ADH8796 4runner Build
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ADH8796
New member
Ordered a set of 37x12.50r17 BFG KM2's
I don't know the exact amount. For this setup built yourself your looking at $5k-$10k depending on what you can find for what deals. I believe I'm in mine somewhere between $6k-8k but I got a lot of stuff for cheap. Like the front axle I bought came with cromos inner and outer, electric locker and radius arms already on it for $550. I was able to keep the cromo inners and radius arms but sold everything else. It really varies from build to build unless you buy a kit like trail gear.
Thanks man I'm glad to know a few people like what I've done with it. Hopefully I'll update some stuff soon.
ADH8796
New member
Honestly I'm not too worried about the rear axle holding up. I think overall the ARB and gear set should be fine. The axle shafts are the only thing of real concern and I have an extra just in case. And like you said the BFG's tend to run a little small anyway. Hopefully in the next year or two I'll be upgrading the rear axle to take care of any potential week links.
When are you starting on your swap?
Dous
New member
Sounds like a good plan.
I should be starting here in the next couple weeks, mainly just waiting for the coilovers to be built and sent from California
ADH8796
New member
Both have crossed my mind and I'm not sure at this point. It's possible I'll run a 9" rear to help match the full width I have up front but then again its just so easy to keep the rear I have now. I don't anticipate going any bigger than 37's so I don't see myself doing 1 tons but I guess we'll see.
Awesome I looking forward to watching the build. Nice to see all these SAS 3rd gens getting built.
ADH8796
New member
Couple updates. After my shake down run to Superlift ORV I looked over the truck real good and for the most part everything looked great except for my front drive shaft. The shaft itself held up great but the crossmember wasn't nearly dropped out enough to clear the shaft therefore the driveshaft was being cut up pretty good every time the axle dropped out far enough. So I had to redesign my front crossmember a little.
rideexileex
Senior Member
I like the radiator skid!
But to me the vertical plates on that cross member seem like they should be boxed or have some gussets on them
But to me the vertical plates on that cross member seem like they should be boxed or have some gussets on them
white_n_slow
Senior Member
That's what I was thinking too. Any sort of side load or coming down on one half of the cross member, and I can see that getting pretty bent up.
ADH8796
New member
Problem is I wanted this to be a bolt on skid so later down the road if I have an issue with this radiator I could drop a shorter tacoma radiator in it and ditched skid. With it being a bolt on skid there's no room for gussets on the outside where it bolts up. And there's no room inside the skid for gussets because of the radiator. It's hard to tell in the pictures but I actually made the skid so that the sides are under the frame rails therefore if I took a hit straight from the bottom or front the weight would be distributed through to the frame through the bottom of the side plates and through the bolt on portions of the skid. Not sure any of that made since but i tried lol.
Couple more pics of the skid mounted
ADH8796
New member
Well now that you put it that way I'm an idiot hahaha
So let me explain my reasoning behind how I built the crossmember and why I didn't/couldn't really brace anymore than I did. For obvious reasons I wanted the crossmember to remain bolt in. If you take a look at the picture below (I know it's a little hard to see) on the left I couldn't brace simply because if I did the crossmember wouldn't bolt up. And on the right I could have added a very small brace to each side of the plate but really not big enough to have much effect if any it's just too close to the tranny to add in a good solid brace. I also knew when building this that I had plans for a skid plate and that the skid would add more strength to the crossmember when bolted on. My next post will have pictures of the skid plate build.
ADH8796
New member
Well with the SAS done I really needed some protection for the trans pan and T-case so here is what I cam up with.
Started with a peace of 3/16 plate
Notched it for the drive shaft
Folded the edges, added some angle, and got my holes drilled for bolts. Tuff thing about this was trying to figure out how to brace the front of the skid being that it doesn't have anything to bolt to in front of the crossmember. This is what I came up with.
Then added a small peace that will bolt to the passenger side frame up front and braced it as far over as possibly without getting too close to the trans pan.
Good penetration?
Painted
Started with a peace of 3/16 plate
Notched it for the drive shaft
Folded the edges, added some angle, and got my holes drilled for bolts. Tuff thing about this was trying to figure out how to brace the front of the skid being that it doesn't have anything to bolt to in front of the crossmember. This is what I came up with.
Then added a small peace that will bolt to the passenger side frame up front and braced it as far over as possibly without getting too close to the trans pan.
Good penetration?
Painted
ADH8796
New member
Also have two more small updates sorry for the crappy pics
10oz of 6mm .12G Airsoft pellets balance the 37's perfect. So far I have no wobble or vibes up to 70MPH (havent' gotten any faster than that but I don't anticipate it being an issue)
I looked at a couple tire options when switching to 37's but at the end of the day I got a great deal on a set of brand new BFG KM2's that I know I'll be happy with. New frame height with 37's and 30PSI per tire is 22.5" from bottom of frame to ground.
Once I got the 37's on it was pretty obvious I'd be needing to either need to start cutting out the rear fenders or I'd need to extend my bump stops a little. Well instead of spending who knows how many hours cutting out the rear fenders I opted to just add about an 1" or so of bump. My old bump stops were rather nasty looking but I couldn't see spending extra money to extend the bumps so I looked around the garage and found a few things I thought would do the trick. Still don't look beautiful by any means but they get the job done and overall don't look too bad. I also made sure they were still bolt on so that I could easily take them off and change them if I wanted to.
Took it down the street to make sure I wouldn't have any clearance issues at full flex
10oz of 6mm .12G Airsoft pellets balance the 37's perfect. So far I have no wobble or vibes up to 70MPH (havent' gotten any faster than that but I don't anticipate it being an issue)
I looked at a couple tire options when switching to 37's but at the end of the day I got a great deal on a set of brand new BFG KM2's that I know I'll be happy with. New frame height with 37's and 30PSI per tire is 22.5" from bottom of frame to ground.
Once I got the 37's on it was pretty obvious I'd be needing to either need to start cutting out the rear fenders or I'd need to extend my bump stops a little. Well instead of spending who knows how many hours cutting out the rear fenders I opted to just add about an 1" or so of bump. My old bump stops were rather nasty looking but I couldn't see spending extra money to extend the bumps so I looked around the garage and found a few things I thought would do the trick. Still don't look beautiful by any means but they get the job done and overall don't look too bad. I also made sure they were still bolt on so that I could easily take them off and change them if I wanted to.
Took it down the street to make sure I wouldn't have any clearance issues at full flex
SantaCruzRunner
Senior Member
Bravo man, bravo... :cheers:
ADH8796
New member
Thanks man! I'm just ready for some more wheeling trips.
