Another SAS and Lift post!

[Yotamonster]

Alright everyone this is only my second post here so i apologize if this is in the wrong place. I'm in the process of putting FJ80 front and rear axles under my IFS 86 Toyota pickup. I'm building this truck for a rock crawling rig and would like to put a lift on it and was wondering how high I could comfortably go with these wider 80 axles. I know "the lower the better" however I do feel that some lift can help when on the trail. Thoughts?

 

[yotadude520]

If you do a SAS with lift springs you’ll at least be able to fit 35’s. Even with the smallest lift springs available. Are you planning on cutting all the fenders? Is this going to be street legal? Or just a full on rock crawler?

Tire size and lift size varies greatly based on what you’re going to be using the rig for.

 

[Yotamonster]

If you do a SAS with lift springs you’ll at least be able to fit 35’s. Even with the smallest lift springs available. Are you planning on cutting all the fenders? Is this going to be street legal? Or just a full on rock crawler?

Tire size and lift size varies greatly based on what you’re going to be using the rig for.

Going to be street legal as well for the winter time, I already have fenders cut out (was running 33s with no lift) I was thinking of just going with the Trail gear 4in leaf lift which would give me a total of 5 in of lift and I thought that would be good for 35s and allow me to flex with out any kind of rubbing issues. should I try to go lower?

 

[yotadude520]

Going to be street legal as well for the winter time, I already have fenders cut out (was running 33s with no lift) I was thinking of just going with the Trail gear 4in leaf lift which would give me a total of 5 in of lift and I thought that would be good for 35s and allow me to flex with out any kind of rubbing issues. should I try to go lower?

The Trail Gear SAS kit is a really nice kit. Well put together, well made. I looked at a ton of kits when I was going to do my SAS and it was the best bang for the buck.

Go with the 4" lift kit and if it's too high you can always remove a leaf from the springs to help with spring height. I personally prefer 33's for my rigs but 35's would be good for what you want. Just make sure you lift the rear to match the front's new height.

 

[joseywales]

So you are going to weld spring perches on the 80 axle and go leaves? I have two friends that are both doing 80 series axles in pre 95 trucks/4Runners. They are both doing 4 link and coil overs. They are both running 40” Maxxis tires, but while the trucks will be “street legal”, they won’t be daily drivers. 35s should be no problem with the kit you are looking at.

 

[Yotamonster]

The Trail Gear SAS kit is a really nice kit. Well put together, well made. I looked at a ton of kits when I was going to do my SAS and it was the best bang for the buck.

Go with the 4" lift kit and if it's too high you can always remove a leaf from the springs to help with spring height. I personally prefer 33's for my rigs but 35's would be good for what you want. Just make sure you lift the rear to match the front's new height.

Mind if I pick your brain alittle on why you prefer 33s?

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Have you looked at steering? Personally I think almost all the aftermarket leaf spring SAS kits leave these trucks too high.

If you are going with 80 axles and haven’t addressed steering you might consider going with a linked suspension. You might actually save money in the long run as opposed to going with hellfire/front range knuckles. And you can keep it low(er) and not have to worry as much about frame/leaf/steering clearances.

 

[Yotamonster]

Ya I've a

Have you looked at steering? Personally I think almost all the aftermarket leaf spring SAS kits leave these trucks too high.

If you are going with 80 axles and haven’t addressed steering you might consider going with a linked suspension. You might actually save money in the long run as opposed to going with hellfire/front range knuckles. And you can keep it low(er) and not have to worry as much about frame/leaf/steering clearances.

ya I've already ordered the hellfire Highsteer kit, from what I read it seemed like the best route

 

[yotadude520]

Mind if I pick your brain alittle on why you prefer 33s?

Absolutely!

All of my wheeling rigs have been DD's and all of them have had 33's. 33'/285's don't require crazy re-gearing and most Toyotas will accept them with their stock 4.11 and 4.56 gear ratios. I also like the fact that you don't have to modify the vehicles too much to fit them - usually a small suspension lift will do and you don't need to hack up the body. Plus I don't want to be stuck on the side of the trail trying to change a giant tire by myself! They're just big enough to get you where you need to go with ease but not too big where you need to start changing a bunch of things to fit them. On top of that most 33's will fit in the spare tire locations so you don't need to fab up a spare tire mount.

