By not touching the IFS, do you mean the FJ80 rods and what not? That's another thing I want to do is replace all my bushings. I'm pretty sure I have the Aisin hubs

 

Hard to say, but you said you wanted everything short of a SAS. I use mine all the time:







It makes all the difference in the world. Like night and day. Not necessary, but once you go there, you'll wonder how you lived without.

Budbuilt, or make your own.

Of course. But spending the money and time and effort on FJ-80 stuff is a waste without it. The idler is the weakest part. You'll bend it long before you bend stock tie rods, even with the brace. I'd just make new tie rod adjuster sleeves out of DOM, and tap them, run the brace, and stock tie rods. I doubt you'll have much issue with that.

Good plan.

No one makes them. Machine shop work is the way to go. Machine shops are EVERYWHERE. Google it. You'll find them.

 

WOW! Thanks Mr. Axle. I guess I'll look into the dual cases, t-case gears, armor, machine shop, etc. Like I said, there's A LOT more to this stuff than I thought lol. I wasn't thinking everything short of an SAS, but what the heck? I pushed the deadline back to June of 2010, I realized that $4500+ was going to be way too hard to come by in 6 months; especially with all this extra stuff I seem to need hehe. Thanks for all the help guys. My 4Runner will be bulletproof and unstoppable for an IFS haha

 

No reason to do it all at once - make a plan and then step through it. I recommend the order:

Armor
Gears/lockers
Lift
Tires when the ones you got are worn out.

The reason I say armor first is because it's no fun driving a truck that looks like it's been wadded in a ball, and repairing trail damage takes money away from more fun mods!

Then gears/lockers because NOTHING makes as big a difference in the offroad capability. Note: the factory 4.88 thirds are NOT regearable when (not if LOL) you decide you want bigger tires.

Lift is last because if you decide you want to go longtravel or SAS you haven't spent a dime on anything you're going to cut off.

As for tires, I highly recommend AGAINST 10" wide rims - it makes the fitment issues 100x worse. IMHO 33x10.50 on the stock rims with no lift is the absolute most cost effective way to get clearance under the diffs.

 

Hehe, so I went wild . Here's my list with prices:

• Factory 3rd Member w/ 4.88 Gears $500.00
• Aussie Locker (rear) $259.99
• ARB Locker (front) $829.50
• ARB Standard Compressor $251.56
• Marlin Crawler HD Rock Sliders $149.00
• Marlin Crawler Rear Bumper $299.00
• Marlin Crawler Front Bumper w/ Stinger $419.00
• Marlin Crawler Interior Cage Kit $339.15
• Marlin Crawler RTR Gear Drive Dual Crawler 2.28 & 4.70 $2,065.00
• Marlin Crawler Axle Breather Kit (front/rear) $58.00
• Marlin Crawler Super Heavy Duty Ceramic Clutch $274.00
• FJ80 Tie Rod Ends $58.00
• Sonora Steel Bolt On Frame Truss $150.00
• WabFab Pitman Arm $59.95
• WabFab Bikini Top $220.00
• WabFab Tube Doors w/ Kickout $220.00
• WabFab Quick Release Door Hinges $100.00
• Total Chaos Idler Arm $370.00
• BudBuilt Dual T-Case Crossmembers $259.00
• BudBuilt IFS Skidplate $249.00
• All Pro Off-Road Differential Armor (front/rear) $138.00
• 33x10.5R15 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 $815.00
• Pro Comp Steel Wheels 97 Series $284.95
• High Lift Extreme Jack 60" $96.99
• Warn M12000 Electric Winch $1,499.99

Total $9,965.08

Its probably even more overkill but I was bored. Just to buy all this by June of 2010, I'd have to save about $600 a month till then. YIKES!!! Might as well SAS eh? Haha

 

Everything you said makes sense. Except that my tires are already worn down to almost nothing, and the truck is currently not driving due to a messed up rear diff. So in that case tires, gears, and locker will be first (hopefully January thru March). Then armor around June. I live in Kansas and don't really do any wheeling except in mud, and that's starting to get rare. Cleaning sucks . I plan on spending plenty of time in Colorado this summer though so that's when I'd want the armor really.

