2004 Axle Swap

4

4RUNNER1

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Is it possible or has it been done. Swapping the rear axle from a 4th Gen with read disc brakes to a 3rd Gen

I did a search but nothing really came up on the subject.

If it hasn't been don't I'd be willing to try it.
 
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4RUNNER1 said:
Is it possible or has it been done. Swapping the rear axle from a 4th Gen with read disc brakes to a 3rd Gen

I did a search but nothing really came up on the subject.

If it hasn't been don't I'd be willing to try it.
Click to expand...

There have been a few that have done rear disc conversions with GM parts, but they've all said that it was not worth the money spent.

The rear axle of a 4th gen will not directly swap, it's got completely different mount points. It might work if you cut off all of the mounts and welded on your own, but that's a whole different story.
 
The overseas Land Cruiser Prado uses rear disc brakes. I'm talking about the ones from the same period the 3rd gen was made. If that uses the Toyota 8 inch diff then it might even be bolt on.
 
T4R2014 said:
The overseas Land Cruiser Prado uses rear disc brakes. I'm talking about the ones from the same period the 3rd gen was made. If that uses the Toyota 8 inch diff then it might even be bolt on.
Click to expand...

You might be onto something. As long as it matches the rear axle... too bad we don't have any Prado owners here. Do Surf's also have drums?

I got this picture from a rear axle seal writeup, but shouldn't it work as long as the bolts match up?

seal3.jpg


This is the best I could find showing the rear axle bolt pattern for Land Cruiser prado. I can't quite tell if it's the same

201082171733406.jpg
 
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Shipping a Prado or Surf axle from overseas would be really expensive.. that is if they would even work without modification. You can bolt just about any axle under there and make it work, but the 4th gen won't be easy. If you really want to do it right, check out these guys..
Front Range Off-Road Fabrication
 
4RUNNER1 said:
Is it possible or has it been done. Swapping the rear axle from a 4th Gen with read disc brakes to a 3rd Gen

I did a search but nothing really came up on the subject.

If it hasn't been don't I'd be willing to try it.
Click to expand...


I have a 4th gen rear axle with Elocker and Ive done the measurements and they will not just bolt in. Our rear axles are 61" WMS to WMS the 4th gen is closer to 66" all the control arm brackets would have to be moved to the correct. Anything can be done but that is a lot of work for no reason. Give this a look. Much better option than the 4th gen swap IMHO

New Toyota braking options from Front Range!! - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board
 
Now dont flame me yet... But I am sure I read in one of theres forums that people have use a Ford 8.8 axle with rear disc brakes and other have use one from a 98-04 S10-Blazer with rear disc brakes. I'll find where it was posted. It was sometime ago. Might have even been for a Gen2 4Runner.

:snacker:
 
4RUNNER1 said:
Now dont flame me yet... But I am sure I read in one of theres forums that people have use a Ford 8.8 axle with rear disc brakes and other have use one from a 98-04 S10-Blazer with rear disc brakes. I'll find where it was posted. It was sometime ago. Might have even been for a Gen2 4Runner.

:snacker:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I remember that too, but they were basically taking a bare axle, and welding on all new mount points. If you can do that, then you can use any axle you want. The point here is that unless you are able to do the extensive welding job, none of these other axles is going to work.
 
Rear disc wont give you any more on road stopping power than you have now, and the you do the swap and you lose your e brake, i dont see why everyonw wants to get rid of these drum brakes, they work plent well for me, its an Suv not a track car.
 
JohnsD90 said:
Rear disc wont give you any more on road stopping power than you have now, and the you do the swap and you lose your e brake, i dont see why everyonw wants to get rid of these drum brakes, they work plent well for me, its an Suv not a track car.
Click to expand...

When you add a lot of weight in armor and then tow a trailer on top of it, disc brakes in the back would be very nice. My old CR-V has discs on all 4 and it had some awesome braking power - much better than my 4runner, even with my new Tundras up front.

The guys in the link I attached earlier give you the choice if you want the ebrake. It's an option that I would pay the extra $$ for.
 
brian2sun said:
When you add a lot of weight in armor and then tow a trailer on top of it, disc brakes in the back would be very nice. My old CR-V has discs on all 4 and it had some awesome braking power - much better than my 4runner, even with my new Tundras up front.

The guys in the link I attached earlier give you the choice if you want the ebrake. It's an option that I would pay the extra $$ for.
Click to expand...

the other reason to go with FROR's rear conversion is that you are going form a semifloat to full float rear axle so the axle shaft is no longer carrying the load. Instead there are two bearings that carry all the weight of the vehicle and so the axle only had to deal with the load of the powertrain. There is a big difference in having axle shafts last when dealing with a heavy truck. There is a reason that all 1ton trucks have full float rear axles.:driving: Also you can run a selectable hub and simply unlock the rear axle if you want to flat tow. Just a thought.
 
Rockdawg84 said:
the other reason to go with FROR's rear conversion is that you are going form a semifloat to full float rear axle so the axle shaft is no longer carrying the load. Instead there are two bearings that carry all the weight of the vehicle and so the axle only had to deal with the load of the powertrain. There is a big difference in having axle shafts last when dealing with a heavy truck. There is a reason that all 1ton trucks have full float rear axles.:driving: Also you can run a selectable hub and simply unlock the rear axle if you want to flat tow. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the disc brakes are an added bonus. All around I'm surprised more people don't do this mod. I'll bet leaky rear axle seals aren't an issue anymore either.

J-money$$$ said:
ohh come on Brian i know you ebrake must work about like mine, You know you dont need an ebrake :)
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I pulled my ebrake while doing 20 mph yesterday, on slight decline.. didn't even slow me down to 19, lol. We need to start referring to them as parking brakes, because if you needed it in an emergency.. well.. you're f***ed. The ebrake that FROR does is integrated into the calipers so I'm guessing it's a much better system than our useless stock ebrake.
 
I'm sure you will also need to do something with the brake booster or at least add an adjustable proportioning valve. Its rare that you can swap to disks without doing anything else.
 
KAILUAZ said:
I'm sure you will also need to do something with the brake booster or at least add an adjustable proportioning valve. Its rare that you can swap to disks without doing anything else.
Click to expand...

FROR sells prop. valves. That's a question I would ask them if I do the swap.
 
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