87 4 Runner Build

[KidVermicious]

Never heard of driveworks. I used Moog stuff with no trouble on my '86.

Also, when did the front locker happen?

Also, haha FOG.

 

[SV_Dude]

Never heard of driveworks. I used Moog stuff with no trouble on my '86.

Also, when did the front locker happen?

Also, haha FOG.

Hopefully that's what is going to go back in. If they don't do a 1 for 1 swap then I will return all the parts and talk to a guy I know that owns a fab shop in the area and see what he can do to build me some better steering links.

The last p/o put an aussie locker up front. So far it's a sweet locker!

 

[Footofgod]

Why you gotta throw me under the bus like that? Remember, I had to drive you home to get parts out of a poop pile.

 

[SV_Dude]

Why you gotta throw me under the bus like that? Remember, I had to drive you home to get parts out of a poop pile.

It was a little funny and no parts were pulled out of a poop pile. But thanks for the help though. And yes, FOG did drive me back to my house to grab some tools, my old steering link and help me replace it. :cheers:

 

[slowpoke99]

Have fun with the ball bearings. I recently took them apart on a box I tapped for hydro assist.

I used some synthetic grease to hold them in place and just kept feeding them in the hole as instructed from a thread I found on PBB. Took three tries

That's my main concern. I've heard a ton of horror stories about the bearings. Good thing I didn't get rid of the spare box I have for my '88. I just might need it!

 

[SV_Dude]

That's my main concern. I've heard a ton of horror stories about the bearings. Good thing I didn't get rid of the spare box I have for my '88. I just might need it!

I think it took me 2 or 3 tries to get the bearings right. On my last attempt I put the worn gear half way into the pistol and installed the bearings in both holes. When they wouldn't feed by gravity I pushed lightly with a small punch and they slid right in. I also used a little bit of wax (didn't have any thick grease) on the transfer tube to hold the 11 bearings in and it worked great. If I had to do the piston and bearings again I feel pretty confident I can do that part hassle free again.

 

[slowpoke99]

I think it took me 2 or 3 tries to get the bearings right. On my last attempt I put the worn gear half way into the pistol and installed the bearings in both holes. When they wouldn't feed by gravity I pushed lightly with a small punch and they slid right in. I also used a little bit of wax (didn't have any thick grease) on the transfer tube to hold the 11 bearings in and it worked great. If I had to do the piston and bearings again I feel pretty confident I can do that part hassle free again.

Thanks for the input! I guess I'll just have to dig in and see how it goes.

 

[SV_Dude]

After my TRE snapping yesterday it really bugged me. With the bigger tires and the abuse that I tend to put my IFS through it really concerned me and made me lose faith in the stock steering components. Who's to say that that wouldn't happen at 80mph on the freeway on my way home from a trail after I spend a day or a weekend beating up my ifs system? So there is an obvious need to upgrade the steering system instead of just putting "better" stock components on the 4runner.

I am juggling around a couple different ideas.

1) FJ80 TRE's and DOM tubing for a connecting link. The FJ80 TRE's have the same taper and size as the stock tre's so I won't have to do ream out the factory steering knuckle and remove material that will ultimately make that part weaker. FJ80 tre's from FROR are 25 bucks each so after buying 4 of them, tubing and bungs I can be done with the steering arms for about $150-$175. As for the main steering arm, I can weld up some braces to it like the total chaos arm but without spending $500 on it. The idler arm bushings can be replaced with some higher quality ones from 4crawler.

Here's some pics from a guy on pirate who kind of did the same thing:

Option 2:
Same as above but with heim's instead of FJ80 TRE's. It may cost a little extra but not a ton. The benefit is extra strength and rebuildable joints. Downside is that if I ever move to a state where there are annual vehicle vehicle inspections then they may not pass.

The plus side to both is that those two steering upgrades can move to whatever platform I go with in the future whether it be a solid axle or long travel ifs (if either ever happen). All I would have to do is build a longer connecting link.

 

[KidVermicious]

I really wanted to build a DOM tie rod and run 80 rod ends on my '86. I thought about heims but a) I have inspections and b) heims may be rebuildable, but they need rebuilt . A set of FJ80 rod ends on a 4Runner with half the curb weight should last forever.

If you do this, it'll transfer more stress to the pitman and idler. Might wanna beef those up too?

 

[SV_Dude]

I really wanted to build a DOM tie rod and run 80 rod ends on my '86. I thought about heims but a) I have inspections and b) heims may be rebuildable, but they need rebuilt . A set of FJ80 rod ends on a 4Runner with half the curb weight should last forever.

If you do this, it'll transfer more stress to the pitman and idler. Might wanna beef those up too?

I'm leaning towards the 80 tre's. But my concern now is if I have enough room. I'm still researching the dimensions of the tre's because I am not sure if there is enough clearance between the main steering arm and the frame bracket that drops down for the ifs stuff. There's not much extra room now as it is with the 1/2" rod coming off of the stock size tre. If I use a 80 tre then I'll also use a 1.5" OD DOM tube for a connecting link and I'm not sure if I can squeeze that in there.

 

[SV_Dude]

So after a bit of searching and digging around I found that the FJ80 idea isn't going to fit without moving the gear box and idler arm forward. I'm not really wanting to do too much modification to the ifs setup since I am undecided if it's going to stay. If it does go bye bye it will be a few years down the road.

