i have a 1982 toyota with a 87 rear axle. im considering going to a full floating conversion from Front Range Off Road Fabrication. with disc brakes. i was wondering if anyone has used this and what their thoughts on this conversion is. or if i should just get chromoly shafts and a rear disc break conversion and keep semi floating axles. and thought would be nice. the good and the bad.

thanks.

 

it is spendy but if I had the money I would do it in a heart beat..with the full float if you break an axle, you can still get home. semi float/stock, you break it, hope you are carrying a spare.
Plus an advantage is being able to safely flat tow the truck, just unlock all 4 hubs.
flat towing the truck in the stock configuration does not allow the TC to get lubed properly if you still have the rear D/S in...plus you run the risk of trashing your case....ask me how I know..it was an expensive lesson

 

One of the best mods I ever did on my Toyota.

:wabbit2:

 

ok well i think i will start saving a bit. sounds like thats the route i'll go with. got the wifes ok to rebuild the toyota how i want it.

 

looked at the front range kit on their website...looks like a pretty good deal, but it mentioned the customer needing to supply a good number of items...factory hubs and factory locking hubs from an 80-85 axle, stock 79-85 front spindles (WHY???), PLUS loaded calipers from an early supra (79-81)....seems like a lot of crap you need to add to the package, most of which is pretty hard to come by. Why do you need front spindles??

 

you can buy a full kit(chunks) for these also with spindles brakes and all, but it's expensive for those. the spindles are used to hold the front hub with an inner and outer wheel bearings to support the weight. they also make a kit that uses stock front strait axle brakes calipers and rotors on the rear but eliminates the e-brake. if you have a front axle for parts then you could use them on this kit and use something like a t-case brake.

 

Full floater floats in/on the spindle housed wheel bearings. You need basically another front axle from the knuckle out.

You can use drive flanges and vented rotors with Toyota calipers. Supra ones are a waste IMO.

Lots of other options as to how this can be done.

One of the best mods you can do on a Toyota wheeler.

:wabbit2:

 

is it possible to retain rear drums or do you definitely have to convert to disc? I am gonna assume the ladder.

 

this is bad news for me. the more i learn, the more i spend. my wish list is so long; im not even sure where to start anymore.

 

pretty sure you need to go to disc. If you are spending this much $$$ to do the full float conversion a few more bucks for discs isn't bad. If you are going full floater you are probably running bigger tires and you might has well be able to stop that rolling mass better...

I would love to do this conversion...flat towing with out a driveline disconnect would be nice..

 

Suppose you could round up one of the old 2WD 1-ton rear dually axles and modify it to work. Full floating, drum/parking brake + 8" 3rd member.

I think the f/f conversion kits all pre-suppose discs, would be a lot of extra effort to fit drums to the f/f spindle. I did the Supra calipers (ordered loaded rebuilt units) to get the integrated e-brake.

 

Okay, so if I convert my rear axle to a Full Floater, that will mean I will need to service the hubs just like the front ones (every time I go through water) right? I HATE HATE HATE repacking my hubs and I've only had problems with them so far. I've had to replace my front bearings twice in the last year. I'd just like to know what the actual pro's of converting to an FF are over just using the 4340 chromoly semi floater shafts (besides being able to limp around on the trail, flat tow, increase load capacity, and convert to disc brakes). I'd like to convert to rear disc brakes, but not so sure about having non-sealed bearings in the back now, too.

 

FF basically uses front hub parts in back. Must have something going on with your front hubs, though. I've never had any water get into mine, make sure all the seals are intact and in good condition and it should be fine. Also, the rear won't have the rear seals/wipers for the steering knuckle ball, so it is a little better sealed on the back side.

 

I agree with 4crawler, sounds like your hub gaskets or something are leaking etc etc, because the front hubs are sealed they are not open to any water at all. If that were the case, then I'd be in some trouble with the amount of mud etc etc I go though.

 

4crawler, what year supra brakes did you use, part number? Did you use FROR conversion? I looked on your site but I didn't see the info.
Thx

 

I've been drooling over this set up for a long while. Spendy but lot of benefits to having it.

 

Anyone here think the toyota axles are too narrow to run 37's and that I should go to full size axles like FJ80 with a Dana 60 rear? Or is anyone running 37's without problems on their toyota pickup/4runner axles?

 

thread jack!! yes 37s are very common on yota axles. i think guys name was volcom on here, but he was runnin 40s. IMO you shoudl worry a little more about strength then width. another option is longs

 

Didn't really do a writeup on the axle, I used this writeup:
- http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/reviews/fullfloater/

I think I ordered a pair of loaded rear calipers from an early '80s Supra and yes, I used the FROR kit set up for the Supra brakes. I plumbed the brakes a little different:


Still working out the e-brake cable setup. Have to run the cable over the top of the springs and u-bolt/spring plate.

And I added some Aisin hubs (originally used the FJ80 flanges) w/ the ARP hub stud kit and Longfield hub gears:


Overall shot:

 

for you guys that don't do that SERIOUS wheeling, there are some calipers from an early '80s toyota car that allow you to retain the e-brake with an ordinary disc conversion.