Topic: sas dilemma

[SolidAxle]

so I'm doing what i was told and posting this here, i was just afraid fart would tell me how dumb i was for making another thread and i should search so i figured why not post in a thread thats already there o well. (pirate has scared me to many people gettin flamed)

do you consider an sas hard, harder  than swapping an 86 4runner body and drivetrain (cept front axle    ) onto an 84 runner frame. the swap seems like allot of work but is it worth having an 84 frame with a higher front arch with rears up front and highsteer, i will probably have to put on a drop hanger for pinion angle. also is the ifs frames lower arch result in a lower front crossmember so adding a a spring hanger to it would make it drop down more making the pinion point slightly more upward than a sa truck with i drop hanger? should i swap the 86 body on and drivetrain and run it semi stock or should i sas because its easier to do? help me out and point me in the right direction.

P.S. I AM A NEWB, and the most I've wheeled is a couple little puddlesand got my dads truck stuck in snow. i have a nylint rockcrawler i have modded and can pick out some good lines with it. i was still thinking the running the semi stock solid axle toy because then i could learn to pick lines and stuff. (and just because I'm a newb doesn't mean i'm stupid, at least i didn't post this on pirate    )

[Hyena]

i would rather do an sas.  swaping bodies wasn't that easy sice we had to switch the wiring harness which ment pulling the dash.  but that is just me.

[Ramrod]

it really is not that hard to do a sas at all.  with the right tools and all the parts it should not even take a day to do all of the front.  I am 19 and have done 3 in the last year

[IronClad]

one other thing is that the very front body mounts are different for  sa and ifs trucks.

[SolidAxle [OP]]

thanks for the input, but dose the harness not disconect somewhere along the line, because the body and motor are comin from my the same truck so couldn't i just unplug it from the motor and then once the drivetrain is in plop the body on and plug it back in \

[IronClad]

yeah you could..    disconnect all the grounds and brake lines and whatnot from the body too..

[SolidAxle [OP]]

one other thing is that the very front body mounts are different for sa and ifs trucks.

you mean the ifs and sa BODIES have differences along the the front crossmember thingy. my dads not home right now or else i'd be out there with a flashlight comparing my truck to his

[IronClad]

bodies and frames have different front mounts so you would have to get a little custom

[SolidAxle [OP]]

i'll have to have a look when my dad gets home

[Skinny_Pedal]

definetly do the sas. i assisted on ToThe Floors truck doing the body swap, and did it to my 83 when i swapped frames. sas is a cake walk, if you have an idea of what your doing.

next you asked about swapping engines, yes the harness unplugs, but the question is are they both carb and carb, or efi and efi. if not then its a whole new game

[SolidAxle [OP]]

it really is not that hard to do a sas at all. with the right tools and all the parts it should not even take a day to do all of the front. I am 19 and have done 3 in the last year

but i kinda want to learn to drive a stock truck, although i could weld the ifs front and the rear third and use the front as a timebomb for sas time

[Skinny_Pedal]

weld the front and hate life and be replacing cv's and other ifs crap, yet alone not being able to turn. just do the rear granted i dont reccomend it, i just had one break

[SolidAxle [OP]]

definetly do the sas. i assisted on ToThe Floors truck doing the body swap, and did it to my 83 when i swapped frames. sas is a cake walk, if you have an idea of what your doing.

next you asked about swapping engines, yes the harness unplugs, but the question is are they both carb and carb, or efi and efi. if not then its a whole new game

alright i have never done anything like it, my dads truck is stock and he dosen't wheel i kinda got into it all by myself thanks to tv. he dose know alot about the truck and is a valuble resource. and its a carbed 84 and efi 86, 86 motor 86 body is what i'm gunna use. thanks for all the replies guys.

[SolidAxle [OP]]

weld the front and hate life and be replacing cv's and other ifs crap, yet alone not being able to turn. just do the rear granted i dont reccomend it, i just had one break

well wont it last a while, i will dd this truck to school and stuff, it will only be wheeled almost every weekend. i wont be replacing ifs parts, i was thinkin when it breaks i sas, although you guys are really leaning toward an sas so i think thats what I'll end up doing. how well do tires hold up to welded rears with street use

[whiteman]

I am building up my truck using an 85 pickup cab and bed, on a 86 4-runner frame.  As far as I knew the only body mount i know that re different were the third set back, they need to be cut and moved back 5 3/4" to adapt the 85 cab.  I was positive that th front mounts and the second set were the exact same.  If they are not, i am in for a nice suprise.
plus you have to either stick with th carbed 84 motor or swap the harness over from the 4-runner which is a huge pain.

Ultimately I would say solid axle the runner, much easier.

My shits all F'ed up

[SolidAxle [OP]]

I am building up my truck using an 85 pickup cab and bed, on a 86 4-runner frame. As far as I knew the only body mount i know that re different were the third set back, they need to be cut and moved back 5 3/4" to adapt the 85 cab. I was positive that th front mounts and the second set were the exact same. If they are not, i am in for a nice suprise.
plus you have to either stick with th carbed 84 motor or swap the harness over from the 4-runner which is a huge pain.

Ultimately I would say solid axle the runner, much easier.

My shirts all F'ed up

i don't think you understand, they are both 4runners and i will be useing the 86 body and 86 motor wich were both together to begin with.

