Aloha folks!
It seems like this is the place to graduate beyond the regular forums. I guess I like my truck because I am now fully committed to keeping this girl going forever*. She has survived (so far) years of ocean spray, 2 volcanic eruptions, a baby daughter and an amateur stoner mechanic/owner.


A little backstory:
Like most Yotatechers, I discovered the Yota life about 6 years ago from my mother-in-law. In NorCal, she had an 89 Extended Cab with the 22re + manual trans and knowing she was a smart woman, her daughter, whom I was falling madly in love with, also bought the exact same rig to ship to Hawaii to explore the often hard to get to beaches. After watching the TopGear episode where they tried and failed to destroy one, I knew I had to get one. So off I went to the land of Toyotas, the Pacific Northwest - Tacoma WA to be exact to find my gem. Knowing absolutely NOTHING about the reality of owning a vintage truck, I thought it was a good idea to drive to Wyoming, go see me some Yellowstone then drive back to Oakland to ship it back to the 808 state. I’ll save you the details but I learned: no matter what the seller says, a leaking 3rd member will eventually drain the diff oil and make for a grinding, white knuckle ride, NEVER trust someone to attach jumper cables on your own car, how to change an alternator and that Americans are some of the kindest folks and ready to help someone stranded on the road.


Since then after spending a godless amount of time on this forum and watching videos on the interwebs I’ve worked out most of her issues and have gained a bit of experience and knowledge in all things wrenching. I knew it was fate when I won a Craftsman ratchet set on a Yotatech raffle years ago ( do you folks still do that?) and now that I’ve finally built my man cave it’s only natural to progress and learn even more. Which brings me to this:


I’ve been researching much and more regarding this subject for a year or so now it’s time to level up. My IFS is tired and I’m still not convinced that the solid axle is going to be a rougher ride compared to what’s happening now with 30 year old torsion bars and a deteriorating front suspension. I plan to maintain the 4” lift she’s had since I owned her which is still on the low side. I want to French the front hangers and use the leafs that came with the axle (the seller said they were 3-4” springs) along with the hi-steer setup. I want to employ my welder neighbor to do most of the welding but it was my intention to learn this valuable Yota skill as well. So for now, anyone know which front hanger is best for doing the French? Even if I don’t go that route the AllPro Off-road low profile hanger seems to be a good start to keep that SAS low.
Thank you for reading and I will post more photos and stories as I’ve kept a bunch along the way and maybe I can add to the collective intelligence that is Yotatech

 

I took the axle apart and discovered this: gouged out housing ball and I’ll need to get some new birfs. The upper knuckle bearing was compromised and one of the cylinder parts of the bearing was nowhere to be found so I think that’s what did it. My friend who’s rebuilt these says that with a little careful grinding and filing I’ll be able to reuse. He said as long as the lip for the race is intact it should be ok. what do y’all think?
(Extra points if you notice something else that’s awry)