Hi everyone,
first, quick intro. My name is Klim, this is my first post here (even though I have been lurking). I have a 2004 GX470 with 270k miles on it and love it. I am slowly building as a combo of everyday truck+overlander, so, meaning trips to daycare in San Francisco Mon-Fri, trips to death valley on the weekend. So far, I have Ironman lift on it with 33 inch tires. Plan is to get a snorkel, FJ cruiser rear axle (8.2) with a locker, maybe and ARB front locker (+compressor), roof rack, skid plates, rock sliders, bumpers and winch. I have a bison rear tire carrier which I hopefully install this weekend. Anyways, enough of that, I have an extremely specific question about the front sway bar.
Does anyone know here, if it is (a) chromoly vs mild steel and if it is a high carbon steel, is it (b) heat treated?
I am asking because I think with the rear locker and front sway bar disconnected, this thing is a total beast. The last trip to death valley I did, I drove the whole thing without the front sway bar, and over the rocks it was awesome (see pic). However, driving over the sierras on asphalt, without a sway bar is not something I enjoy too much. Its totally doable, but god, the beast wallows. So, I want a sway bar disconnect. I understand that the links don't work as they will hit the suspension parts. So, what I am thinking is to cut the sway bar on one side (say drivers) right outside the sway bar mount. Insert a spline into the sway bar, so, that now outside the sway bar mount we have an inch or two of splined shaft sticking out. Then on the arm going to the strut, weld in a splined sleeve. As it is right outside the mount, there is no bending load at this point, just rotation, so, spline should work. However, depending on the exact metallurgy of the sway bar, Ill need to vary the exact construction details.
If it is indeed heat treated, then Ill probably just turn a splined shaft so that it can be pressed into the sway bar and secure it with a bolt or two (so, no heat at all). On the arm to the wheel, I don't really care as I can really beef it up with round tube, so that even if I loose the heat treatment, it won't fail.
If it is chromoly, then Ill probablyt weld the spline into the sway bar, but will just need to preheat the whole piece before tigging. Same for the arm.
If it is just 1018 mild steel, then def weld, easy.
I do metal work, comfy with TIG, so, not too afraid of that part. But proper heat treatment is not something I can do.
Anyways, if anyone knows, specifically on these trucks what the material is, let me know! Also, if someone has done something like this, would love to hear the experience and thoughts on the design. Thanks!
first, quick intro. My name is Klim, this is my first post here (even though I have been lurking). I have a 2004 GX470 with 270k miles on it and love it. I am slowly building as a combo of everyday truck+overlander, so, meaning trips to daycare in San Francisco Mon-Fri, trips to death valley on the weekend. So far, I have Ironman lift on it with 33 inch tires. Plan is to get a snorkel, FJ cruiser rear axle (8.2) with a locker, maybe and ARB front locker (+compressor), roof rack, skid plates, rock sliders, bumpers and winch. I have a bison rear tire carrier which I hopefully install this weekend. Anyways, enough of that, I have an extremely specific question about the front sway bar.
Does anyone know here, if it is (a) chromoly vs mild steel and if it is a high carbon steel, is it (b) heat treated?
I am asking because I think with the rear locker and front sway bar disconnected, this thing is a total beast. The last trip to death valley I did, I drove the whole thing without the front sway bar, and over the rocks it was awesome (see pic). However, driving over the sierras on asphalt, without a sway bar is not something I enjoy too much. Its totally doable, but god, the beast wallows. So, I want a sway bar disconnect. I understand that the links don't work as they will hit the suspension parts. So, what I am thinking is to cut the sway bar on one side (say drivers) right outside the sway bar mount. Insert a spline into the sway bar, so, that now outside the sway bar mount we have an inch or two of splined shaft sticking out. Then on the arm going to the strut, weld in a splined sleeve. As it is right outside the mount, there is no bending load at this point, just rotation, so, spline should work. However, depending on the exact metallurgy of the sway bar, Ill need to vary the exact construction details.
If it is indeed heat treated, then Ill probably just turn a splined shaft so that it can be pressed into the sway bar and secure it with a bolt or two (so, no heat at all). On the arm to the wheel, I don't really care as I can really beef it up with round tube, so that even if I loose the heat treatment, it won't fail.
If it is chromoly, then Ill probablyt weld the spline into the sway bar, but will just need to preheat the whole piece before tigging. Same for the arm.
If it is just 1018 mild steel, then def weld, easy.
I do metal work, comfy with TIG, so, not too afraid of that part. But proper heat treatment is not something I can do.
Anyways, if anyone knows, specifically on these trucks what the material is, let me know! Also, if someone has done something like this, would love to hear the experience and thoughts on the design. Thanks!
