** '03 PreRunner --> 4x4 SAS! **

[Revivalist]

** Edited to show "before" and "after" pics . . .

Well, I decided to overhaul my 2003 Tacoma PreRunner and turn it into a rig that can perform a little better off-road. Here's the plan in a nutshell:

IFS --> Solid axle
2WD --> 4WD
No T-case --> Dual T-cases
4.11 gears in back --> 5.29 gears front and back
Stock height --> 5" spring lift
Stock wheels --> 40" Iroks on 17" Beadlocks
No armor --> Sliders, bumpers, and a winch!

Here's some pics of the stock rig I picked up in June 06. . .








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And here's some pics of the rig in July 07 . . .

















As for the rest of the story on how this happened, . . . here it goes . . .

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So I've done lots and lots of research to figure out what the best options are. So far, here are the parts I already have . . .

1. Custom IFS Eliminator Kit



It's "custom" because some of the components were removed that won't work with my 03 Tacoma sine the whole kit is made for a 79-85 Pickup or 4Runner. The parts I got are the following:

• 5" Springs – Front
• Front Spring Hanger
• Shackles Front Offset  5"
• Steering Stabilizer Kit
• Shock Hoops, 14"
• Bilstein 5125 14" Shocks
• Bumpstop Extensions
• Bumpstops
• Motor Mount Plates

2. Rear Lift Kit



• 5" Springs – Rear
• Welded Spring Hangers
• Rear Shackle Mounts
• Shackles Rear Wide  5"
• Bilstein 5125 12" Shocks
• Lower Shock Mounts
• U-bolt Flip Kit Rear
• Brake Line, Individual Rear F-M
• Three Hole Spring Perches
• Greasable Spring Bolts & Bushings

------------------------------------------------

Ok, so here are the parts that I know I still need to obtain:

-- For 4WD Conversion --
• 4x4 Transmission
• Stock T-case
• Second T-case
• T-case mount
• Dual transfer case crossmember
• Floor shift plate   
• 4WD shifter boots (exterior and interior)
• Interior plastics
• Speed sensor (if 4WD transmission doesn't come with one)

-- For SAS --
• Front Axle (FJ80)
• Hub assembly (if it doesn't come with axle) (new or junkyard)
• New brakes and caliper (if the ones on axle can't be used)
• Studs for wheel mount
• 5.29 gears (front and back)
• E-Locker
• Rear drive shaft shortened
• Front drive shaft (brand new, lengthened 10" spline, balanced)
• 37" mud terrain tires (that fit 16x8 rims)


I'll be doing getting the work done this weekend with AJ from bentup.com. We already found an FJ80 full assembly, however the seller wanted $1100 for it. Is that a reasonable price? . . . . Also, we still need to figure out what we need to do for steering drag links on it.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions from anyone!

[Big Pap Dog]

Don't forget some sort of frame strengthening crossmember up front!

[Revivalist]

Hmmm . . . . Ok, I'll be sure to ask about that today . . . .

So what do you guys think about that price on the FJ80? . . . . And what would I probably need to do for the drag links?

[79coyotefrg]

a little steep but if its complete then  your done

and if i was you i would run dual gear driven cases, not the stock taco case

[Revivalist]

Yup, that's the plan! 

[854RUN]

Looken good  keep us updated with pics we loooooooooove pics

[Revivalist]

Yes sir! . . . Many pics on the way . . . .

Yesterday I spent half the day at Marlin's getting his incredibly knowledgable advice. He is such an awesome guy to work with. . . . He already hunted down a tranny for me and we'll be picking it up today. He'll also have the Dual Ultimte Crawler with 23 spline shaft ready by the end of the day (2.28 gear box with a 4.70 Crawler). I'll also get the shifters, t-case mounts, crossmember (that AJ will modify), and Powertank for airing the tires. . . . (I want to take the wife wheelin' on Saturday so later she can see why the work we're doin' is necessary to actually get through most of the trails around here.)

