Aleu - The Rebuild of a 1980 Pickup

few updates, I decided earlier in the week to drop my rods off at the machine shop and have them R&R my con rods since i dont have the right tools for them. So im getting the new bolts pressed in, the new wrist pin bushings installed and have them honed out to fit the new wrist pins, cant wait to get those back.

Also got my OTHER marlin crawler seal set in as well as new spindle bolts, knuckle studs, and rock ring bolts. I did get the entire front axle torn apart and just need to clean the spindles and steering knuckles up and then cut the rest of the brackets off and paint the front axle and that will be good to bolt back onto the front.

also got my fancy mirrors in today too! true Hilux fender mirrors! the look that Im wanting to go with! cant wait to see how this all bolts up...I still need to get the cab finished lol, also got the old fittings cut off and impacted off the steering box, so my TG power steering kit will be good to go now

lastly, I ordered a bunch of stuff thats coming in finally, sector shaft nut and washer (so i can actually BOLT my pitman arm to my steering box), Marlin Crawler backing plate eliminators, brake line kit, hard lines for all 4 corners, and a fancy 8" slip travel front driveshaft that will need to get welded up to a longer driveshaft for the front.

my wiring harness show up tomorrow too!!!!! more pics to follow in the next few days.

 

more pics as promised lol

 

this baby showed up yesterday too! my ORS harness is finally here! I also picked up my R&Rd connecting rods from the machine shop and grabbed another set of rotors so I dont have to deal with pulling the bearing pockets off those semi float axles

 

so I've got good news and bad news lol.

bad news....yet again I'm delayed in putting together this engine...somehow my bearing got nicked and got damaged, so I ordered a new set from LCE and that should be here Tuesday or Wednesday.

good news, I was able to get another locking hub dial that had the clutch spring and the small nub things on the free wheel cover. also picked up another engine hook, so now I have 2 and picking this engine up will be so easy and safer instead of using the exhaust stud lol

 

made some progress finally, got the brackets cut off of my axle housing that needed to go. took apart my hub dials and painted the dials silver and the cover black, just need to clean the hub housing and these will be good to go. axle also got cleaned up, some parts ground down and then painted black. steering knuckle also received a nice coat of black paint.

i need to get another wire brush attachment for my dremel so i can finish taking off some gasket that was left behind when i tore the axle apart

once thats done, ill put the new rotors on and clean the front hubs up, then the entire axle can get put together and the truck can sit on all 4s again!

my new bearings for the connecting rods also come in wednesday too i think

 

Axle is about 95% done now, 3rd member in and the axle put together. just need to put the retainer rings in place as well as the wiper seal, then the rock rings can bolt in and that'll be finished.

Then the calipers go on and the locking hubs need to get put back together and the axles will be done!

 

Great work on the axle. It’s what makes our trucks desirable

 

thanks! my ONLY problem with it...the bearing preload is like 17lbs instead of 15 like LROR calls for, for bigger tires...but im not really wanting to pull the caps off again as its a pain with my still new Marlin Crawler bearings lol

 

hey guys, back in the swing of things after the holidays. havent gotten much done, but have been waiting for parts to come in. got new detent balls and springs for the hubs, timing cover bolts, and got relocation plates for the rear axle so I can make it line up a bit better in the wheel well.

but for today, I got the 4 locking hub dials finally cleaned and refurbished with new seals, paint, grease, and dial bolts. also new detent balls and springs, I got a lot to do this next month, but I want the truck driving in the next month lol. we will see....I'm gonna have to bust my ass on this

 

a few updates, got the engine put back together for the most part, still need a few things to finish it up, but next step is to take the cab off and mock everything up....finally....lol. I need to get another oil pressure switch since I snapped off the one I had in the block putting it back in; luckily, its not hardened steel, so i was able to drill and reverse thread bit it out lol

 

got more of the engine put together, mocked it up with the trans just see what it looks like....iisssss a long bitch haha. also got all 4 of the locking hubs installed. I was worried about how the rear would look with the locking hubs, but with the silver/black hubs, it looks really good.

I had also installed ALL the hubs....then realized I forgot the locking hub to hub assembly gaksket....on all 4 corners. so I had to take all 4 of the snap ringe off and take all 4 hubs BACK off, just to put the gasket on lmao.

I got my axle relocation plates in yesterday to push the rear axle back to line up more with the wheel wells

 

Can you give me a breakdown what Engine, tranny, Dual case and transfercase with gearing that your going with?
You're using hubs on the rear, I haven't heard of that before.

 

Engine:
- 2.7l 3RZ-FE out of a 98 Tacoma 4x4
- LCE Performance Master Rebuild Kit
- Bored 0.040 over and honed
- Crank polished
- Both deck and head machined
- R&Rd con rods (new studs and wrist pin bushings)
- Balance shaft delete
- Stage 1 port and polish intake
- Stage 1 cam shafts
- High performance valve train

Transmission:
- W56 5 speed out of I think an 88 Pickup
- W59 bellhousing

Transfercase:
- Marlin Crawler MC08 doubler with 2 RF1A gear driven cases with 23 spline upgrade in the rear
- sadly the gears are 2.28:1, at some point I'll be upgrading to 4.7:1 (but that means shaft upgrades for both cases lol, which I'll need a 23 spline input for the front to be able to use my W59)
- Trail Gear twin stick in the rear case and single shifter for the front case for hi/lo

- I also have a front range skid and rear case crossmember that will be going on

and yeah, the rear setup I have is from Front Range Offroad, it's a Full Float conversion. Basically puts front axle parts on the rear. full float is a lot more durable and easier to maintain. I also get disc brakes out of it too! so that's why there are hubs in the rear, it uses the toyota front axle parts; I could use drive flanges, but that's too much work for me right now.

essentially the drums and axle assembly come out, an adapter bolts to the axle housing, that adapter acts as the steering knuckle up front. Then the spindle bolts to the adapter, hub assembly with rotor goes on, axle in, bearings in, bolt it all in, and locking hubs go on! it's a complex way to get discs...but it's so much easier to maintain this setup AND it's a lot more durable having the 4340 chromo axles in the back. it's probably one of the few setups out there if not the only one that uses toyota parts. so I have 4 wheel disc brakes using all Toyota parts

 

Your list:



It seems I still have a ton to learn. Just did my 22r rebuild and felt it was a big project. I'm actually surprised i know more than half of what you listed.

Bravo man! I can visualize it already!

 

hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates, the last 3 weeks ive had like 0 motivation to do anything, doesnt help its been cold and rainy out either lmao. about the only progress ive made is I put the trans crossmember on and found out I need to drill my axle relocation plates out as the Chevy 63 center pins are too big

 

finally got some motivation lol, got the rear main housing sealed up, clutch and flywheel back on, and hooked the trans up and dropped everything in place. gotta weld the rear mounts in place as right now its just being held up by a ratchet strap.

I do however need to get a new header, the one i got from my buddy with the 3rz doesnt clear the frame rail

 

Fuck yeah dude

 

today i found out that my theory on my driveshaft was correct lol, little bit out more than i was wanting, but i can fix that with a spacer or get my Tacoma driveshaft made to fit. i may do that along with my front driveshaft, have to get a longer one made with a long slip yoke

 

How far is the header out from fitting? Would a dent in it fix it? Or more than that?