Our customer wanted rear disks and full float, so he requested we add an 80 series rear axle with the front range off road front brake upgrade to his diesel converted FJ60. I was skeptical at first about the fit of the rear axle on his leaf springs, but it came together really nicely.
He already had an ARB air locker in his FJ60 diff, so we moved it into the 80 series rear axle. Gears are 3.7, so we wanted to keep it the same for highway mileage vs having an 80 series 4.1 diff in there.
The frontrange front brake upgrade involved replacing his hub housing with one from a 1986-1995 minitruck/4-runner and then adding Tacoma calipers or in our case Tundra calipers. The new brake rotors and calipers are huge, and they grip really well. The FJ60 master bore is too small, so it didn't have the capacity to push the new brakes. We upgraded to a '93 FZJ80 master, which works well albeit a little soft. The only thing we need to add is a prop valve to keep the rears from locking up under a panic brake.
Here you can see the wider stance, which is then offset by the FJ Cruiser wheels. The stance ended up being very balanced with the outer edge of the body.
I would definitely recommend this upgrade to anyone looking for better brakes or a full floating rear axle
Very nice. This is almost exactly the combination of mods I've been considering for my next build, FJC steelies and all the bits. Please keep us updated on how it does after a few months of driving.
Baxter's thread mentioned that the FROR Tundy kit moves the front wheels out 1.5". Could you please confirm this? You've measured the 80 rear as 2" wider. Any idea what effect widening the trailing axle width will do? I know the rears on our 60's are purposely narrower but I don't know all the theory about why and what's the range of disparity. I would imagine that it's so the rear tire will follow in the same track as the front on turns.
I'm curious what this guy's solution to the exhaust cross over is too. Maybe he wouldn't mind you posting a picture of that too?
The rear axle ends up being 1" wider than the front. I'm not sure if it will have the same articulation from this mod, it may hit the rear fender instead of tucking up into the body. I will test with my forklift and report
Which exhaust crossover? from the turbo to the back is run inside the frame rail, then from there crosses over the rear driveline, then out the back.
I second this !!!
Im surprised more people dont go this route....
The E-brake cable on the 80's axle is just a bit longer, but it is a direct bolt in to the 60 series.
I debated doing this some time ago...but just never got around to it. I'll have to start some kind of notebook on all the various parts on the truck so when I need spare or repair parts...I'll have a clue to whats there. I've thought it was a good option for a while and I'm running some of the black steel 17inch FJ cruiser wheels now anyway.