Aj said we could start on the truck Sunday night and continue for most of Monday. (After all, it's "labor" day!!) . . . Then I'll have to leave it at his place for at least week. He'll have to contact Marlin with exact measurements for the drag links and we'll ship those back to him. (Since he doesn't have the metric bungs needed.) He'll also have to take measurements for both drive shafts and order those up. . . .

So unfortunately I won't get to help with the whole job and take pics during the whole process. But I'll take as many as I can. . . .

[Revivalist]

Well, I had a great time at Marlin Crawler getting the tranny and Crawler yesterday. . . It's amazing how incredibly helpful and friendly Marlin is! . . . . He found a tranny that we expect should do the job. It's a 4x4 V6 Auto off a 2000 4Runner with 50,000 miles. . . . After lots of inspection at TAP, it seemed that it should work. (Of course, we'll only know for sure once it's in. . . .)

Here's Marlin getting the tail housing preped up for the Crawler . . .




He serviced the tranny right in the back of my truck. . . .





Meanwhile, Rocky getting the Dual Ultimate Crawler ready . . .






And here's me stouting my new toy!



In addition, I picked up the following:
• T-case mounts (2)
• Dual transfer case crossmember
• Twin stick shifter
• Speed sensor kit

I also ran by the Toyota dealer and picked up a T100 2WD oil pan, strainer, and gasket which give better clearance for the front driveline. . . .I'll add more pics of this stuff later. . . .

[b_ripper8]

Wow, this should be an interesting build. You're going to be going slooooooow with an auto trans in there. Good luck.

[Revivalist]

Well, we made a lot progress yesterday on the SAS and 4WD conversion. I hauled the parts up to Sacramento and met up with Aj to start on the work. Here's some pics from the day's work. . . .

Aj sorting through the parts . . .








First we dropped the skid plates, bumper, and crush zone . . .





Next came all the wheels, all the shocks, the upper and lower arms, the rack n' pinion, the rear leaf packs, U-bolts, and bump stops . . .





After that, Aj measured and cut a front crossmember support to strengthen the front of the frame. It was welded on just in front of the bottom of the radiator . . .

[Revivalist]

Next it was time to cut off the IFS mounts on the frame. The plasma cutter made that a quick job . . . .










First one down . . .on to the second one behind it. . .





Hammering off the second . . .





Next was torching off the remains of the IFS mounting area . . .





The oxygen tank ran out so we couldn't finish torching and go on to the grinding. It'll have to be done later . . .. So we went on to remove the tranny. . . First we dropped the drive shaft and then Aj loosened up the tranny bolts. It was a lot easier getting to the bolts on top because of the 3" body lift. . . .

[Revivalist]

We strapped the tranny to the tranny-lift and I stepped back to take another pic . . .





After lifting the tranny off the jack, we set it down next to the 4x4 tranny and swapped some of the wiring. . . .





One of the plugs was actually mounted from inside the trannys so we had to pull off the oil pans to swap them . . .

[Revivalist]

I never saw the innards of a tranny before . . . pretty cool! . . . After putting the new tranny on the lift and jacking it up, we were happy to see that it mounted right in without any problems . . .








Next we hoisted the Dual Ultimate Crawler on the jack and mounted it in . . .











The only problem (which we already anticipated) is that the exhaust would have to be slightly rerouted. The second cat was right up against the output for the front drive shaft. . . .





Aj said he could heat it and bend himself, or his buddy from Midas can take care of it later. . . .

[Revivalist]

Next we needed to swap the oil pan with one from a 2WD T100 which has the bulge on the back side instead of the front. That should give the clearance needed for the front axle to flex. Dropping the oil pan . . .





Swapping the oil strainer . . .





Prepping the new pan with a sealant and mounting it . . .





Installing the new pan . . .





The last thing we done that day was to prep the shackles and springs on the rear axle. The bolt holes on my current ToyTec shackles needed to be bored out for the bigger bolts and bushing of the new springs . . .





