engineerjoe

Hey everyone. Been a watcher here for a while and I'm finally ready to start my build. What I want to do is keep it as low as possible while cramming 35"s under it (I think that the lox center of gravity is more beneficial than the center clearance)
i know there will be plenty of fender trimming but I really want to keep this thing low for the stability.

Heres the specs:
'90 4Runner, 3.0 V6, 5 speed
'85 front axle
Got the front axle from vwfastg60 (thanks again) he also gave me a good deal on some crossover steering arms.
What I plan on doing is using the spring hangers and all the mounts off the old '85 frame and welding them on to the frame of the 4runner. Should be the simplest and easiest and I will be able to use stock parts for a 85 front end
Eventually I will be fabbing my own bumpers sliders and skids too.

Stuff I still need to get: (where are the best places to get these? Anyone selling some of these?)

3/4" heim joints for tie rod and drag link(2 RH, 2 LH)(I can get them for $10.50 ea)
5.29 Ring and Pinion gears (I can get them for $125/set)
R & P shims/necessary install stuff (??)
extended Brake lines (~$30 each)
Rear coil spring spacers/lift coil springs (best deal ive found, $80)
35" tires (still looking)
Wheel spacers (best deal I found was $70)
4X2 oil pan from a T100 (I found them online for $100)

Is there anything else that I am forgetting?
Any pointers or advice?
Anyone have any pictures of 4runners or mini trucks with low lift and 35"s? if so i would like to see them.

Thanks alot for your help - I will post up some pics as the build progresses.
-Joe

Marc P

Why are you changing the oil pan?? You should probably get a hanger and jigs/tubes from one of the vendors.

There are a lot of little things you are forgetting....

engineerjoe

The oil pan will hit the crosover steering links right?
I read that the 4x2 T100 oil pan clears the links better
While I think that the vendors make great products and they are useful to most people, they aren't for me. I looked at a couple different kits but they really weren't worth the money from my perspective. I got the front end of a '85 pickup for free, so why not use the parts (they will only take a couple minutes to cut the mounts off)

Stomis

If its crossover steering from one of the SAS kit from like trailgear or marlin you need to be lifted 4" min to clear it. Found that out when I called for a price w/o the springs and told them I'd be doing 3".

engineerjoe

4" lift is too much - I will modify my oil pan before I'll go that high.

Tofer

I have had problems with my oil pan hitting the link arms. but i am running old 4" lift springs. i need to get the 5" HD TG springs.


unless you do alot trimming and/or go wiht like 35x10.5 tire you'll need a 4" of lift to clear the tires. and honestly, i wouldnt want to go through ALLL the work of a SAS and not have it stand out. if you only get 2-3" of lift its going to look like your running BJ spacers and a BL unless you know what your looking for. i enjoy the fact that people stare at me when driving down the road a lil kids say to their mom "look at that monster truck" i have had no problems with it being top heavy or unstable, and i drive like a mad man. granted it doesn't do curves like my dads BMW Z4 but then again i can drive over it

AxleIke

Joe, it sounds like you have a sick buildup....

I have BRAND NEW HEIMs: never been used. 2 LH, 2 RH, poison spyder, with jam nuts and tube inserts (these are the little threaded bungs that you can simply weld into the end and presto, no tapping.)

They'd be a little more, since these are suspension grade, beefy as hell heims. PM me if you are interested, i'll cut you a good deal. Just wont be 10.50 each, sorry, but they are 30 new just for the heims.

engineerjoe

thanks tofer. I really don't care what it looks like - it's all about ability. I actually would like everything to look like it came from the factory that way - only the true enthusiast will notice the changes. I was planning on a 35x10.5 tire.
Ike, I PM'ed ya about the heims

westy44runner

It sounds like you've done some good research and are on the right track.

What springs are you planning to use? Stock fronts? rears?

engineerjoe

stock front 85 springs, maybe longer shackles, most likely stock 85 shackles

Flygtenstein

It is more work to make heim steering work than just using rod ends.

OEM Toyota 80 series ends are plenty strong for this application.

Please reconsider using 10 dollar heims. Not saying you could have gotten a deal, but this is your steering we are talking about.

engineerjoe

Yeah - Already worked out a deal with Ike for the poison spider heims. should be more than i will ever need and i do feel better than buying $10 heims

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

If you need something...let me know.

engineerjoe

Update as of 3/28/07

Today i cut up the donor frame and built the front spring mounts and shackle mounts. i ordered new bushings and should be ordering gears this thursday. i mocked up the drag link and I don't think im going to need a new oil pan as long as I put the axle centerline ~1.5" forward from stock.
the first build day is planned to be sat. april 14th - I hope to have it driving around in 2wd by sunday night.

heres the cost as of today and the final estimate

Axle and steering arms $300
85 front frame/springs/shackles free
Wheel spacers/ brake lines $225
Front bushing kit $28
Heim joints $100
materials $65
Tires (34x9.5x15 super swamper) $450
subtotal: $1168

still left to buy:
Gears and install kits $300
D-shaft materials ~$30
coil spacer materials ~$30
?front locker? $250

Total estimated cost w/ tires and gears: $1778

Marc P

I love seeing all the SAS'd 2nd gen 4runners!! I am sure you will be like me and pass up that estimate quickly.

Now put that bad boy together

coldwiz

My SAS'd '91 has 3.5" to 4" of lift and runs 35" MTR's. Granted these are a small 35" tire and there is some slight rubbing. Has never been a problem on the trail though. I was like you though and wanted 35's with as little lift as possible.

I have All Pro's Hy-Steer crossover with the FJ80 rod ends. The axle is moved forward 1.5". The oil pan has never been a problem but it is very close. The drag link end at the box also comes very close to the tie rod when the wheels are pointed straight and the drivers side tire is stuffed up in the wheel well.

So why am I telling you this? I guess they are just some watch outs. If I was doing it over I would probably move the PS box forward an 1" and the axle another 0.5" to give a little more room for the steering and to get the tires away from the back of the wheel wells.

jriebe

if I may throw my $.02.

I might suggest that you stay away from heims joints if you want to keep everything working well. I know they are strong, I ran 5/8" heims on a crossover steering setup i had on a zuk with toys and 37" tires. Ironically I lived in Colorado springs at the time as well. They were cool for about a motnth and then they started to seize up and make turning a bitch. I finally figured out that they were rusting on the inside of the joint.

while they give you an extreme strength advantage I don't think they are all that everyone thinks they are. I wish I could have gone back and jst used FJ 80 tie rod ends instead.

And honestly, $300 for gears and install kit is not really plausible...the cheapest I have seen a decent set of gears go for is $159...add on setup kits at around 90 bucks a pop and you are looking at more like $500+

like i say, just my .02

Jon

engineerjoe

I found a place selling gear sets for $125 a peice + shipping and I was going to buy minor install kits (master installs without bearings) for ~$25
Thus $300

As for the heims - they are already bought so they are going on. I have alot of experience with heim joints (Mini Baja team member) and I like them. They do take a little more maintenance than TRE's but thats okay with me.

Elvota

I will be curious to see how you "re-use" the front spring brackets from the used front end. Most of the SAS kits available sell this as a point to point assembly as the springs sit just outside the frame rails on the newer trucks.

I am sure you are aware of this already, but I'd like to see how you solve the width problem using just the older brackets, so any pics when you get to that point would be sweet.

Lysmachia

One more thought... see if you can get those 5:29's cryo'd. They aren't much stronger than 5:71s (but are still very strong). I think it is only an additional $30 or so.