Steve's '94 Toyota x-cab mild build

[zukijames]

Steve I bet you could make one...

 

[Coco]

Marlin I think is making a kit for the triple stick, and I think someone else was too, but I can't remember. Talk to nick he will know. Send nick a text, or give him a call, I actually asked him about the triple stick not too long ago.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I talked to Nick. He says Chris is building/designing one, but I highly doubt he'll have one done this century

Davez offroad is building one, I shot 'em an email.

I probably could build one, but not in 2 weeks with a sas and dual case conversion.

I can't find my camera, so all the pics are gonig to be crappy cell phone pics

 

[Chevycrew]

Cheaper and quicker to just throw in some buckets that are more comfy anyway?

Toss in some SR5 buckets and be done.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Finally, some pictures of something related to this build! Like I said, I can't find my camera, so I'm using my cell phone. I hate cell phone pics, but I wasn't taking time away from this build by hunting for my camera for hours...

No, I still don't have my truck, but I will in a few days...


I went to town tonight on the front axle.

I started with this lovely piece of work:

shim pad wasn't even close to square, and it was barely held on with some nasty booger welds. Not that it would affect the truck that much, but I just can't live with that. I'm too OCD now that I actually know what I'm doing on my builds.

check out these sweet hi-steer arms

I got the knuckles off

It's tough to see, but I welded some u-bolt nuts in each steering arm. THey fit perfectly, and they'll add some strength to the stops.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I ground off all the brackets and started fitting the crossmembers, ball gussets, and steering stop caps (since I had 'em anyway). I did the shock mount/ball gussets one at a time. I wanted to make sure they pointed the right direction, so I used the old driver's side shock mount as a guide for the pass side shock mount. I angled them back a bit since I know my axle will be farther forward than stock, and the shock hoops will be a little behind the axle.

Here's where I stopped for the night. Top truss welded on, upper ball gussets, and upper steering stops.

 

[sixstringsteve]

the goal for tomorrow (pretty ambitious, and I doubt I'll get this far):

- cut off pass side lower spring perch
- weld on diff guard
- driver's side spring pad/spacer
- lower ball gussets
- lower steering stop caps
- clearance inner balls for the dirty 30s

It would be ideal if I could also:
- paint the housing
- rebuild as much of the axle as possible (up to the spindles)

I'm still waiting on the FROR tacoma brake adapter plates before I can get the entire front end together. Plus, I'll be using the IFS hubs and since I don't have the truck yet, I don't have the IFS hubs.


I'm still looking for the following parts:

- 48" toyota rear springs
- 63" chevy spring - (2wd) 1/2 ton
- 17x8" wheels. The closer to 3.5" BS the better, but I'll take whatever I can get.
- elockers (HP front, std rear)

 

[Goose]

darn, I was hoping I could keep the bench seat.

My crawler, still has the 60/40 split bench. & you know I run duals. I did dog leg the
Shifter so that it has a short throw.

 

[sLcREX]

Is it easy to rebuild the axle? I'm wanting to do the same with mine to have it ready to swap in. What time will you be working on it tomorrow? I think I'd like to see if I can go up there and check out the work if it's cool

 

[sixstringsteve]

My crawler, still has the 60/40 split bench. & you know I run duals. I did dog leg the
Shifter so that it has a short throw.

got any pictures? I'd love to be able to keep my bench seat just to be able to haul one more person around.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Is it easy to rebuild the axle? I'm wanting to do the same with mine to have it ready to swap in. What time will you be working on it tomorrow? I think I'd like to see if I can go up there and check out the work if it's cool

This is the third one I've done in the past 8 months, it's getting easy now

There is actually some really good documentation online that makes it really easy to follow the instructions. It's actually really easy if you have the right tools (which are not expensive). Come on over tonight and I'l show ya how I do it. There is a small chance, that won't get around to the install/rebuild part of it, but just seeing it apart can give you an idea of how it's done.