I did find a guy on TTORA that used heims and everything fit without trimming or moving parts.

SEXY!!!

Here's a link to his setup:
Super Strong Tie Rods!!! - TTORA Forum

 

[KidVermicious]

What's he using on the idler and pitman arms, the stock joints?

 

[SV_Dude]

What's he using on the idler and pitman arms, the stock joints?

He didn't specify in his thread so I'm assuming it's the stock joints.

 

[SV_Dude]

So I spent quite a bit of time searching everything heim trying to find out how the guy in TTORA used a 3/4" heim joint AND 1"x .25 DOM tubing. I tried to find adapters or ways to mill the tubing to accept a 3/4" heim joint. Bottom line is that it's not going to work. So the only thing that makes sense is that the OP of the thread in TTORA was wrong about his heim joint size and his tubing size. The best thing that I can find is a 5/8" heim that uses a tube adapter to fit inside of a 1.25" OD x .25" wall tube.

Here's my plan:

Outer heim stack:
5/8"x5/8" heim Heat Treated Chromoly 5/8- 18 X 5/8" Heim Joint

5/8-1/2 High misalignment spacer (x2) High Misalignment Spacer - 5/8" to 1/2" Stainless Steel

Total hardware stack height is about 1 1/2" tall but there is plenty of room on the steering knuckle for a tall stack.

Inner heim stack:
5/8"x5/8"" heim Heat Treated Chromoly 5/8- 18 X 5/8" Heim Joint

In front of the heim I will use a standard misalignment spacer 5/8"x7/16" Misalignment Spacer 5/8" ID x 7/16"

Behind the heim I will use a 5/8" safety washer 5/8" Safety Washer

With the joint, misalignment spacer, safety washer and the height of the bolt head my stack height here will be about 1 1/2" tall, maybe less. I have right at 1 3/4" of room between the steering link and the ifs frame bracket so that gives me a 1/4" of wiggle room.

Both heims will be connected with 5/8" x 3/4" tube adapters that will be welded into 1 1/4"ID x 1/4" wall dom tubing.

As for the hardware to mount the heims to the steering link and steering knuckles, I'm currently searching for 5/8" safety hardware that will allow me to either use cotter pins or safety wire. All hardware will be grade 8 or higher hardware.

Any builders here who see any flaws in my plan? [MENTION=69539]Hyde802[/MENTION] [MENTION=1857]fourwd1[/MENTION] [MENTION=84120]nevada[/MENTION] [MENTION=97005]slowpoke99[/MENTION] I know I missed a few on here who are builders/fabbers but I only tagged the few that I knew off the top of my head.

 

[nevada]

personally, I wouldn't use heim joints. as kid said above, they will need rebuilt.
also, unless you are buying HIGH quality heims(very expensive), they wont last long, and wont be/stay nearly as tight as a standard joint.

also, if you are wheeling that thing hard enough to be concerned with breaking the stock steering, the suspension and front end wont be far behind, especially with that locker in there.

I know you said it would be a while, but it really sounds like you need to just swap a front end in, and be done with it. what you will spend to beef up what you have, could be spent toward something that is actually good.

 

[SV_Dude]

From what I can find, no one makes a rebuildable heim. Basically I can expect to replace my heim joints every couple years, maybe a little sooner for a dd.

Maybe I need to just put the moog parts on it and call it a day until I can put the solid axle under it. If I only had the loot the the axle now! :hurt:

 

[SV_Dude]

So... my wife is telling me to not spend another dime in my ifs 4runner! She told me that I need to stop whining about it and put the solid axle in it. Is there anyone here that can disagree?

I may have a 4.88 front diff with an aussie locker in it for sale soon along with a rough country 4" front lift kit with new shocks for sale too.

:guitar3:





MAYBE!!!

 

[slowpoke99]

So... my wife is telling me to not spend another dime in my ifs 4runner! She told me that I need to stop whining about it and put the solid axle in it. Is there anyone here that can disagree?

I may have a 4.88 front diff with an aussie locker in it for sale soon along with a rough country 4" front lift kit with new shocks for sale too.

:guitar3:





MAYBE!!!

Holy s***! What did I miss?! I was just brainstorming your steering setup when I read this post. Sounds like someone's gonna be ordering some goodies. I guess the solution to your steering issue will be "hi-steer". :bounce:

 

[SV_Dude]

Holy s***! What did I miss?! I was just brainstorming your steering setup when I read this post. Sounds like someone's gonna be ordering some goodies. I guess the solution to your steering issue will be "hi-steer". :bounce:

Yup! I think hi-steer may be my solution. I told myself that I won't do anything radical to this runner till I get out of the army and get through school. So much for that idea! I talked with my wife about it for an hour and she was pretty solid on her opinion of me doing my solid axle swap. I kinda have to listen to her seeing as every time I want to spend money on the runner she cringes and asks "how much this time".

The cutting will probably start this weekend!!!

 

[Hyde802]

I only have about 30 hours on my current setup, so I cant speak for longevity. I love axleikes build, he did a TON with that runner.

Nice to see some wheelin pics again!

I say replace with quality parts and keep on truckin