duggy's build thread: 1998 Land Cruiser #SAS100

[duggy]

What the 100 lacks in suspension it gains in power, interior comfort and looks. The v8 is leaps and bounds more suitable for an armored and outfitted vehicle. The interior is much nicer such as the seats, arm rest, updated controls and just a bit more room. The last point is subjective but I think the 100 has a timeless and class look to it.

 

[duggy]

So I got the 100 series rear axle out last night and got the 80 series axle fitted up. I'll try to take some better pictures but it does in fact look like the coil spring buckets need to be moved out an inch. If not moved the coil springs will actually bow and not sit straight.

The lower control arms fit up fine with my OPOR LCAS but my stock upper control arm bushings are shot. The stock 100 axle upper control arm mounts are actually angled a bit differently than the 80 series so it will not fit without cutting the brackets off of running Johnny/Heim Joints with a high mis-alignment spacer. Since I need to build new UCAS anyways, I'm going to skip cutting the brackets for the UCAS and just run a joint on that end.

A couple of screws here, a hammer bang there and the axle is out.

 

[duggy]

My replacement Method NVs showed up today so I went ahead and got them sent off to get mounted. 37s are looking like they'll fit just fine on the 100

 

[duggy]

I started pulling off the IFS crap tonight. This stuff is surprisingly heavy. I wouldn't be surprised if the solid axle setup is actually lighter than the IFS parts that were pulled out.

Before anything was pulled out. It's a hot mess down there.

Regular expected shavings on the drain plug

Drive flange was loose and didn't contact the axle too well. I am hoping the diff is still good and the root of my problems was from the drive flanges, for resale value. Regardless, all of this is coming out.

Knuckle off

 

[duggy]

One side done

Both sides done. Cruiser floating in air

Good night sweet prince

 

[savirc]

Looks good Duggy. Those front jack stands look a little on the light side, want to borrow my 12 ton jacks? I'm worried about you with those ringy dingy ones lol.... do you have something holding the front that I can't see on that pic

 

[SNLC]

Enjoying your build, pre-SAS and now.

Like you I came from a built 80 to a 100, my 80 had a v8 though so wasn't a slug. I like my 100, a lot and it grows on me more everyday but the front end is the low point of the truck for me. I looked long and hard at doing a SAS on it too but the limited up travel is what turns me off. I got to say an 80 with a nice v8 is pretty hard to beat, one of the best truck I have had and I have had a lot. That is just me though.

Looking forward to your progress!

Cheers

 

[duggy]

Looks good Duggy. Those front jack stands look a little on the light side, want to borrow my 12 ton jacks? I'm worried about you with those ringy dingy ones lol.... do you have something holding the front that I can't see on that pic

They're actually 6ton jack stands. I did the shake test and it's fine

 

[duggy]

Enjoying your build, pre-SAS and now.

Like you I came from a built 80 to a 100, my 80 had a v8 though so wasn't a slug. I like my 100, a lot and it grows on me more everyday but the front end is the low point of the truck for me. I looked long and hard at doing a SAS on it too but the limited up travel is what turns me off. I got to say an 80 with a nice v8 is pretty hard to beat, one of the best truck I have had and I have had a lot. That is just me though.

Looking forward to your progress!

Cheers

That mayyyybe the next project since my 80 has a wrist pin knock that goes away after it warms up. We'll see

 

[40Habits]

Your documentation skills are better than mine. I wish I took more pictures to document my SAS but I found it hard to pull out the phone with greasy hands .

Very cool to see another one!

 

[duggy]

I have a Canon DSLR I bought to get back into photography that I keep in the garage. It's a lower end model so getting it greasy is not a big deal.

I'm thinking the wheel barrow picture should be a tradition, one that you started

 

[bluecruiser]

@duggy nice to see this being tackled by a 'normal guy' without a full fab shop at his disposal. I enjoy your commentary and pics along the way, thanks for posting. Good luck with this. Being a long time 100 guy, I wish I would have tackled this. Instead I just went backwards and picked up an 80!

