Topic: which is better between these front axles?

[havik]

I want to get back into it again and I am playing around with different build ideas
My truck will be a 1st gen runner with a v6 taco rear

which of these do you think would be the best bang for buck and all around toughness?

1. fzj80 front with hellfire fab knuckles and steering arms, prolly stock birfs and axles, stock housing.....$1100-!

2. stretched aftermarket mini housing, mini knuckles, longs and all the regular mini beef........$ ALOT. not sure total too many variables

[88_Pathy]

FJ 80 axle is sweet. But the Hell fire knuckles alone are 1000$ buy the time its said and done. Plus 1000$ for a nice complete axle and alot of modding to make it work on the mini truck.. an easy 2200$ on the axle alone. plus an expensive rebuild.. I donno. Maybe a geared and locked d60. I personally have a widened fj60 9.5in diff 64.5in wms with all the goodies. I like it.

[Nimyad]

Either way you're going to be similar in price, I'd personally go with fj80 for BA factor.
Price break down-
Mini truck axle- aftermarket housing $600-900, 6 shooter knuckles $300-400, 25mm or trunnion eliminator $200-300, longs $660, hub gears $80-140, gears $200, master install $100, locker $200-1000. Total $2340-3700
Fj80 axle- stock axle $100-500 depending, hellfires and parts that go with $1000, longs $800?, gears $200, master install $100, locker $200-1000. Total $1600-$2800 with longs $2400-3600

[havik [OP]]

I don't ever see myself running 1 ton gear. Not nocking it just not my style.
I plan on keeping tires in the 35" to 37" range so I think stock 80 birfs should hold up just fine.
Another thing Iam thinking about is I can build and use a mini till I have the money to invest into a stretched diamond
Then just swap over all the parts.
Also my style is pretty mellow for the most part. Prob only do 2-3 legit trails a yr and pismo 1-2x.

[jrock]

Go FJ80. You cant beat the size of the knuckle balls. A Diamond Axle is sweet but your still running small knuckles. I have a built mini-axle and I've never had an issue with it but if I could do it all again, I'd build an FJ80.

[88_Pathy]

Or... Buy my axle..Its built and ready. Sales plug. lol

[SNOW WALKER]

With just a 35-37' tire a mini truck axle would be fine. The taco rear would be more of a concern to me than the front end. I'm running 42' swampers and last year at top truck I bent both housings. The 8.4 ring and pinion held up great as did the high pinion front.  The rear folded like a wet noodle. The front had an inch of toe out but I did beat the $h!t out of it. Truss the front and order a high pinion and the taco rear needs a truss under the spring perches. The tubing is waaay thin compared to the old housings. Just my 2 cents.

[toyclimber]

even with the fj80 axles i would still shell out the $$$ on chore-moly axle & burfields + you will get a tighter turning radius with 80's

[John Doe]

I went with the fj80 on hellfire fab knuckles myself. I love it. I am nice and stable with the added width. No fear of braking axles. Still running the stock housing, I will eventually go to a aftermarket stock width front housing. When all said and down the 2 axles will cost about the same but I would say the 80 will be stronger with out a doubt. If you go for the 80, take your time on the spring perches

[havik [OP]]

Thanks for the input guys. Iam definitely leaning towards the 80 over the mini. Steering angle, beef of birfs, BA factor and better stability while side hilling. Put the longs in the 80 and have great peace of mind. The hellfire setup looks awesome billybob nailed it.
I have not yet seen a wright up on how people are doing the perches on the stock housing.
By the time I do it there will prob be perches made just for the application.

[Cheesemaker]

Here's a link to a guy that linked his FJ80.  Got some pretty sick articulation out of it.   Don't know how the coils will line up with the narrower frame of a Runner.
http://www.4x4review.com/Features/Tech/FJ803LinkSuspension/tabid/286/Default.aspx

To do perches, you would have to build them yourself, and invest into some ubolts of various shapes and sizes and got from there.   From the looks of it, where the perches would likely sit, you would definitely have to do some fabbing.

[John Doe]

Look through my build I have a few pictures posted.

Look here as well http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=89511.msg1012653#msg1012653

Start at post 18 and continue on after that.

[havik [OP]]

Thanks guys. Maybe instead of U bolts do the platform thing with grade 8 bolts instead. I have heard some bad stuff about that setup but if you fab and weld it to the max it should be fine. Thanks for the info guys I still have some reading to do. And I plan on running ruf for the build. Coils and links would be great if budget were no issue. That's not the case.

[John Doe]

Mine and the link I posted are both leaf sprung rigs. Take the time, do your research. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask me.

[Phazertwo]

I would go aftermarket housing with mini truck gear.  I bet it would be a bit cheaper in the long run, but the housing itself would be stronger.

PZ

[John Doe]

I would go aftermarket housing with mini truck gear.  I bet it would be a bit cheaper in the long run, but the housing itself would be stronger.

PZ

Cost wise I would say the deciding factor is the donor axle (mini truck or 80) mini truck axles are harder to come by these days and the 80 axles are just starting to gain popularity, you could possibly get 1 pretty cheap.

[havik [OP]]

Yeah at this point I am pretty set in my mind that I will go w/ the 80. After reading and seeing wid nice.they are they seem perfect for what I am going for. Price is prob the same once all is said and done which is a small fortune to me. I will gather parts little by little as the budget permits.
Now I am looking into maybe even the rear 80. I have seen sets go for good deals before.
Research continues.

[jrock]

Cost wise I would say the deciding factor is the donor axle (mini truck or 80) mini truck axles are harder to come by these days and the 80 axles are just starting to gain popularity, you could possibly get 1 pretty cheap.

I wish this was the case. Minis are already popular and thus people want top dollar for them but that's $350. The 80 is gaining popularity but even at the lower price range it's $350 and up to $1k. But when you get one complete you get a hi-pinion third that's $300 right there.

[UndefinedTaco]

Leaf sprung 80s have more fab work because one perch is on the dif.
Love leaf sprung 80 builds though.

[John Doe]

It is more work but it is not impossible. I know, I did it I will switch to links 1 day, but for now it was well worth the work.