1999 SAS Dana44 ARB 4Runner Build

[Mountain Fun]

Another lesson learned. I paid $100 to have the front driveshaft lengthened and balanced only to find out when the suspension goes to full drop the driveshaft will pull apart. Basically the driveshaft goes from 28" at full compression to 35" at full drop. I'm going to order Trail Gear's 10" long spine driveshaft kit and have it rebuilt.

Rear end finished and parking brake all hooked up. I got the custom tail pipe made.

 

[Mountain Fun]

Installing 37" Dick Cepek tires on Pro Comp wheels

Since my truck came out taller than I had planned the 35" tires just didn't look right, way too small. So I sold my 35s to Josh for a Landcruiser he is building and ordered a set of 37" Cepeks. I love the look of the 37s on the truck.

 

[kolelt]

What oil pan are you gonna use

 

[Mountain Fun]

Another problem encountered. When the spring compresses the leaf spring clamp hits the drag link. I tried just grinding it down but it was still hitting. I could have just cut off the clamp but instead I decided to cut them down and weld a smooth flat plate on it.

 

[Mountain Fun]

What oil pan are you gonna use

I used a T100 oil pan. The T100 had a rear sump 3.4 engine in it. I got mine from Sky Manufacturing but Trail Gear also sells it.

 

[Kyle Reese]

Super nice, wish I had the money for this, looks great

 

[kolelt]

I used a T100 oil pan. The T100 had a rear sump 3.4 engine in it. I got mine from Sky Manufacturing but Trail Gear also sells it.

Gotch ya. Badass truck brother

 

[Mountain Fun]

I didn't plan on installing sway bars but after driving it on the street I realized very quickly that this wasn't going to happen. The 3rd gen 4runners are pretty heavy and the body roll was bad and sometimes a little scary. My wife drives this truck sometimes too so I wanted it to be safe on the roads and badass offroad. I reinstalled the factory sway bar but upgraded it with Energy Suspension bushings. I found some Skyjacker links for a Ford that were the right length for what I needed. We then welded a shock mount to the axle to connect them. The ride quality was so much better with them installed. I just figured I would remove them with wheeling.

Well, this worked okay for onroad use but they were a pain in ass to remove and the first time I went wheeling without removing them they bent. The axle just moves forward and back too much when wheeling for a solid end link to hold up.

I realized I needed a pivot point at the top as well as the bottom. I fount these links made by Zone Offroad for a Jeep that seemed to fit the bill. I had to modify them a little but the heim joint at the top not only allows them to pivot but now I just have to pull the bolt at the bottom, rotate them up and strap them out of the way when wheeling. I also made some quick pull pins out of some grade 8 bolts.

 

[kolelt]

Wow dude. I wish o could do that to my truck.



So how much for everything so far would you say. What was the hardest part ?

 

[Mountain Fun]

Wow dude. I wish o could do that to my truck.



So how much for everything so far would you say. What was the hardest part ?

I have a buddy who had a bobbed 1st gen 4runner with a Tundra 4.7 V8, dual transfers, custom dana60's with ARBs. He told me to throw out the receipt book and stop keeping track of what I'm spending...so that's what I did. I'm sure the mods I did with tires is over 10 grand but I'm not really sure because I stopped adding it up.

The scariest part of the build was cutting those chunks out of the frame for the front shackle mounts. If those were wrong there was no going back, I would have a ruined frame. Luckily they came out perfect.

 

[Mountain Fun]

Got the Addicted Offroad rock sliders welded in. These are super strong and offer the perfect place to hook up a high lift jack. They also help to work as a step to get in and protect the truck rock, trees, door dings, and shopping carts.

 

[Mountain Fun]

The next thing I realized I needed was bump stops. The kit I bought came with weld on blocks and a small rubber bump stop. I wasn't really digging this setup, just looked kind of crappy to me. I read an article in 4WD Toyota Owner about the Energy Suspension 4.5" rubber bump stops and a mod kit by LowRange offroad. I didn't really need the kit so I ordered the bump stops and made my own. I used 1.75" square tubing to make my mounts and welded those to the ubolt plates.

 

[Mountain Fun]

I already had an ARB locker for my front Dana44 but I still needed to figure out what to do with the rear axle. I didn't really want to drop $1200 for the rear ARB and another $300 for the compressor so I was looking into an elocker conversion. Then I found a brand new, in the box, ARB locker for my Toyota axle on craigslist for $600 so I jumped on it. Ordered my compressor and now I'm locked front and rear when needed.

The ARB carrier is a little bigger than the stock carrier so it wouldn't fit in the axle with out a little grinding to make room. I researched this online and I guess it's pretty common.

I don't agree with bashing companies online because I'm sure for every one bad experience there are a thousand good experiences customers have had but I feel the need to put this out there. When I disassembled my "professionally built and guaranteed" 3rd member that I got from Eastcoast Gear and Supply I discovered they reused a stock carrier that should have been thrown in the trash. It obvious it had a spun bearing that stripped the metal away. Bearing are pressed onto the ends. To make the bearing stay on they used a punch to raise the metal and then used locktite to hold the bearing in place. This is total F***ing bullshit and should never be done, especially not a "professionally built" 3rd member. I will never order another product from them again and will warn my friends about doing so. This is just cheap laziness, that carrier should have never been reused.

It was hard finding room to mount the ARB compressor. I ended up mounting it between the air cleaner and the ABS pump (which is no longer in use).

Last thing was to wire up the switches. I was lucky that I had just enough black switch mounts for the 3 switches.

 

[kolelt]

Well the beauty with metal is you can cut and reweld most stuff.

Did you call the company and complain about the 3rd member ?

 

[manesfesto]

Looks awesome man. Really digging the idea for the sway bar. I have a SAS with ODI struts up front and have been knocking around some sort of fabricated sway bar system for the street. But also have it easily removable for the trail.

 

[csp]

I decided to go with the Waggy Dana44 with Chevy spindles, knuckles, and hubs for my application.

Just for reference for those that may be interested, fullsize Jeep (Cherokee, Wagoneer, and pickup) D44s have the same outers as Chevy for any given year. Brakes, knuckles, spindles, wheelbearing hubs, etc.

You don't have to go to Chevy knuckles for flat tops, though it is nice that the drivers side is already milled/drilled/tapped from the GM factory.

You just have to have pre-78 Chevy or Jeep to get a flat topped passenger knuckle and/or small bearing spindles (useful for vehicles using 5 on 5.5" lug pattern).

 

[4Runnin2000]

They also help to work as a step to get in and protect the truck rock, trees, door dings, and SHOPPING CARTS.

This made me laugh a little bit. A lot of us on this forum won't be able to relate to this. [emoji1] This is an awesome build btw. The amount of work you have put into your rig is crazy. I like it!

 

[daniresch]

been watching from the start, keep it going!

 

[White Stripe]

That suspension sits too tall man. Every time u get slightly off camber your going to crap your pants. I would try and lower it 3 or 4 inches somehow. You must have like 9 inches of lift. Low range offroad only has like 2 inches of lift and cut fenders and they are running 37s. They just cut their fenders a bit.

 

[kolelt]

This made me laugh a little bit. A lot of us on this forum won't be able to relate to this. [emoji1] This is an awesome build btw. The amount of work you have put into your rig is crazy. I like it!

They protect idiots in a parking lot that just let their doors fly out. Rock sliders protect your truck from idiots hitting your truck with their doors. They will hit the slider first hahaha!!!!!!!!! Owned.