Let's talk axles.

[KidVermicious]

A '96 rear housing w/locker is in the works, so I need to come up with something in the front to match the width or maybe go a touch wider. I've already ruled out the IFS hub mod with spacers because holy freakin' scrub radius, and I've ruled out a waggy 44 because OMG gross. A Landcruiser front would mandate a new (and expensive) crossover setup and a new (and expensive) third + gears, so that's out. That leaves -

TrailGear Taco width RockAssault. Comes with it's own inners, but I'd need to invest in a set of 30 spline birfs (not that that's a bad thing). Looks like about $1200 for housing + inners + birfs, but I could probably get a discount from a local vendor if I begged real good. History of bad QC on these, and I'm just really not a huge fan of how TrailGear is doing business right now. On the other hand, [MENTION=97005]slowpoke99[/MENTION] is rockin one on his SAS and it looks good, so... meh? But if one of these went on sale while I had cash in pocket, I'd have a hard time saying no.

Diamond housing. Beastly thing, and the obvious choice if budget wasn't a factor. $900 for the housing, I could reuse my own birfs but would need to get custom inners cut. I don't know how much that would run to have done locally, maybe $100? Diamond will sell a set of custom length Longfield inners for $349 but then again I'd have to invest in 30 spline outers, which puts the idea of a Diamond + Longs well out of reach for now.

Ruff Stuff housing. These look good, and from what I see Dan takes care of his customers - that says a lot to me. He's apparently backed up and took pricing off his website, but if I remember right it was $650 or so? Not as strong as a Diamond I suspect, but to be honest I'm not running enough tire to need a Diamond. Much better service and QC than TrailGear. It's just the bare housing, so I'd need to source custom length inner shafts locally. I'd also need to send him a set of knuckle balls, which is a pain but not a deal killer.

Lengthen my own housing locally? I know a couple local fabricators that could probably take this on, but I don't know if a stock housing will stand up to the extra length, even sleeved? And if I start trussing and gusseting, at some point I might as well go with a prefabbed housing anyway and save the hassle. I don't see a lot of guys doing this which always makes me think there's a reason this particular wheel hasn't been reinvented yet, but here's a couple threads on Pirate:
Another home-brew front axle build - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum
Front axle "Gettin wider" - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

I'm leaning towards the RuffStuff housing - I'm in no hurry, and I like the idea of running stock shafts and birfs while I save for a set of Longs. On the other hand, having a set of custom length inners machined seems silly when I know I want to go to Longs eventually. But opinions (and options I haven't considered yet!) are welcome.

 

[slowpoke99]

You're definitely thinking this through the right way. If time isn't a factor, hold out for a set of ruff's! Obviously time wasn't on my side and I settled for the rock assault's. I personally haven't had any problems with mine so I can't say that I regret giving them a shot. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones. And like I said in a previous post, knowing that I've got Longfields in them makes it a lot more comforting. Besides, when it come down to torturing our gear on the trail, what's inside our axles is what's gonna make the difference between driving our junk home on all fours or limping out with broken axle parts wether it's a diamond housing or a stock one. Ultimately it's gonna be your decision and I'm sure which ever road you choose, it's gonna turn out badass! Good luck man! I can't wait to see it all come together:cheers:.

 

[SV_Dude]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the FJ 60 housing uses the same knuckles as your current axle? If so then a crossover steering setup can be done somewhat cheap?

 

[KidVermicious]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the FJ 60 housing uses the same knuckles as your current axle? If so then a crossover steering setup can be done somewhat cheap?

Duzzit? I hadn't heard that. Reusing my knuckles and arms makes the LC axle a little more tempting, because I'll be redoing the tie rod and drag link no matter what I do. I'd still need to regear the 9.5 third, or find one already set up with 5.29...

Something to think about though, thanks Jon!

 

[slowpoke99]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the FJ 60 housing uses the same knuckles as your current axle? If so then a crossover steering setup can be done somewhat cheap?

You are correct. I have a set of 60's in my shop that I've been rebuilding. Only problem that I found with them was the price of the gear set and lockers! Let's just say that they've been put on hold for a while.

 

[SV_Dude]

You may wanna check the WMS though to make sure that you're staying in the same ball park of what you want.

 

[SV_Dude]

Looks like a FJ60 front axle will work very good for you. Darn near the same width as the rear housing you're putting together.



From the toyota bible on pirate:

Axle info - Toyota

Toyota Mini Truck Front Axle Identification
79-80 no gusset
81-83 short gusset (to u-bolts)
84-85 long gusset (past u-bolts)

Stock Toyota front axle measurements for comparison:
55.5" wide, 29" spring perch centers, '79-85 Toyota trucks and 4runners, SA Hubs
58.25" wide, 29" spring perch centers, '79-85 Toyota trucks and 4runners, IFS Hubs
63.5" wide, (set up for coil springs) 90-97 FJ80 and FZJ80 Landcruisers
'86-95 IFS front end is about 58.5" wide
'93-98 T100 IFS front end is about 65" wide

Toyota Rear Axle Widths:
55" wide, '79-85 4wd trucks/4runners - 6 Lug
58" wide, '86-95 4wd trucks/4runners - 6 Lug
56" wide, '79-95 2wd Trucks - 5 Lug
60.75" wide, '95.5-up Tacomas/4runners
66.75" wide, '93-98 T100 trucks

FJ
FJ40-45 axles are 57" front, 56" rear.
FJ60-62 are 60".
FJ80s are 63.5".

