Hey guys and gals,
I just picked up a extra 85 front axle and a 95 4Runner V6 rear axle (for $250). The purpose of purchasing these is because I want to build them with strong internals and lockers.

I have a 1985 SR5 Pickup that currently just has its stock axles with 5.29s.

I have never built an axle before and thought I would get some insight for you professionals.

Mostly what I am looking for is what can I buy aftermarket to make these axles really strong and rock-crawling worthy and/or any writeups on how to do this (I have found some already).

Thanks,
Leon

 

ok....

this is what I am thinking for the front:
Longfield 30 Spline Super Set
Yukon Master Install Kit
Yukon 5.29 R&P
ARB Locker

anything else I need and/or different suggestions???

 

If you haven't seen it here is a good thread with lots of good links.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...36/index2.html

One of my favorites however, is not working. At least not for me as of right now. This one: http://www.birfield.com/~morgan/tech/axle/index.html
Maybe it will be back up later. Hopefully it isn't gone for good.

Another good source
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...nd/solid_axle/

This is the website of YT member ZUK who is the Toy diff guru. He may have some additional tips. He pointed me to a guy that does really good cryo work that ZUK highly recommends. He is also big on Motive gears right now. Seems that the "good" gears have moved around from one manufacturer to the other over the years. Again, check with ZUK as he sees enough of this stuff to have a feel for where the troubles are showing up.
http://gearinstalls.com/

Rebuild your knuckles while you are at it. There are plenty of good kits out there. Also if you have the dough, you can switch to vented brake discs if it isn't already done, but you will need to get different calipers to fit them. Also consider high steer/crossover steering if you don't have it already. That is also not a simple plug and play either as you need a steering box from an IFS to run it.

Good luck.

 

Dont forget FJ60 rotors, and V6 IFS calipers

upgrade to a 1" Master Cylinder and your brakes will actually stop

 

Yes the v6 swap is good too. I don't have info on that, but here is a swap for whatever you have.
http://www.off-road.com/trucks4x4/ar....jsp?id=186135

And here is info about crossover steering.
http://128.83.80.200/taco/toysteer.html

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techartic...ing/index.html

 

For the rear axle you might want to look into a Tacoma axle that did not come with a elocker. They are stronger than the V6 differential that you have.

V6 differential

8.4 Tacoma differential
It has larger pinion, bearings, and trusses to keep the gears from deflecting.
http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/
Might want to read up before spending a lot of money on a V6 differential.
This differential would be nice in the front axle with longs but would require major modification to the housing.

Hope this helps.

 

so.... just took apart the rear axle last night and the housing is bent. The guy did a good job of hiding it from the outside.

My question:
How big of a deal is having a v6 rear end vs the stock? The reason I ask is cause I have the stock rear and already lost money on this v6 dud?

 

V-6 vs. 4cyl 3rd members aren't that different. Infact, I'd keep the 4cyl 3rds just because you can get aussie lockers, and the gears and install kits are a little less money. And they are all interchangable, v-6 and 4cyl that is. I'm not a fan of tacoma axles because you can't swap 3rds, incase you ever need to.

 

Well I know that the v-6 is suppose to be stronger.

what is your take on the extra length of the housing and axles? 86+ is longer than the 85- rear axles, ya?

 

I think you're talking about the width. And yes, the 86 and later are 3" wider. I would highly recomment using any 86 and on rear axle, 4 cyl or v-6.

As for the difference in the 3rd members, it's the thickness of the gear itself, and the carrier has an extra rib, but really, who's breaking 3rd member carriers?