solid axle swap leaf or link?

[benreal68]

ive got a 90 4runner that i bought to solid axle and make my lil trail/rock rig.. its gonna be daily driven and i like to have it up on at least 35s or bigger.. ive seen guys go leafs up front and stock link in the rear or link all around ive even seen leafs all around.. what are the pros and cons of each set up? thanks in advance for any help guys

 

[Hyde802]

Really depends on budget.

Leafs are simple and cheap.

Links are flexy (when set up right) and expensive.

Check out this site, they have kits to go either way: Trail-Gear | Toyota, Suspension

 

[SV_Dude]

If done right, you can get PLENTY of articulation out of a leaf spring suspension. IMO: unless you're building a trailer queen then you don't need to link your rig. If you're doing the kind of wheeling that requires a linked suspension then you're going to bash up your rig doing it.

 

[Hyde802]

If done right, you can get PLENTY of articulation out of a leaf spring suspension. IMO: unless you're building a trailer queen then you don't need to link your rig. If you're doing the kind of wheeling that requires a linked suspension then you're going to bash up your rig doing it.

Agreed. RUFs and 63 can flex like crazy.

 

[Huskey]

Leaf springs all the way buddy, I'm planning for a full leaf spring conversion, currently I'm the only 4th gen rockin rear leafs and I love them, and just saving up some cash for my SAS with leafs up front.

I'm using trail gear long travel rear leafs and will get the same for the front one day. No other 4th gen guys appreciate the awsomeness of leaf springs.

 

[rcp916]

I have a 94 runner that when I sas'd it with a 5 leaf RUF pack it was almost even with the pro comp lift the previous owner had on it. As you know the 94 had a stock 4-link in the rear,so I thought I might be able to get away with leaving the rear alone and running with it that way. After a week of DD I was not happy with it, it had crazy driving characteristics. When driving in turns the ass end was all over the place when I hit bumps in the road at speeds over 35 it would feel like the rear was trying to merge to the left or right.

As far as a linked suspension on a Yota, they're great for rock crawling. If set up properly they flex like nothing I've ever seen, they don't have axle wrap issues like leaves but IMO drive very erratically. They have a tendency to torque steer under power and especially in turns,not something I would want to DD. Not saying that all of them out there have poor driving characteristics just the ones I have driven and that includes Yotas that have the TG 4-link kit installed.

Previous Yota's I've had in the past had leafs front and chevy 63's in the rear. It's old school but it is IMHO easy and predictable,DD is nice (drives like a truck) and flexes great. So needless to say I'm in the middle of my Chevy 63 swap in the rear of my runner. Check out my build "My 94 Runna!" it's been raining this week so build has been at a standstill, but I should be good Saturday to start up again. Another thing about Chevy 63's is that they're cheap I paid $100 for mine it's a 3 leaf with overload. And my front RUF pack cost me $150 to build out of 2 sets of rear leafs from an 85 and a 90 Yota.

 

[Bad_Vision]

LINK IT!
make it a mall crawler! lol
its true link is expensive and really only for trail only rigs, so if your going to do some daily driving with her then just go leaf

 

[fourwd1]

ive got a 90 4runner that i bought to solid axle and make my lil trail/rock rig.. its gonna be daily driven and i like to have it up on at least 35s or bigger.. ive seen guys go leafs up front and stock link in the rear or link all around ive even seen leafs all around.. what are the pros and cons of each set up? thanks in advance for any help guys

If it's a DD go with leafs. Unless you're an expert suspension designer and fabricator, it will handle squirrelly on-road.