years in both areas haha but that’s part of the fun for me and folks gotta start somewhere.

 

That's kind of my point. Push that truck on hard stuff as it sits until you start to find limitations in design and driving before trying to shoehorn a suspension system under it that people don't use for a reason.

 

I’m about 75% convinced a four link will be more trouble than it’s worth or have more trade offs than benefits compared to the three link, but I’d be an idiot not to throw some PVC up there and see what’s what. I’d rather be pleasantly surprised in the future by overbuilding rather than disappointed by under building.

 

To @slander's point, I'm not sure this is headed in a great direction with a second gen Tacoma body and frame. If you're out to build a buggy, just build a buggy instead of all the compromise with a big bodied Tacoma that's no longer streetable at all. Seems like the worst of both worlds. I wouldn't call a 3 link with a SD60 axle under building either...There's a reason 99% of the non buggy applications do it.

 

Yeah I see what you’re saying. If it’s not low hanging fruit to do a four link I’m not going to bother. It required little extra effort to do dual triangulation in the rear over single so if it’s within reason I’ll do a four link up front.

 

Truest statement!

Your point reminds me that, if I were to do it again, I would probably just go for a buggy of sorts from the start.

What happens with these projects is that most people get caught in a "have your cake and eat it too" type of mentality. Everybody wants to build a mean and capable offroad rig, while also retaining all the daily driving perks.

But something's gotta give, and the more aggressive one goes with the offroad capability, the more you sacrifice the truck's ability to be practical for the roads anymore.

Don't get me wrong, my truck, like many others' here, drives great on the road even after all the mods. That's not the issue. The real issue is that it's just not practical anymore for that. Fuel economy sucks big time, truck is slower now, tires are way too damn expensive to be putting lots of highway miles on them, it draws too much attention everywhere you drive or park, 5-point harness is uncomfortable on long road trips and annoying, etc.

I've been delaying getting a trailer and tow rig, and just turn the tacoma into an offroad vehicle only. But it is inevitable and I need to move in that direction. Which leads me to the conclusion that I should have kept the tacoma IFS and get a get buggy instead

 

Trailer and new daily driver was best for me for multiple reasons. The Tacoma is a shit vehicle for what I need day to day and I’d never buy another one honestly. If I hadn’t back halved it I would sell it and build or buy something else. It’s a giant pig with no balls, but it is what it is and I think I’d vomit if I bought a jeep. If nothing else at least it’s different haha there’s a bit of novelty factor in working around a bunch of bullshit and trying to have a decent offroad vehicle. Nice to roll up the windows and blast some AC on the trail, too.

 

Haven’t cut everything out, so it’s hard to see. Here’s my first impressions as I’m in my pajamas- if I extended to approx 138” wheelbase I could have 30” uppers pretty heavily triangulated. Lowers could be plenty long up to about 40” and shockingly pretty triangulated. Could notch into the frame for the upper link mounts around the cab mount area. Need to get an axle in here and cut some more stuff out.