A TruTrac up front is fine for mild to moderate off roading. I'm very happy with mine. But it helps to have an automatic transmission when using a trutrac since it makes braking with power a lot easier.

You're probably going to be unhappy if you try to rock crawl with a trutrac.

 

Mostly. In terms of the joints, birfs are pretty comperable to CV's. However, CV's do have more wear and tear, birfs are 30splined at the hub, vs a CV, which, i think is 27, though I could be wrong. Its somehwere in there.

Really, the point is, CV's stand up to a lot of abuse, and, when they don't, with simple preparation, they are very easy to fix in the field.

Solid Axles are sweet. Personally, I see no problem with wanting one, or doing a swap because you want to. What is totally false is the sentiment that IFS is too weak to wheel. Its not. Understand its limitations, and you will have a good time, and surprise yourself in the process.

 

Yes I am.

 

Ike, you have an articulate way of quelling the obnoxious "IFS sux! - No it doesn't!" debate that seems to rage all too often on this board.

I propose that you collect your thoughts into a treatise (aka, Sticky) entitled, "Read before starting an IFS vs. SFA debate!"

 

I wish.....I live in Canada, try finding an ARB locker for up here for $750.

And I never said you can't wheel with IFS.

And the shift knobs are made by a good friend of mine..just trying to give him a free plug....thanks for being a dick.

 

somebody's gonna get their peepee spanked!

 

Oooo an angry little fellow I see...

 

well then what are you saying? because previously you're making it sound like i'm better off w/ cardboard CV's because usual ones are so weak...? you do not wheel your IFS like IKE, TC, or like a lot of others on here w/ IFS do. a locked IFS rig has the abilitly of outwheeling even locked SFA rigs on the account of the driver, not the suspension.

as far as shift knobs go... you're still bragging about them no need for name calling either. have a nice day

 

How do you know how he wheels? He rocks that IFS pretty good if you ask me.

Kept up with my relatively built cruiser on Whipsaw two weekends ago anyways.


No way a locked IFS rig goes where a SFA truck goes. Just doesn't happen... I'm a good and experienced IFS driver, but when it comes to the heavy stuff my SFA buddies walk on up.

Now if we want to toss in LONG TRAVEL IFS, I'll reconsider my statements.

 

The name calling was unnecessary though sexonwheels... it's just a forum, afterall.

 

like i said fjoel... it depends on the driver. why is it so hard for people to grasp that. if a new guy to wheeling goes and buys a big SFA truck and i'm locked F/R... i think i could outwheel him because of experience. its the driver the majority of the time... not the vehicle. driver not vehicle. how many people have to say that lol

and i don't know how he wheels... i'm just making assumptions from some of the things he says..." ARB's break CV's because they are so weak"... as stated before by the people who HAVE ARB'S, they actually in some cases save CV's. comes down to the driver thing again... maybe if i get some kick butt shift knobs i'd be a better driver too haha

 

You need not be "scared" for your CV's unless the boots are busted and you don't maintain your vehicle. I have had a truck nearly identical to yours and I put that truck through hell! I never once had to replace a CV on that truck. I now have a 1994 3VZE Xtra Cab and I have only had to replace one CV due to a torn boot on this one. I wheel the hell outta this one also, going most of the same places that built rigs go in the club I'm in (C.A.O.S.).

I just wished Toyota made their trucks with thicker sheet metal so I wouldn't be constantly beating dents out of the fenders and bed!

 

Its the idler arm that I hate most about IFS. This is somwhere I don't want to be the king of flex. I think the IFS steering is super weak.

 

Wow. This thread is going nowhere.

IFS steering IS weak. Very much so. IMO, the steering is the component that is going to crap first in a wheeled rig with oversized tires, not the axles. I hate the IFS steering.

Driver and experience mean a lot, but truck means a lot too. The last two weekends I've been out with trucks that a 10 year old with zero driving experience could out wheel me in. Cromo'd dana 60's, boatloads of gearing, and 40+ meats mean "point and Shoot" in all but the most extreme trails.

