86 shortbed SAS questions
 

Im lookin to do get rid of my IFS in the next couple months and am wondering what kit would be the best option (ie. Trailgear, Allpro)
? I'm fairly new to yota's and solid axle swaps so if anyone has recommendations and tips that'd be awesome! Thanks! :safari:

Trail gear seems okay. Some people have bad luck with them though. If it were me I'd go Allpro

I put a TG kit on two trucks and have been running them HARD for a few years. No problems. I have "heard" of TG being junk but I have yet to have anything from them fail.


You can usually get their kit on sale and shipping is free. A kit is the way to go for the first swap in my opinion. Piecing one together could be cheaper but may take a while.


I have Marlin, All-Pro, Sky, AA and probably other brands. I just got what I liked at the best price when I needed it. Sometimes prices for what you want suck or it is out of stock.


You will get opinions on who sucks and who doesn't. I don't baby my stuff and so far no failures. Abuse will break even the best parts.


Some of the failures I have seen were because people did a bad job on the swap or beat on them bad. I have had good results with TG springs but, I run bump stops so I don't invert them. A common cause of early failure.


Compare kits and see what you get for the money. Some are more complete than others and some have shipping.

The TG kit is good and we'll put together. If I was doing it again I would get a frenched hangar. I hate how tall the front is now.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I guess I'll keep doing my research and find whichever one works for me best!

Now your getting it!

Okay so I recently got an axle out of my buddies 82', along with a bunch of parts. The thing was blown up so it needs a new diff, ring and pinion and one of the axle shafts is gone. Pretty much everything else is there. Has warn hubs which he claims are good, and boxes of seals and gaskets from TG and probably just stock yota seals.. Also got a mint driveshaft from another buddy from his old 85 solid axle 4runner.. So question is what do you guys recommend for diff's/locker, axle shafts, ring n pinions, rebuild kits? Ive looked into a couple options from Marlin but some expert opinions would sure help me out :bowdown2:

Depends on your budget and how your going to set up and use your truck.

Lookin for pretty low budget, and im not gonna build it for any serious rock crawling, but still want it capable for trails and camping/hunting

Warn hubs are not one of their better products.
they will get you by but factory Austin hubs have a better reputation for reliability..

Aisin hubs are better than the warns.


There are plenty of R&P gear sets and install kits out there. Set up the diffs with solid pinion spacers. Check out Zuk's site gearinstalls.com if you want to do it yourself.


I really like the upgraded Marlin or TG yoke seals and the inner front axle seals. I also like the upgraded knuckle ball seals instead of the stock felt ones.


The TG front wheel bearing adjuster nuts are nice. No more bending throw away tabs over the nut. Not necessary but nice.


IF your not running a front locker or large tires the stock birfs should hold up. This alone will save you a bunch of money. If you are running a front locker cough up the money for better birfs.


Upgrade your knuckle studs or at least replace with new stock ones. Weld on some knuckle ball gussets. Marlin and TG have them.


Run bump stops and your springs will last longer. Seems that all the guys that say their springs sucked didn't and let them go inverted on a regular basis. More travel and flex but at a price.


If you don't want to run the front wheel spacers in the SAS kit you can use your IFS hubs and move your brake calipers or use Sky's kit. Plenty of threads out there on that subject. Many tire shops won't touch the front axle with spacers mounted. At least where I live.


Be careful welding on your axle housing to avoid warping it.


One of the SAS kit instructions said to center the jig for the shackle bushing tubes between the cab mount. Another set of instructions said to push it forward. The second truck I did with the jig pushed forward had a better shackle angle and softer flexy ride. The one I did with it centered has an acceptable shackle angle but rides noticeably rougher. Same kit.


Good luck with your build and keep the questions coming if you have any doubts.

A lot depends on your planned end set up. Tire size will dictate gears. Like mentioned plan in getting better birfelds. DS will need to be lenghtened and depending on flex might want long slip, get heavier material for shaft. Dual cases will improve front DS angle but require shortening rear DS and may require going to a CV style DS so would most likely need to rotate pinion.

The biggest complaint I've heard of TG springs was all about same time and I think there was some issues from the manufacture but that was years ago.

So much easier to plan build and do it all at once. I pieced my build together over time and funds. Now I can fit 35's but have 3 difs geared for 4:88s. I also wanted a low ride height so pieced the SAS kit together which cost more in the long run.

pretty much have everything I need for the axle now.. have 2 housings, 2 sets of shafts, 1 set of aisin hubs with discs, spindles and all that.. a set of warn hubs with spindles, knuckles and everything there, 1 4.10 diff with a lockrite locker, a 4.55 diff, a spare third member, and a box full of random trailgear seals and gaskets.. I figure Ill go for the Trailgear SAS kit because it includes a knuckle rebuild and wheel bearing kits.. Im gonna use the aisin hubs with the 4.10 diff, and just use stock shafts.. (atleast I think they are stock). After buying the SAS kit, and rear lift I don't think ill have enough to buy upgraded shafts.. or should I really just wait and save for the chromolys?

for the longfield's or Dirty 30's (chromoly) axle shafts a lot of it depends on what size tire you are planning on running.
when I went to 35's i installed dirty 30's. I know people that were fine with stock birfs on 35's but I also know people who have blown birfs running 31's.
A lot of it comes down to the weight of your right foot, driving style and terrain.