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Looking for some input from all you folks more knowledgeable than me.
I have an 88 4Runner which I have done a mild lift to and been enjoying tremendously.
I know that performing an SAS swap requires a lot of cutting and welding. I haven't been seriously considering the idea at this time so I've done very little research on it.
But I'm certainly interested in doing it someday.
Well this collection of Toyota Axles just appeared near me and I'm curious if I should pursue purchasing it or not?
It seems like it may be a good deal? I might be able to get one front axle for myself and then sell the rest of it on to the next guy?
Any input would be appreciated.
The guys selling wants 1200$ for everything and here is what he said about the axles.
Two wide truss 85 front housings, one mid truss 84 front housing and two rear housings, There's a few milk crates full of calipers, hubs, spindles, lock outs and a new pair of rotors in boxes.
All the differentials are 8 inch 4 cylinder units, only one gear set and a Detroit Locker. Everything will need to be blasted, sat in my uncles barn for years, there's a matching pair of housings that were from a southern truck and are not all rust pitted
the big problem with stock front axle housings is that they can bend at the drop of a hat, typically when truss supports are welded on, and you can't see it until you try to stab the axle back into the housing and it won't go in... trail gear solved that with their aftermarket housing, which is much stronger, but my tg axle build with tg parts that i'm running has a terrible turning radius, aka i can't do any u-turns no matter how wide the street is... tight switchbacks on steep rocky trails are really difficult, multi-point turns that are nerve-racking at the edge of steep cliffs.
i've only run the best aftermarket axles, i can't tell what those axles are, if they are stock it's junk and if aftermarket the rust is problematic, for instance there are bronze bushings that rub right against the axle shaft... any seals that ride on rusty metal will get shredded even after sanding the rust away, so the spindles in particular are not usable they will have to be replaced.
modern toyota knuckles like the tg six shooter are the way to go, so i wouldn't think that the stock knuckles serve much purpose.
really it depends on what you are doing... for a really light stripped down trail pig that gets trailered everywhere and worked on regularly you could use more of those parts, just don't push it too hard... what i need is something that can drive 500 miles to a trail, pushed over rocks, then driven home.
I didn't realize that stock housings were so weak.
I assumed that the shafts themselves were fairly useless with all the rust built up on them.
My truck is sort of weekend warrior. I try not to do anything too aggressive with it.
But I have certainly noticed while running some trails that the IFS has very poor travel. And I don't think I want to put any real money into upgrading the IFS so this seemed like an interesting alternative.
Well that makes it sound like this isn't a very good deal.
Thanks!
much has been written about bent axle housings... i actually think that my tg housing was slightly bent from new, but i've been able to get the axle seated with some difficulty.
I appreciate the further reading. I will certainly check out those links and learn more.
I just saw the listing pop up and figured I'd ask in case it was a killer deal I didn't want to miss out on.
Stock housing are plenty strong if trussed correctly, same with stock knuckles, you can add a 5th stud for strength.
Thats a good pile for the price. You could easily keep what you need and sell off the rest.
Differing Opinions on vehicle modification/repair!
Nobody is surprised. I'm here for the discussion so I'm always interested in hearing different perspectives.
By trussing up the axle you mean similar to what has been done to the front axle in this photo?
Can you explain more or link to somewhere else where there's an explanation or strengthening the knuckle?
I don't follow you when you say adding a 5th stud?
Thats pretty much it. Knuckle ball gussets and the top truss. Id slide it down till it touches the leaf perch though.
Stock knuckles are weak because the 4 studs on top come loose with large tires and hard steering. TG makes a "6 shooter" that adds 2 more studs but is $$, or for a few bucks and some fab time you can add a 5th (or 6th if you really want) stud to the existing knuckles.
If got a bunch of axle info in both build threads in my signature. Solid axle stuff starts on page 14 in the blue truck thread, that one is more in depth
Last edited by rattlewagon; 08-12-2024 at 04:55 PM.
You "might" be able to sort through all those parts, get what you want and sell what you don't. That's a LOT of cleaning to do and a LOT of disassembly and inspection to do. There are a LOT of parts for cores. That stuff is definitely getting harder to find so might be a good deal if you're willing to do the dirty work.
