1986 4runner Sas swap questions (1 Viewer)

[3gStainless]

Hey guys, I have an 86' 4runner that I'm planning to SAS with an 84' axle I got from my old truck. I've verified that my donor axle has 4:10 gears along with the rear axle that's on my 4runner.
I'm going with Trail gear's 5" IFS eliminator kit that I've pieced together for the past 2 years, (never doing that again). Before I start the swap, I wanted to see if anyone on here has installed this kit before me that has pointers or words of advice/constructive criticism.
Here's my parts list for reference. Please do not hesitate to call me out if anything here looks funky.

Front suspension/steering:
Trail gear 5" leaf springs
14" Bilstein 5125 monotube shocks x2
TG Lower shock mounts x2
TG knuckle gussets
Trail gear 5" shackles x2
Low range offroad Front Spring Hanger w/ m18 greaseable bolts
TG Frame tubes & Jigs
Sky's offroad frame reinforcement plates
Sky's offroad Front frame reinforcement kit
Sky's offroad Steering box relocation kit
TG drop pitman arm
TG high steer w/fj80 tie rod ends
TG U-bolt flip kit
12" Marlin crawler shock hoops
Marlin crawler full face diff armor & Upper truss
TG extended brake lines
TG universal bump stops (planning on fabbing my own mounts out of 2x2 square tube)



Rear suspension:
Trail gear 5" springs
TG shackle hangers
TG spring hangers & m18 greaseable bolts
TG 5" shackles
Sky's offroad rear shock hoop & lower shock tabs
Low range offroad LSPV drop bracket kit
TG U-bolt flip kit

I also have new TG spring perches in the event I need to re-adjust my pinion angle on either of the axles.

 

[dohcdelsol93]

When I got OME rear lift springs installed, even with one spring removed and a full sized tire mounted on the rear on a swing out tire carrier there was too much angle for a SC rear drive shaft.

My rig is built to be a DD so it needs to be comfortable (comparatively) at 70-75mph


Instead of a custom drive shaft costing me hundreds of dollars I was able to get a 3rd Gen 4Runner 4x4 5 speed rear shaft.

There were some drive shaft length databases but to be sure I found eBay sellers selling what I thought would work and had them take a measurement for me.

So my custom rear DC drive shaft was about 275, I think I had to put in steel 3 degrees castor correction shims as well

 

[aztoyman]

I've put in two of the TG kits. One with the 3"springs in my 88 and the 4" springs in my son's 91.

Make sure you push the shackle tube guides as far forward as you can in the body mount. And make sure the tubes are aligned with each other AND with your front hanger. Put a tube or rod across the frame inside the bushing tubes to hold them.

Don't fully weld your front hanger until you have confirmed it is where it needs to be after cycling the suspension. You may or may not have to move your steering box. Don't weld anything permanently until you have cycled your suspension.

I was able to fully compress the springs with a chain come-along. You can put your bump stops exactly where they need to be as well.

If you want to run big tires you need to move things forward and will probably have to move the steering box and cut the radiator support to do it.

I ran longer rear springs on both trucks so more mods there. Just my personal experience. Feel free to ask any more questions. Good luck with your build.

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

AZToyman pretty much covered everything I was going to say.

Just did my 3" TG Front and 4" rear at the end of July and put about 1500 or so miles on it in the last month.

Rear TG leafs, I'm not sure on the 5" rear TG kit, but on the 4" they advise to go *I think* 3" back for the 4runner and 2" back on the pickups. We split the difference which I'm glad we did or my shackle angle would have been too vertical. Assuming you have the longer rear brake line as well for this like the front? it will be needed.

Steering Box, we pushed up to the core support and vertical. Required cutting the steering shaft and added ~3/4-1". Modified the TG re-inforcement bracket/sleeves to accomplish what we needed and mate up cleanly to the frame reinforcement plates.
Pitman arm, I bought the flat arm and that was needed to make it all work happily.

Parking Brake, One thing that didn't work with the rear was the parking brake cable as we got things re-assembled. We extended the "arms" on the rear drums higher, and then did a ~3/4" spacer on the axle side to keep it functioning as stock.

If you need any parts, I have left over new V6 rotors, knuckle rebuild & hub kits, etc that I didn't use from the TG kit.

 

[aztoyman]

For the drive shafts, I used the front double Cardan in the rear. It has to be re-tubed to make it longer. You have to rotate the pinion up to do this. Don't fully weld the rear spring perches until you are done with the lift and at ride height. That's when you set your pinion angle.

I put the rear shaft up front. It was relatively cheap to shorten it.

I also had to lengthen the parking brake levers at the backing plates on one of the trucks to get the cables to go over the spring packs.

I have pulled leaves to make it easier to cycle the suspension and I ran with one or two pulled when done because the truck was sky high on the new springs. I drove a few months to settle the springs and eventually added the other leaves back in.

Pulling the leaf springs off and taking them apart is a lot of work but really the only way to dial them in. I usually end up with custom packs. Save your old leaves.

Be aware that you can pry open the spring clamps so you can get them apart but they will break off if you do it more than once. So leave the clamps open until you are done.

I drilled out the plastic pins in the steering shaft so it could be extended. I eventually eliminated the rag joint because it couldn't handle the load of large tires.

On my son's 91 I was able to leave the steering box in the stock location. On my 88 I had to move it forward or the steering linkage was hitting. I think it was drag link vs tie rod. It was many years ago.