Topic: taco needs some help(gathering parts, FINALLY got my axle)

[Broke_Okie_Ty]

So i took some advice and ditched my last project. With the help of the bank i was able to pick up a Taco. Its pretty clean just needs some minor kinks worked out.

I am going to be SAS'n it. im already tired of the BULL IFS and i havent even broke anything yet <---(this has now changed). im gonna start putting together a parts list and researching what i should use as far as axle, springs, and spring hanger, ect, ect. ill list what i might use as time progresses.

the plan is no bigger than 35s-37s.

I am new to the taco's and would like any info you all might have  8)

ok here is what i am thinking for the front:
front hanger (making my own) FREE materials
frenched shackles
some frankenstein RUF (got 4" Alcans and 2 sets of rears to build) FREE
IFS box $60
hi-steer
77-79 HD HP 44 BOUGHT!!! $300
chevy 6 lug conversion FREE traded 8lugs
D44 spartan/4.88rp
square tube drive line FREE materials
T100 oil pump, dipstick, maybe make a pan if i cant find one
make power steering lines FREE TG kit
shock hoops
frame plating
cheap ranchos or pro comp shocks



i have been reading and researching, but it seems that specifics on how things were done are hard to come by. which is part of the reason this is taking so long.

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

Here are some more

[-Matt-]

are you for sure that the strut has gone out... maybe its just your shock that's blown because mine looks exactly the same as that, with the same clearance to the bumpstop and mines rides/performs just fine.

you might want to talk to someone at fabtech they might have that your looking for.

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

ya i saw your build. i think the spring on the strut is wore out. i dont think fabtech would design a suspension system with only an inch of up travel. plus it leans toward the driver side. im gonna get some stock struts and see how they compare to the ones i have, then compare to others to figure out my best option. i would like to get rid of that spacer at the top and go with a actual 6" lift strut.

[Scuba]

No offense but buying a truck with the DB lift like that was your first mistake
Nice looking truck though.

I've never been a fan of how they ditch the UCA and and use that second shock..

Do some searching on TTORA and im sure you can find some info about that lift..

If your looking to ditch that spacer on top of the strut I think fabtech can source their longer struts for you, though i think it still uses a small spacer.
You might even be able to use the fabtech extended spindle so you can ditch that second shock setup and maybe go with an aftermarket UCA if you want..

Good luck

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

No offense but buying a truck with the DB lift like that was your first mistake
Nice looking truck though.

I've never been a fan of how they ditch the UCA and and use that second shock..

Do some searching on TTORA and im sure you can find some info about that lift..

If your looking to ditch that spacer on top of the strut I think fabtech can source their longer struts for you, though i think it still uses a small spacer.
You might even be able to use the fabtech extended spindle so you can ditch that second shock setup and maybe go with an aftermarket UCA if you want..

Good luck

for the price i paid, i would have bought it with D30's under it 
i just realized what TTORA was a few days ago. figured id start here first tho.......

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

ok went to TTORA and trying to set up a user ID is retarded there......

found some info tho

[Scuba]

for the price i paid, i would have bought it with D30's under it 
i just realized what TTORA was a few days ago. figured id start here first tho.......

Understood

What are the specs on it anyway.. ?

[-Matt-]

so whats so bad about this lift. have you seen any break?

[Scuba]

so whats so bad about this lift. have you seen any break?

No not personally. As stated earlier Im just not a fan of how they ditch the UCA to go with a "second shock" thats connected to the spindle. Just looks scary to me. Also with DB lifts on taco's you have to hack off rack and pinion mounts and chit like that so it's hard to go back to stock. I know the OP didnt do the lift.. And I'm not being an ass.

[-Matt-]

i thought that all the tacoma lifts involved cutting the cross member out? as far at the second shock i know what you mean. it would be interested to see if anyone has had an issue with it. so far there's been no issues with mine, and im pretty hard on it for being ifs.

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

What are the specs on it anyway....?

oh duh..... its a 3.4 manual trans 4:10's open pretty standard sr5 model power everything with a very cold A/C.
the only thing extior is the lift and those shiny rims (which i dont like) and the bumpers.

so whats so bad about this lift. have you seen any break?

as far as i can tell its just that shock thingy is the main prob. its seems that all the lift makers minus FT use the strut spacers too..... i just could not figure out if i should replace the strut with an OEM strut or if i had to get a special one from the lift manufacturer. that was the whole point to this thread......... found out its just a stock strut

[Scuba]

i thought that all the tacoma lifts involved cutting the cross member out? as far at the second shock i know what you mean. it would be interested to see if anyone has had an issue with it. so far there's been no issues with mine, and im pretty hard on it for being ifs.

All tacoma drop bracket lifts AFAIK yea. As far as strut lifts or just a simple spacer lift or what have you, no cutting.

[-Matt-]

All tacoma drop bracket lifts AFAIK yea. As far as strut lifts or just a simple spacer lift or what have you, no cutting.

cool, thats what i thought.

[-Matt-]

did you ever replace that strut?

