'98 Reg Cab 3-Link SAS

This looks just like my first Taco. Sub'd

 

Updates (Pic Heavy)

Oil pan go installed and dip stick relocated. I don't have pics of that actually, lol. But it's the same oil pan conversion that everybody has to do for a SAS. So nothing special there.

Front frame plates tacked in place. They will not be burned until the location of the IFS box is set. Front axle has been located tentatively. It might be moved forward a few inches depending on the final set up of the steering. Still waiting for PSC parts.














Front tire mock up. That's how far out the front tires will be - depending on the wheels I end up getting. Corners of the ARB front bumper had to be trimmed to fit the tire. The fender need to be cut/trimmed as well. That will be next:



This pic shows a better angle about how far the tires will stick out. She's gonna be wide! By the way, that's not my tire. That's a 39" BFG sticky. Mine's a 40" Nitto Trail Grappler.







Atlas is in. I had a 1" body lift installed so no cutting of the cab floor was needed. Atlas was clocked (can't remember how many degrees), not much obviously. It hangs slighltly below the frame rails. The only way to get a flat belly would be to cut the cab floor to tuck in way high. I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible. So...I am ok with where it is now. It is actually slightly above from where the factory transfer case was. I think a skid plate can be fabbed to protect it. Otherwise, the location of the Atlas turned out great IMHO:







As you can see from the pics, the bottom of the Atlas is right at the same level with the cross member, so it is slightly below the frame rails. It's really not bad considering how big it is. So having a 1" body lift made a huge difference for sure.

Mechanical shifters will be next. They are still figuring the linkage and the final location. So all we have inside the cab is a hole for now:



They had some ATlas tcases around. This shop installs a TON of these things, so they have a good amount of experience with them:



Was finally able to get a few pics of the shave job they did for the rear 14bolt. They did a good job with the shave, as it removed a big chunk of the already huge casting:





They haven't started with the rear axle yet obviously as they need to set up the front first.

This is all I have for now. The next big thing will be to set up the IFS box and steering pump and plumbing parts for hydro assist once the parts from PSC arrive. After that, then all the links will be tacked in place, suspension cycled and the final location of the front axle will be determined.

Mine is the only toyota vehicle among a bunch of jeeps at the shop LOL. The guys that are working on it seem excited about building something a bit different than what they are used to. They are doing a great job so far.

 

Just make sure the jeep mechanics don't start putting SAE bolts on it, or keep with the jeep tradition of 4 different bolt sizes and one of those a torx on the same part!!

 

Lookin' good!

I shaved my 14 bolt as well when I had a Chevy mud truck. Its nice and beefy but they sure hang low before the shaving.


Beautiful truck man.

 

hahaha!

Too late for that already lol. I have Ford, Chevy, Atlas and Toyota parts all mixed together. The link suspension alone has different bolt sizes and they are standard sizes. I asked them to redrill some of the brackets so that at least most of the suspension parts have the same bolt sizes.

One of the benefits of staying "all toyota", is that it becomes easier retaining the integrity of the metric sizes.

Tks for your kind words.

I was surprised to see how big of a difference the shave does on these huge axles. I think it is a mod worth doing. Those 14bolt axles certainly hang low before the shaving.

 

Just a few updates.

IFS steering box mocked in place. Pushed as far forward as possible, literally almost touching the body mount



Next few days the brackets for the links will be tacked and burned in place. Tons of parts. Definitely easier to do a leaf spring setup

 

Which box is that?

 

I forgot to mention that the IFS box on the pic is one the shop had laying around just for mock up. I have another box coming in this week. Think is from an early 90s...need to confirm.

BTW, would you mind sending me the part numbers again for the steering shaft and ujoints? The shop asked me yesterday if i can supply those to them to save time.

Tks!

 

Will do... just need to dig through receipts.

 

Hi 99REG-
The original sector piece from your rack and pinion steering can be re-purposed for the new steering box. You simply disassemble the u-joint and remove the piece that is preventing normal rotation of the joint. Re-attach to the upper spline of the column.
Then you just need something on the box end.

There is a plan to visit Moab with some friends on week #2 of Oct. you are invited. It would be a good test run for the truck.....if you can get it ready......

 

2 months and 5 days......

 

Thanks for the tips about the sector piece. I think I'll end up with some type of contraption put together with a bunch of different parts

Thanks for the invite to Moab. It would be a great shakedown run!

 

-update-

So the front end is almost set. Links and link brackets were tack welded in place. Upper link is on the driver side next to the driveshaft, which is typical with the 4cyl tacomas, as there's NO room whatsoever on the passenger side for upper link placement due to the exhaust.

The front axle is finally located where it will be. Drag link and tie rod are set. Note: there is a metal sleeve that covers that long ass 3/4" bolt that goes from the steering arm to the bottom of the knuckle (will be installed later). One of the cool things about Kingpin axles is that there are more options to create a super strong double sheer steering setup connecting the steering arm with the bottom of the knuckle.





