SAS info/advice needed
- Thread starter Brino1
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ajordan1975
New member
Isn't a 3rd gen a driver side drop? first and second gen's are passenger drop.
I know that's why a lot of solid axle Tacomas run D44's up front
ajordan1975
New member
Off subject, but where in St Peters do you live? I grew up in Cave Springs off Mexico road
I'm drivin on cave springs now,lol.spencer and Mexico is where I grew up
ajordan1975
New member
If you want to stay Toyota you will have to do a cut and rotate on the balls and your Toy axle will be upside down, or you can buy a Diamond Axle. They are on the high side, but definitely a quality axle. I have 4 or 5 buddies that run them and are very happy w/ them. Dana 44's out of jeep wagoner's work great for this swap as well
Nice! I need to get back out there soon. It's been more than 5 years since the last time I was their.
white_n_slow
Senior Member
In short: no, it's not possible. Options will be very limited if you're keeping the stock transfer case and wanting to stay toyota. Your transfer case is driver side drop and all Toyota front axles are passenger drop. So your choices will be:
1)Fabricate a custom axle housing (extend the passenger side, shorten the driver side). This could be done with a mini/4runner axle, FJ60 or F(Z)j80.
2)Buy a custom aftermarket axle housing (diamond, ruffstuff, trail gear) that has the appropriate driver drop.
3)Give up on a toyota axle and run a Waggy D44 (IMO a weaker option than some of the toyota axles, but easier and cheaper to make it happen)
4) Best option, IMO: ditch your factory transfer case and bolt up an older gear-driven passenger drop transfer case, run any toyota axle of your choosing. This will also allow you to do cool stuff like dual cases and aftermarket 4.7 low range gears. IF you want SAS, you can suck it up and re-arrange the shifter holes if you need to.
I would personally do the 80-series axle as it has bigger brakes, a lot more beef, and it doesn't need large spacers to match the rear axle, but it will also require custom knuckles (google hellfire knuckles) or slee double steering arms to be converted to high-steer. FJ60 would be my second choice and is a 9.5" axle, so a lot stronger than the standard 8" but the brakes will need to be upgraded. 3rd choice in my mind is the mini/4runner axle because it is small (will need spacers to match rear width) has weak brakes and a smaller R&P.
Flip the axle--Never seen this done, and seems like this would do bad things for lubrication--also what do you do with a drain plug on top???
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white_n_slow
Senior Member
The axle can be cut and lenghtened/shortened, it has been done. Or I guess you could flip the axle and cut off the knuckle balls and flip them so they're facing the correct orientation. But either one of those options is a helluva lot more work and skill required than cutting/patching the transmission tunnel for a shifter. I guess that's the part that I'm not getting about your goals.
Also, I assume the goal of SAS is to improve your offroad cabability, not just to look cool. Running a gear-drive passenger drop t-case gives you the opportunity to get a really deep crawl ratio that would be unobtainable with the stock transfer case.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the gears inside your carrier are designed to sling gear oil in a particular way to keep all the parts lubricated. I don't know if running an axle upside down could be something that leads to poor lubrication, but definitely something worth researching before you try it.
Also, I assume the goal of SAS is to improve your offroad cabability, not just to look cool. Running a gear-drive passenger drop t-case gives you the opportunity to get a really deep crawl ratio that would be unobtainable with the stock transfer case.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the gears inside your carrier are designed to sling gear oil in a particular way to keep all the parts lubricated. I don't know if running an axle upside down could be something that leads to poor lubrication, but definitely something worth researching before you try it.
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You can't just flip an axle upside down to move the pumpkin to the other side. It will want to drive the opposite direction as the rear axle if you do that.
An example: Lets say that a passenger drop axle moves the axleshafts in a forward direction with a counter-clockwise rotating front driveshaft. If you flip it the axleshafts will rotate in a rearward direction with a counter-clockwise rotating front driveshaft.
Passenger drop and drivers drop Toyotas have the same rotation direction of the front driveshaft.
To convert a passenger drive front axle to drivers drop the center section must be moved from one side to the other, keeping the top/bottom orientation the same.
If it were as simple as flipping an axle, it would be commonly done in many different makes/models of 4WD vehicles.
An example: Lets say that a passenger drop axle moves the axleshafts in a forward direction with a counter-clockwise rotating front driveshaft. If you flip it the axleshafts will rotate in a rearward direction with a counter-clockwise rotating front driveshaft.
Passenger drop and drivers drop Toyotas have the same rotation direction of the front driveshaft.
To convert a passenger drive front axle to drivers drop the center section must be moved from one side to the other, keeping the top/bottom orientation the same.
If it were as simple as flipping an axle, it would be commonly done in many different makes/models of 4WD vehicles.
KidVermicious
New member
I think you're nuts to put the condition of your interior trim before the benefits of a RF1A transfer case, but the answer to your question is yes. Buy a Trailgear Tacoma-width Rock Assault front axle with a driver drop, $700 or so last I checked. It'll come with shafts, you'll need to source everything else from Trailgear or elsewhere (knuckles, steering, birfs, hubs, third member, etc). You can also get driver-drop Toyota 8" axles in custom widths from Diamond and Ruff Stuff - they're more expensive and you'd need to source your shafts.