Ground clearance and traction are king in this game. Big tires, power to those tires, and keeping those tires on the ground are the way a truck gets up when its in some EDIT:*crap*.

My point was simply that IFS can wheel quite a lot, and being scared of it is counter productive.

In line with what 88cleverunner was saying, experience will help you along the way. Best way to get experience is to buy a decent set of stock tires, lock in the hubs, shift the small lever, and have a good time. Modify as you go, and set goals in line with how you see yourself progressing, not what people tell you on the internet.

 

Ah, I forgot that this forum edits stuff. My bad.

 

I hate you Joel. Don't call me ever agian.

...Maybe, just maybe if your a good little boy for the rest of this year Santa will bring you a pair of shift knobs and some driving talent!

I swear these knobs give my truck a thousand horsepower...If you don't think your going to be a good boy this year, you should buy a pair, talk to Joel at http://www.ellisprecision.ca/

I agree, I'll end my complaining on that.

 

i'm just giving you a hard time sex haha. i wish i had some better shift knobs too honestly. but in all reality, what do they look like anyway? don't post them in here, pm me or something. i'd like to see them.

we went from limited slip, to ARB ,to driving skill, to steering... wow lol

EDIT: nevermind i see the link now. but all it says is "coming soon..."

 

oh yeah and sorry i wasn't more specific when i was talking about drivers over vehicle's Ike. i wasn't talking about your 4runner up against a D60'd Runner locked, dual cases, and tires bigger than your truck lol. i was meaning a IFS w/ 33's and lockers and a SFA w/ the same thing even w/ a few more extras, a more experienced drive w/ IFS could outwheel him. but yeah a tank that you can point and tank over stuff has no comparison at all lol.

 

I've broken 30 spline D44 axleshafts in the front my K5 Blazer on some trails where IFS Toys with same-sized tires were madly spinning all 4 to get up, bouncing off the rev limiter (it was wet). From that day I started lusting after a Toy. I eventually made it up in 3wd.

FWIW, I'm usually pretty easy on axles. I wheeled with a rear 28 spline in a 6500# truck and 33s for several years before snapping it. C-clip axles suck, btw.

Regarding the TruTrac, it's cool tech, and you can lock it up with the brakes when one wheel gets up in the air, but the rear TruTrac in my wife's last Suburban had the bolts holding the housing together unscrew (come from Detroit with Red Loctite too) which chipped some of the internal gears (which caused more problems since the chips then go through the other gears) while the ring gear gnawing at the inside of the housing. I was able to drain the metal, replace a bearing, and put it back together enough to get us home (on a pavement trip, not an offroad trip). No warranty.

It works GREAT on pavement (Torsen-Gleasons & their clones are the best for road-handling) and I think it's an awesome idea, but it still needs work. Maybe the Toy version is more durable. In a front application, it sure would see a lot less stress/use. Consider you'll have to be on the brakes to climb things where a tire gets in the air.

My "real" Detroits have weird behaviour problems on pavement (steer with the gas pedal around sweepers), but they have all proven bulletproof offroad.

This includes the EZ Locker (spider gear replacement) in the front of that Dana 44 mentioned above. I went through 3 long axle shafts and the EZ Locker didn't seem to mind at all.

A spider-gear replacement locker in one option I'm considering for myToy, as a precursor to figuring out what I want. If I can find a nice, cheap one, anyways.

Now I have a Toy and am waffling between IF$ (Total Chaos) and a SAS. I want something that'll keep up with my last truck, a Cherokee built to JeepSpeed specs. That thing was *awesome* in the high-speed stuff, and still very decent in the crawling with selectable lockers front and rear (the fuel cell was a serious shortcoming in real-off-camber stuff when the fuel pickup would get uncovered).

Yes, the Cherokee is a solid front axle rig.

However, every lifted solid-axle Toy I've ridden in rides like a very stiff buckboard. Maybe they were all cheapo lifts?