I am getting a locker for the rear of my 83 truck. The guy selling wants me to pick the whole axle up just cause it easier to mess with. Its a v6 rear off an ifs truck so its wider.

My question is should i get the whole rear? Has anyone used the sky manfacturing widening kit?? I really do not want to use wheel spacers or should i just get the pumpkin and use it in my axle.

any insight would be appreciated.

 

so hes sellin the whole axel to you for what he was goin to sell the locker for? or is he wanting more sincec hes wantin you to take the whole axel? if its cheap just take the whoel axel and sell the crap you dont need

 

If the axel is from a pre 95 truck, the whole third member is a direct fit into the 4 cylinder rear axel. If you want to swap the whole third, it needs to be the same gears as the front. You could get the whole axel, if you don't use it I'm sure some of your friends could use parts from it. What type of locker is it? Because if it is a Detroit or one that replaces the whole carrier, you might not be able to just take the locker. I read somewhere that the gears on the v6 are different than on the 4 cylinder, and so your gears might not go on the detroit.

Anyway, the easiest thing to do would be to swap out the whole third, if the gears are the same.

 

its like 50 more for the axle which is no big deal its already set up for my truck...my biggest question is about extending the front axle out to match

 

its a pair of arb air lockers with 5:2 something gears a little much for my 32's but it leaves me room to grow

 

Would you be willing to put the same gears in the front??

 

yea i am getting front and rear lockers...the front is just the pumpkin with the arb locker already installed so all i have to do is put it in my truck.

 

Sorry I miss understood you. You are getting both the pumkin for the front and the pumkin for the rear(both of which have gears and ARBs), but for fifty bucks more you could get the whole rear end.

I say get the whole rear end, because fifty bucks is cheap.

The difference between that v6 rear end and your front is 3in total, 1.5 on each side.

I don't know much about widening them, however most people run wheel spacers to get the extra width.

I say go for It

 

32" tires + 5.29 gears + 4th gear + 65mph = 3610 RPM.
32" tires + 5.29 gears + 5th gear + 65mph = 3068 RPM.

Does it come with the air locker compressor, too? 'Cause those air lockers aren't much good without air.

 

I am probably gonna get it...but before i pull the axle out from under my truck i wanted to hear from anyone running the spacers or the ifs hub swap with the sky manfacturing kit which would be safer/more durable.

thanks,

 

yea everything i need to install them on my truck...I am getting a pretty good on them

 

Thanks for the figures i dont see a lot of freeway so that is not to bad

 

Bump....anyone running the sky front spacer kit? Its different then wheel spacers but I would like to hear from someone using it...

Thanks

 

I'm not currently usin' widening kit but I tend to mix one soon.
It's fairly easy to install and doesn't take much time. I think sky's kit is quite okay.

Spacers are none the less, not such a bad option either. I'm runnin' MC spacers in the front and usually on 44" cepeks and I haven't had an issue *yet*.
But I'd feel alot more comfortable by *not* havin' spacers.

P.S. The V6 diff has larger pinion bearings IIRC, but I'm not wrong I think the diffrential is the same from 86-95. You have the 83 I think which I'm not so sure that'll fit.
I'd go for the wider axle and a spacer/widening kit in the front. It's 16mm / 7/8" spacer for the IFS brake rotor with the IFS hub. If you'd like to mix it your self. I think that sky's are providin' IFS kit aswell as a kit for FJ60 rotors and hubs.

 

I already completed the brake upgrade on the front of my 83. I have been in that front axle so many times I feel like it owes me dinner!! Now I gotta go back in replace a wheel stud, repack the birfs, install the new pumpkins and yet again waft the fragrance of gear oil...i am thinking of just going with the wheel spacers for now then down the line figure it out. The person that I am buying the axle from is also giving me some ifs front hubs so I will be one step closer if I go that route.

 

Be sure to find brake calipers from IFS to match the hubs.
I hear ya brother. I've been inventin' square wheels and redoin' what I've been doin' again and again....

 

bump one last time i read of people doing the spacers and some people doing the IFS hubs and moving the caliper....Anyone use the sky kit? I hate to be the one try stuff out.

thanks

 

As I said, you might want to send sky an email 'bout these things.
I know that for the IFS hub widening, you'll need following things:

An IFS hub.
IFS Rotor.
IFS brake calipers.
A spacer that goes between the rotor and the hub. It's 7/8" (16mm) thick.
6 longer bolts for the rotor to fit with the spacer.
Ask sky if they have this 7/8" spacer, or if they have some larger. I know they have for the FJ60 rotors and calipers and stuff... but not sure 'bout the IFS.

I just had a local workshop machine these spacers for me. Cheaper then sky's kit but then again, I live on a friggin island in the middle of the atlantic sea, the cost of sendin' things over here is pretty high.

If you have these things, it's a bolt on and shouldn't be any problem at all.

 

I called them and had to speak with Sky directly. I already have the fj rotors and ifs calipers on my truck. His kit (spacer) bolts to the rotor and to the hub. I am getting IFS hubs for free this weekend so it is an options that I have.

 

Glad to be at help.