VT_Toy

Looks like my next step for my '95 4Runner is going to be gearing and lockers. I've been wheelin' it with 34x9.5 Swampers and a welded rear for a couple years now, but it can't climb very well without a front locker. It's my DD, and I don't have a lot of cash, so an SAS is out of the question at this time.

I'm not worried about tire clearance. I'll probably do a 1" body lift, and the firewall is already pretty smashed to fit my Swampers.

What I'm worried about is the diff, steering, or axles breakinng. The steering is the most important to keep reliable, or at least easily repairable, because I want to drive it home!

I plan on getting an ARB for the front, since it sees a good amount of nasty roads in the winter.

Most of the trails around here are mud. I'll occasionally travel to club runs and do some rocks.

So, can it handle 35s? I'd love to go to 35s, it just seems wrong to go down in size. Is there a big difference in stregth of the front gears between 4.88 and 5.29? I've been running stock 4.10 with the 34s, so 4.88s with 35s would seem fine to me.

Also, can I swap in a reverse-rotation diff from a later model? Would that strengthen the diff? I've even wondered about having flanges and brackets put on an 8" diff. But if I'm going to snap axles first, I guess there's no point.


Thanks for any info!

WolfpackTLC

It's a simple formula...


35's + stock CV's + locking differential * skinny pedal = Broken parts.

Even if you're gentle w/ your gas, you're bound to break parts sooner or later... stick w/ 35's....

Shane

IMO 33's are the "safe" limit for your generation of IFS. Even at that size you'll be tweaking the idler arm like crazy.

Flamedx4

No way your Daily Driver has a welded rear - c'mon.

Forget SAS - it's a lot of money to gain something 90% of us do not need. The IFS can get you there and back - millions do. Going rock crawling? (Real competition, not the occasional hump in the trail...) Then maybe...

I've run 35s and 37s for 100,000 miles on this rig and many miles on others and suffered not one broken part, and I've never seen these mythical bent idlers. (Even so, put a brace on it and call it good.) 5:29s for 35s, yes - accept no substitute. I do not baby my rigs but I've been 4wheeling for 20 years and don't have to thrash it to get it where I need to go either. The IFS will do the job and will be okay with 35s. Should be bullet proof with 33s.

joez

Flamed4x, if youve been running 37's on stock IFS and not broken anything you are not wheeling as hard as you think. No offense.

I think you are pretty much at the limit for locked IFS and pretty hard wheeling. You can run 35's, but you would have to be ready for broken shafts. Carry some spare shafts and call it good. Yeah, swapping parts on the trail sucks, but practice a lot in your driveway and you should be able to get it down to a 15 minute job. Add the idler arm brace and see how well it holds up.

whats wrong with welded rears? I wish i had, that way when i puke rear shafts it doesnt take out my locker pins.

Flygtenstein

Here is what I posted when Eli posted this in the other forum at the same time this topic started...

I would be most worried about tire weight rather than size.

I wheel 33's with a front ARB and have two CV breaks. I also trash an idler arm about every other hard trip.

Unless you are aggressively spinning big tires, the R&P will not be the weakness, the CV's will. Swapping to an 8" center seems a little overkill to me. Ellinger did that with a 9" Ford back when he was IFS.

I have now broken another outer going down hill with the wheels straight not on the gas as well as another trashed idler. This is with lame 33's. I am not hard on things, but this stuff has broken, no magic and no lies.

My guess is if you really wheel it, 35's are going to whack the alignment, trash idlers and generally be a bother. This is of course talking about rock crawling. If it is throttle down, straight ahead mud stuff, run 40's, what the heck.

sschaefer3

I run 35's, the new junk is strong enough to handle it. I finally broke a front axle on Rocker Knocker in Moab. But on the other hand every single 3rd Gen that has ever tired that one has broke an axle. Even with 285's.

Watching Adrians 2nd Gen with the 3.4 and the Ultimate Marlin twist the t-bar IFS to bits, was painfull.

In the case of IFS, the newer the better and stronger. As far as a streight axle, get what you can which is all over 20 years old.

Flamedx4

Probably the big difference, we don't have much rocks round here. Lots mud though.

Welded rears are fine, unless you want to go around corners and stuff like that... Not for street use is what I mean, lockers are bad enough in a daily driver.

Napoleon047

your 34x9.5 swampers are 33.6" tall. most non-swamper 35"s are about the same height.

since they are only 9.5" wide, you can use stock backspaced rims. this means you have a shorter scrub radius. combine the short scrub radius with the narrow tire (easier to turn) this means your steering wont see as much abuse

so, in short, i would stick with the 34x9.5's they give you the same clearance as most 35"s and are easier on the steering components, plus they have the tough swamper sidewall.

crawler#976

welded/spool = same/same

No biggie for a daily driver, I put 35,000 miles on my spooled rear diff. In fact, I started out w/ a Detroit in the rear diff - disliked it's road manners so much I went with a spool after trying one for a month.

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When I bought my truck, it had 35's on it. I wheeled it pretty hard until I SAS'd it with no problems...