Steve's '94 Toyota x-cab mild build

[Cascadia]

You could possibly borrow the jeep Steve...but it is a Jeep. It does have solid axles though and they are both in and it runs and drives. Oh, and it has a transfer case that has gears in it already. Not trying to make fun, just letting you know.

 

[sixstringsteve]

hm... I might just hit you up on that Tyson. So it's got lower t-case gears?

 

[Cascadia]

No, it's just got the 2.72 but I was saying mine had gears cause I didn't think yours did right now. I still crawl a lot of obstacles though easily with the stock gears and no gas. Not like the '81 but works for me.

 

[sixstringsteve]

gotcha. Mine has stock 2.24's in it right now. I sword I"d never go to moab without an automatic or lower tcase gears. Thanks for the offer though.

 

[Cascadia]

I think your main issue is it's a jeep. I took it down to Moab 2 weeks ago and did plenty of trails with it and had no issues. It was my first time really wheeling a manual with normal gears. I did fins and things, poison spider, hells revenge, and steelbender with no problems. Beggars can't be choosers. JK.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I didn't see you had 4.88s. I'll bet it's decent then. If I get desperate I'll let you know. Would it drive to moab ok, or does it need to be trailered?

 

[Cascadia]

It would drive down there just fine. I only trailered it cause I had quite a few people driving down with me and 5 bikes and other stuff. It goes the speed limit easy on the freeway. I've driven it to the Snakes a few times. Only thing would be if something breaks it'd need to be fixed and also you cannot say when you get back that jeeps suck.

 

[sixstringsteve]

also you cannot say when you get back that jeeps suck.

hm... well, there's the deal-breaker right there

My brother had a TJ, and we wheeled it a few times, but I didn't like it. Jeeps just aren't for me. But I may hit you up to rent it for the weekend.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Ok, time for a real update. I got a lot done this weekend.

Working on mounting the shackle tubes.

The shackles usually swing back and hit the body mount under full compression, so I moved the back part of the body mount back a little. It's ugly in this pic, but it's a lot better in real life.

I also decided I want to run a shorter shackle since I want to keep it low. I cut my 5.5" shackles down to 4".

THen I burned in my shackle tubes and mounted the shackles.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Then I decided to work on the front leaf spring pack.

I had a tough time getting the bushings out, so I tried burning them out. Not a good idea. Not good for the environment, and it didn't work.

Since they're leaves from an '88, they had the metal bushing both inside the rubber, and outside. So I took a chisel to the area between the mil wrap and the bushing sleeve. After a few hours, I got all the bushings out. What a pain.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Then I decided to get to work on the front hanger.

Stock hanger:

The 86-95 4x4 IFS frames (and hangers) sit about 2" lower than the 2wd and '79-'85 models, so I knew I wanted to french the front hanger. If you french it too much, you have to notch the frame for the steering. If you don't french it enough, your 3" lift will become a 5" lift. So, after a lot of research, I decided to french it about 3/4". In hindsight, I could have gone a full inch, but 1/4" isn't going to make a huge difference.

 

[sixstringsteve]

then I hung the springs. Pay no attention to the disaster of a garage.

Mocking it up to make sure it's at the right forward/back location.

Frenched and ready to tack into place.

Once it was tacked in, I could check the shackle angle at full compression (or close to full bump).

Perfect. I like my shackles laid back more than most, especially when going for a low stance.

 

[sixstringsteve]

All welded up.

with the housing hung.

 

[TJDukit]

It's looking good Steve.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Next up were the knuckles. One of the differences between the six shooters and the stock knuckles are the brake mounting tabs. The six shooter have mounting tabs on both the front and the rear of the knuckle. I imagine this is to save on production costs, but it also allows you to run the knuckle on either side.

With the tacoma brake adapter I'll be using, those two extra caliper tabs are going to be a problem. So I had to cut them off to fit my bracket.

Stock 6-shooter next to modified 6-shooter.

I got to work and mounted up the driver's side knuckle. For once, luck was on my side, and I happened to guess the exact number of shims for the right bearing preload.

And that's as far as I got Saturday. I hope to get my brake adapters in soon, so I can get this truck off jackstands and see how high it sits in front.


This is what I have to do before it's sitting under its own weight:

- new front u-bolt flip kit
- mount steering box forward
- possible notch frame for steering
- finish installing knuckles
- install front diff
- install axle shafts
- install IFS hubs
- install brake adapter, calipers, rotors, and brake lines

 

[Cascadia]

Looks great Steve. Looks like you've got a lot done. Wish I was there to help and learn but the last week was busy. What are you doing tomorrow on it? And when?

 

[sixstringsteve]

Thanks Tyson, you've been a huge help already. Since I'm sure it won't be ready for my trip, I'm not going to be quite so aggressive on my build schedule.

Tomorrow I plan on working 5-7 and getting the pass side knuckle installed. I'll probably install the front diff and axle shafts as well. Once the knuckles are installed, I can mock up the steering and decide if I need to notch the frame or not.

 

[OrvisKrawler]

Looking good Steve, but your top leaf looks like it needs to be moved down a few leaves in the pack so its under the spring with the bushings

 

[Chevycrew]

If you look close at the picture without the axle installed, you can see that upper leaf cant go anywhere but on top. It is only slightly over half a leaf, its a toyota thing...

 

[OrvisKrawler]

ah i see now, never seen that done like that before...