[89 toy]

6 to 1 and half dozen to the other it depends on what tools you have acess to like welder torch and what not. the body would be easy to swap the mounts should be the same. just unhook a few lines and body mounts and set it on the other frame the wiring harness is all in the cab so it wont need changed.

[yotatilla]

I get to swap a body and drivetrain on to a new frame, and SAS it, so I really can't decide.


Sam

[SolidAxle [OP]]

I get to swap a body and drivetrain on to a new frame, and SAS it, so I really can't decide.


Sam

but if you could would you rather sas or body/drivetrain swap

[Skinny_Pedal]

well wont it last a while, i will dd this truck to school and stuff, it will only be wheeled almost every weekend. i wont be replacing ifs parts, i was thinkin when it breaks i sas, although you guys are really leaning toward an sas so i think thats what I'll end up doing. how well do tires hold up to welded rears with street use

when you wheel it, the front ifs crap is going to break welded, sorry its just the facts of life and cannot be argued.
next a welded/spooled rear sucks for tire wear on a dd. im happy my r&p broke so i can pull out my welded unit. it eats tires like the dickens. and yes this is from experience

[SolidAxle [OP]]

how low can i keep the lift in the front with rears up front on the ifs frame, also dose anybody know off the top of their head if the marlin kit is cheaper than the sum of its parts. thanks. I was thinkin about using the Chevy swap kit from sky's in the rear with their bling hanger and boomerang shackles, but then i would still need lots of stuff like highsteer shock hoop brakeline etc.

[whiteman]

Sorry I thought you were swaping a 4-runner with a pick up cab


The body mounts between an 84 4-runner and an 86 4-runner are the same length and width apart.  The only thing that would be a chalenge would be the wiring harness for the 86 motor.

I think you should SAS the 86, because it already has the motor, wireingm and wider rear axle.  All you have to do is SA.
Depnding on how big of a drop bracket for the springs hanger you use depends on how much lift you will have.  I have 2.5" square tube, 3" Tabs of that and the holes for hanging the springs are drilled 1" up from the bottom of the tabs.  So I have 4.5" of drop. With a 5 leaf pack I have about 4-5" of lift.  If you made you drop bracket shorter then you could probley get around 3-4", but you may have clearence issues with steering.  I made my drop brackets so far down so I will have more clearance for my steering, i want to have my bump stops set right before my spring s flaten out.

[89 toy]

the wiring shouldnt be a problem because the motor is coming from the 86 4runner also. the only thing that will be different will be the gas tank and thats easy just change the tank.

[whiteman]

God damn,  I read his post four times and still miss this .  My head is not on straight today.

I would just SAS the 86 and part the 84 out.
Why are you doing all this work anyway...or did you cover that already, and i just missed it.    Not my day I tell ya'.

[SolidAxle [OP]]

Why are you doing all this work anyway...or did you cover that already, and i just missed it. Not my day I tell ya'.

BAHAHAHA yeas i did, i was wanting to swap to bodies and junk to learn how to wheel a close to stock truck, the 84 has holes in the floor, the drivers door is not in one piece, the window frame is only attached at the rear of the door, etc. BUT its got a new hood and fenders, and a Subaru floor mat. the frame looks good, hit it with a hammer all over to see. the front still has paint on it from auto oiling from the engine. the engine dose run but the hippie i bought the truck from fudged it all up. basically its a big pile of shirt. so its either run the 84 frame (wondering if their are advantages) or sas the 86 and not learn to wheel the stock truck. now that i type this i guess i could run the ifs truck with 31's and a locker in the rear which seems now that i think of it like a good idea, that way i can still learn to drive a stock truck and be able to wheel and save up money for a good/better sas.

Way to solve my own problem eh. (yeah I'm Canadian)

  i guess i was to cool to consider ifs before

[yotaboy79]

my best advise is wheel it stock with ifs open in the front maybey a locker in the rear you will gain so much more noledge and experience wheeling a stock  rig and then when you feel your being limited by the ifs put in a solid axle or if somthing breaks

[toyo487]

I'm with yotaboy79 on this one.  I have an 89 extra cab, 4.88's  31" BFG MT's and all I did was put shackles in the rear and torshen the front up.  My truck does really well on the trials, although I do need a locker for the rear.   I've learned to pick a good line with the IFS.  You will be better off learning to wheel with the stock 86 runner then doing the solid axle later. 

[4WD22R]

I'm with yotaboy79 on this one.  I have an 89 extra cab, 4.88's  31" BFG MT's and all I did was put shackles in the rear and torshen the front up.  My truck does really well on the trials, although I do need a locker for the rear.   I've learned to pick a good line with the IFS.  You will be better off learning to wheel with the stock 86 runner then doing the solid axle later. 

+1!

I wheel my stock '86 everywhere with a minor lift and 31's, it has forces me to pick better lines and actually LEARN

[SolidAxle [OP]]

+1!

I wheel my stock '86 everywhere with a minor lift and 31's, it has forces me to pick better lines and actually LEARN

I don't want to waste money "lifting" my ifs or crank up my torsion bars,

[gotrocks]

ok I didn't read that anyone said this yet.  By going to the 86 frame you saveing a bigg headache in not only saving time from the EFI wireing but you also have the IFS steering box on it.  If you want you can hire me to make a crossmember to save money.  Put the rears up front and to save money put blocks and shackles in the rear.  Its really not hard to do a SAS.  Engine issues can be a pain and get you frustrated very fast.  My vote is just part out the 84 and just keep the axle and transfercase from it for yourself.