Thanks man! They are really pretty easy to modify, but if there were enough demand I would think about it. We'll see how these hold up first.

I plan on upgrading the lights down the road, but for the time being they should do the job.

Thanks Jason. I knew I was going to break a couple CV’s; it was just a matter of time. While it's not fun, it is a fairly easy fix. I’m sure there will be plenty in the future.

Thank you! I used 2x2 3/16” square steel, the main slider is just under 62” and the legs are 10.5”, I also have ¼” frame plates. All of that is based off a Limited which has the bigger flares, all the ends are cut at angles to flow with the fenders better. It’s up to you to make it all fit, but at least that gives you an idea of what you need.

Thanks man, that was the first CV I broke.

I think he only makes them for the 3rd Gen’s. My green 4Runner would run out of gas at ¼ tank, it had the stock skid. If your going to see rocks you should really come up with some extra bracing, once you cave the tank in it’s done.

 

Well, it’s been an expensive couple weeks!

I’ll start out with the fact that both rear axle shafts are bent on the 4Runner. I have guessed one was a little bent for a while, but now it seems both are bent. I think it’s time for a little trip down memory lane (Sorry, this is going to get long).

When I ran Wheeler Lake last fall it was the first real wheeling trip in the 4Runner; it’s not a super hard trail, but with 8” of fresh wet snow things get a whole lot harder. I did not have my ARB compressor installed, so I was still open in the front. There was a nasty little ledge that was covered in snow, I got the front of the 4Runner on the ledge but I had to give it a little bump to make it all the way up. The rear of the 4Runner bounced a little harder than I like, but I didn’t think anything of it. Hell, I’ve jumped the crap out of my old green 4Runner and never bent a shaft (the housing yes, but not an axle shaft).



After that the rear brakes were making some odd noises, but I figured it was just ice building up inside the drum from the water crossing and I ignored it for the rest of the day. The following day I was driving the 4Runner and the rear brakes seemed a little “jumpy”, I still had stock front rotors which were a little warped so I didn’t notice anything in the pedal. So I replaced the shoes, drums and hardware kit; something still didn’t feel right but it was hard to pinpoint with the balance of the MTR’s.





I noticed some vibration in the rear brakes after the Tundra swap; the old front rotors were warped like crazy so I didn’t know what was going on until after I replaced them. It’s a long story with little clues/issues along the way, but it all makes since now. It’s clear the driver side rear axle has been bent since Wheeler Lake, and after Holy Cross it just got worse. I think that’s when I slightly bent the second axle (not as bad); I didn’t beat on the 4Runner, but I did baja down Shrine Pass and there were a couple potholes I couldn’t stop for. Between the weight of all my gear and the tongue weight of the trailer it must have done the trick.

The vibration while driving and braking was really bad, or not so bad at times. It was confusing, but I realized that having an open diff would change the relationship between the two axles; at times the axle shafts are in sync and shake like crazy, after a turn they cancel themselves out and it’s not so bad. I was really in disbelieve, but after doing some searching it looks like this is a fairly common thing on 3rd Gen 4Runners and Tacoma’s that really get wheeled. Vermejo went through three rear axle shafts in a year; he had a 3rd Gen on 35’s and wheeled the crap out of his rig.

I looked for replacement HD chromo shafts, but they don’t offer them for the 3rd Gen 4Runner (just the Tacoma) and I called Poly Performance, they said the Tacoma shafts would not fit my 4Runner. So I really had two options; stock weak junkyard axles, or a full float FROR kit. After a lot of thought, and planning where I plan to take the 4Runner with the trailer, the stock axles were not going to cut it.

 

So I broke down and ordered the kit, it was more than I wanted to spend but the benefits of the kit are awesome! It has 4340 Chromoly axle shafts and it converts the rear to disc brakes; it has adapters that use the stock mini-truck front solid axle spindles, and after that it’s just like building an old front solid axle. Here is a link to the kit with more info:

http://frontrangeoffroadfab.com/nfos...products_id=94

I wasn’t planning on doing a full write-up; I was in a hurry to get the 4Runner done for the Jamboree and I don’t see a whole lot of people converting to this set-up. The link above does have a link to a full write-up, and there is a bunch of info all over the Internet on rebuilding the front of a mini-truck axle. If you have any specific questions let me know. Here we go…

The old stock drum brakes, I won’t be missing these anytime soon!







Stripped down to the axle housing

 

Just a fraction of the new parts, I had parts everywhere!



I always use factory Toyota gasket maker for this kind of stuff



Special adapter sealed and installed, along with the new HD axle shaft installed



Spindle, wheel hub, Genuine Koyo wheel bearings/races, Trail-Gear chromoly Creeper flanges and FJ-60 vented rotors



Front brake calipers from a 1987 IFS 4cyl. 4Runner; these should provide more than enough stopping power, especially with the large Tundra brakes up front







Wheel / Hub Clearance

 

wow thats a nice kit. looked like it didnt take long before the axle was bent. makes me worried about mine. did you get the one without ebrakes kit?

im guessing around $1000 for a complete swap?
btw it looks awesome and disk brakes is much better.

