in a city, you REALLY need that 4wd for snow? how is 4wd any safer? sure, it goes nice on snow/ice but it sure as hell doesn't help you stop or turn any better... i think the insurance companies show us every 3/6/12 months how much safer 4wd is. there are plenty of people that live out hard winters year in and year out with rwd. no, you shouldn't get rid of your 4wd vehicle... i personally just don't understand why people pay thousands more for all that extra metal under the car, then it gets little to no use while they're doing performance mods to try and offset the few extra hundred lbs. 4wd adds. my point about the sports car was 4 runners are advertised as 4wd off road vehicles... it makes about as much sense to me to modify one with performance/non functional appearance mods as it does for someone to increase the off road capability of a sports car. i wasn't pointing any fingers at anyone about not using their 4wd, just commenting on what seems to be the general concensus in this thread.
so it was okay for everyone to start slamming statelax's rig?

what, i can't lay the smack down and drive a stock truck?

 

I wasn't poking at you with that statement. I was talking about how my rig looked before I got a real bumper. mine had big tires and a stock bumper and looked silly, probably due to the fact that I left the valence on.

I don't believe I am going for looks like you say since you started the "looks" comment about the brush guard, I'll leave that one alone.

I will however say that I think you are wrong to say that a brush guard doesn't need to be on a street runner. that is what brush guards were made for. why do you think most people go with a winch bumper for wheeling? I know the answers to that!

I am alot after functionality, take my ARB's (you can't see those), TJM bumper for winch mounting and approach angle, SAWs for their quality offroad, OME's for their reputation offroad, 33" BFG MT's for wheeling, and a manual hub conversion will be in by christmas. An SAS, since Cebby is stabbing me in the back (just kidding dude) is simply not feasible for me since mine is a DD also. I can't rack it up for a couple weeks to do the swap and I lack the knowledge to do the whole job myself so I'm not real interested in doing it. Those that really know me know that I will rarely do a mod unless I can do it myself, mostly for the feeling of self accomplishment. I will also point out that not many people have done a 3rd gen SAS. Not even super Steve S., which surprises me by the way.

My point is that we just don't treat eachother like this here at Yotatech, that's how I knew you hopped over from the Pirate. no harm meant toward you.

 

hehe, you read my pm, haha.

 

Keisur - my money's on you to do a SAS! I'll give it 18 months or so before you've figured it out and grown the onions to cut up that nice Runner. Where's my knife?

I think you hit the nail on the head. Having the rig be a DD makes it really tough to do anything too involved, putting the vehicle out of commission for an extended period.

Statelax - that's cool that your Runner is a trail rig. I wish I could retire mine and make it more trailworthy. Ahh...someday :dreams:

 

First I would have to convince the wife that it is necessary. The gears and ARB's were easy because she is knowledgable growing up with 1st gens in Panama but that's an expense that would need to be reciprocated on her adventure racing and triathlon equipment. she just got a $2k triathlon bike due to my ARB's and Gears.

But, rest assured, if I indeed figure it out and "grow some onions" I'm flying you down to lend a hand.

 

ok lets think about those words for a second... brush and guard... where do you run into brush on the street?? brush and grill guards are designed to do just that, protect the grill/radiator/lights from branches, bushes, etc.... actually i believe statelax was a member here first, i turned him on to pirate shortly after he got his runner, and he pointed me to this place...

frequently. i guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on the issues of 4wd's and bigger vehicles being any safer, as much as i love 4wd's and trucks i don't think they're really any safer. some areas they may be, and in some area they're more dangerous than a car. i see just as many 4wd's littering the roads in a good snow as any other vehicle. good point on the engine braking, but typically i find it very ineffective especially if you happen to own a truck with a very light rearend. even in suv's with a more balanced weight, it's still marginal the amount of stopping power you can use engine braking for, that'll lock up the tires just as bad as braking, and you have less control of staying on that verge of locking/unlocking the tires. you can also forget it with an auto, no control over the amount of engine braking applied. you can also be assured all of the extra weight that a 4wd has over a car makes braking on slick surfaces no better. i could also go into how when the wheels lock under engine braking it sends to abs for a loop in most vehicles, and the system will not function properly until the engine braking pressure is released or the wheels begin turning at their full speed.... these are all points we could argue for days i guess...

