1999 SAS Dana44 ARB 4Runner Build

[JayRolla]

Finally got the truck to a point where I felt comfortable taking it on some challenging trails and seeing what it can do and it didn't disappoint me. Everything worked together perfectly, the lockers engaged and disengaged, steering didn't hit, and overall did awesome. The height gave some advantages but also some disadvantages, I just need to learn how to compensate for being a little top heavy.

That looks like old Moab Hill at Illinois Gulch? Am I right? My 33's with a little placement of rocks got me up that drop off. But to scared to come off of it. LOL.

Very nice looking rig!

 

[PWD4R]

Finally got the truck to a point where I felt comfortable taking it on some challenging trails and seeing what it can do and it didn't disappoint me. Everything worked together perfectly, the lockers engaged and disengaged, steering didn't hit, and overall did awesome. The height gave some advantages but also some disadvantages, I just need to learn how to compensate for being a little top heavy.



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One advantage of a taller when, when it dropped off the ledge my spare just barely touched. What a rush.

Ok no more off road photos. Show us some vids! I can't be the only one that wants to see this beast in action



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[kolelt]

Sick man !! Love it. Curious why you went with leaf springs and not coils?

 

[Loubaru]

Sick man !! Love it. Curious why you went with leaf springs and not coils?

Leaf springs locate the axle, coils don't. In other words a lot more work with coils making the linkage.

 

[Mountain Fun]

I remember seeing your truck at the big meet at the outlet mall last year. SICK build, and sick truck. Inspirational.

Thank you very much. It's been a blast building the truck and to see it finally perform offroad was a huge relief.

 

[Mountain Fun]

That looks like old Moab Hill at Illinois Gulch? Am I right? My 33's with a little placement of rocks got me up that drop off. But to scared to come off of it. LOL.

Very nice looking rig!

The trail was up in Rainbow Falls near Divide Colorado. My buddy referred to that stretch as "little rubicon". It was about 3 or 4 large steps down. The pictures don't really do it justice, next time I will need to make a video.

 

[Mountain Fun]

Ok no more off road photos. Show us some vids! I can't be the only one that wants to see this beast in action



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Next time I go wheeling I promise to make a few videos.

 

[Mountain Fun]

Sick man !! Love it. Curious why you went with leaf springs and not coils?

I researched doing a four link with coils but decided I was more comfortable going with leaf springs. I wasn't sure how the coils would drive on the street. I also like the predictability of leaf springs. The ride quality of my truck is really good for being solid axle and as tall as it is. The only thing it really sucks on is wash board dirt roads, it shakes the crap out of you.

 

[JayRolla]

The trail was up in Rainbow Falls near Divide Colorado. My buddy referred to that stretch as "little rubicon". It was about 3 or 4 large steps down. The pictures don't really do it justice, next time I will need to make a video.

Yeap thats Illinois Gulch. Traildamage.com guys have called it Moab Hill for years. I got stuck half way up and had to walk it sideways to get off. I have a video but to embarrassing to post. HAHA!

 

[Mountain Fun]

Yeap thats Illinois Gulch. Traildamage.com guys have called it Moab Hill for years. I got stuck half way up and had to walk it sideways to get off. I have a video but to embarrassing to post. HAHA!

You are totally right. I looked it up after I posted. Next time I wheel that area I will take some videos. That one tall ledge is a serious drop, my truck has like 10 inches of lift on 37s and my spare tire hit when I dropped. So much fun though. My friend said Jeeps have a really hard time with it because of the short wheelbase. The ARBs made climbing up it pretty easy, I would image with open diffs it would be a real challenge.

 

[JayRolla]

You are totally right. I looked it up after I posted. Next time I wheel that area I will take some videos. That one tall ledge is a serious drop, my truck has like 10 inches of lift on 37s and my spare tire hit when I dropped. So much fun though. My friend said Jeeps have a really hard time with it because of the short wheelbase. The ARBs made climbing up it pretty easy, I would image with open diffs it would be a real challenge.

Your rig is awesome. I want to copy your setup. Going to get the sonoran steel SAS kit in the future. Got to get my welding skills better. I would be scared to drop off that in a jeep. Lol.