 

[duggy]

Absolutely. I hope this helps pave the way for guys in the future to take under their belt.

 

[cybrstar]

We all should do the "DUGGY".. Do the d@ng thing! Love it!

People don't realize with the 80, owned 3 of them and haven't even looked back, is that the 80's front suspension is the downfall. Even if it has a solid axle, it still has limited down/uptravel (10 inches IIRC max front shock without binding, Yup that's what she said lol) due to the way the front suspension is set up. Unless u do away with the stock set up you might as well wheel/explore with the v8 TOYOTA reliable Hundy.

 

[duggy]

The fun begins

Attached are pictures of how intricate the design of the IFS system ties into the frame of the vehicle. Shown below is how the cradle of the steering rack is tied into the frame and how humongous it is.

This Stanley ratchet driver makes it easy to loose bolts in tight places. Instead of ratcheting the head you can actually twist the handle to ratchet the driver socket to make removing the 17mm bolt easy. I remove the oil filter for a bit more space. I do not have any tricks on removing the hard line using a 17mm box wrench. That is still done the old tedious way

 

[duggy]

What is the easiest way to remove your 100 series power steering rack? Just cut it out! Making the first cut into the brackets were the most nerve wracking but after you see how easy it was, you keep going.

Steering rack removal done the easy way!

 

[duggy]

This monster of a bracket is what ties your motor mount, bump stop, LCA mount, and front differential subframe together which all ties back into the frame. This one took a few minutes of pondering the best way to cut but I tried to salvage as much as I could with still making it strong for the motor mount and maintaining access for the solid axle to go under.

These the brackets for the upper control arms and shock mounts which also wrap around the frame. Off they go.

A sawzall made this job easy. Just make sure you position the blade so that it does not cut into the frame. You can always grind metal out but it's harder to replace on the frame.

 

[duggy]

Here is everything all cut but not yet cleaned up. I made an order from Roark Supplies (@Roark Supply) who is a vendor on Mud for cut off and flap discs in varying grits but it won't be here until mid-next week.

The Barnes 4WD shock towers arrived. These things are BEEF! They should hold the 14" ORIs verryyyyyyyyy well.

 

[duggy]

My timeline to finish the SAS is mid May for Toyota Jamboree. I'd like to finish before then so I can take it out to flex, check clearances and work out any kinks I may have before the event which is 4 hours away. In reality, the timeline I need to finish by is the beginning of May, which at this point is still doable. Working a few hours everyday after work is working to my advantage and the only thing that I suspect will throw a kink into my plans is ordering the front ORI shocks which may be on back order.

Currently I am waiting on a few parts to arrive which should trickle in next week:

• 4.88 gears
• Ruff Stuff GM 1 Ton Y-Link steering
• Ruff Stuff Heims for rear UCAs, front and rear panhards
• Ballistic Fab bushings for front radius arms, misc brackets
• Monstaline for painting the front and rear axles

I will inquire about the ORI shocks next week with various vendors to try and get ahead of any delays. If it they are on backorder I can always mock-up with some old OME shocks I have to get an idea of where the brackets need to be welded in.

 

[duggy]

Since cutting off all of the brackets I was still left with residual welds and brackets that wrap around the frame. These needed to be cleaned up to make room for the new scab plate that will go over the frame to reinforce the area. There is nothing that is glamorous about this part of the job. It was actually the least enjoyable part

I first used 4.5" cut-off wheels on my Makita angle grinder to try and carefully cut the welds from the the bracketry. The trick I found that worked was to cut more into the metal and less into the weld as you will have a tendency to slip the grinder into the frame which you don't want to do too much of. There were some parts I cut too deep by trial and error and had to weld back up and grind down. After I felt like there was enough weld cut off, I took my BFH and went to town on the bracket to break free any little pieces of weld that were still attached to break the piece free. Lots of rocking the piece back and forth and it's free from the frame

Next up was cleaning up the frame with a mix of grinder wheels and 60/80 grit flap discs on the welds. The work was menial but I just covered up from head to toe, blasted the headphones and went to town.

I didn't upload pictures from my DSLR yet but this is the end result