Let's hit the Naches pass trail. I've still never had a chance to run this trail as the West side access has always been closed every time I tried.

It's open now. The run needs someone familar with the trail. Who can volunteer as our guide?

 

How about the 18th?

 

The boss is gone all day for a class and I will have the kids all day on the 18th. f I have a passenger to look after the kids, the 19th might work.

 

Hey Gibby,
After the Fall Color FS road run was through a few of us ventured up FS70 and found the road to the Naches trail entrance still closed.

Just an FYI.

 

Only option I know is to enter from the east side.

 

More info...
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/news/200...e_092303.shtml

 

I talked with the ranger district yesterday and they said that FS 70 will likely not be open until mid October at the earliest and even then they didn't seem confident about the date.

Since the Naches is closed to motorized use November 15 through July 15, you might almost be better off to schedule a Naches run a month from now and cross your fingers that 70 will be done.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. Anyone wanna go with us if and when it opens up?

 

I am always up for a rollicking adventure on the Naches, but it will depend if final date conflicts with putting my truck to the knife. Right now I am racing to try to beat a self imposed deadline of Halloween to have all the parts and start on it If there is a delay with that, then I am in, otherwise I will be out of commission for several weeks while we do the work, then fine tune.

 

Whaddya doin' to it?

 

Seventh injector for the supercharger and a few other performance mods as well as a complete redesign of the front suspension and drivetrain, from the ground up We are expecting the truck to be down for at least two weeks, then to be "experimental" for a while after that. Once I get the bugs worked out and everything dialed back in and fine tuned, I should be back in action, bigger, faster and stronger than before...

 

Steve, I saw the pics of the front axle your putting in. What kind is it?

 

It's a D44 from a 1983 Wagoneer. I am using super flexy Rancho springs and custom steering from Parts Mike.

I have enough of the parts gathered together now that I am starting to get seriously excited Some of my old trails were starting to get too tame as it is, so I am sure that this little mod will kick off a new round of trail finding for me I am looking forward to wheeling with some of the IFS folks I have wheeled with before and know their capabilities and those of their trucks, to see how much improvement the swap makes

 

Okay. You gonna switch out the rear one too, so the gearing matches, or you just gonna just gonna live with the difference?

 

I will be regearing the new front axle as well as the existing rear axle to 4.56 during the swap. Eventually the rear axle will come off in favor of a D60 with the same gears, but until the front is in and fine tuned, the rear I have will work.

 

Why 4.56? I would think that with 35's you'd want something lower.... It doesn't sound like you are a penny pincher, so what's the reason?

 

He doesn't NEED lower gears. With an auto tranny and lots HP, he can do just fine with 4.56. The R&P gearing doesn't make nearly as much of a change in crawl ration as t-case gearing. Changing from 4.56:1 to 5.29:1 only makes a 20% difference in crawl ratio and is a weaker R&P setup.

With all that HP he has, I'd want to leave the gearing as small as possible. He won't have any problem on the highway and if he want's a taller gear ratio, changing the t-case gears or adding a second t-case will make much more of an improvement.

 

Have others used the same springs on that rig. I'd be concerned about them being too flexy with the extra weight of that rig. Typically, the super flexy springs are reserved for the lighter rigs.

Before you go putting those on, you might want to take a drive in mine to see what super flexy springs feel like. It can be a little disconcerting at time :o) aka lotsa pucker factor!

 

As others have mentioned, I have an auto tranny and plenty of power and while power is no substitute for gears, 4.56 is the right decision for me. The 4.56 gear set has more material in the gears, making them stronger and I don't want to lose the streetability of the rig by going so low that my top speed suffers too much. Right now I am at 4.10 with 35's and as some on this board can tell you, I am not lacking for crawling ability. The move to 4.56's will allow the tranny to spend more time in overdrive on the highway, improving my gas mileage as well as giving me a bit of an improvement in crawling ability. When I need extreme low gearing, I will get around to bolting a crawler in

The decision came down to 4.56 v 4.88 for me. 5.29 was not even considered. Some the rigs I have driven with 5.29's and 35's with auto tranny's feel like they are driving around in 4lo all the time, they shift into overdrive too soon for my tastes and while they are quick off the line, you have to drive carefully to avoid "peeling out" on wet pavement. Too squirrelly for me I chose 4.56 gears, but I could have just as easily gone 4.88 for even a bit more low end. I will put the 4.56's in and see how I like it and if I need to, I can always regear to 4.88's, but for now, it's looking like the right decision.

 

I am walking a fairly tried and true path with the 44044's. They are the spring of choice for most Tacoma axle swaps. I am trying to walk a line between flex and stability and from the SAS rigs I have ridden in/driven, they should work out well for me. Of course, if I get them in and can't stand them for some reason, I can always stiffen them up or swap them out, but I am not expecting it to be a problem.

I would love to get a chance to look over your rig again and possibly ride in it. The more I look at/ride in, the more I refine my plans