We mounted the new springs and U-bolts to the axle and put the shackles back . . .





That was really more than enough work for one day so we cleaned up shop and called it quits. We really can't do a whole lot more until we wait for several parts to come in  . . . .

[Revivalist]

Parts Still Needed

Now we basically need to wait for the following parts before we can continue . . .

• FJ-80 axle (Aj should be picking it up on Tuesday)
• High steer kit (Marlin said he can customize drag links when we send him measurements. The tie rod ends and pitman arm are also available. The only thing we're waiting on is the steering arms. OTT says they will not make them anymore. However, 4x4 labs is going to get back to us about possibly building some.)
• Custom drive shafts (The front will have a lengthened 10" spline so it doesn't fall out during full flex. Aj still needs to measure the drive line to order them.)
• Custom brake lines. (They need to be longer than the ones for the Toyota pickup.)
• Steering shaft (from Aj)
• 3 sets of drive shaft bolts (from Marlin)
• 3 T-case bolts
• Lots of oils & fluids (engine, tranny, t-cases, brakes, power steering, and gears) (I'm still waiting for a shipment of most of that from Amsoil!)


Labor that still needs to be done

The following are the tasks still ahead . . .

• Relocate rear spring mounts 3" forward, weld on shock mounts, bolt up rear springs with axle, and install rear shocks
• Install high steer kit
• Weld up front spring hanger, measure shackle angle for axle to be as far forward as possible, weld on shack mounts, bolt on shackles, and and bolt up front axle
• Weld up shock hoops and install front shocks
• Mount steering box (Aj will fabricate a mount for it since the one from Marlin is too big.)
• Modify and weld up dual t-case crossmember
• Modify center console to accommodate Marlin t-case shifter and twin stick
• Modify and reinstall catalytic converter
• Install drive shafts


A few questions . . .

The following are a few questions that we need to clear up to be sure the 4WD conversion is going to work. . .

• Why does the 2WD tranny seem to have 4 solenoids while the 4WD tranny has 3 solenoids? (The difference can be seen in this picture with Aj holding the wire inside the 2WD tranny.)





• What is the cable shifter on the 4x4 tranny that isn't on the 2WD tranny? (I circled it in the following pictures.)








• What is the best rout to take for steering? (Is there any other place that makes arms for the FJ-80? . . . If we can't find them, should we resort to low steering?)

[Revivalist]

Ok, at this point I just need to settle two issues to finish this project:

1. Is it possible to run a high steer setup on the FJ80 with front leaf springs, and if so then where can I get the steering arms? . . . We were in touch with OTT and they said they're not making then because there isn't enough demand. Plus, when Aj went to look at the axle, there didn't seem to be any clear way to set it up. . . . Can anyone offer a conclusive way on how to do it? . . . Otherwise I'm going to have to resort back to a Dana44 . . .

2. I talked to Marlin yesterday about the differences between the transmissions (that shifter cable I mentioned and the 3 versus 4 solenoids). He doesn't think it's going to work. Right now it's already installed. Should we measure out the drive line, order the drive shafts and given it a try? Or should we just take it out now before we possibly mess something up by trying to run it? . . . I'm already starting to look around for a better match tranny (2003, V6, 3.4L, auto from a 4x4) . . .

[Revivalist]

Alright, I've been doing more research and considering the following options . . .

• The axle: I think I'm giving up on the FJ80 and Dana44 and go with a custom Diamond axle. Here's all the advantages that I came up with for the Diamond:

-- General Advantages of the Diamond --
1. It's extremely strong and compact
2. I can decide the exact length I want to match my rear axle.
3. It's essentially a Toyota mini so I can get replacement parts from anywhere (Marlin Crawler, Trail Gear, Inchworm, etc.)
4. I can decide which side to put the differential
5. I don't have to go hunting through wrecking yards for a used axle

-- Advantages over FJ-80 --
6. The steering problem is solved (since I can get the high steer kit anywhere)
7. No paying to modify a FJ-80 housing for an e-locker

-- Advantages over Dana44 --
7. I can run the same gears front and back
8. I can run an e-locker
9. It can be high pinion

So here's what I think would be the price breakdown for the full front end:

-- Housing $900
-- Locked differential (with 4.88 or 5.29 gears): $1300
-- 30-spline chromoly Birfields: $635
-- Chromoly inner shafts: $200-- Highsteer kit $400
-- Did I miss anything??

