2003 LX: SAS...or Sell (1 Viewer)

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Anytime. I'm definitely not an expert—these are the first two diffs I've ever attempted. But they've been quiet through break-in. The 80 front is WAY easier to deal with than the OEM elocked third in the rear. If I had to do it again, I would have gone straight to ARB/Eaton in the rear rather than the OEM.
Great to hear man! I just picked up an 80 that I drove back home from Las Vegas. I am thinking Eaton lockers is what I'll be going with.
 
Picked up an accessory tray the other day when they got restocked (@ramathorn/Owl Expedition) so I'd have a spot for the winch cutoff. Loose wires for fit-up—they'll get cleaned up.

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(Procrastinating fixing any real issues)
 
This weekend I added a crossmember for a steering stabilizer.

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It works super well on the street, but apparently on the trail there's just enough movement in the panhard bar (rotation) to move the body of the stabilizer into the ATF line at the bottom of the radiator. The radiator nipple is brass-looking, and it looks to just have cut the old rubber hose.

We got part of the way up Sidewinder at Five Mile Pass (close-ish to home, before getting out to spot over a ledge. As we turned back to the truck, we saw a small puddle of ATF. I assumed one of my power steering lines had blown and didn't want to burn out a steering pump, so we turned back. Got it back to the parking lot, and...the reservoir was still full. Uh oh. It got worse from the trail to the parking lot, and by the time we parked up it was just dumping ATF. The pump in the A750 is not weak :bang:

We just cut off a bit of hose and reconnected it to get it home. Transmission still shifts OK, but I'm sure I'm short at least a pint (probably more).
 
Aww man, damn. The crew of Jeeps in the parking lot were Youtubers that caught me with the hood up.

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Quick question if you don't mind. Is it possible to change the rear axle to 6 lug using 105 parts? Is that something you considered. There sure are a whole lot better wheel options in 6 lug 17 inch than there are for 5x150.
 
Quick question if you don't mind. Is it possible to change the rear axle to 6 lug using 105 parts? Is that something you considered. There sure are a whole lot better wheel options in 6 lug 17 inch than there are for 5x150.

105s (any 100 series really) will also be 5 lug, so I doubt it.

Agreed on wheel choices though. There is one old SAS thread here where someone swapped both axles to get 6 lugs. Doing that would also get you a full-float rear, and the work won't be that much different or more difficult than doing the front SAS.
 
Replacing that ATF cooling hose seems to have been it for that fitting. I backed out of the garage halfway on Thursday and realized I'd left my wallet—as soon as I jumped out...a small pond of ATF in my garage floor. The fitting on the radiator just...shot out. I got away with a few days driving before it gave up the ghost, so I'm feeling pretty lucky it happened here. No warning at all, no smell...just a massive transmission leak.

Parked it, uttered all of the fun phrases, and started to get a list of things in order. Mishimoto is out of the all-aluminum radiators, so I backordered one and also got an Autozone special to get me around. I gather from the "best radiator" thread that it's just a Spectra, but I wouldn't buy again. None of the mounts line up and the inlet/outlet stubs are all too small. Which I found out this morning when I hosed down State Street with fresh Toyota pink SLL :bang:.

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That same thread mentioned getting Continental hoses, so I got both, replaced them in a parking lot, and filled back up. So far it's holding.
 
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Separately, I'm chasing down what seems to be the standard fuel boil scenario. I haven't logged a ton of data, but I have seen temps of 205º or so on steep freeway grades on a summer day (doesn't seem out of line, but she still boils). So in addition to making the small shielding mods @J1000 recommends in the big thread, I'm also trying to work through the engine side to make sure it's running in spec. Ethanol-free fuel only goes so far—if it's 100º out and I'm in 4LO just puttering along at elevation, even that will boil. (And not Engineer Pass elevation....anything about 6-7000').

So this weekend I wrapped fuel lines nearest the header (in addition to having the cat shield, which hasn't done anything for me) and replaced the fan clutch fluid with 15k CST silicon. I ordered 100mL and used roughly 60mL to fill the clutch after baking it at 180º for a few hours to help the old fluid drain. I have no idea if it will help—once I'm sure the radiator will stay full, I'll try to test it. I did it years ago to my 60 series, seems to be common amongst the older cruisers.

No pics (yet) because I suck at taking pics when in "fix this right now" mode. (Or when I'm super pissed off, and today was both.)
 
Man, we all want what we can't have haha. In Aus a few dudes want to bolt the UZ V8s into the 105s, but the front end of the chassis is too narrow. I'd love a 4.7 or 5.7 Toyota V8 in the 105 one day.

The 100s look awesome on solid axle
 
Man, we all want what we can't have haha. In Aus a few dudes want to bolt the UZ V8s into the 105s, but the front end of the chassis is too narrow. I'd love a 4.7 or 5.7 Toyota V8 in the 105 one day.

The 100s look awesome on solid axle

Yeah, we sure do haha. It might take me a few years, but someday I hope to find one of your diesels on the market and make that swap.
 
Great thread, I'm super jealous of the SAS. I'm seriously considering sourcing parts and getting a quote from Slee to get the SAS done since they're just up the road from me. There's closer offroad shops, but I feel like Slee knows what they're doing. Unfortunately I don't have a place to do general fabrication, so I'm left to trusting a local fabricator to get it done right
 
Great thread, I'm super jealous of the SAS. I'm seriously considering sourcing parts and getting a quote from Slee to get the SAS done since they're just up the road from me. There's closer offroad shops, but I feel like Slee knows what they're doing. Unfortunately I don't have a place to do general fabrication, so I'm left to trusting a local fabricator to get it done right
Get ready for a sticker shock
 
Get ready for a sticker shock
Yeah I’m picturing something in the 4-5k all in range, but I could be under guessing that for sure
 
Yeah I’m picturing something in the 4-5k all in range, but I could be under guessing that for sure
Seems like it’s close to that in parts alone.
 
Yeah I’m picturing something in the 4-5k all in range, but I could be under guessing that for sure
At that price, there will be a long line of people waiting to get there trucks converted. Come to think of it, I have never seen anyone posted the cost of getting SAS conversion done professionally!
 
I'd guess 30-40k. Depends on axles used, air lockers, tire size, etc... If you want to run huge tires ala @nukegoat style I doubt any shop would do it for less than 80k.

Most people are better off buying the nicest 80 series they can find; or waiting a few years until 105's become importable.
 
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At that price, there will be a long line of people waiting to get there trucks converted. Come to think of it, I have never seen anyone posted the cost of getting SAS conversion done professionally!

If it was 4-5K I'd probably have a SAS backup truck just for fun :rofl:

I think I've seen/heard of all-in conversions at $20K+. Those were a long while back though—I'd expect higher now as everything still seems to be difficult to source.

I'm in it for a little under 14, including the Hutchinsons, the tires, and any/all tools I thought I might need to get the job done.
 

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