02 Tacoma doublecab 3-Link on FJ80 axles

What are you guys doing for pitman arms?

 

I got my oil pan kit from lowrange offroad during a sale they had. I think it was $240

95% of my suspension and steering parts are from ruff stuff. During the parts gathering phase of my project, i waited for their 20% off sales (usually around holidays). Actualky, I don't think I ever purchased anything from them at regular price lol. It saved me a ton of money.

I got their 3-link kit with dom, 1ton steering kit and shock towers (which I later returned) for about $1,000 - shipping prices included.

Regular toyota arm that my builder donated to me

 

Im thinking the 3/4 inch less drop in the middle will do the trick.

 

they say Einsteins desk was a mess, and that its a sign of genius. I don't know about all that but I definitely have a mess on my hands

 

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I definitely have the bottom one. But I have a totally dufferent set up than yours. So you might need one with less drop. This is where things start getting fun with a SAS. Everything is a compromise, and to get the clearance you want on one side you need to change a bunch of other stuff over and over again, re-measure stuff a million times until you arrive at the goals you want. Even with the middle one on the pic, Towards the end of your build you might end up with a totally different pitman arm depending on how things end up being set up. Just buy all three of them (and then selll the ones you don'r need lol)

The steering can be a pain to setup initially.

 

Right now I'm flying as blind as Stevie Wonder in a whore house, all the build threads and posts I've read over the last 15 years mean jack shit, all the Sac trucks I've checked out in person are a moot point and everything I know is in question. I'm coming to the realization that this is happening and all I got to say is I'm diving in like Christopher Reeve in a 2 ft deep pool. I'm too far down the rabbit hole now BRING IT ON

 

Go with the 3/4 or flat arm.

(Flatter the arm=more up travel)

 

Those analogies about Stevie wonder and Christopher Reeves are messed up haha

Every single SAS is very different from each other. There are just too many variables. That's why you might not be able to find a build you can copy/mirror.

The benefit of reading through build threads is to learn about the relationship between different components, product reviews, etc. I had no idea of the differences between 4-link and 3-link suspensions. Jeez, I didn't even know the differences between D60s before I started researching. I thought they were all the same LOL. Boy...was I wrong.

But the most important benefit is trouble shooting. Every issue you might find somebody else before you already encountered and figured out somehow.

But then there's the information overload. You read threads about link geometry, link calculators, etc. It makes your head explode...until you realize that at the end of the day it is all about making the best that you can with the space that you have to weld shit on. You may want links this long and with this or that triangulation because that's what the link calculator says about what a perfect design should be. but if you don't have room to lay the parts out the story ends right there. So everything is a compromise. Example, My friend did a 3-link without even using a calculator. He just followed the general rules of what you should shoot for (vertical separation between upper link and lower link, panhard as long as possible, you need more triangulation with a 4-link than ab3-link, etc) His rig rides great, flexes great and there's no bind anywhere. I'm still amazed about how he pulled it off. And like you, he learned how to weld as he started the SAS! Now he DID use a calculator for his rear 4-link though. That's a whole different animal.

It is a big project no doubt. I had a pro builder work on mine. But I did a shit load of research prior and was actively involved with ALL aspects of the build. My prior research was invaluable because i told my builder what I wanted and how I wanted. So I learned a LOT as we came upon challenges, ran out space, had to figure things differently, etc. It was a great experience for me.

You will love building this thing!

 

Is not that straight forward the tricky part is always getting the panhard and drag link as parallel as possible. Lot of guys have ended up with custom pitman arms. Local guy bult is own with a slight bent, just the right amount he needed. Nobody sold them like that so he built one himself

 

Yep, except Im right here

 

You will be fine, start cutting it apart and welding stuff back on, take what you read online with a grain of salt and you will figure it all out.

 

Got my steering heims ordered and the oil pan setup. Progress will be slow because I have my NREMT-B test a week from tomorrow so i have to study up for it but after that all my days off will be dedicated to the truck.
Ques. 1
What are some important measurement's and key reference points should I be keeping track of before i start cutting the IFS off.
2) did you guys weld any temporary crossmembers in to keep the frame from spreading under the weight of the motor.
3) while im in there im going to check the motor mounts for cracks.

Cant think of any other ?'s at the moment

 

When my truck was still ifs I put a big old piece of 3"x2"x.25" wall tube in between the frame rails in front of the radiator for a nice flush spot to mount a bumper to.

I've also got the all pro frame support thingy majig that you can have if you want it.

Looks like this

 

1. just cut the crap out of it and be careful with the motor mounts. Easy to go through them if you get carried away with the torch/plasma.

2. Some people do. Some don't. I've heard is more of an issue with leaf sprung set ups if you don't weld the spring hanger soon after cutting the IFS off. Talk to @Ritchie, he did a 3 link with the same kit you are using and his frame had some issues recently. He installed a custom crossmember to correct the issue. I have not seen any issues with mine yet but am keeping an eye on it. My front ARB bumper, (which attaches to the front ends of the frame like a cross member - sort of anyway), remained installed all the time during the SAS. Perhaps that helped a little bit with adding rigidity to the front end of the frame?..dunno

3. Not a bad idea. As mentioned above, be careful not to damage them when cutting the IFS brackets off.. My motor mounts got some welding reinforcement just in case. Kind of a no brainer to check them and re-inforce as needed while you are in there after all the IFS and brackets are gone.

 

Interestingly enough, Ritchies bumper of similar design remained bolted to his frame as well during the build process, leaving it no where to go while brackets were being installed by me. In addition to that his "A" pillar body mounts also remained in the same location and did not shift, I know this because I use them as reference points while aligning the axle to the vehicle. SO its a very interesting notion that his frame some how became misaligned during the process of welding on a panhard bracket and two shock towers. Leaves one thinking...interesting.

 

Interesring indeed.

I really dunno if there's any correlation between your kit and any frame misalignment issues. I tagged Richie, as he's the only one I know of that recently completed a SAS with your kit on a 1st gen Tacoma.

Not a lot of 1gen tacomas have the 4wu kit, so figured these guys can help each other out with trouble shooting.

Allpro is the only kit I'm aware of that requires a cross member.

Mine (put together with parts from ruff stuff and custom fabricated ones) doesn't have one...yet

Most other 3-link SAS tacomas I've seen don't have it either...though I know some guys used custom cross members to be able to triangulate the frame end of the lower links more; not necesarily because they had frame issues.

 

There aren't a lot of documented installs on the Taco's but there are as many of them as Mini guys. Kind of a bummer that only about 3% of guys will actually post anything of their builds.

 

Don't blame me, I am not using your kit

True, a lot of people don't document their builds. But that's how the learning gets passed on. At least this site is more friendly and free of adds. I understand why peoole don't like posting on pirate though. That's brutal over there..plus they have annoying adds unles you stop being a cheap bastard and pay the memebership fee

 

Meh, they are aren't that bad over on Pirate. Unless you know absolutely nothing I guess. But the Tacoma section on pirate is a ghost town for the most part anyway.

 

The tacoma hard core stuff has died in most forums anywat. The best era was when the TTORA guys started doing SAS back in the days. That was good tech there man. But that forum is dead.

The issue with Pirate is that people are never satisfied. No matter how good something is there's always harsh criticism. It gets old after a while. Perhaps that applies more to the non-tacoma people.