 

keisur, just plan carefully and gather all of your parts before the swap, and pre fab everything you can. you can hang the spring hanger, sleeve the frame for shackles, etc. with the ifs still on the truck. even for a first time SAS, it's not unreasonable at all to have the truck driveable after a weekend of work.

 

I think it's time to drop it dude. at this point your not going to insult anybody here because for the most part you will be ignored. That said, I won't even bother defending my statement.

 

Yeah, North Meck does blow!

 

I see your point. I always try to get all my stuff together prior to the mod but there's always that one little thing I have to borrow the wifes runner to make a quick dash for parts or weird tools. like torx sockets. It's really a cost thing then if I could get it running after a weekend. that main thing would be finding an axle.

CRAP!!! Cebby, you see what's going on here!? Doesn't that sound like "planning" to you. gotta stop typing and thinking about that now.

Thanks for the tips PoRunner.

 

um, who am i insulting? i was argueing/discussing some points about winter driving with Cebby... sorry if you took my explaining what a brush guard actually is as an insult... there's no need to defend your statement, you stated brush guards are made for street use, which is wrong. that's not an opinion, it's a simple fact. sure, lots of people use them only on street trucks, but that's not what they were or are designed for. now if i had come out and said you ˟˟˟˟˟˟ dumb@$$ what the heck are you thinking brush guards are made for the street... that would be an insult, and i should be ignored accordingly.

 

After watching this Bud light commercial during Monday Night football, I think we should all just sit back and have nice cold one.

 

no problem on the tips, it is quite a big investment. that's the beauty of collecting parts before the swap though, you can take your time and spend little by little. hell, i've been collecting parts for an isuzu trooper SAS for almost a year now the good thing about toyotas is the number of people that have already done SAS's, yeah you're gonna forget and miss a few things, but there are people out there with complete shopping lists of every bolt you need, etc. you also don't have to do the whole thing at once, you can get the axle hung and the truck driveable, then do gears, locker, driveshaft etc., as more money comes in.

 

I was only saying that brush guards were more made for looks and as Cebby says, for hanging lights. just my opinion though.

 

mine took about a month because i did no planning on the front side. i just started torching, so def plan ahead. and i agree with porunner it can be done in a weekend. and to be honest its everyday reliable and driveable with the new suspension. get goin on it!!!

 

You know you've been secretly planning this since all the headaches with your front diff and Randy's... I think there are onions growing in Texas.

SAS weekend? I'm there - I'll even do the cutting and welding for you... You get to do all the grinding (and we're sending the Mrs out of town, so don't go there funnyman...) BAHAHAHAHA!

Hmmmm. I wonder if your front 3rd will fit my 2G housing. They are the same aren't they??? You did 4.88's right?

 

look at my sig. yep 4.88's. I don't think they are the same though. I think the first one the shipped me was the one you have, the one with the front cover. Mine is the clam-shell type. a real PITA, even to pull apart. I pulled my old one apart.

Oh yea, it seems Randy's creditted me $311 for something I don't know about. they made a credit on my credit card and I haven't even sent the cores in for a refund. haha. so it looks like I got the front ARB for even cheaper that the TrueTrac was going to cost me, haha.

 

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I'm new to these forums also, but Im very glad I didnt run into your post, till now.. Very Unhealthy man, Im sure others might agree with you.. BUT that kinda talk isnt needed here IMO. that being said.

NICE RIG man..

fender flare a must.. mine are Original.

 

:pat:

Your sig is a new addition isn't it? Looks good.

Can someone teach me how to read, please?

 

here we go again, consider it an opnion, if u think my rig is ugly tell me, i wont cry. and the ower didnt either, in fact he todl me it was my opnion and i didnt have to like it, and well he is correct. you cant go all you life with thin skin. but thanks for the advice anyway. ohh any why are you glad you didnt run into it until now? i mean if u had earlier you would have lectured me? and told me i am a bad person for not liking something? how is it unhealty? that talk is not needed here? thats a good opnion and i respect that OPNION.