I've been meaning to do an instructional video of how to take apart and re-build a front axle. Let me know when you're ready to do your Hiro, and I'll come film it so we can throw it up on youtube.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I was talking to Rick on saturday, and we were laughing about how it wasn't too long ago that we were scared of rebuilding the front axle, doing a sas, cutting the floor for dual cases, installing 4.7s and grinding out the case, and all that stuff. They all seemed so scary, stepping into the unknown like that. Now they're something we could tackle in a weekend.

I think if anyone read the RUF thread on Pirate all the way through, then they'd know 99% of what they needed to to do a SAS (and then some). I remember when I didn't know what a drag link, tie rod, knuckle, pinion, birfield, and hanger were. Pirate has done a really good job with their Toyota bible 2.0.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Sorry for the double-post from my '81 build, but I need this as a reference to know how much and where to grind to fit my dirty 30s.

I probably ground a little too much, but that's better than too little.

And the top. It's hard to do the top because you can't see what you're doing (unless you have a lift).

 

[Goose]

got any pictures? I'd love to be able to keep my bench seat just to be able to haul one more person around.

steve, your truck looked like it had the 60/40 split like mine, is that right?

I dont have any pics, but my seat is all the way forward (short legs)
so I welded a "dog leg" in the shifter to bring it forward & give it a shorter throw. It works flawlessly & Ive never had a problem with it, Ive had it that way for 8 or 9 years.
Ill bet you could find some pics of some one that has done the same thing on pirate or, marlins site. you can come check mine out if you want

theres a pic in this link, that gives you the idea. I got my shift boot from summit
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=455075&highlight=dog+leg+shifter

 

[TJDukit]

Is it easy to rebuild the axle? I'm wanting to do the same with mine to have it ready to swap in. What time will you be working on it tomorrow? I think I'd like to see if I can go up there and check out the work if it's cool

I would hit steve up on the offer to help rebuild his axle. I had to learn how to take a Toy axle apart and put it back together on the trail in the dark when my friend destroyed a birf. Even if you just get an idea of how things go together it will be great to see.

 

[Marsh99]

Can you snag me a pic of ball knuckles before you grind them. Mine look like the have been ground down, but I need a reference.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Mine look like the have been ground down, but I need a reference.

I thought the same thing on my '81, they look like they've been ground down from the factory, but I had to grind them more for the dirty 30s. Pirate and longfield have some good threads on how to grind the balls. I paint them with black spray paint, then I put the shaft in and spin it around. It'll remove the paint where it's hitting, so you'll know where to clearance.

I've heard a lot of people say "I never had to clearance mine when running dirty 30s, but I've broken 3 or 4 sets." Well, I'll bet I can guess why

Here's my '81 before I ground the balls:

You can see where the birf touches those little ridges.

Here's the top unground.

 

[sixstringsteve]

steve, your truck looked like it had the 60/40 split like mine, is that right?

I dont have any pics, but my seat is all the way forward (short legs)
so I welded a "dog leg" in the shifter to bring it forward & give it a shorter throw. It works flawlessly & Ive never had a problem with it, Ive had it that way for 8 or 9 years.
Ill bet you could find some pics of some one that has done the same thing on pirate or, marlins site. you can come check mine out if you want

theres a pic in this link, that gives you the idea. I got my shift boot from summit
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=455075&highlight=dog+leg+shifter

Yes, I have the 60/40 split. Glad to hear yours still fits with the seat all the way forward. I'd love a pic of your interior sometime so I can see how it looks.

So did you just dog-leg it, or did you install the short shift kit as well? I was hoping to run a twin-stick, so I'd have to dog-leg both shifters.

But I'm glad to hear that it works with your split seat, that's exactly what I needed to know.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

You should be able to easily spot a the factory machining versus user grinding on the knuckles. The factory machining is a pretty uniform surface and for the most part is perfectly flat. Some Toyota axles had more clearance than others and won't require additional grinding for the Longfields, I'm not sure about the TG birfs. Then there is the case where a housing has had broken birfs and they have had to clean up the entire inside of the knuckle. If you end up with one of these housings ensure that the seal channel isn't compromised and of course that the inner axle isn't scarred up either.

Keep the updates coming Steve! :cool;

 

[Marsh99]

OK mine is definitely done from the factory, I will read some and I found a that funky grinding bit to use.