ARB's eh? I will second what I said before. This is going to be a really sweet build. looking forward to seeing the pics of it all finished.

 

AxleIke,

In your experience, what is the maximum height/lift before you run into castor issues? This is the issue that I am most curious about...Could it not be remidied (within minute reason) by changing the angle of the shakles or perhaps longer/shorter shakles on front/rear? At my expected height, I do not expect issues, but I would like to know what experience yields.

 

I can't really answer that question. It depends on the springs used, spring length, shackle length, spring position, yada yada. It will be close, any way you do it. Shims can easily be used to get it perfect.

 

for gears i would recommend 488s i use them on my 4runner and i am running 37s

 

Well, ordered my 4" rear leaf spring conversion with Bil. 5150's tonight. Brian at Wabfab is great to deal with. I am certain that I will be happy with the purchase.
I think that I have a deal worked out for a torch. Now, to find access to a 220v mig (preferably with gas)....

 

Rear leaf swap came in tonight (6:40pm). It's so beautiful! Anyways, I don't have pictures or anything of importance. Maybe tomorrow, but you've all seen the Trail-gear rear setup so it doesn?t matter. Maybe I'll get to work on the axle a bit, but I'll probably spend most of my day hammering out the dents from the trip this past weekend and writing code.

Now, to find a source of welding....

 

Are you a spy... cause if you are you just blew your cover.

Don't try and hunt me down though, cause I am basically a ninja and you'd never find me.

Good luck with your welder search. Don't forget that you can get all the spring hangers welded on with the stock coil setup still in place. That's what I did. Allowed me to be able to drive to the welder, have him do his things and then take the 4Runner back to my garage where I could do my thing.

 

Sneaky sneaky..I've got your number. Anyways, good idea. I do kinda want to give myself (and the woman) justification to purchase a 220v (180amp) mig.

 

Glad you got your stuff and thanks for the business.

Let me know if I can help you with something else and I expect some pics for the website!

 

I can relate. I got a 220v at the time of my swap as well. I wasn't confident in my welding though, since I had never done it before.

I had the "critical" parts such as front and rear spring hangers zapped on there by a professional. I gave a shot at welding such things as shock mounts and rock bars.

 

Didn't do an ounce of work on the truck today. How is it that I still wok on my day off?? Elvolta, how much did you pay to get your stuff zapped? Also, did you spend time with the guy/girl mocking up the setup? Here's a bit of part porn, but not much...



On a side note, here is the scuba bottle that will become my CO2 setup. Can't beat $50. Does anybody have any info on this type of setup?

 

I don't recall the price, as he did several other things for me at the time. I was lucky and bumped into Steve with Sonoran Steel while searching for my front axle at the salvage yard. He offered his services as his experience was a great help.

Here is a pic I sent him, asking if he could cut and weld on the front hanger and still be drivable:



The letter "C" was my guesstimated location. As you can see, some of the factory bracket had to be cut. I didn't drive forever in that condition though, and no trails.

I spent maybe an hour in my garage trying to figure out where I wanted the brackets, and then he showed me what I had done wrong when I got to his shop. He spent maybe an hour to get it right, then he started welding.

The method that was devised to figure out where everything need to attach to the frame was to remove one wheel and place the axle perch I had underneath the axle. This would center the leaf spring... only upside down. We then lowered the jack until the axle was level, simulating what the spring length would be once the vehicle weight was put on it. From there, we took the desired shackle angle under consideration and set the hangers.

Worked out perfect. My 35" tire drops back into the wheel well just right under full stuff.

Once you get the welding done (have the front hanger and shackle mounts done at the same time... only one place those fit) you'll have to head home and start cutting everything off. Like this:



I had the front SAS all done at that point. You have to clean all the factory brackets off the old axle and then put the rear housing on the springs. This will allow you to set your pinion angle and tack the axle spring pads:



I had SS weld a Marlin diff guard to this axle (and front) as well as weld the spring pads. The housing is thin, relatively speaking, and you have to be careful not to burn through or warp the housing... all the while getting good penetration to keep your axle where it belongs once you are back on the road... or trail, as it were.

 

By the way, stay away from the Scuba tank CO2 idea...it was a hasty decision. However, I will be picking up a CO2 tank in the near future(by the time that my rig is "done").

P.S. If anybody needs a scuba tank, I have one...

 

Has anybody used a stock 4.88 rear diff in a front SA? If I can get two rears, I could run those for a bit. However, I must find them for under the price of new gears as I will install them myself.

On a side note, maybe I can get some time this week to massage on my axle...

 

There will be no problems whatsoever running the stock 4.88s up front.

 

Front and rear diffs are interchangeable. V6 3rds are slightly stronger, but even 4cyl 3rds will work. Hi-pinion 3rds are more tricky... its my understanding that they work poorly in the rear unless they are specifically setup for it.

Install the 3rd is pretty easy, nothing like gear setup. Just make sure you have the same ratio front and rear and you should be good to go.

 

Yeah, I did not expect that it would be a problem,; however, I was concerned that the coast side "setup/pattern" on a stock rear 4.88 would not be great. Unless I can get the stockers for under $100 a piece (very possible here), I will buy gears and set them up.
Thanks guys.

 

just make sure that if you do end up regearing your own diffs rather than buying stock 4.88s, make sure you buy diffs that did not come with stock 4.88s.

 

Yeah. I have amassed a wealth of knowledge about diffs as I was planning on regearing about a year ago and then went with the tranny swap instead.

 

Yeah, it's been a bit since an update. School, work, projects, Christmas, etc. have taken the majority of my time. I have; however, been able to finish my axle tear-down and am almost done with sanding/cleaning. I am gonna go with a coat of POR-15 or the like and then brake caliper paint or high-temp black (not sure yet). This should keep it nice and safe for a while. I've got the go-ahead to purchase my front kit in the next couple of weeks. Iam also planning on a Hobart Handler 185. I'm in the mountains, but I hope to have some time when I get back next week. The scheduled time for a test ride is the end of February.