Which axle would you choose and why?

@JTB727

hey man, are you enjoying the 4.56 gear - front/rear locker - manual hub combo?

 

Yeah I sure am! I have a leaky left side diff seal I have to take care of but no problems and the thing wheels great for an ifs rig. Eventually my sas will happen but I'm still lurking around and keeping my eyes peeled for some good deals. One nice thing about wheeling with the group and getting to know people is I got a pair of extended travel coilovers for free .. So that may have put my sas on hold a bit longer because mid travel would be mostly sufficient for 90% of wheeling trips especially because I already am a 10" shock out back... But we will see I may have to pass them along on some good karma and not spend the money on ucas at this point. Check out my build thread truck has came along way since you saw it last. @1999RegCab

 

Good to know you are putting the parts to good use!

A couple of thoughts on that leaky left side seal:

Apparently, that is a common "issue" with those front IFS lock rights for the 1st gen tacomas. It happened to me too I remember reading some posts on other forums years back about it, maybe it was TTORA. Other guys reported having the "leaky left side seal" after installing the lock right. I never had an issue with oil starvation though, and it seemed to happen only with very hot weather. Now, if you have a busted seal that's a whole different story LOL.

I wheeled all over AZ and other states across the country with IFS, 4.56s, 33"s, and lockers front/rear. That's a good combo. Heck, I was following guys with solid axles and 37"s everywhere LOL. Always fun to see the Jeep guys' reactions when seeing how capable my tacoma was with IFS and lockers. And believe it or not...I never broke a CV. Had to repack the grease a couple of times over the years, but never broke them. The lower gears really made a huge difference during climbs/descents.

I built my front/rear suspensions with IFS 3-4 times; plus buying new gears and lockers and paying labor to get them professionally installed. It was a lot of money over the years; money I wish I put towards a SAS instead. If I were to do it all over again, i would just do the SAS from the get go As capable as the IFS with lockers was, some trails were a bit too scary with the lack of articulation of the IFS...plus I always took it extra easy in fear that I would bust a CV. Well...maybe that's the reason why I never broke one haha.

Anyway, the SAS, ironically, is for more peace of mind and to be able to push the truck a little further in some trails

Do you have a link for your build thread?

 

Its funny you mention that. I was wondering the same thing about the lockright maybe creating extra pressure. It leaked as soon as I put the c.v in. Nice thing though it only leaks in 4wd. But the leak how gotten worse so I figure ill tear into it anyways.

And yeah it keeps me competing with the "big boys" pretty well. A few extra inches of travel up front would go quite a ways. That's why when I got these coilovers for free it sparked my interest to at least try mid travel. Plus it'll let me gain even more knowledge in the mean time. Both about mid travel and research for sas since I can do it for basically the cost of some upper control arms. Which I can probably find used and for a good deal.



https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/jtbs-stkn4lo-build-thread.473086/#post-14344314

Here is the link for my build.

 

Hopefully things work out with the seal. I really never had any issues over the years...just an annoyance. The beauty of manual locking hubs is that nothing spins unless you are on 4wd

My IFS days got better the day I got IVD coilovers and removed the sway bar. It really transformed my wheeling experience, and that was with the factory upper a-arms.

I would say, with the SAS, people should go big or go home. Really, it is too big of a project just for marginal gains over IFS. Not worth it IMHO. To each his own I guess, and everybody has different needs. But I would not do a SAS unless I was pushing at least 37"s and getting some serious flex out of the axles.

Otherwise....better stay with IFS

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out!