Total in parts: $3500

Are any of the following extra parts needed or helpful for the front end?
Knuckle ball kit??: $29
Upper axle reinforcement gusset??: $25
Differential armor??: $69Manual hubs??: $291
E-locker motor guard??: $49


•  The t-case: If I go with the Diamond, then should I see if Marlin will swap out the passenger side Dual Ultimate for a driver's side? If he's willing, then I don't have to hassle with rerouting the exhaust. . . .

•  The ring and pinion gears: At first I was told to go with 5.29s. But after searching around on-line, all of the gear tables seem to indicate that 37" tires should use 4.88s for better gas ecomony. I know that this would sacrifice power on the trail, but I was thinking that the Dual Ultimate would easily make up for that, right? In fact, I was thinking that I could even run Dual 4.71 t-cases to bring the crawl ratio back up to where it was. Any thoughts? . . .

[yotadork83]

i would say all of those extras are very helpful. you might be able to wheel without them but with all of them your axle life span would be longer. if you go with a diamand they already have plenty of diff armor. plus they could build it specificly for a e-locker so you dont have to modify the housing.

[rockcrawlinredneck]

Chromoly inner shafts: $200

You dont need to spend the $200 on chromo inners if you buy the 30 spline set up, it comes with them, due to the fact that the stock inners are 27 spline.

[Revivalist]

Ok, at this point I just need to make a final choice on the axle. I don't have all the details as far as prices go, but I have a lot. . . .. Please give me your vote anyways. . .

1. FJ-80
This was the original plan. It's high-pinion, has stronger birfields than a Toyota mini, it can run 5.29s to match the rear, and it's a got a driver's side drop which matches the dual t-cases I have. . . .

(OTT said they would make the steering and arms and send them to Jim at Inchworm to do the machining on the knuckles. The only problem is that it will take 6-8 weeks for that to happen.  ) . . . The total cost is as follows . . .

Cost breakdown
• Used FJ-80 axle: $1100
• Longfield Chromoly FJ-80 Super Set: $750
• Knuckle Rebuild Kit: $75???
• Wheel Bearing Kits: $40 x 2 = $80???
• 3rd member (with 5.29s and e-locker): $1300
• E-locker Motor Guard: $75
• High-steer kit (tie rod $60, tie-rod ends $40, drag link $60, pitman arm $70, arms $250): $480
• Extended Brake Lines: $50
• Elocker Control Kit: $75
• Differential armor: $70
• Labor to modify housing for e-locker, install gears & locker: ~$400???
• Labor for machined knuckles: $100
• Labor to reroute the exhaust: $60

Total Estimated Cost for FJ-80: $4615

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2. Dana44 with chromoly shafts.
Aj found someone who is willing to sell a Dana44 with chromoly shafts for $650. I don't know if it's high pinion. Also, the diff is on the driver's side which means I would need to exchange the dual t-case setup for a passenger side. I also have to run 5.38s in the front which don't match exactly. (But I guess that's not a big deal.) I would also have to go with a ARB locker . . .

Cost breakdown
• Used Dana44 with chromoly shafts: $650
• Knuckle Rebuild Kit: $75???
• Wheel Bearing Kits: $40 x 2 = $80???
• 5.29 gears: $200
• ARB locker (locker $750, install kit $40, compressor $220): $810
• High-steer kit: ~ $400???
• Extended Brake Lines: $50
• Differential armor: $70
• Labor to service axle: $200
• Labor to install gears and locker: ~ $500
• Hubs:
• Spindles, calipers, brake pads: $300???

