Just wondering if I could take my pickup to a shop to cut the holes in the frame for the front shackles before I cut the ifs stuff off? And I was planning on running 6013 or 7018 rod with my lincoln 225 125 ac dc. Would either of those be ok? I'm going with the tg 3 inch kit
1988 toyota pickup sas
- Thread starter yotayes88
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Yes you can absolutely drill the shackle holes and even weld on the front hanger before you cut anything off, that's how I did my SAS.
I believe either of those electrode types will work fine.
I believe either of those electrode types will work fine.
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- #3
Thank you. I was just wondering about the shackle holes because I have access to a plasma cutter but it is at the highschool metal shop and I can't cut everything off there but the teacher said I was more then welcome to use the plasma cutter.another this is do I have to move the steering box forward. I've herd of people moving it but also some people just leave it in stock location and don't seem to have any problems
I know what you mean. When I did my SAS back in '03, I didn't have a welder at home, only the ones where I work, but I couldn't leave the truck parked in the shop while I was doing all the cutting, grinding, and bolting on the new stuff. So I did all the welding over a few days, first the shackle tubes then the front hanger. Then I borrowed a torch and parked the truck in my driveway at home and started cutting. It was a big gamble, as if anything went wrong I would have been screwed. But it all worked out, thanks to doing lots of homework, reading all I could, measuring, etc. My SAS was a home-brew, not a kit.
I personally would not use a plasma cutter to do the shackle holes. It will be difficult to keep them round, and there is some stiffener plate inside the frame at that point that will be hard to reach with a plasma nozzle. Those things fling lots of spatter out the other side of the cut, I'd be worried about catching something on fire.
I drilled my holes with a hole saw. I started with a long 1/4" drill bit that I carefully lined up to keep it straight across to the opposite side. Once I had the 1/4" pilot hole drilled, I stuck a long piece of 1/4" rod in the hole saw, and very slowly started cutting away. Lots of cutting fluid, slow speed, hold on tight to the drill (get a real drill, not a cordless one), be patient, it worked great. Very nice neat hole in the frame.
Unfortunately I can't remember the size of the hole saw I used, but you can just match up to the OD of the tube you have, you want it just a little big bigger.
I should add that I have a 1" body lift, that gave me clearer access to fit the drill in.
I personally would not use a plasma cutter to do the shackle holes. It will be difficult to keep them round, and there is some stiffener plate inside the frame at that point that will be hard to reach with a plasma nozzle. Those things fling lots of spatter out the other side of the cut, I'd be worried about catching something on fire.
I drilled my holes with a hole saw. I started with a long 1/4" drill bit that I carefully lined up to keep it straight across to the opposite side. Once I had the 1/4" pilot hole drilled, I stuck a long piece of 1/4" rod in the hole saw, and very slowly started cutting away. Lots of cutting fluid, slow speed, hold on tight to the drill (get a real drill, not a cordless one), be patient, it worked great. Very nice neat hole in the frame.
Unfortunately I can't remember the size of the hole saw I used, but you can just match up to the OD of the tube you have, you want it just a little big bigger.
I should add that I have a 1" body lift, that gave me clearer access to fit the drill in.
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- #5
Thank you that's the kind of info I was looking for. Yea I heard it was a big gamble welding on the front hanger and such before cutting off ifs due to not knowing how your shackle angle would end up. I have a welder I just baught just haven't had time to drop a 240 in the garage yet. I haven't welded in about 3 years or so so I plan on practicing a lot before I do the swap. I just thought it would be nice to cut the holes in the frame before cutting off the ifs. Especially if I had an hr or so after work one day. Then it would be out of the way and that's one less thing I would have to do after removing the ifs crap