Rig build, what am I forgetting? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Threads
13
Messages
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Location
Tacoma, WA
My '83 needs a lot of stuff, and I think I've got all the parts on order or on hand that I need. Wanted to check in and see if anyone has any additional maintenance suggestions while I've got it all apart or if I forgot anything (pretty likely).

What I'm doing:
-High steer
-Knuckle upgrade
-Vented rotors/V6 caliper swap
-Replacing front/rear third member with one containing used ARB air locker
-Installing 5.29 gears into ARB locked third member front/rear
-Installing tube doors

What I have:
-wheel bearing kit inner/outer (from Low Range Offroad)
-front axle service kit (from Marlin)
-six shooter knuckle kit (from Trail Gear)
-tie rod and drag link with FJ80 rod ends (from Marlin)
-pitman arm (from Marlin)
-IFS steering box (received in trade, used)
-IFS box mounting plate (from Marlin)
-V6 Brake calipers from a '90 4runner (Junkyard find)
-5.29 ring and pinion front/rear (Yukon Gear)
-used third member front/rear with ARB air locker (Junkyard find)
-ARB high performance air compressor (Junkyard find)
-tube doors with slam latch (from 4xinnovations)

I know I need:
-1.5" wheel spacer to fit the calipers
-FJ60 front rotors
-4x additional knuckle bolts (Might just buy a stud kit)

Hopefully I don't "need":
-birfs
-axle shafts
-pinion bearings
-new Hubs
-steering box rebuild


One question I have, should I upgrade my master cylinder and/or brake booster as well? Seems most people choose to do that also. Thanks for your input.
 
When I did my front disc upgrade on my 85, I also added a new 1" bore Toyota OEM master cylinder at the same time. Originally for a mid-90s v6 4Runner 4x4 don't remember the exact part number. I highly recommend the v6 brake upgrade it makes a HUGE difference.
 
Jesus, what kind of junkyard do you go to that has ARB stuff?! Buy the stud kit for your knuckles. Also what about F/R bumpers and rock sliders? Trail-Mart has them for super cheap...
 
Oh your also forgetting pics of your rig..... Just sayin
 
The V6 vacuum booster looks to be a bigger gain in braking than doing both the caliper and m/c swap. I did the V6 caliper swap on the FJ-60, but went with the 4 cyl IFS calipers & vented rotors on Patch. With it's existing m/c bore size it is almost too mushy to start with. Going bigger on the caliper pistons was a step in the wrong direction unless I also went with a large bore m/c. Other than spending money that I didn't need to there was very little gain to be had there. The booster swap, OTOH, was done by several FJ-60 owners and the results were very favorable looking.

When you use the V6 calipers you increase the piston area. Which increases the total system leverage. This is a good thing so long as you don't go too far and end up with a mushy feeling pedal. When you go to a bigger bore m/c you also increase the piston area, which reduces the total system leverage. Search my "Comments on Brakes" thread in the 60 forum, I did the math there and doing both is nearly a placebo.
 
This all seems very confusing and over thought. I pulled out everything from an early 90s v6 4Runner (Calipers, M/C, booster) and ran 60 rotors and my brakes are bad ass. Why just do 1 or 2 brake upgrades when you can just do them all?
 
I have a question. What size tires are you going to be running? The v6 is a nice upgrade but it isn't always needed. I can lock all 4 tires up on my 84 with stock brakes. And I have 31's. It's still your choice just seems a little much to me.
 
Sorry for not saying more about the rig first. It already has a 4.5" lift, it's been bobbed, has sliders and a rear bumper already. Been looking for a good front bumper that will take a winch, might just buy a winch mount and build a bumper around it. The tires I'm running are 35x12.5x15.
 
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I call it the babemagnet, because women love it!

11051211_10153615825339434_3245665863814460566_n.jpg
 
This all seems very confusing and over thought. I pulled out everything from an early 90s v6 4Runner (Calipers, M/C, booster) and ran 60 rotors and my brakes are bad ass. Why just do 1 or 2 brake upgrades when you can just do them all?
It isn't either. I've done the math, as I recall the hydraulic leverage change from stock isn't very much. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other.
The booster is likely, based on reports in the 60 forum, the largest difference maker. Those reports said it was that big of a difference! Having one donor for everything makes sense from a replacement parts point of view.
<- retiring from the field
 
Okay guys, I finished installing everything and I have a few questions. Here are the issues I'm having:

-front drive shaft flange won't bolt up to my third member with the 5.29s/air locker that I installed in the front axle
-brake calipers (from a 91 V6 4runner) aren't wide enough for the rotors (FJ60 rotors), basically the brakes are slightly applied at all times
-steering box may need to be rebuilt or I still have some air in the system because it isn't giving me any power assist and feels like it's full of sand

The third member was purchased from a junkyard, was there different bolt patters across different years or was the bolt pattern larger on the rear as opposed to the front? I hadn't seen anything about this anywhere before starting this project. I think the brakes might be as simple as installing a washer between the caliper and knuckle, but we'll see. I got the steering box for free, so I was hoping it would work but maybe not. Anybody care to weigh in? Your help is much appreciated.
 
Did the third come from a mini truck? Never heard of different flanges. I got mine from a mini truck that was rear and it bolted up to my front
 
The third came from a mini-truck, not sure of the year.
 
IIRC there are two different flange styles. I do not know the cross-over date though. Probably when IFS came around?
 
Yeah it looks like this is the case, a slightly different bolt pattern. I can pay $30 for a triple drilled flange from Marlin, or rotate mine 45 degrees and re-drill apparently. No big deal, just slightly frustrating. I'm looking into the brakes thing right now, it seems like I should have just tried not to be cheap and bought new calipers instead of scavenging from a junkyard haha. I compressed those calipers as far as they could go, but the brakes are quite strongly clamping the rotors. As far as the steering box, I'm going to try re-purging all the air from it to see if I can lose that metal on metal grinding feeling and get some power assist.
 

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