Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

he has them posted in the FB rock crawling classifieds

 

I believe this is the front.

 

He already sold the rear and i didn't know till i just texted him.

 

https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydraulics/Hydraulic-Cylinders/Power-Steering-Hydraulic-Cylinders/
So who has used these before? Thinking of going this route. Just don’t want to spend a lot of money in this area at the moment when I got a lot more shit to get.

 

Well done. You will love the width. Those ruffstuff housings are really bad ass.

My buddy built his hydro assist with one of those rams. It worked really well.

The ram "brand" is not really that big of an issue as you sort your steering - provided that you figure out the right size for your application as size have a dramatic effect in steering response (bigger one is not necessarily better).

The biggest roadblock is getting the right steering pump...along with a properly sized reservoir.

 

Most of the guys I wheel with use those Rams, and I plan to as well. Also look into the wj ps pumps, they are supposed to be badass and are an upgrade for xjs. You need the one that is on the Jeep model with the hydraulic cooling fan I guess. Looking at one for my Tacoma.

There's a massive thread on pirate4x4 by patooyee titled what's going on inside a power steering pump. Tons off good info if you want to learn about the different types of pumps and how they work, vs giving your cc# to a company blindly assuming it's something special.

 

Speaking of PS, is the All Pro kit worth it or would you guys just piece one together?

 

I don't see how you're going to stuff the upper link, driveshaft, catalytic converter, and pumpkin all on the driver side.

The only 2nd gen I've seen them put their kit on was the black single cab and they used a diamond axle housing. So if you're using an axle with little to no driver side tube showing you're going to be out of luck.

I'd buy generic kit from Ruffstuff, Barnes, or your favorite shop and go from there.

 

I wasn’t looking at the entire kit which from what I have read is more work than it’s worth. Top link will be going on passenger side similar to yours. just this portion.

 

I bought the AP Kit for mine..Well only thing AP is the Aluminum Lower Links, And I will say they are burly AF. If I could do it over I'd piece it together. Also check with RST. Feel free to check out my build page, DCSB V6 Was TRD might help with some 2nd gen questions.

We stuffed mine all on the drivers side Diffidently was some work but so worth it...If I had a 4 banger it would have helped.

 

You may be able to piece it together a bit cheaper if you:

• Source the IFS box cheap locally or online, rebuild it and drill/tap it (for hydro assist) yourself.
• Build your own steering shaft by sourcing parts from toyota trucks.
• Build your plates if you have steel and access the right tools to cut in the right shape.

Buying a "kit" of anything will always be more money. You are paying for the convenience of not having to spend the time scavenging for parts and/or building them from scratch.

I was able to squeeze everything on the DS and I have a dana 60 with a ridiculously big pumpkin . But I have have a 4cyl engine, which puts the exhaust on the PS which helped a lot.

 

I'm just here to drool...

 

That kits a rip off! Almost 900 bucks and it doesn't even come with hi steer arms or tie rods/draglinks?!?!

Thats MAYBE $500 worth of stuff in that kit if you buy it all new and not on sale.

 

The borgeson shafts is somewhere around $250 and a reman box is around $400. I would buy the firewall plate and piece together the rest. I would also build the frame plates, it seems like the universal plates aren’t quite universal enough.

 

And the reason why you posted a pic of your IFS rig on the SAS folder is.......?

Are you planning to your rig to SAS it? There's a few FJs around with straight axles up front. They look so bad ass. Be the next one!

 

Which IFS box would be ideal? everyone seems to be running different ones. Tools aren't an issue, its more of the convenience of it being able to be installed faster. If parts need to be modified I might as well build it myself.

Thats what i was thinking. The only reason i am considering it is because I'm trying to cut the install time down and I'm not sure which box to go with.

 

The ifs boxes are all the same.

 

They are not the same. One has more turns one direction than the other. IDR which years but one has like 4 turns to lock the other is like 2.5? Real similar but not the 'same'

 

Got to digging, i believe you are correct sir.

 

Damn, good info. I just learned something new.

I had heard from some guys that they preferred the late model boxes, but never really explained why. Now I have some ideas about why.