 

Yeah, it's a nice kit! I bent the axle on the first real wheeling trip; needless to say I don't have much faith in the stock 3rd Gen 4Runner/Tacoma axles anymore.

I didn't add it up but I think it was a little over $1000, probably closer to $1200 once you figure in the new brakes, drive flanges, Koyo wheel bearings and the proportioning valve. You could do it cheaper with junkyard brake parts but I would rather spend a little extra and know it's right, I don't like to take my chances when it comes to brakes.

FROR still offers the kit that has a parking brake, but the Supra calipers that it uses are getting very hard to find (mainly the brackets and pins) and expensive. They will sell you the kit if you want, but good luck getting the parts! With an automatic I hardly ever use my parking brake, down the road I would like to figure something out, but for the time being I'm not too worried about it. I also had to deactivate the ABS, but that might be for the best. There were a couple times this last winter that I feel the ABS did more harm than good.

The rear disc brakes are awesome! Between the large Tundra brakes up front, and the IFS front brakes in the back, this thing has tons of braking power! Even with the trailer behind the 4Runner it stops pretty damn good!

 

that is true. i hardly use the ebrake in my automatic as well. you have alot of braking power with that setup. i would feel better with that setup with a trailer as well.

 

what kind of axles are those? while I'm puttign the elocker and disc brakes on my rear I want to upgrade the axles but didn't have much luck finding better quality axle shafts, good looks man.

 

He posted the link for the kit he used.

 

yea i didn't read it thoroughly, then i did and bought it... F!

 

You will like it, it's a nice kit and the brakes are awesome now!

 

I also had to replace a bunch of the front-end components. After running Red Cone I noticed more than the usual clunking and noise coming from the front of the 4Runner. After checking it out at the shop the inner tie rod ends were loose, and the lower ball joints were puking grease. With all the 3rd Gen lower ball joint failures, I figured I should just replace everything; lower ball joints and inner / outer tie rod ends. It really could not have come at a worse time with the rear axle issues, but that’s wheeling for you!

The fact that this is my daily driver, the amount of wheeling I do, and the 35’s with heavy beadlock wheels meant I really only had one choice: Factory Toyota parts (in other words $$$). The lower ball joints and tie rod ends are worth the money, I had hoped to save a little money and use 555 (Napa) inner tie rod ends but I heard from a couple people that they will loosen faster than the factory Toyota stuff when you really wheel your rig. We'll see if they were worth the money...

Once you get in there it’s a pretty easy job. BigFishAllDay had a couple helpful links in this thread that will let you know what you’re getting into.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...tml#post931136

Inner tie rod end – Old vs New.



While the old parts were worn out, they are still in good enough shape to use as trail spares. I made it a point not to mess up any of the threads on the parts so I can use them if I need to, I also left the outer tie rod connected to the lower ball joint so it’s easier to disassemble / install, and I painted the alignment (I had to re-use the jam nuts) so I don’t have to guess on the trail. It might be seem a little OCD but a couple minutes in the shop go a long way on the trail. Also, don't count threads, my new parts did not have the same number of threads!





And all the new parts installed (new LBJ bolts not pictured, I had to wait another day for them to show up. Make sure you use Loctite on the bolts!), I really hope they last a couple years!

 

its nice to know you have fresh oem parts, they are imo much better therefore you pay more. as always, your runner is going where most IFS guys wont even try lol. good job

 

Thanks man! I think your 100% right, you could do it right the first time; or, save some money up front and do the same job several times with cheaper inferior parts. From what I've seen you pretty much break even in the end.

It is nice to know that everything is fresh, in the future I'll just replace the worn out parts but you have to start some place. The old parts were still in good enough condition to use as spares, so that saved me some money too.

 

Do u think these parts would ware as quick if u were running 33's? What about the rear axel do u think the stocker could handel 33s?

 

How about some action shots of those rock lights!!

 

X2 on the OEM stuff's... My first ball joints lasted 25 years and still hadn't really been buggered much... CA bushings the same... But while tearing it all apart, I figured, 'WHY NOT!?', ya know? haha. Looking great, man!

 

i read all 27 pages of this build thread...all i have to say is "WOW"! truly inspirational! makes me wish i knew how to weld! lol

keep up the awesome work

 

hey i saw that you had the same problem with your front seal leaking. mine is doing the same. contacted trd and magnuson. trd cant do a thing and for some reason magnuson said all they can do is refurbish and replace the bearings. how did you get the new nose cone and what was the price range? hopefully i can get this problem resolved quickly...id hate to see that thing go! thanks!

 

by the way love the build!!!! your rig is looking amazing! great work, keep it up!