just a 22re

then you should bring back a few more to end the night off right!!!! well get the truck running soon right lol he he

EvaMonky

Heh I just watched a Rerun on the DVR.... little behind the times huh?

You know I don't think I've ever actually seen Portals before, I've heard of them and how they are all that and a bag of chips. But after reading what you guys had to say, maybe there's more hype than truth?

I'm still confused on how they work exactly... Do they basically take the third memeber and push it out to the wheels?

I can see where that would be handy, with the extra ground clearance and all.

But is that all they have to offer? I mean if you're gonna spend $13K+ on front and rear axles, you would think they might offer a little more over a SAS than a little more ground clearance...

toyminator2000

I did a ton of research on this subject a few years ago and here is what I know.

Portals use a 3rd member just like a regular axle and have a gear reduction unit at each wheel. Some farm implements use this design too. The two most common automotive use portals were made by Volvo and by Mercedes Benz. The final drive gear ratio on these axles are usually 6 or 7 to 1 (ie. instead of 4.10's they would be 7.17's).

The Volvo axles came on their C303 and some other military vehicles manufactured in the 60's and 70's. Sweden, Malaysia and any other country that purchased their military vehicles from Volvo is a source for importing these axles. They can be found in the $3000-$4000 range for a complete set and they already come geared and have selectable lockers from the factory. They are similar in strength to a ford 9" or a Dana 60 and were equipped with anywhere from 35-39" tires from the factory. They actually look very similar to a Ford 9" except for the gear reduction units at the ends of the axle. They also have drop out 3rd members and driveshaft flanges just like a Toyota Axle. They are rare in the US but I had found a few importers in the past and they pop up on Ebay every now and then.

The Mercedes Benz axles came from Unimogs of all years from the 60's - 80's. They are much more readily available in the states since unimogs were sold in the US and throughout the world as both Military, Farm and utility use. They are actually still made today. The military surplus ones are the most plentiful and can be found from abdout $1500-$2500. Again they are already geared and have selectable lockers from the factory. They are bigger and beefier than the Volvo's and compare to Rockwells in size and strength. They use the same "NATO" bolt pattern as rockwells but a 20" rim is required to clear the factory drum brakes. Conversion kits are available to change this to discs with 8 on 6.5" bolt pattern. They had anywhere form 35-41" tires from the factory. I own a set of these and I can tell you they are huge. The pallet that they were shipped on weighed 1300 pounds!

There are a few companies that make aftermarket portals like Portal-tek and a few others I can't think of right now. They're pretty pricey to have complete axles done but both the Volvo and the Unimog stuff is quite reasaonable considering the amount of money you have in Toyota axle's once you gear, lock and strengthen them. Heck I think I have close to 3k in mine.

There is a guy on Pirate4x4 and IH8MUD that put a set of the Volvo Portals on an FJ80 and it turned out really good. He fits 38" tires with no lift other than the axles. Here is the link.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398873

just a 22re

TALK ABOUT A BLAST FROM THE PAST! lol nice thread on that link man his truck looked real good