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Visitors:
I bought this truck with specific plans to do a solid axle swap.  I wheeled my 96 4Runner for 2 years with IFS, and while it did as well as a open differential'ed truck could do, I wanted more.  So this is where it led me.  I wanted to go bigger, and taller, and badder.  So why not do it right the first time? 

Collecting parts took quite some time.  About 6 months to be exact.  I finally got fed up and put a lot of the parts on my credit card though!  But I couldn't wait any longer!

The front axle was from a 1985 Toyota pickup truck.  I bought it from a friend of a friend.  It was in pieces when I bought it, and missing some miscellaneous stuff like cone washers, axle nuts, spindle nuts, and a differential.  But I got a good deal on it.  I just bought a knuckle rebuild kit from JT Outfitters and rebuilt everything.  I also was able to use a lot of the nuts and bolts from my IFS to put on my solid axle. 

I never really measured before and after, but I think I ended up with about 5" of spring lift in the front, and about 2" of spring lift in the rear, plus the 2" blocks for a total of 4".  And add my 3" body lift in there and you get about 8" of lift.

Anyways, I'm not going to give you a full write-up on my SAS.  It took me longer than expected, but went well overall.  I'll just give you a list of parts and some basic tips on doing an SAS.

Parts list:

  • 1985 front axle
  • Custom square front drive shaft
  • Rancho 44044 leaf springs
  • Pro Comp ES3000 14" travel shocks
  • Ford F250 Shock mounts (part number E5TZ18183A)
  • (2) Stock rear Toyota m-f brake hoses for extensions
  • Offroaddesign.com shackle tubes
  • Sky-Manufacturing front spring hanger
  • Sky-Manufacturing banana shackles, 2" longer than stock
  • Sky-Manufacturing u bolt flip plate
  • AutoZone u bolts
  • Foothill off road high steer (used)
  • 80-83 FJ40/60 Land Cruiser vented rotors
  • re-used my stock V6 calipers
  • stock birfields
  • 4.10 V6 open differential (from the rear of my truck)
  • Steering stabilizer, with mounts taken from my old IFS setup

I was very lucky to have friends that did the welding and torching for me.  I do not have access to these tools. 

You will notice the front hanger is tilted.  When my buddy was grinding the underside of the crossmember, I guess he did not get it flat.  When we went to weld the hanger onto the crossmember, it was tilted.  We all decided it would work the way it was, and welded it up.  We put some extra weld on the sides to make sure it wouldn't move.  I had a friend who builds Toyotas all the time, and he said it looked fine to him.  Maybe someday down the road when I have the time and access to the proper tools, I will cut it off and re-weld it.  For now it will work.

Best advice I can give you in doing an SAS is plan everything before hand.  Bolt everything together and make sure you have all the correct nuts and bolts.  I had to run to the store to try to find long enough spring bolts, and a few other misc. items.  Do your homework.

Here are some pics from the swap

Torching the inner frame rail.

Keith welding on the hanger

Keith welding the backside of the shackle tubes. Notice the high tech shock for alignment purposes.

Look at those pretty welds!

Notice the hanger is tilted

IFS halfway gone

Almost there...

Josh torching and Keith on standby with the garden hose to put out grease fires.

No Mo IFS!!!!

Getting the brakets as close to the frame as possible

Before grinding and with the upper a-arms still intact

Ready for grinding

Done! Not the prettiest, but works for me

Painted the hanger and Keith's welds

Axle ready to be hung. Doing this alone, I had to put the axle on the tires and slide it under. It's heavy!

Axle hung

Brake setup

Shows where I had to grind the pitman arm to remove it.

Custom steering stabilizer mount from my old IFS setup

Yea I need to cut the excess bolt off and add some washers.

Another shot of the stabilizer

Shot of the 1/4" wheel spacer and grinded calipers. These were nessecary to fit the larger calipers.

First time on her feet after the SAS

Another angle

First flex test

Lots of rubbing. Time for some cutting and pounding!

Nice droop!

Another angle