 

[KidVermicious]

Marlin wants $800 to send me an open 5.29 Landcruiser third, and that's with my core, which is just silly. EBay has ring and pinion for around $250, figure $100 for the setup kit and another $150 for my guy to set it up (assuming that the 9.5 isn't a ***** to work on because he charges more for that)... if I could find an axle and third for under $300, I'd be looking at around $800 maybe for the whole project, maybe $900 if I end up needing a driveshaft adapter. That's not horrible, but if I stay 8" I've got an elocker to go in - I'm looking at another chunk of change to lock up the 9.5 third.

It's plausible, and I like the idea of that beasty 9.5 third, but the costs around gearing and locking it still kinda push it to the back of the line. I'll have to look out for one with an already-geared third though, for sure.

 

[SV_Dude]

How are your welding skills? Have you considered cutting your current housing and making it a tad bit wider? You can order new longer taco width axles from tg or custom order some inner shafts.

 

[KidVermicious]

How are your welding skills? Have you considered cutting your current housing and making it a tad bit wider? You can order new longer taco width axles from tg or custom order some inner shafts.

I can weld on a spring perch or diff armor, but I'm not even confident I could build a jig and cut and stretch my housing and have it come out straight. Precision work is not my forte. Stretching the stock housing is definitely an option, but I need to talk to a couple guys who might do it for me and see what that would run me.

 

[SV_Dude]

I can weld on a spring perch or diff armor, but I'm not even confident I could build a jig and cut and stretch my housing and have it come out straight. Precision work is not my forte. Stretching the stock housing is definitely an option, but I need to talk to a couple guys who might do it for me and see what that would run me.

It doesn't have t be an exact length, I would imagine that if you're within 1/16th of an inch or so you will be fine. A jig would be easy to make. Get a couple 2x2 strips of box steel, and tack them to a bracket so that the gap is a couple inches wide. Cut the axle, cut your new axle extension, strap everything t the jig and weld em up. Just make sure you pre heat the metal first so you don't warp the housing. Do some research on pirate, tons of info there on this subject.

 

[nevada]

wait. 9.5"? what rear has that? from the tundra? how wide is it?

im considering swapping in the 96 Tacoma rear, but that's still only an 8", but its 60" wide and gets me closer to the front I plan on using.

id run the tundra rear, but I think it will be too wide. im just guessing, but I expect its the same as the t100?

 

[Hyde802]

FJ 40s and 60s (maybe others) have the larger r&p. 00-06 tundras use a 8" (according to the link below), those years tundra is 67". The 07+ tundras are 9.5, but I cant digg up much info on them.

Lots of info here: http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/

fj60 has has my vote. If they do use mini truck hubs (ive heard that too, but cant confirm) you could always use IFS hubs on those to get a little extra width.

I should have gone that route, however, the full foot of clearance under my diff is pretty nice.

 

[nevada]

FJ 40s and 60s (maybe others) have the larger r&p.

And that has my vote. I should have gone that route....

with a centered diff?

im basically in the same boat as kidV. but im trying to get a rear to match the front. so just the opposite. haha.

 

[Hyde802]

The Fjs have a off set diff (I think), but the tundra and t100 will be centered, but I re read the link, only 07+ are 9.5. Earlier years are the Tacoma 3rd.

 

[KidVermicious]

A 60 axle would be some sweet beefcake. Besides buying the axle and shafts, I'd have to source gears and an elocker or ARB and that's just not going to happen this go round unless I stumble across a killer deal. Which could happen, most of what I've been able to do to this truck has been because of stumbling across killer deals!

A friend is trying to talk me into an 8"/d44 hybrid. I probably won't do it, but it's an intriguing idea.

 

[nevada]

A 60 axle would be some sweet beefcake. Besides buying the axle and shafts, I'd have to source gears and an elocker or ARB and that's just not going to happen this go round unless I stumble across a killer deal. Which could happen, most of what I've been able to do to this truck has been because of stumbling across killer deals!

A friend is trying to talk me into an 8"/d44 hybrid. I probably won't do it, but it's an intriguing idea.

ok, so what rear end are you talking about using?

 

[KidVermicious]

Image searches on FJ60 rear axle and FJ80 rear axle show a whole bunch of not-centered-pumpkins.

 

[KidVermicious]

ok, so what rear end are you talking about using?

I'll be using a '96 4Runner rear.

 

[nevada]

I'll be using a '96 4Runner rear.

any reason you choose that one over the beefy Tacoma diff?

you must already have one, or have a line on a good deal..

TrailGear Taco width RockAssault. Comes with it's own inners, but I'd need to invest in a set of 30 spline birfs (not that that's a bad thing). Looks like about $1200 for housing + inners + birfs, but I could probably get a discount from a local vendor if I begged real good. History of bad QC on these, and I'm just really not a huge fan of how TrailGear is doing business right now. On the other hand, [MENTION=97005]slowpoke99[/MENTION] is rockin one on his SAS and it looks good, so... meh? But if one of these went on sale while I had cash in pocket, I'd have a hard time saying no.

Diamond housing. Beastly thing, and the obvious choice if budget wasn't a factor. $900 for the housing, I could reuse my own birfs but would need to get custom inners cut. I don't know how much that would run to have done locally, maybe $100? Diamond will sell a set of custom length Longfield inners for $349 but then again I'd have to invest in 30 spline outers, which puts the idea of a Diamond + Longs well out of reach for now.

I think based on the above, the diamond housing is the way to go.
custom inners aren't too bad. $75-100 each. considering you have to get axles for either, and its $300 less to start with...