Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

The set at northside4x4 in Clovis, CA with 6 inch wheel spacer per axle for $4k?

 

I would offer 2k and negotiate from there. IMO cost new doesn't matter at all, it's used and you have no idea what the condition is or if was even assembled correctly.

I would keep reading about solid axles, it's like college level mechanical knowledge and not for noobs per se. It's a crap load of money and work and you have to maintain it and fix it when it breaks later on. Not a dig at all, just letting anyone that's reading this know that if you are not comforable wrenching on your own stuff, stay IFS and on 33s.

 

Why the hell would someone use a custom housing then slap 6" wheel spacers on it???

 

That's what I said, LMFAO. A mall crawler.....

 

A dipshit that's who! I would offer them $400, who knows what other hackery is going on with that thing if they pull something like that. If I was a shop I would be embarased to even have my name near it.

 

That’s California shit there widest wheels with spacers looks really cool in town haha

 

You didn't know. The bigger the wheel spacer, the better it is to cruise the parking lot

 

Yes this is it.

Correct. I don’t know this area so I didn’t know what this axle quality is. I do know that I still have to source the remaining parts. Someone mention I could get most of the other parts from the TG kits. That and I don’t know how to weld. Even if I was learning I wouldn’t want to attempt this at a novice level. I asked someone how much they would charge for labor and they said $4k, I thought that was high?

other crawler and fab shop chime in and said it was a good deal. Someone else poked at the spacers too but I didn’t think much off it because I don’t know better. Unfortunately this shop is one or the main one in the area for offroad/Toyota related work. They’re also swapping out for tons.

 

4K for labor is low in my opinion. I did all the work myself so can’t really help there.


That’s probably not a bad deal for front and rear axles considering I’m asking 5k obo for my front alone and sold my rear for like 1250 or something with a similar build sheet.

front would definitely need to be gone through the knuckles. Those trunnion bearings are probably not happy with those spacers.

those axles would be plenty strong enough on 37s and probably even a light 39/40. I made mine live with bad axle wrap and a heavy foot under mine with no issues.

 

Yea. He did mention that a shop would charge $6-8k for labor but since he closed his shop and is doing it from home, $4k.

I been wanting to go 35’s but this axle came up and was curious about it. It’s a rabbit hole, 35’s then soon you want to go SAS with 37’s then upgrade to tons for 40’s+.

 

It is a rabbit hole but as long as you know what you want to do with the truck 37s will do all the trails on the west coast with ease.

 

Aren't these axles from the black first gen double cab the current owner bought already solid axle swap few years ago and had his rear swingout bumper built by Brute Force?

If you don't know how to wrench, I wouldn't recommend going the solid axle route. It is stronger and better than IFS but will do you no good if each time you have issue, it's going to a shop for repairs. Also, if you prefer having a quality ride, the front leaf spring and solid axle setup is definitely not designed for that purpose.

A built IFS with 35 or 37, selectable front & rear lockers, sliders, etc can handle and go on almost all the trail without issue. I'd seen IFS tacoma picking the same line as solid axle guys and make it as well up as obstacle.

For God's sake, someone please remove those fugly spacer! 3" per side, holy cow. Spend $4k on axles + $4k on labor + another $2-4k on parts is not worth it unless you can do the work yourself. Plus, with the disc conversion in the rear and no ebrake setup, you won't be able to run offroad hosted events. Most event host will check and make sure the vehicle have a functioning ebrake.

If it's truly a good deal, those axles would sold quick. At the end of the day, it's still a TG axle with wheel spacer and a face lift.

 

$6-8k on leaf spring setup, holy cow. What is that shop smoking and charging per hour? $400 hourly rate for 20 hours worth of work? Don't even cost that much for a well known specialized shop to do coilover and it takes more time to set up than leaf.

 

Yes they came from that truck. I’m no mechanic but I do all the work on my vehicles when I can. Trust me I can be a cheap fuck on certain things so I learn to DIY lol. The only thing I don’t mess with is welding. Can I buy the equipment and learn it? Yes. Maybe one day I’ll go down that path. I probably should considering this hobby will benefit from it as I progress. Like many things though, there’s not enough time to be a “master” of all the experiences in life.

You’re right about that be a good deal. Maybe if the person who bought it could do all the work and knew how to make it work for them. Since this is not a plug and play that $4k is not the final cost.

Yea I thought that was a high. Fresno doesn’t have many shops that specialize in this so maybe they feel they could charge a premium, less competition.

 

That's why most shop open for business and closed down within a few years, over charging for stuff like that. Most truck owners will end up taking it up north to Sac or SF and down south to LA. Sad but that's reality.

 

You’re right. It’s unfortunate because it seems like we have a big community around this area and Shaver/Sequioa has some of the best trails. You would think shops want to keep the labor reasonable to have more constant work. But I’m not in the business so what do I know. I do know everyone wants to make a good profit, have people to feed, and or pay bill...so yeah.

 

Califab is up there (sac) - they seem to have some skills but no affiliation with them personally

 

Yep. I spoke with califab last year regarding leaf and link labor prices for a Tacoma. They stated leaf will cost roughly $3-4k and link be around $5-6k. Not sure why shop in Fresno/Clovis area will charge $6-8k for just leaf. I would imagine $10k+ for link if a shop in Fresno does the install.

 

Found this little gem today too

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/beware-rock-solid-toys.687511/

 

Ouch