Does anyone sell Rear Axle Upper Link Reinforcement? (2 Viewers)

[NeverFinis]

I am pulling my rear axle to remove rust, and to check everything over.

One side of the passenger upper link mount is suspect and it would be a good time to reinforce it. Does any sell a reinforcement kit for the upper link mounts? Search came up with stuff for 3rd gen 4Runners. It looks really close to what I need. There are truss kits for the land cruiser but nothing for just reinforcing the upper links on a fzj80.

Most of what you see is just surface rust, but one side of the bracket has been eroded away.

 

[Outsane]

I haven't seen any one selling it.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

Check with Stellar Built in Sacramento, CA. They may be able to make you a custom kit.

 

[CharlieS]

Maybe also ask Eimkeith? He makes some cool bits.

 

[NCFJ]

If you are creative and handy with CAD you can use sendcutsend.com to make pieces you can weld together on the truck.

If you are real creative you can perfect it and sell it as a kit.

 

[Kernal]

Find someone with a hand held 3D scanner, send the scan to someone else who can make up a pair of brackets (or find a less rusty axle housing).

FWIW, here's a cheap 3D scanner:

Amazon product ASIN B0C2CR8F7B

 

[NeverFinis]

Maybe also ask Eimkeith? He makes some cool bits.

His 3rd gen 4Runner Upper Link mount is what I found. I would buy something like that in a heart beat. I think I have an earlier rear 4Runner axle. I should compare the two upper mounts and see what the differences are.

If you are creative and handy with CAD you can use sendcutsend.com to make pieces you can weld together on the truck.

If you are real creative you can perfect it and sell it as a kit.

CAD is in my wheelhouse as you can see by my last post of my build thread. But, I am also just thinking of cutting some plate and welding it on and be done with it...

Time is my limiter with rebuilding and LS swapping my LX450 and I am trying to save time any way I can.

 

[landtank]

I've seen this a few times and each time I swapped in a housing. When I see sections missing from rot I'm nervous about the whole housing. Call Cruiser Parts in NH. They use to list bare housings but not any more.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I am pulling my rear axle to remove rust, and to check everything over.

One side of the passenger upper link mount is suspect and it would be a good time to reinforce it. Does any sell a reinforcement kit for the upper link mounts? Search came up with stuff for 3rd gen 4Runners. It looks really close to what I need. There are truss kits for the land cruiser but nothing for just reinforcing the upper links on a fzj80.

Most of what you see is just surface rust, but one side of the bracket has been eroded away.

View attachment 3488900

That amount of rust makes baby heysooos sad!

 

[NeverFinis]

I worked on the rear axle most of today, getting it ready for removal. It is fairly solid everywhere else.

The picture makes it appear worse than it is. I will sister new metal to the link mount rather than design a bracket as Keith did. It is just faster for me, and I want to get the LX450 on the road again sooner than later.

These brackets don't tend to fail catastrophically. You do get some warning as it bends, or slowly breaks.

I will still keep an eye out for a new locking rear housing and I just checked car-part.com. Most are too far. Toyota still sells the housing new...

 

[eimkeith]

His 3rd gen 4Runner Upper Link mount is what I found. I would buy something like that in a heart beat. I think I have an earlier rear 4Runner axle. I should compare the two upper mounts and see what the differences are.

The 3rd gen T4Rs are tearing them off the axle due to the short upper link and extreme angles once lifted, so I designed the reinforcement to fix that (for most use cases.) If the 80s are seeing a similar failure, I'll happily work something up for our axles as well - although I'm not aware of it.

I'll take a look today and see if Toyota used the same mount on the two platforms (wife's 80 is still in my shop)

 

[eimkeith]

The 3rd gen T4Rs are tearing them off the axle due to the short upper link and extreme angles once lifted, so I designed the reinforcement to fix that (for most use cases.) If the 80s are seeing a similar failure, I'll happily work something up for our axles as well - although I'm not aware of it.

I'll take a look today and see if Toyota used the same mount on the two platforms (wife's 80 is still in my shop)

oof - the 80 series upper link mounts are significantly different than the 3rd gen T4R (as expected) - but seem really under-engineered vs. the lighter platform. And that passenger side mount kinda makes me cringe with it's limited attachment to the axle...

might draw up some ULRs for this even though we aren't seeing failures just because I don't like the passenger side.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

Posts like this make me willing to endure the summer in the desert. that is some serious crust.

 

[Rwhat]

You probably have more rust related issues along with that mount. Got any other pictures of the axle, frame and brake lines?

 

[NeverFinis]

oof - the 80 series upper link mounts are significantly different than the 3rd gen T4R (as expected) - but seem really under-engineered vs. the lighter platform. And that passenger side mount kinda makes me cringe with it's limited attachment to the axle...

might draw up some ULRs for this even though we aren't seeing failures just because I don't like the passenger side.

Cool!

You probably have more rust related issues along with that mount. Got any other pictures of the axle, frame and brake lines?

The axle is fine, other than the inner portion of the two upper links. Nothing a bit of reinforcement can't fix.

I will post another photo of the rear axle once I have cleaned it up the axle and painted it.

Brake lines along the frame have already been replaced years ago. Links, Panhard bar, coils, driveshafts and shocks are in the process of being replaced.

Frame is fine. The only questionable part is the last frame crossmember that the rear bumper cover covers. But even that cleaned up well.

Here is cleaned and painted section of the frame behind the rear axle.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

you guys up in the NE drive rust death traps and it scares me

I took my TRE's off the rod by hand the other day, just had to rub that in

 

[NeverFinis]

I made some plates to reinforce the back and inner sides of both upper mount towers. The side towards the wheels was fine with very little rust.

My old mailbox sacrificed itself..

I couldn't find 1/8" steel sheet to buy, but my old mailbox was perfect at 3mm thick. Any thicker would require longer bolts.

I think original Toyota's mounts were either 4 or 5mm thick and the 3mm will be adding to to what is left of that...

Before adding the reinforcing plate, I added weld to the back of the passenger mount as it was fairly pitted. I then smoothed it with a grinder. Those are transfer screws and you can still see the "R" and "L" on the backside of both upper mounts.

Painted the inner part, but decided to smooth out the back side.

The rest of the axle is fairly solid. In fact, some parts still have factory paint. I will pick up another axle if I happen to run across one.