The stock axle housings ARE pretty weak but can be beefed up. I'm running stock axle housings with 37's and hard wheeling. I did a ton of work to them though.
The stock birfs and axles shafts are ok ONLY for stock applications in MY opinion. You NEED to upgrade to RCV axles or others with larger tires. You will be required to upgrade the gears in the locking hubs to claim warranty on your new expensive axles. RCV might include them with axle packages. So the stock ones are good for stock application.
Many people ditch the SFA wheel hubs and run the 86 up IFS hubs to upgrade to Tacoma or other later model slide on rotors and brakes. I did.
The 86 up IFS truck rear housings are wider and what most people want to run.
You can run just about any 8" diff in any of the housings. Some combinations require minor mods like grinding for an E-locker.
The front axle spindles and hubs can also be used to convert rear to full floating axles and disc brakes. Front Range Off Road has kits. Big bucks though.
My straight front axle is a 85 housing, spindles and knuckles. Aftermarket birfs and axle shafts, Chromoly hub gears, ARP knuckle studs, 86-up wheel hubs so I could use slip on rotors and widen the width without spacers. Brake bracket to use huge 2017 4Runner brakes but Tacoma can be used as well with smaller diameter wheels. I'm running a high pinion front diff from an 80 series Land Cruiser. Not much left of the stock parts.
If the rear housings are 85 and earlier, you probably will be stuck with those. Maybe not but most people want the 86-up IFS width ones. Most people are upgrading the brakes. Some upgrades require the 86 up hubs.
Stock rear axle shafts are actually pretty strong but the 85 and earlier are shorter than the 86 up.
Stock knuckles are ok with ARP bolts. Front Range Off Road has keyed steering arms that also add a lot of strength to prevent broken knuckle studs.
If the Detroit locker cleans up and is ok, that's a great value.
So the front housings are valuable if straight. With the knuckles, spindles and lower bearing caps.
The rears are if they are 86-up.
A lot of that stuff would just be good cores to me or good to people wanting to restore to stock. Has value though.
i see a $120 version, with the bronze bushing installed? i run the tg spindle, no idea how they compare but for $120 it's not worth messing with old junk parts... you'd have to chuck it up in a lathe to get a clean seal surface, and that changes the tolerance.
Thank you all very much for all this great information and the links.
Seems like the conclusion is that I could make use of these parts if I'm willing to put the effort into sorting and get a little lucky with some of it cleaning up.
I think i will have to go look in person to see how bad the corrosion is and how straight and complete things are.
One final question comes up from what aztoyman wrote.
Can you explain what you mean by a core in this situation?
I always think of a core as being something that is rebuild-able. Like a Brake Caliper or a Master Cylinder.
Are you saying that the Axle housings would be good cores?
Are you saying that the Axle housings would be good cores?
"So the front housings are valuable if straight" is the caveat that he posted... you'll have no way of knowing how bent it is just by looking at the bare housing.
i saw that ad on a facebook toyota group... if those parts are still for sale it's because the deal is too expensive, nobody wants to roll the dice and end up with three useless bent front axle housings.
I was referring to the buckets of calipers and such. Either you could rebuild them or use them as cores to exchange for a reman. Would save you the core charge.
I'm also into old Flathead Fords. I often see big piles of parts like you're thinking about. IF......the parts turn out to be ok, they are probably worth the money. However, MOST of the blocks turn out to have fatal cracks but you won't know until they are torn down, cleaned and inspected. A LOT of work and time. The seller usually thinks it's gold. The buyer might get scrap metal after all the cleaning and inspection.
If it were me and I just needed parts to build a front axle to SAS my truck, I think I'd pass unless it was a lot less than $1200. Too much of a gamble for me. Plus, there are too many aftermarket options for a Toyota front axle now. It could work out in your favor. It's up to you to decide on the odds being in your favor or spending a lot of time and work and getting mostly junk and/or parts you can't sell.
08-08-2024, 08:46 AM