Total Estimated Cost for Dana44: $3335

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3. Custom Diamond axle ready to go.
It's high pinion, has a passenger side differential (so I don't need to exchange the t-cases), and is 64" wide which is a bit wider than the rear 61". . . . This is the axle that I mentioned earlier in the thread that was for $6000. I really didn't do justice to the amount of parts that went into it. The steering is WAY more beefed up than I realized. (There's almost $1000 in parts going into it.) Here's the breakdown.

Cost breakdown
• Diamond Housing $900
• Core Toyota Front Axle $300 (for knuckles, spindles, wheel hubs, locking hubs, etc...)
• Ball Gussets $50
• Longfield Super Set w/Custom Length Inners: $645 + $200 = $845
• 3rd member (high pinion, E-locker, 5.29s): $1300
• Elocker Motor Guard: $75
• Tie Rod: $60
• Drag Link (we'll make one to fit your rig): $60
• 1 Ton Rod Ends: $135
• D44 Knuckle Studs/Cones: $80
• Knuckles Machined for D44 Studs: $100
• Custom OTT High Steer Arms - Machined for 1Ton Rod Ends and D44 Knuckle Studs+Cone Washers: $280
• Ott Dropped Pitman Arm - Machined for 1Ton End: $150
• ARP Hub Studs: $70
• Longfield Chromo Hub Gears: $70 x 2 = $140
• Knuckle Rebuild Kit: $75
• Wheel Bearing Kits: $40 x 2 = $80
• Brass Spindle Bushings: $36 x 2 = $72
• Loaded IFS Calipers: $119 x 2 = $238
• Vented Rotors: $39 x 2 = $78
• Extended Brake Lines: $50
• Rock Rings: $20
• Elocker Control Kit: $75
• Labor for assembling axle: $200
• Labor for regearing and installing locker: $400

Total: $5833 . . . The seller is willing to let it go for $5400.

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4. Custom Diamond (made to order)
I can order a Diamond axle that's basically identical to the one above except the steering won't be all beefed up. The only problem is that Brian from Diamond Axle said it could take 6-8 weeks to prepare. 

The cost is $4600 + $400 (shipping) = $5000

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5. Look into a custom Dana60
Someone advised me to consider checking out Dana Tack or Courier Enterprises (spelling?) for prices on a custom Dana60 because the cost will probably come out pretty close but the axle will be much stronger. . . .

Well, those are my choices. Let me know what you guys think . . . .I need to make the choice as soon as possible because this weekend I'm going up to Sacramento to get the 2WD to 4WD adaptor from Jim at Inchworm. I'm also going to take in the rear differential to have it regeared to 5.29. So I'd like to make a final decision before I go so we can start to wrap up the project . . .Thanks!

[motorider228]

if you have the $$$$ go with a currie 60 or a tera60 or just any from one of those crazy axle building comapnys. sorry if you answered it but whats the plan for the rear?

[Revivalist]

I was going to leave the stock rear axle. (I haven't heard of any major weakness with it.) . . .

[yotee]

dude your diamond prices are i little off.
front housing-$900-correct
longfield super set(custom length)799
3.5" u-bolts-69.00
weld on knuckle gussets 29.00 (worth it)
install of gussets 21.00
knuckle rebuild kit 75.00
high steer 399.00
hy pin e-locker- 1299.00

right at 3700 i think is a little closer and still can be done cheaper.


mike

[yotee]

shipping was only 135 to my house in sacramento with a full float rear in there also.

i already had the high steer and geared and locked third but with the housing, full float and shipping my recipt says $2737.00.
i think the part of a diamond that you will not like is the 1 month wait time before you get it.


mike

[Revivalist]

I think you might be forgetting about the extra cost of the following . . .

