Well I have an 83' pickup which is on its last legs without me pouring a bunch of money into it and as much as I dont want to, I am considering using the front end to SAS my 4runner. Just want to know how much lift is needed to fit the front end in? Also, how much money would I be looking at (roughly) to have this done as I cant weld and my knownledge is limited about solid axle swaps.

 

Any where from 3'-'6 depending on kit, kits look to be about 1200, that would set up your front end. Rear end to match 6-700? from what i see. Look at LC ENGINEERING to start, then all the rest. I have never done one. Others can add more info than I. Good luck.PS reenforce center section of your axle, i think 84/85 axles have that gusset. Merry Christmass

 

well from what i know if your axle doesnt need to be rebuilt you can use all ur stuff from the pickup....shocks, springs, hangers, just have to fab up the front and rear hangers on your 4runner...and buy cross over steering....im sure theres more but thats all i can think of, and as far as lift, you dont have to lift it at all you can use ur stock springs...

 

You don't really need any lift, it just depends on what kind of tires you want to run.. I would also check leaf spring swaps like rears up front and chevy rear springs to see what your options are for what you want to build..
And as far as welding and fabrication goes to do the swap, you pretty much cut everything down to the frame rails, weld on the front spring hanger and shackle hangers, weld in some shock hoops and if you want it to sit stock, like yoterr said you can use your stock 83 setup.

 

Check out Marlin Crawler, he sells everything you need to do a solid axle swap on your truck.

 

Thanks guys, im really unsure as to whether ill actually do the sas. I just dont know enough about vehicles yet to do it at the moment and what may seem blatently obvious or easy to some guys on here may seem really difficult to me. The reason I thought I needed lift was because I guess Ive never seen a SAS'd 4runner that hasnt had atleast a 3 or 4" lift but i guess thats cause most people doing them want the extra clearance for rock climbing or whatever. Personally I just like the stability of a solid front axle which I think would make up for the tippiness of the 4runner and lack of flex from the IFS. Sometimes I think hey its not that big of a deal just cut off the IFS and weld in the front end from the pickup but then I know nothing about converting the steering or transfer case nor would I know which springs to use ( i have OME 2" lift springs in the rear) to get it to sit right. Basically I want to end up with a 2 inch lift on 33 x 10.5's. Not huge into big lifts with huge tires. Also does anyone know how much the ride quality changes?

 

I had a shop do my SAS and I wish I would have done it myself. I dont regret spending the money, I just regret not doing it cheaper. It is VERY expensive to have a shop do it. They cant give you a flat rate, because they dont know how long its going to take. I would estimate around 2-3k in just labor. Not including parts.

From someone that has done this, wait untill you meet someone who can weld, or learn yourself.

I have the 5in springs and it sits really tall, but I can run 37s with it. I would get the 3inch kit, cause thats the smallest I have seen, and maybe take a leaf out of the leaf spring and see how it sits and rides compared to the rear.

My SAS rides rough, but I also run bias ply boggers, so I really dont know if its suspension or tires.

Steering comes in the kit, and you dont have to do anything the transfer case except get a new driveshaft build, maybe both depending on how much lift you have

 

An SAS vehicle generally sits 1-1.5" higher than a SA truck with the same amount of lift. So keep than in mind. Trailgear, Marlin, Sky, and Allpro have complete kits. I did not go that route as I wanted as little lift as possible. I could still clear 37's on the front, but it's lower than most others. I was going to pay a awesome fab guy thats well know to do it for me while I was in Iraq he quoted me $700, but think he was cutting me a deal do to my service. But i wound up doing it with a buddy. Was alot of work but I really enjoyed it. It was a very expensive mod for me.

 

Trail Gear makes a complete front kit for $1099 and a complete rear kit for $500 both are the most complete kits available talk with Brian at WABFAB he is also a moderator here I believe they are still having the free shipping deal as well.

I have the 4" front 5" rear on my 4runner and love it , it rides as nice as my IFS and gets me more places then the IFS can plus I run 35 x 12.5 x 15 and can easily clear 37's if I want to throw them on.

All the lift you will need will be via the SAS kit so you don't need to get any other lift kits to raise anything.

Here is a link to T.G.'s front SAS kit

http://www.trail-gear.com/sas.html

Here is the T.G. SAS rear kit link

http://www.trail-gear.com/rearsuspension.html

WABFAB (Brian) can order them for you or you can go right through T.G. but you want to talk to someone and let them know what you intend to do so they can help you get the kit that will work best for what you are trying to get out of the kit.

Here's what my 4runner looks like on the 4" front 5" rear kit so you can get an idea of what your going to end up with taken within the last 3 days




And as for ride the best I can say is my Buddie who drives a Cadillac CTS drove it for a day to go hunting and he said"I was surprised that things rides as good on the road as my car and off road is just awesome and rides really well for a lifted truck"

 

I would love to see SAS clubs spring up devoted to helping others going from IFS to SAS cheaply, MMMMMM i think i will explore this concept, as I soon will be, or want to do an SAS myself. And like others do not at this time have the money or know how,, mmmm interesting.

 

ok well first it would take more than just putting in spring hangers and shock mounts on the 4runner and using the stock truck springs. because you wouldn't be able to use the runners steering or the trucks streering without some fab work and cross over will not clear with stock springs. you would need at least three inches of lift for cross over. i would say if you want a sa on your runner either take some time and learn to weld decent or take it to a shop to have it done. use a pre designed kit so you know you will have all you need and it will function properly or do extensive research on junkyard sas parts.

 

search the web read alot do the reaseach....buy a decent welder, grinder, & torch build your rig....its easier than you think really. practice burning welds before the real deal and find a buddy who knows how to pentrate the metal to show you the ropes