[TacoStewie]

i added the all pro 3" coils to my tacoma with the same lift and they worked great

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

did you ever replace that strut?

no i got new springs, now i just need the strut. i also need a spring compressor

[-Matt-]

OK, well the reason i was checking in was my struts blew out the other day snow wheeling because iv been being hard on the truck for a while. i did a whole bunch of research on how to replace them and the cheapest way, because it was getting pretty sketchy and had to be dealt with.

here's some information on the mod that people are doing to this lift (they call it the Gabriel inversion mod). it works great and since the strut is a better brand people seem to have a lot better luck with these struts.
http://www.nwtoys.com/tech/trailmaster-inversion

here's the strut cartridges people are using...there from a 89 jetta. {http://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-G44774-Ultra-Cartridge/dp/B000E8UZB2} amazon.com is the cheapest place i have found them.  60$ gets you both of them and shipped. i couldn't wait so i ended up buying mine at autozone which i believe is one of the cheapest places besides ordering on the internet. from autozone they were 80$ for both.

took me about 3 hours to do, mainly since it was my first time. you'll see in the tech info that you have to grind a little bit of shaft end of the new struts. it will be more clear once you take the original ones off.

when i was doing the research i was still able to find a few companies that sell the TM original strut cartridges, but there 175$ EACH!

i just finished replacing mine today, and everything turned out perfect. no more clunking/weird noises, drives a lot nicer, and i feel confident enough to beat it up a little more. the old ones were both completely blown as far as pressure, and major play in the housing where the shaft slides. one of them also had some pretty intense heat rings on it.

good luck

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

thanks Matt. i think im gonna ditch the "second" shock and go back to the ucas' i have an idea on basically moving the mounting bracket down  and  getting away from the spacer altogther. as for my strut replacement i might try to get some adjustable one from pro crap or something like that.

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

I AM GETTING RID OF THE IFS! starting a parts list!

[tom w.]

have you decided on an axle yet? i don't know how much or how little you know, wagoneer d44's are popular because they're driverside drop and not much wider than a taco rear axle, which is nice because you can keep the stock transfercase, but you gotta find flattop knuckles (unless some years came with them? not sure) and have them machined to accept a steering arm. also you might have to regear to match the tacoma rear.

i'm almost finished with my SAS using a toyota axle (because i already had one with hi-steer). stock width is 55.5" (taco width is 60") but with 1.5" spacers i'm at stock pre-taco width. which i'm using a pre-taco rear end anyway. chances are you'll have 12" wide tires with atleast 4" BS wheels, so you'll still be sticking out wider than the fender. i am anyway.

what kind of gear reduction are you wanting?

you can add a crawl box between your tranny and transfercase with two adapters and a 23 spline input gear if you're staying driver side drop, or with one adapter, two input gears, and two gear drive cases you can have passenger drop dual cases. or you can go one adapter, one gear case, and 4.7:1 transfercase gears and run i single passenger drop case.

hope i'm not repeating things you already know.

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

ya it seems everyone runs the waggy 44. ill probably just do that. i did not know about having to machine the tops though. im probably gonna leave it a single case until i can get a crawl box to go in between the stock case. i dont need a 4.7 gear. that would just tempt me into doing something stupid. as far as regearing. i got 4.88 for the rear and will match it up front. probably put lock rights f/r. the thing im most concerned with is hanging the springs properly. do they have taco kits with jigs and things to help morons like me?

[tom w.]

this is the only one i know of. http://frontrangeoffroadfab.com/nfoscomm/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=39&osCsid=cda34cc0d97ef74ea60991b0a0885e89

it's for a fullwidth axle so 31.5" center to center spring perch measurement i believe. i'm not sure what the waggy perches are.

i think with the dana axles you're able to run your shackle mount under/through the frame and use an offset shackle.

toyota front axle perch width is 29" (iirc) and i had to mount them just inside and below the frame.

4x4wire.com has some good info on swapping a dana 44

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

are there any tacoma builds with the waggy 44 start to finish on here? i have been searching and can only find a few but not what im looking for.

[yotatough]

sky's kit is nice, thats what I've got, you can go through the frame with the shackles or under, they sell the kit either way. also you can go with a full width and just cut down the long side, its not to hard to do.   
theres a lot of good info here
http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/ 

heres the skys kit setup for a dana 44 chevy or waggy
http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/new/detaproduct.php?id=181

[yotatough]

theres a bunch of good info on pirate4x4 in the taco section,  also check out  80YOTA4X4's build   (im sure you already have)

[Quick Draw]

Holy crap!  For a second, I thought I might've found the guy that bought my old baby!  I was going to be super excited if I could find out what happened to her...  Nice truck!

[Broke_Okie_Ty [OP]]

Holy crap!  For a second, I thought I might've found the guy that bought my old baby!  I was going to be super excited if I could find out what happened to her...  Nice truck!

thanks! it will be nicer when i dont have to deal those stupid coils anymore, and that disaster of a drop bracket lift.
i hope you find out what happened to her. although i found my old baby chopped up on the side of a barn one time.

i hate Pirate4x4, those guys are the internet version of the "Tapout" wearing jerk bags that think its ok to be a tool because they cant control their roid rage.

[yotatough]

I only post on pirate when absolutly necisary. Other than that, I just lurk and read. I agree totally.

Call me up if you have any questions or need help.

[tom w.]

The guys in the taco section are pretty cool. Plus there's quite a bit of good info there.