80seriesyota

im building my land cruiser into a rock crawler, but im on an extremely tight budget. so far i have repainted and line-xed the outside, and put in a JVC deck and some after market deck.

im thinking about taking the old axles out and putting in a 14 bolt rear that has a locker and a dana 60 front open diff. my question is, are the yota axles stronger? and is this a better idea than just locking the rear with and expensive ARB air locker? im a capable fabricator with all the tools i need, including welder and other special tools, and a bunch of space.

right now it is stock but im wondering if there is a simple way to lift it 2-3 inches but not pay over $200 or so other than replacement shocks.

80seriesyota

ask for pictures and i will post ASAP

80seriesyota

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUX3R3PNdjU

80seriesyota

i posted a youtube link of my truck, there are picture before and after paint and if you have any questions or suggestions they are extremely welcome.

Fink

This looks like more of a tech question thread than a build-up thread...

Fink

Fink

Moved to the Early Land Cruiser section and re-titled.

I like the paint job and Line-X, smart choice.

As far as a cheap lift, I don't know a whole lot about LC's but I'm assuming a coil spacer lift would be your cheapest and easiest way however I would not recommend them.
IMO they are a band-aid - if you are going to lift it just save your money up and do it right the first time (full suspension lift).

As far as replacing the axles - save yourself the trouble and just get the ARB, if you want it to be even more capable, get another one for the front eventually.

Just a slight soapbox moment but I would be careful doing a lot of mudding in that rig - the first Yota I had was a '95 Runner and I took it out in the mud all the time.
Soon enough my rear main seal, rear axle seal and another seal I can't remember were trashed - not to mention it can cause pretty bad rust if not cleaned off quickly and completely.

Just my $.02,

Fink

P.S. - I fixed your YouTube link so it wasn't double-posting.

Fink

This is the lift I would get for it - you will not regret spending a few hundred more and doing it right.

Fink

80seriesyota

wow thanks for all your help, that really puts my LC at the height and capability i would have hoped for.

80seriesyota

i found some aussie lockers someone mentioned on another post and they are so much cheaper than 1 ARB, im just wondering if there is any reason they are or are they worth it?

MB4runner

ARB is a selectable air locker. You would have a switch mounted in the cab and hit the switch to lock and unlock your differential any time you want.

Aussie locker is non-selectable. (You can't turn it off).

So comparison wise, with ARB you can have totally stock drivability for highway or normal city driving whereas with an Aussie locker you will have to put up with the mannerisms of that locker being active all the time.

My opinion is ARB is well worth the price if you afford it. (I can't, but I can dream lol). Your other option would be a spool. The cheapest of all three but the most solid. No moving parts to break, but not good on-road mannerisms.

FlyingLow

IMO if you are going to run 33s then you are wasting your time and money on 14 bolt and D60 axles. The diameter of your axle shafts are just a hair smaller than stock D60 axles and you can upgrade to Chromo shafts too. Upgraded 80 axles can be done for cheaper than buying a decent D60 let a lone modifying one. Run your truck the way it is with a locker or 2 and 33s. You need to wheel it to figure out what you want from it. When you are wanting to step up to tires OVER 36 or 37 inches and are busting birfs and axles then plan on a set of 1 ton axles.

As far as lifts, OME is good. You may also want to check out Slee Offroad. Google will point you there right quick. Christo Slee knows all there is to know about 80s and 100s.

graduatedpine

Just did the ToyTec 2" and I was pleased with it. Nothing too exceptional, the instructions weren't all that in depth or detailed, but then again the process is pretty straightforward.

80seriesyota

well right now i have a insufficent funds, and i have a 73' cj5 with 36 in wranglers on beadlocks, they are also runflats, there the tires that the military runs on the humvees they look alot like the super swamper radials, to fit them to the bolt pattern of the d44 rear, we are cutting the centers out and welding an insert we got from Rusty's offroad, now i know the d30 and d44 are weaker axles but we (oh and by we i mean me and my father) locked them f/r with detroit lockers and with a gear ratio of 4.88, now to fit those 36's we have a SOA lift from Rusty's also. on top of that we had an add-a-leaf lift from black diamond that we started with, TBH i hate this jeep, the last time i wheeled it was March 24th of '09 on that trip we had a 2in AAL lift and 33in BFG mud-terrains, and it was a very bad trip, the carb went out and the clutch would not stay in the mount, so i would just have to mash the gas in the rock gardens till i reached a flat place to fix, the brake lines were loose to the Left front and right rear brakes were out for most of the trip, and i slipped off a rock and slammed the jeep on a rock and broke a body mount, the result of this was most likely the clutch falling out, but this was my first rock crawling trip, so i thought i did pretty good. but as i said i HATE it, i want it gone. my 80 needs to be built and my dad is focused on the stupid CJ5, it has weak axles, leaf springs, and a terrible engine and my yota has coil springs, leather seats, an amazing stereo, strong axles, and line-xed for protection.
well im ranting and i need to get to my point, how much do ya'll think i could get for that jeep? because i was a lift, lockers, f/r bumper, lights and a winch for that 80 LC, oh and a couple of 10in sub woofers, i have 33in bfg mud terrains, and i can black my rims, so im trying to budget it out. any suggestions?

MuddfreaksOffroad

um idk sounds like the jeep had alot of issues is that a v8? and id say if you just fixed the lil problems it has without spending much money maybe 1500? long as it ran good and drove good!

80seriesyota

we fixed the problems and its a straight 6. and we rebuilt the whole thing about 2 years ago, brakes, engine, and tranny we cleaned the axles and got them working like new when we got the detroit lockers put in. i was hoping to get more, and we have ricario seats and a new water proof rear seat.

IndianaJones

How did your rig turn out? I just purchased a 1996 FZJ80 with a supercharger. Can't decide what gear ratio to use. Currently I'm running 35s (315s) but plan to go to 37s in the next two years. I also tow a small camp trailer occasionally. Any suggestions? How low is 1st gear for crawling? 4.88s will get me closest to factory with 37s and shouldn't be too much for 35s, but I've noticed a lot of postings using 5.29s. Is that overkill or are 5.29s a good idea, even with a supercharger?

Basically I'm looking for gear ratio that will work well with both 35s and 37s so I only have to do this once.

80seriesftw

Go 529s. They will be perfect with 37s.