I've Seen Some Real Cool Trailers And Stuff On This Forum. I Have A 64 Fj-40 That I Am Having Rebuilt And Was Wondering If I Should Go With A Ff Rear Axle. I Plan On Towing A Small Trailer, Just A Small 2 Wheeler For Camping Stuff. I May Use It In Costa Rica At Some Time Also. I Know That A Ff Will Be More Heavy Duty But Is It Realy Worth The Cost? Could I Get Away With Just A Us Later Model 40 Semi Float Axle? Any Help Would Be Great!
Depends on tires/gears/extra weight/type of wheeling you will be running with you. I like the idea of a FF especially if you will be doing some expedition type wheeling. A broken rear axle shaft doesnt leave you stranded with a FF.
I have just installed a FF rear in my 60. That said, there are a zillion cruisers running SF rear ends with no particular reliability problems. If I had not gotten a good deal on my FF RE, and hadn't been installing full OME suspension, I would have passed in favor of other, more useful mods.
personaly I would not bother with a FF. I put one under my fj45 and yeah its cool, sure the axle won't slide out if broke. But the hubs have been known to shear, parts can be a bitch to get(little stuff like seals, bearings are same as front) As others have said there are tons and tons of Cruiser running a SF without issues, I have a SF under the rear of my fj80, it weights 7500lbs......and no issues.
I recall reading that the Aussies were not keen on the FF when it came out in 75 or so(it was I think a governemt requirment) and they thought the SF was better.......true I dunno.
I broke my first SF rear axle last weekend. Kind of a bummer but fixable. I have seen 2 full floats that sheared their mounting studs and pins-very difficult trail fix and nearly impossible. One guy had to weld his axle shaft to his hub! Overall, I think the SF is stronger, but the FF has the advantage of being drivable if the axle does break. If someone gave me a FF for my 60, I would happily install it, but I don't think I would pay for one.
Remember, in the US, if you have a FF there are few spares, and noone the trail will have a spare axle shaft for you. If you are not on the trail, and don't have gear reduction, you won't need a FF anyway because you arn't going to break an axle.
As to the expedition thing-generally this is much LESS taxing on your equiptment, since you are not going to try the huge rock/hard line and risk ending your expedition.
One last thing, the FF needs a lot more care. The wheel bearings need cleaned and regreased every 15-30 k. The SF just runs happily for years and years bathed in gear oil.
One last thing, the FF needs a lot more care. The wheel bearings need cleaned and regreased every 15-30 k. The SF just runs happily for years and years bathed in gear oil.
Aww, c'mon, Drew, just how often do you repack your front wheel bearings? The rears have the same bearings as the front and the axle seals are 10x easier to replace than the fronts. I agree these axles are more maintenance intensive than a SF though (take the hub studs issue for example) A SF axle is indeed more suited to the US driver and driving conditions.
Landpimp said:
But the hubs have been known to shear, parts can be a bitch to get(little stuff like seals, bearings are same as front)
John, parts for the pre-81 FF axles can be tough to get, but parts for the newer FF axles are stocked at Toyota's Ontario, CA parts distribution center.
