Modified Tundra Rack Swap Preorder

I started my rack install yesterday morning. Tons of fun. Stock rack was kinda a pain to get out, Tundra rack was a huge pain to get in. After trying for about 40 minutes fighting the oil filter canister housing, I finally lifted the engine up. Not alot just loosened 2 engine mount nuts and jacked it up a little. Worked perfectly and was able to get the rack in. Don't even waste your time trying to get it in without raising the engine a little. Makes it much easier. I can also say at this point the shorter intermediate shaft worked and fits well. Right now I have the rack siting in the cradle no bolts in as I need to center the rack into the cradle so I have to do some spinning of the eccentric bushings. Also a good idea to grind down the bungs for the bolts on the cradle, as the rack is much thicker than stock. Last pic is the bungs ground down. Couple of pics.

Stock vs the after market.
e

 

Hell yea, glad that looks like its going to work out! Who would have thunk it lol

 

Day 2 update. Pic heavy. The rack is in all lines connected, the intermediate shaft is in, all new fluid and flushed the system. I had a hard time adjusting the bushings to get them just right, it took a while. I recommend lining them up with the stock rack first. You could use a dowel or a long punch to get them through the stock rack bushings, then the bushings in the Tundra Rack while it sits on top of the stock rack. This will get you a good starting point before it goes in. I did not think about this till after I was done with the install. Once the rack is in put a bolt through one of the bushings with a nut on loosely. Keep it loose, then you can grab the bushing lip with a set of channel locks and turn it left or right to fine tune the other bolt. No easy way around it, there will be some back and fourth here to get it just right. For the low pressure line on the on the driver side, I ran it under the high pressure line to keep it off the frame a little, it sits over the high pressure line stock. In order for me to get the intermediate shat in I had to remove the driver side bolt, leave the passenger side bolt in still loose and slide the rack forward a bit to create some space. Do this after you have the bushings lined up and the rack in place. On my truck the intermediate shaft is rubbing up against the frame enough to remove the paint on the lower ribs of the shaft. It might be a good idea to hit the ribs with a flap disc before the install to remove some material. I do not have a good pic of this as the cats were hot and effecting the camera. I'll put up a a good pic when I have a chance to take one. Overall it was a rough install, so be prepared. Have a good breakfast, give your self time and don't rage quite. Once it's in it fits, it's just getting it in that blows.

Here is a pic @Basikbiker sent me when I messaged him during one of my walk away for 5 minutes moments. Here you can see where the bolts are through the bushings for a good starting point.


Here is a pic of the rack in, I have a good amount of clearance under the front of the engine. I added an 1/8 of an inch C type washer to the motor mount for added clearance.



Here is a pic of where I added the washer, it sits between the engine motor mount and the frame side motor mount. There are other options out there, this worked for me. I may explore different options in the future. I'm also not sure if its completely necessary, figured I had the engine up so did it just in case.



Here is a pic of the bushing lip where you will be adjusting it with the channel locks, you can see the teeth marks from all the back and fourth. I also placed a large washer under the bushing as mine where ground down flush and I wanted to add a little clearance over on the driver side above the CVs as RCVs are going in soon. The washer sits off set as the spot is close to the diff mount bung.


On a side note the stock tundra rack dust boot fits the Warfab tie rod sleeves perfectly. Since there is no grove in the sleeve it will slide off when you turn full lock but it does fit kinda tight with the stock Tundra clamp. It slid off here in the pic after I turned the wheels.



Here you can see the high and low pressure lines and how tight the clearances are on the driver side. My lines were still soft so no kinks in the lines.



If you have any questions or would like some other pics, please let me know.

 

This was extremely helpful. Thank you

 

Quick update

The pinion clears the RCVs. Diff side RCV is much larger over stock, I can confirm it clears. Also adding a pic of where the intermediate shaft is rubbing up against the frame the smallest amount.



Shaft just touching the frame.

 

I'd be careful with body/frame flex, mine barely rubbed on the street and the first trip I went wheeling, I could barely turn the truck since the body/frame flex so much and basically was trying to gouge the frame out instead of a small rub.

 

I was gonna say something similar. That’s why I cut out the whole section and replaced it with DOM.

 

Appreciate it fellas. I had planned to take the shaft off and grind down the lower 3 ribs with a flap disc. I don't have your welding skills. To be honest, I needed a break from the garage for a couple days. I'm actually glad I waited. Had the truck at the alignment shop today, drives down the road straight and the wheel is perfectly straight. Now that I know everything is straight I can lock it down/mark it up and remove the shaft for grinding. It would have been easier to remove it with the CVs off but it is what it is. I enjoy the challenge, mostly.

 

That’s what I originally did, grind down the ribs. That’s how I learned it’s hollow, meant to collapse in case of an accident, so grinding won’t work.

If you have no other options you are welcome to mail me your original shaft and a piece of tube (I can get you measurements) and weld it up for you for free, it’s not much work.

 

Well that throws a big ass wrench in plans.
Thank you for the offer and for letting me know. If I take you up on it I'll pm you. I really appreciate it.

 

From here on out, anyone named Randy is a cool dude in my book.

 

also i think i have a spare shaft sitting in my shop...if you can get me an overall measurement i can fab one up and send it out to ya, just send me your shaft after the swap

 

Thank you, PM incoming. I will be able to send you two shafts, the stock one and the shorter aftermarket one.

 

Just a small update, I'm workin on another run of the racks this month and will have one or two with me bringing em down to KOH, so holler at me if ya want one

 

Adding the tundra swap to my todo list. Biggest tire I’ll run is a 35” but I like to be overbuilt.

 

Just set up my pre order for a rack from Travis, hopefully keep you guys updated on the install process

 

I also used to tell myself lies such as this

 

i told myself 37s were max.....but i have some 39s sitting here for the other build and im like......maybe they fit

 

Anything can fit with a little persuasion

 

I almost ended up with 39’s instead of 37’s because the 37’s were back ordered for a few months and I was getting impatient