Rear axle upgrade: What am I missing?

[oilnewby]

Hello to all,

i am am considering moving from a TJ to a 100 series land cruiser and have been doing my research as to what upgrades are best. In the TJ wrangler world the axles are one of the best things to upgrade. In addition there are endless options and companies that sell axles for a TJ

in doing my research I can only seem to find axle shaft upgrades for the front IFS and nothing for the rear.

what am I missing? I am searching for axles upgrades for 100 series LC'S and can't find anything?

Is it not needed and reforge no aftermarket support?

 

[krice118]

your talking entire axels not just differentials? I have been lurking on here for quite a while and have only ever read about people installing ARB or TJM Diffs....

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Not needed, the OEM CVs and axles are plenty strong. There have been a very few that have broken a CV and there was some talk at one time about an aftermarket upgrade, but that never panned out.

 

[oilnewby]

Wow, makes sense. Have you heard of folks breaking rear axles when installing a locked?

 

[BigSwede]

JEEP, Just Exchange Every Part.

The LC rear axle is way stronger than a Dana 44, let alone a 30. The rear axle is the least of your worries.

 

[revoked]

Check it out: http://www.ih8mud.com/tech-articles/nitro-gear-diff-comparison-100-series-vs-fj-cruiser/

Doesn't show J**P, but you get the idea.

 

[AimCOtaco]

The lack of aftermarked axle housings or axle shafts for the 100 also has to do with low demand.

The stock rear is pretty bomb proof with 35" tires and the number of 100's on 37's or greater is tiny (very few SAS'ed 100's out there).

If we could fit 40" tires we might start breaking rear ends but we can't so we don't. I have no idea where the real limit is but 35's don't stress it much.

 

[highonpottery]

^pretty much sums it up right there in regards to why you don't see these items specific to our rigs yet. maybe in 5-10yrs when people might start going crazy with them after they're really affordable, but still unlikely due to size/weight of the 100-series vs smaller rigs and custom buggy options that people tend to favor when building rigs for those types of applications.

on the other hand, there already ARE plenty of options for upgraded axle housings and pretty much everything else to further bulletproof your rig. just because they aren't a drop-in bolt-on solution (like the heep community needs, hehehe), doesn't mean you can't use them on a 100-series. this same problem hasn't been stopping anyone else in the offroad community from upgrading their junk with custom everything. it truly just depends on what you want and how big your wallet is specifically for axles, there are several excellent options for new housings, shafts, differential/gear size, lockers, etc etc that are all trail proven under extreme situations.

 

[lc98v8]

The 100 is like a tank. However, the suspension of the 200 is superior to 100, and that is what you are missing...if you can convert to the 200 suspension then that will be the best upgrade ever, the 100 suspension is very reliable still.

 

[oilnewby]

Thanks for all the replies. I had no idea how strong they were and coming from the Jeep world it is amazing to me that money can be spent elsewhere other than axles shafts.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Yeah, we're mostly about capability upgrades, changing stock parts so they don't break isn't really part of the game outside of a few items like early front diffs.

-Buy a 100
-Check off the basic maint.
-Mod away, start with sliders and a mild lift.

Enjoy,

 

[warpdriv]

Depending on what you're going to be using it for a mild lift, bigger tires, and body armor it's pretty much all you need.