I could go on and on but my main point is that they're a great tire for the price, they're easy to fit onto almost anything with little to no modification and there's really nothing that any my 4x4's with 33's haven't been able to do that 35' tires would've. Also since you don't need to do too much modifying for them to fit, and you don't need to have a huge lift to fit them, they're generally more stable and comfortable to drive down the road. Perfect for a daily driver, and make for a capable off-road rig.

You don't need a giant 4x4 to get anywhere. Maybe for extreme rock-crawling, but not for just casual off-roading/mild crawling.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Ya I've a ya I've already ordered the hellfire Highsteer kit, from what I read it seemed like the best route

Looks like a great solution for an 80 axle in a leaf sprung truck. Do consider links though. If you are spending money to use an 80 axle with hellfires links wouldn’t be “too” much more. Of course it’s all relative.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Looks like a great solution for an 80 axle in a leaf sprung truck. Do consider links though. If you are spending money to use an 80 axle with hellfires links wouldn’t be “too” much more. Of course it’s all relative.

Whatever you do please post pictures. I have an 80 axle sitting in the yard begging to be stuck in the 4Runner.

 

[Yotamonster]

Looks like a great solution for an 80 axle in a leaf sprung truck. Do consider links though. If you are spending money to use an 80 axle with hellfires links wouldn’t be “too” much more. Of course it’s all relative.

Sounds

Whatever you do please post pictures. I have an 80 axle sitting in the yard begging to be stuck in the 4Runner.

can do! Here's a pick of what I got done this weekend, got all the coilspring mounts cut off and got the houseing prepped for trusses. Working on doing the same to the rear axle now. Should I look into getting new axle shafts? I haven't gotten to "dig into" the actual housing yet but assuming they are in good shape should I just run em?

 

[Yotamonster]

Here's my truck the FJ80 axle's are going into, currently a 86 IFS yota

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Sounds can do! Here's a pick of what I got done this weekend, got all the coilspring mounts cut off and got the houseing prepped for trusses. Working on doing the same to the rear axle now. Should I look into getting new axle shafts? I haven't gotten to "dig into" the actual housing yet but assuming they are in good shape should I just run em?

I wouldn't get new shafts if the ones in there are in good shape - I have an 80 on 37s with a stock front end. I don't wheel it like a buggy, but I certainly don't baby it. The stock birfields are pretty stout.


80s are full time fwd though so the front birfields and shafts CAN wear out depending on how they were maintained and how many miles are on them. Make sure the sealing surface on the inner shaft doesn't have a groove in it from the seal. If it does you can over/underdrive the seal in the housing so it rides on a fresh part of the sealing surface. Disassemble the birfields and check the star and the bell for wear. I would also swap the birfields side to side.

 

[pappy]

80s are full time fwd though so the front birfields and shafts CAN wear out depending on how they were maintained and how many miles are on them. Make sure the sealing surface on the inner shaft doesn't have a groove in it from the seal. If it does you can over/underdrive the seal in the housing so it rides on a fresh part of the sealing surface. Disassemble the birfields and check the star and the bell for wear. I would also swap the birfields side to side.

Convert to part time hubs. Problem solved.

 

[Yotamonster]

Convert to part time hubs. Problem solved.

Will my stock IFS hubs bolt up to the axle? I was reading on this exact thing last night and came up empty on the subject.

 

[pappy]

Will my stock IFS hubs bolt up to the axle? I was reading on this exact thing last night and came up empty on the subject.

There should be a ton of information in the 80-section on the subject. While it's not a common, or popular conversion, it's been done several times.

 

[joseywales]

80 axles are way more than strong enough for that truck in stock form. I also prefer a 33 x 10.50 tire for these trucks. I’m running that size on my ‘89 4Runner with 4.30 gears and it feels perfect. As yotadude said, there are very few trails, aside from serious crawling, that you couldn’t do on 33s. The lower wear and tear on all your components will save you tons of money in the end. Do 35s look cool? Hell yes they do, but you can’t tell me yotadudes KLF special doesn’t get your blood flowing too!

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Convert to part time hubs. Problem solved.

Yea, of course, but I was referring to whether or not he needed new shafts and the wear that was already on the shafts. It's not like buying a solid front axle out of a pickup that has only been in 4wd for 50 miles of it's life. 80 shafts have been turning for every mile the vehicle has driven. Using part-time hubs once the axle is in your pickup is the way to go.

Will my stock IFS hubs bolt up to the axle? I was reading on this exact thing last night and came up empty on the subject.

Edited for accuracy. No, they won’t work without a 30 spline conversion gear.

 

[yotadude520]

@cruiseroutfit may be able to help with the part time hub issue...