Topic: SKY or Marlin

[Red_toy]

OK, just found this site and now I want to put a question out there.   I have my tires now (PIT BULL ROCKER 37") and now it is time for the SAS. SKY MFG or Marlin crawler What is preferred? What is better? SKY is cheaper and gets me a couple more parts and pieces but I want to know what everyone thinks.

[79coyotefrg]

i think you will find Marlins kit  has  a little more beef  to the components

[Red_toy [OP]]

Thank you for your opinion. Looking at the 2 kits on line it looks to me as though SKYS might be stronger in design. They also include diff armor and an axle truss for about $150.00 less. Only want to do this once and I want to do it RIGHT the first time. I am sure you know what I mean.

[jimbo74]

skys crossmember is actually a c hannel design and not fully boxed

however, i bet the difference in strength is negligible... i have never seen anyone tear up either one

[Rocksurfer]

Fully boxed is stronger than c-channel, that's why Toyota frames hold up better than Jeeps.

[IronClad]

buy what you want..  they are both great products

[Red_toy [OP]]

Thank You, I think I am going with the SKY kit so the entire buildup will be with the same co. Is the faqct that I am using an 81 fron axle going to hurt me in anyway? I just happened to have one laying around and I did not want to try and find one from an 84 or 85 like everyone recomends. I am going to put the birfield elim. kit in it from Sky also.

[IronClad]

the 81 axle is fine.. they dont bend where the truss is often. they bend out at the knuckles.. dont bother with the birf  kit.. just get some nice upgraded one from marlin or longfield..  other than that yer on the right track.

[gtoyonrocks]

I agree, they are both a great product.

[jimbo74]

whoa! its ironclad! hqavent seen him in ages.... i would skip the birf eliminator kit, heard too many stories about how they are weaker as they neck down...

i would get bobby long's longfields

[Red_toy [OP]]

I want to thank yo guys for the comments. I would have bought the birf. elim. kit and when it broke I would have been psssssd. any other suggestions on any of this would be greatly appreciated.

[IronClad]

get the knuckle ball brace kit.. they are little tabs basicly that you weld onto your axle to help with the balls bending.. they are nice to have. dunno if marlin sells them but i think frontrange offroad does. other than that you are pretty much set

[red]

you will be just fine with that 81 axle, you can buy the armor for it from marlin for pretty cheap.

[werty]

get the knuckle ball brace kit.. they are little tabs basicly that you weld onto your axle to help with the balls bending.. they are nice to have. dunno if marlin sells them but i think frontrange offroad does. other than that you are pretty much set

Marlins ball kit is what I got. Best price for everything you get with the kit. Only thing you mite run into is the bolts for the shocks mite be a little short. A little grinding to clearance the top gussets for the outer dust shields.
 

See the D.S. lower gusset thats where Dr Smash did a little fine tuning with a hammer cause of the lower bracing.

[bigarms23]

what i did onmy dads 4runner was put on marlins sas kit but i used skys front hanger cause to me it looked stronger

[DTB]

i think you will find Marlins kit  has  a little more beef  to the components

i would disagree with that. I have some Marlin and some Sky parts on my truck. I even have some (extra) parts that are exactly the same from both companies. Some Sky parts are beefier than the Marlin and some Marlin parts are beefier than the sky. Both are nice product lines but some are better than others from each company.

[Cheesemaker]

I have heard reports on sky's front cross-member flexing and bending under extreme situations.  I don't like the just slide the crossmember forward till you get the desired spring location.  Marlin has his holes offset so you just flip it around to get what you want!

Sky has some nice stuff.  I like the front hub spacer, and the rear disc brake conversion they got! 

[havik]

i have dealt with all the big Toyota offroad manufactures and marlin has never let me down. they have cj. and cj kicks the arse. i have dealt with sky before and their service was not the best.(when i called the shop i had a few questions about some of their parts. the sales man on the phone had no answerers) not acceptable in my book. look at Sky's front shock hoop then look at marlins shock hoop. you cant beat marlins customer service. as for Toyota rock crawling who has made a bigger impact than marlin??? look at marlins shackles then look at Sky's shackles. marlins are plated not going to rust Sky's you have to paint.
in my opinion i would rather spend the extra money on unbeatable customer service and a American company that sets the bar.

[KDC]

As far as the '81 axle goes, the vented rotors from the kit may not bolt up: http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/brakes/rotors.htm
Marlin says '81 had the old style bolt pattern while Pirate says that '81 had the new style bolt pattern:
-From Pirates FAQ-
Brake Rotor Swap – Vented Front

Some folks like to swap out their solid rotors for vented rotors. This is a simple and somewhat inexpensive modification. I did this swap because my brakes were getting very hot and making some very annoying noises. If you can change your brakes you should not have any problem with this swap.

79-80 toyota mini axles -> Rotor bolts onto hub with 6 bolts and the wheel studs are pressed into the hub only. For Land Cruiser vented brake swap you must use 79-80 LC rotors.
81-85 toyota mini axles -> Rotor bolts onto the hub with 2 bolts and the wheel studs are prasses through the hub and is pressed into the rotor. For the Land Cruiser vented rotor swap you must use 81+ LC rotors. Uses Toyota 90942-02053, Dorman #610-264 or Napa 641-3126 wheel studs.

The Landcruiser rotors are wider because they are vented but otherwise fit right on with no other modification besides the caliper.
The caliper comes in two flavors... one has two larger pistons and two smaller, and another has four pistons that are the same size. The ones with four large pistons would technically give you more braking force. I used the same pads because mine were still fairly new... so you don't need new pads unless yours are low.

[79coyotefrg]

i have dealt with all the big Toyota offroad manufactures and marlin has never let me down. they have cj. and cj kicks the arse. i have dealt with sky before and their service was not the best.(when i called the shop i had a few questions about some of their parts. the sales man on the phone had no answerers) not acceptable in my book. look at Sky's front shock hoop then look at marlins shock hoop. you cant beat marlins customer service. as for Toyota rock crawling who has made a bigger impact than marlin??? look at marlins shackles then look at Sky's shackles. marlins are plated not going to rust Sky's you have to paint.
in my opinion i would rather spend the extra money on unbeatable customer service and a American company that sets the bar.

Sky  ??   or Marlin??


hmm    whos  forum is this 

what forum  is there night or day  with Members  who can help  with whatever  happens??

kinda like THIS GUY  ---> http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=35740.msg421756#msg421756

[Hyena]

get what you want.  it is your truck.  both are good companies with good products.

[kneedownnate]

Only issues I've heard of with sky is just as has been said, front crossmember is weaker.  Some of their stuff is definately beefy and well designed.  Only problem I have with them is the selling of TG parts.  If I buy anything from them and don't know it's theirs I'd have to ask first.

[Rockcrawlintoy]

Only issues I've heard of with sky is just as has been said, front crossmember is weaker.

yeah i dont like the design. im not that good of a driver so i would bend it hitting a rock or something

DRew

[Red_toy [OP]]

Sorry I have not been around. I was cutting on the truck all day yesterday. All I have to do now is wait for my parts to come in to rebuild the front axle and I will order a sas kit and see where it goes from there. I also bought everything I need for the rear axle and will be tearing into it this week Gears, seals, Longfields, lockers, you know the drill.
Thanks again for all the comments.