 

[MStudt]

Going to get the sonoran steel SAS kit in the future. Got to get my welding skills better.

I'm in the same boat as you. I plan on going SAS when we settle back down in a couple years. The only thing is that I most likely won't be going with leaf springs. If you decided to go with leafs you should look into using sliders rather that shackles. I used those on my old Jeep before I linked it, and they worked very well. I would also look at frenching the sliders into your frame as opposed to welding them on the surface. Both of these will drastically lower your center of gravity.

 

[JayRolla]

I'm in the same boat as you. I plan on going SAS when we settle back down in a couple years. The only thing is that I most likely won't be going with leaf springs. If you decided to go with leafs you should look into using sliders rather that shackles. I used those on my old Jeep before I linked it, and they worked very well. I would also look at frenching the sliders into your frame as opposed to welding them on the surface. Both of these will drastically lower your center of gravity.

Thanks. I'll look into that. I know I will be talking with Scott at AOR. He knows his SAS builds. Most likely will be going leaf up front and keep rear coiled to save money then go to a 4 link rear. I meant AOR above when I said SS.

 

[MStudt]

Thanks. I'll look into that. I know I will be talking with Scott at AOR. He knows his SAS builds. Most likely will be going leaf up front and keep rear coiled to save money then go to a 4 link rear. I meant AOR above when I said SS.

Leafs do save a lot of money that's for sure. I just don't like how high they make our 4runners sit. Getting a good set Deaver's or Alcan's with reverse eyes or a military wrap would be great, but those cost quite a bit more than traditional springs. The reverse wrap or military wrapped springs will handle the load a lot better, and help against sagging. Frenching either end of the spring will also drop the front by a couple inches.

 

[JayRolla]

Leafs do save a lot of money that's for sure. I just don't like how high they make our 4runners sit. Getting a good set Deaver's or Alcan's with reverse eyes or a military wrap would be great, but those cost quite a bit more than traditional springs. The reverse wrap or military wrapped springs will handle the load a lot better, and help against sagging. Frenching either end of the spring will also drop the front by a couple inches.

AOR IFS kit has 4, 5 or 6" front lift springs. I was going to go with the 4" front lift so I can use my current rear lift or swap to 8 wraps if I need to. Goal is to stay pretty cheap as this rig is getting old, high mileage and dont want to dump tons of money in it.

 

[Bijan]

Next time I go wheeling I promise to make a few videos.

Are you on FB? Join the 2 groups called: Colorado Toyota 4x4 & TRC Toyota's Rockin Colorado

 

[Mountain Fun]

Are you on FB? Join the 2 groups called: Colorado Toyota 4x4 & TRC Toyota's Rockin Colorado

Yes I'm on Facebook and I do belong to Colorado Toyota 4x4. I will join the TRC group tonight. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Mountain Fun]

I'm in the same boat as you. I plan on going SAS when we settle back down in a couple years. The only thing is that I most likely won't be going with leaf springs. If you decided to go with leafs you should look into using sliders rather that shackles. I used those on my old Jeep before I linked it, and they worked very well. I would also look at frenching the sliders into your frame as opposed to welding them on the surface. Both of these will drastically lower your center of gravity.

One other thing to keep in mind with leaf springs on a 3rd gen is the steering draglink and pitman arm having room between the leaf and the frame. On the older 4Runners and Trucks the frame curved up above the axle giving you more room. On the 3rd Gens the frame is straight across. That is why I had so many problems with my front leaf and the draglink making contact. If you do a coil over with a 4link this isn't a problem so you can have a much lower stance. I didn't realize how much this would be a problem when I started my build.

 

[Mountain Fun]

I got my tire deflator kit today. What an easy way to deflate your tires down to the psi you like to wheel at. I prefer 15 psi. I used my buddies last weekend and realized I needed a set of my own.

 

[IBallEngineer]

AOR IFS kit has 4, 5 or 6" front lift springs. I was going to go with the 4" front lift so I can use my current rear lift or swap to 8 wraps if I need to. Goal is to stay pretty cheap as this rig is getting old, high mileage and dont want to dump tons of money in it.

Hahahahhaha :flypig: Let me know how that goes!