gerth92

The drive shaft finally separated. I beat on it with a baby sledge for over an hour last night. Today I decided to work smarter and not harder. I used a tree and a '97 GMC 2500. It took about a dozen good pulls before it flew apart. I had no idea it would be that difficult. The only casualty is that the u-joint on the slip yoke side is seized up and wont move. I'l try replacing it. I don't know if it was the beating with a hammer or the 5500 lb truck yanking on it, but the bearings are bound up.

YOUNGIAM

Love it!!! Get R Done!!!!

gerth92

Got the bad U-joint out and replace with a Moog U-joint. It went way easier than I thought it would. I supported the two sides of the yoke with bricks and beat the joint with a hammer until the cups began to slide out. Installing the new one was even easier. It's tight but moves smoothly now. Next I have to figure out how to remove the gunk from the spline shaft that has turned into a solid.

gerth92

My wife bought me an FJ40!!!! I only had to throw one fit in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart!

gerth92

Good riddance! My plasma cutter hasn't come in from China so I had to cut it out with my angle grinder. I'l wait to get all the brackets off until it comes in. Plus I need to borrow a pitman arm puller from autozone.

gerth92

I got the front cross member on. The area where the tow hooks bolted to the frame was bent. I had to cut and grind on them to get the cross member to sit flush.its also difficult to find places to weld. The back side has the radiator in the way and the sides have part of the frame in the way. But I think I got enough places on it welded to hold.

JohnnyCanuck

gerth92

I got the passenger side shackle tube in tonight. I' having to use hole saws since my plasma cutter still isn't in from China. I toasted my harbor freight cordless drill trying to cut this hole. I should have known better. The AC drill is better at this kind of stuff anyway. I can't cut the driver side hole yet because my only 1 3/4 hole saw went bad during the first hole. Even half a bottle of anchorlube couldn't keep that bit alive. I'l have to grab another hole saw tomorrow at ace.

gerth92

I got my leaves hung up. They look like the shackes might be too steep. I'l know tomorrow when I bolt the axle on and put weight on it. Other than that it's going smooth. I'm still awaiting my plasma cutter, so brackets are still in the way.

gerth92

I got my axle under the truck. I have my doubts about the size of the stock bump stops. I might need taller ones. I got my plasma cutter in from China but I'm having trouble getting it to work. So the brackets are still in the way. I put the weight of the truck on it and the springs flattened out almost all the way. It still looks like there is plenty of height though.

gerth92

I got the IFS hubs rebuilt with new bearings and races. And they are now installed. I'm a little worried about the brake setup. I have 96 taco rotors and it just doesn't seem like there is enough room in there for the rotors and calipers. Also, my soft brake line sections are not nearly long enough. And I'm skeptical about my stock drive shaft working.

gerth92

I got my brakes done. It took a ton of grinding to get those things on. About as much as when I accidently put my rear brake rotors on the outside of the hub instead of the inside. All that's left is to go by Ace and get some 12mm x 50mm bolts to bolt them on with. I've got old wheel studs in the holes for show. I'm desperaely needing to get my knockoff Chinese plasma cutter working. I can't do the steering until the brackets from the IFS are cut off. If eBay doesn't have my plasma cutter resolved by next week I'm just going to start hacking with my angle grinder again.

gerth92

I went ahead and hacked off the brackets with my 12in sawzall, I doubt I will get a working plasma cutter in time for this project. Now all that's left is shocks, tie rods, and modifying my front drive shaft to make it flex. I plan on using the body of the solid axle drive shaft CV. The solid axle drive shaft CVs are supposed to have 35° instead of the less than 20° on the IFS. I'm hoping I can combine the two because the IFS drive shaft is longer.

gerth92

The stock drive shaft was an inch or two short of reaching the differential with the springs at the resting position. The length was fine, but the angle was a few degrees short. I am going to do the extra flex mod to try and get it to where it needs to be. I ground the top of the drive shaft side to give it more clearance. On the flange side, I took off the rubber seal and ground the base of it flat. Testing it by hand, it has a ton of more room to bend now. I destroyed the U joints in the process(needle bearings went flying everywhere) so I can't reassemble it until the new ones come in. Hopefully I don't have to weld up a square tube drive shaft. I feel like the OEM shaft would operate more smoothly and quietly.

gerth92

I got the shock mounts on. They ended up being a lot thinner then they looked on eBay. I don't know if they will hold up but I'll see. The shocks I got have 9 inches of travel. I think that will be enough for the front. I ordered some shocks for the back that have 12 inches of travel. My tie rods are supposed to be here tomorrow. Maybe then I can set it back on its wheels.

gerth92

I got my steering on. Looks like I'm gonna have to go with a 2wd oil pan. It's an inch or two from hitting.i also got my front drive shaft back together. The clearancing made a huge difference. I've got quite a bit of extra angle to spare now. The splines are plenty long enough too.

gerth92

I got my rear shocks on and steering stabilizer on. I also removed the body lift. I got to test drive it today. There are still a few things to work out. The rear calipers are grinding against the inside of the wheels. I may need to grind them down some. There is a pretty bad shake at 10 to 25 mph. It smooths out above that. And the front is sitting too high. I may need to drill out new holes in the shackles.

gerth92

I measured my castor angle with a cheap-o angle gauge from harbor freight. It was showing that my castor was 10 degrees positive. So my pinion was towards the ground 10 degrees. From way I under stand, I need to rotate in the pinion up direction by 8 to meet the Factory spec. I'e started by moving my shackle hole in by 2 in. This gives me a 3 inch center to center. I used the mill at work to keep everything precise. I also ordered a 2wd pickup oil pan from rock auto. I've also got a 2wd pickup sump tube on order from toyota. From what I understand, i can drill new holes in the baffle (windage tray), which is good because that windage tray is discontinued and would have to come from a junk yard which doesn't exist around me. The 2 inch shorter shackle should help level out my ride height as well. The front was sitting up too high. I am a little concerned about clearance at the steering arms.

gerth92

I got my shackles cut down to 3 in center to center. It brought my angel down from 10 to 4 degrees. The death wobble went away. The only problem now is that my tie rod is sitting on the oil pan. The back is still short. I ordered some 1.5in blocks to even it out. Also my 2wd pickup tube was discontinued by toyota. Luckily an aftermarket company named Melling still had some reproduction ones in stock. It is supposed to be in tomorrow. Hopefully it is the right part.

gerth92

I got the 1.5in lift blocks in the back now. The ride looks like it is even from the front to the back. I also got my oil pickup tube in the mail today. It looks to be just like all the pictures I've seen of the 2wd pickup tube. I hope it goes in right. I also got some IFS lockouts and I ordered the conversion gears. As soon as those two things are done, I'd call it a success.