You mentioned the factory 4.88's cannot be regeared? Why is this? I don't think I'll want anything bigger than 33's before an SAS

 

Where did you get prices from? In particular, the price for the ARB stuff seems pretty considerably high.

A couple comments:
- unless you're running some serious hardcore stuff, you don't need the cage right away. 4Runner body is actually pretty safe in a 4Runner.
- I would go with the regular clutch, not the ceramic if you drive it on the street. The ceramic is too grabby.
- If money is a concern (and when is it not) I would put off the crawler. It's a great mod (I LOVE mine), but you can do A LOT without it, and it will probably help you learn to wheel properly without it.
- If you go with 33x10.50 and no lift, you won't need the pitman arm or the FJ80 rod ends. The TC idler will take care of almost all your problems (next thing would be the adjuster sleeves like AxleIke mentioned). For the money, it's not hard to carry a spare tierod assembly and swap it out if it breaks...
- If you have power windows/doors, it's gonna be a PITA to swap out to tube doors, and the quick release hinges won't save you much time!
- Nothing much special about the HiLift Extreme, just get a regular one and the accessory kit.
- You don't need a 12000 lb winch. A 9000 or 9500 lb is good. Personally, I would put this off too. Much better to 'wheel with others while you're learning. For some, a winch gives a sense of "invulernability" and they get in WAY over their head WAY too fast thinking they can always winch out if they get in trouble ... Last thing - while Warn is the best, you can save A LOT of money on a good winch by going T-Max or Superwinch.

Taking these items and the "cosmetic stuff" (tube doors, bikini top, etc) out brings your total down to a much more reasonable $6,528.

 

The factory 4.88 third has an offset pinion so the ring gear won't be so thick. Nobody makes replacement gears for them.

http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/

 

Caution, this is a slippery slope once you start you can't stop. Search around and look at other brands Marlin is great, though their my first drive train choice period, but TG sliders will work the same and you can get them for less, even less than advertised if you search. Thats just one example.

 

Hmmm. . .I love this place. Everyone is helpful and nice . I agree with most of what you said. Like I mentioned, it will probably be the factory 4.88's with a locker in the rear, 33x10.5 tires, body armor, and I guess the TC idler arm. I have manual locks and windows so tube doors wouldn't be too bad. And I just want the freedom of tube doors and the bikini top . Plus they aren't too overly expensive. I just want to be able to wheel in Colorado without too much trouble

 

I don't plan on buying everything brand new, top of the line. I'm just trying to over estimate. I'm learning that repairs/mods to an old vehicle often show unseen problems. I'm hoping to have at least an extra $1000 cushion for miscellaneous parts and repairs to make it safe.

 

Ok, I found a 4.88 front with Detroit EZ Locker for $200, and a 4.88 rear for $200, then I'd buy a Lockrite for the rear. How does this set up sound? Probably not the best for a DD that drives in snow?

 

if your driving int he snow just lock the rear.

i have a welded rear in my trail only truck ifs stock height and its does great

 

That's what I was thinking. I got all excited for finding the front diff and then remembered I had heard that if anything, you'd want a selectable for the front if you drove in snow

 

I would say you want selectables on both ends if you drive in snow ... especially if others drive your truck

 

Don't forget about lighting!

If you want to wheel at night you will need an upgrade. So you should first do an H4 conversion, add some off road lights, an alternator upgrade and with that winch you will probably need a second battery. :-)

 

Absolutely not.

There are many threads on YT in which I rant about those pieces of trash.

I won't clutter this thread with another one. They are dangerous, and reckless. DO NOT run them.

Offroad lighting is okay, not something I'd put a high priority on. I think a good set of stock headlamps, and a set of rock lights, and you'll be on your way.

 

Isaac - H4 are the regular halogen bulbs, not HID that you hate so much. The big advantage is the reflector/lens in the housing for the replaceable bulb usually have a vastly superior beam pattern to a standard sealed beam unit.

If I could put a set of the H4 Hella Vision Plus housings in my rig, they would be there in a heartbeat!

 

Didn't realize I hit a nerve :-). I mentioned the lighting as a joke, yet another place to spend money. But as for my H4 conversion I will never go back to sealed beams. My truck is now a lot safer since my new lights actually light up the road and I can see at night!!!

 

ho, ho, ho Merry Christmas Everyone