Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

2nd gen is too bulky and wide for me and some of the trail around here. Definitely like the power plant tho...

When my 5vz decides to go boom, I'll throw in a 2uz and call it good.

 

I would toss a doubler in it before an SAS.

 

i'd just LS swap, can't beat a V8

 

I remember this guy, "Dick Foster", from the early TTORA days. He was one of the first to do a SAS on a Tacoma, and it was radius arm! It was one of the best performing SAS 1st gens for a long time. He built his with 35"s, which were considered big tires at the time.

Famous last words ! I think everybody ends up upgrading and going bigger at some point. Crazy to see that now even 40"s are considered small. The new trend is 42"s and up even on street driven rigs (at least in AZ). It never ends!

 

42 is the new 40
40 is the new 37
37 is the new 35
35 is the new 33

I'll buy the bolt on solid axle kit to run 40s... I use to think 40s are huge, now I'm considering 42... not because it's the trend but the trails are more torn up.

 

And then it goes:

Go follow all them with smaller tires and make them look stupid because you know how to drive and didn't just whip the CC out.

 

Or struggle while they make it look easy.... lol

 

Win, lose. Love, hate situation....

 

Initially I wanted 37"s. A bit small for 1ton axles, but it is doable.

But when I was shopping for tires, I found a good set of 40"s for a great price locally. Couldn't pass up five Nitto 40" tires with 75-80% thread for $500.

Plus I realized the 40"s fit just fine anyway. Conventional wisdom says that you should go with the biggest tire you can fit anyway, so it ended up being a no brainer at the end.

Point is that in my case, it wasn't about following trends. Have to say, after wheeling with 40"s for a while, I think I'll stay with that size. It makes wheeling so much more fun - less stressful overall. Truck is not a low rider either, so I don't worry too much about dragging the belly everywhere. 40"s work perfectly for my application.

Anything bigger is unnecessary IMHO. Heck, even 40s" are unnecessary in most wheeling situations. 42"s are only two inches bigger, but damn, they are soooo much bigger and heaver than 40"s Plus I don't trailer my truck...no way I'm driving 42"s on the highway with a 4cyl haha

 

Very true

 

I’m starting to get everything together for my swap, I’m planning to run a 4wu kit with 14” coil overs and 35s with a narrow track d44.

I’m curious why most builds seem to use a passenger drop axle? It seems it would easier to do drivers drop to avoid the exhaust. I’m guessing it may have something to do with axle availability/using a gear drive t case?

 

Only thing I can think of why p-side axle is use might be because they're prerunner originally?

Link won't be a cheap route, that's for sure. Link kit and coilovers will run easily $5k+

 

Depends on what year the truck is. Older are pass drop newer are driver. Unless you go atlas and get it changed. Chevy axles are cheaper than Ford. Unless you get a superduty axle. Super cheap compared to the king pin stuff

 

Correct. Anything pre-taco is passenger drop. Tacoma and newer are driver drop.

Most tacoma with passenger drop axle start off as prerunner...

 

Thanks guys, should have clarified that I was specifically referring to 1st gen tacoma builds. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something that would make it easier to go passenger drop when it comes to positioning and clearancing for the links.

 

Eh... it really just depends on what parts a person finds. I found a 4:1 dana 300 for a great price and then a bunch of cheap fj stuff that I'm building a 9.5/fj80 hybrid. Basically the first cheapest part gets things headed in a direction for me at least.

 

Some 1st gen tacomas are SAS'ed with a passenger drop axle I think because dual transfer case options are easier to find for those axles.

Left hand drop dual-cases are very scarce. And if you find a Marling Crawler "taco box" for left hand drop, then those require you to put the crawl box in front of the tacoma chain driven case. Many people do not like this because the box with the lowest gearing should go in the rear like it is in the right-hand ones.

About the 4WU kit; it is certainly a very nice kit. But you do not need a "toyota specific" kit to do a link suspension. There are vendors that sell universal kits at a fraction of the cost literally.

 

Thanks, appreciate the feedback! I figured the crawl box played a role. I’m going with the new NWfab box, so that will allow me to keep it drivers drop (though I’ve definitely considered passenger drop and throwing a Dana 300 behind the NWFab box).

As far as the 4WU kit, I know there are many universal link kits available but I’m looking at 4WU as this will be my first 3 link project. I’m fine with the cost as long as it will offset the additional time spent with a universal kit, though I’m not new to fabrication so I could be convinced otherwise.

 

Well, if you have experience with fabrication a universal kit should not be a problem then!

You might not necessarily save time with the 4WU kit vs going with a universal link kit. The kit is supposedly "plug-n-play." Understandable why that sounds appealing.

However, it looks like some owners had to modify anyway to make it work. Talk with @Ritchie, he has the 4WU kit and knows a shit ton about it. He has a really cool truck.

Check this build thread. This other guy had a really difficult time with the kit https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wu-setup-advice-build-thread.552150/ It worked well at the end, but it wasn't plug-n-play for him either.

BTW...Isn't the kit designed to work with diamond axles to begin with? (not 100% sure). With the D44 you want to use, it looks like you might need to modify it, which takes time, which defeats the plug-n-play thing. Then, what if half way through your build you change your mind about a couple of things? I think universal kits are more versatile in that regard.

Don't get me wrong. The 4WU has the best looking brackets out there. It looks amazingly well built. Many owners seem happy at the end. So why not? Just keep in mind that you "might" need to modify something very expensive.

Anyway, just making conversation LOL!