Also, the tie rod and drag link are made out of super beefy 1.25" X .25" DOM tubbing with 7/8" X 3/4" Heims on each end.

Sadly, the coilover towers I got from Ruff Stuff ended up being too short.




They actually sit over 12" above the frame, but it wasn't enough for a link suspension. Using them would have cause the truck to sit really high, like really, really tall. It's a bummer 'cause those the Ruff Stuff towers are pure beef and really well designed. They are probably perfect for a leaf spring SAS though.

Instead, custom hoops were fabricated. They sit waaaaaaaay high up there. Fenders were cut to make room for them. The hoop "legs" spread out quite a bit so that pulling/pushing loads are better distributed on the frame. The frame plates were finally burned to the frame as well. The welds are sexy as hell. Pics are a bit blurry but really good job with the welds:



This pic better shows how far up into the engine compartment the shock hoops had to be pushed in order to keep the ride low. It also better shows the angle of the shocks. Note: there is are small truss on top of the pumpkin for the upper link. The upper link is there but it's hard to see cause the axle is stuffed all the way up:



Driver side coilover. Fuse box, charcoal canister and battery had to be removed. Still don't know where to relocate all of that shit!



Passenger side coilover. Was lucky enough that the air box remained in the stock location. However, the windshield fluid bottle had to be sacrificed:



Driver side lower link. Links were made with 2" X .25" DOM tubing with 1.25" Heims at each end with a big ass 3/4" bolt. Massive stuff. Aluminum links would have been lighter but more $$$. This pic better shows the truss on top of the pumpkin for the upper link tower. Also, my IFS box finally arrived (it's inside that plastic bag on the floor)



The Panhard bar has not been set actually because the brackets I got from Ruff Stuff are not wide enough to inspire confidence for that 1 ton axle and 40" tires pushing and pulling. All their other brackets are bigger. Not sure why they skimped on the Panhard brackets. So I'm getting the axle and frame brackets for the Panhard from Artec. Similar design to Ruff Stuff's brackets but Artec's are wider.

Overall, I've been happy with the 3link kit from Ruff Stuff. It is bad ass and significantly cheaper than other options. If you wait until they have those 20% off sales during holidays (what I did ), you can get the whole thing (DOM tubing, Heims, all the hardware, towers, etc) shipped to your door for less than a grand. The only thing I was not able to use from the kit was the coilover towers and Panhard brackets. So I am returning those. But All the other brackets, links, mislalignment spacers, Heims, etc. were used. Really beefy parts.

Also, got my Hydro assist parts from PSC but they have not been installed yet.

Not sure yet what to do for bump stops. Might bite the bullet and air bump stops. Dunno...shit gets expensive by the minute with this project

Tks for reading.

 

Looks pretty good. The only issue I can see is the hoops. Because they support the weight of the front end I see a hoop busting loose even if they are great welds.....and all the welds look great from what I can see. They must have a good welder over at that shop. The hoops need a little triangulation....or maybe a strengthening cross bar going over the top of the engine(a bar connecting the tops of the hoops together.).

Oh ya.....know all about that getting expensive by the minute.

 

Good observation ZUK. Those hoops are vulnerable the way they are now!

I forgot to mention that a a removable bar will be fabricated connecting the top of the hoops with each other across the engine bay.

The welder is really doing a good job for sure.

 

Sorry for getting these late...
Here are the u-joints and shaft part #'s:
U-joint inside cab and for box (2): #611. Description U-Joint 17MM-36 x 34" SM (37X6)
Steering shaft: #1125. Description Steering shaft 3/4" x 48 (10x10)
Large joint I used in the middle: #635 Description U-Joint 3/4"-48 x 48 (10x10)

The large joint was used due to my going around the shock tower. You may not need this due to your hoops.
The joints for the box & inside cab are splined at one end and smooth on the other. The larger is splined at each end. All part #'s are from Howe.

Your build is looking great.

Good luck.

 

Great! Thanks for the info, i really appreciate it.

The original idea was to use the towers. But it may have been a blessing in disguise that the towers didn't work out, as dealing with the steering shaft might be a bit easier now.

 

were those the smaller ruffstuff towers? I had the issue with the steering shaft, but knew it was coming at least lol.

cut out the steering box mounting plate and move that sum bitch into the core support, or you'll probably end up having to clearance your firewall.

like so....

 

The towers i got from ruff stuff are their tallest ones they sell. But they were not tall enough as it turned out. Could have used them but the truck would be waaaay too tall. You want to push those coilovers as far up as possible into the engine bay in order to keep the ride low.

It's easier to set the steering shaft With custom shock hoops for sure.

 

Oh no for sure, I know that. I'm only running a 12" shock though so the tall towers worked out for me. Wish I would have just gone 1 ton from the start lol. It looks great.

The Internet fabricator in me is somewhat skeptical of the way those hoops are welded to the frame. I would have used a kick out tube off a plate that's welded to the frame, then notched the hoop to the kickout.