• Elocker Motor Guard: $75
• ARP Hub Studs: $70
• Longfield Chromo Hub Gears: $70 x 2 = $140
• Wheel Bearing Kits: $40 x 2 = $80
• Brass Spindle Bushings: $36 x 2 = $72
• Loaded IFS Calipers: $119 x 2 = $238
• Vented Rotors: $39 x 2 = $78
• Extended Brake Lines: $50
• Rock Rings: $20
• Elocker Control Kit: $75
• Labor for assembling axle: $200
• Labor for regearing and installing locker: $200

All of that comes out to $900. Adding that to the $3700 gives $4600. . .

Wow, shipping was only $135 for you?! . . . The qoute I got from Brian at Diamond Axle was $400 for shipping to Sacramento as well.  . . .

Yeah, the wait is definitely a bummer. Brian said it could possibly be 6-8 weeks! 

[UNBREAKABLE]

The FJ-80 axles..you'd damn near have to put coils or coil-overs on it....why don't you.

[Revivalist]

Believe me, I definitely considered coils. . . . But I just didn't feel that the difference in price justified the increase in performance, at least not for my use at this time.. . . . .

[Revivalist]

Well, we made a bit more progress on the project this weekend. We took a trip over to Inchworm to meet Jim and pick up the 2WD to 4WD adaptor along with a few other parts . . . . I also decided to pick up that custom Diamond axle after all. Basically, my choices came down to this . . .

After calling about 7 custom axle shops it turns out that a complete custom Dana60 front end would run about $7000 with everything needed from hub to hub. That was obviously way over the budget.. . . . The next choice was a custom 9". However, it turns out that a high pinion 9" only comes in 4.88 gears. I could get a low pinion 9" with 5.29s but I was told that a low pinion 9" is really, really low. So I wasn't very happy with that choice either. Plus all the custom stuff seems to have a 4-6 week turn around time which is longer than we want to wait to finish this project. . . Lastly, I could have gone with a rebuilt Dana44, but the high pinions are pretty rare and would also require a bolt pattern conversion. . . .

So I finally broke down and decided to go with the custom Diamond axle that was ready to go with a high pinion diff, 5.29s, e-locker, and just about every upgrade possible including knuckle ball gussets, Longfield Super Set with custom inners, Longfield chromo hub gears, ARP hub studs, and a super beefed up high steer with custom OTT arms. . . . Plus, it was the width I needed (64"), it has the diff on the passenger side to match my Crawler, and it was only 15 minutes away from AJ's shop which means no wait-time and no shipping. . . .So I went for it. . . . Here's some pics of the steering arm and pitman arm. . . .





Talk about some beef on those things! . . .

One other nice feature was the way Jim eliminated the need for one of the passenger side U-bolts by welding nuts straight to the axle and using regular bolts. You can see it in this pic . . .



It turns out that the U-bolt that would normally go there won't really sit right, so this bypassed that problem. It also made it possible to use the usual spring hanger that comes with the Toyota mini SAS kit. No need for AJ to fab up a wider one for my Tacoma. . . .

Here's AJ and Jim pulling it off Jim's rig and putting it on the lift. . . .





While we were there, I also picked up a chromo output shaft for the t-cases to help avoid any breakage on the trail which could leave me with only FWD or no power at all. It seemed like a worthwhile upgrade. . . .

[Revivalist]

The 2WD to 4WD adaptor is actually only the second to be sold thus far. It basically consisted of two pieces . . . a replacement tail housing for the tranny and an adaptor that can be a clocked to 10 degrees. Here's AJ installing it . . .








So that was about it for today. There's quite a bit more work that needs to be done but Aj plans on working on it through the week so unfortunately I won't be there to keep taking progress pics. But it'll hopefully be done by next weekend and I'll take pics of the end result. . . .

In the meantime, I'm trying to choose some tires to order up so we can put them on and check for any rubbing before I take it. I'd like to run 38" mud terrains. My current rims are 16x8 but I'm willing to sell them and pick up new ones if needed. . . .

Can anyone offer some suggestions concerning tires? . . . Thanks!

[unclejpl4x4]

WoW looking good