04 Extra Cab SAS

Could always do caster correction bushings. Those can get you 0-3*. Maybe easier option than cut'n'turn. Though the cut'n'turn will net you the best result, IMO.

 

Well originally I was going to just use bushings. But I need more degrees than bushings offer. I may do a combo of bushings and modifying my mounts. The main mechanical reasons I want to leave the cut-n-turn as a last resort, is to keep the pinion oiling properties and fluid levels in factory spec.

 

So your current frameside radius arms mounts were built for 0* caster?--I guess I was thinking with the mounts you made, you were already at around the +2.5* mark, so add in some caster bushings and set them for +1.5* rotation and boom, you're at +4*. Or am I missing something?

I see you did have to raise the whole truck a bit from your initial level... is that where the difference is coming in now?

 

It's super easy, just a shallow cut along the weld where the balls go into the tubes with a grinder.

 

Well I built the frame side mounts to be as high as possible. I don't want them hanging down a mile and be a land anchor in the rocks. I figured from there I will sort the rest out.

It came out to 0° before I lifted the truck more, and removed the rear axle side bolts to roll the pinion down.

I lost about a degree of caster when I lifted everything.

I think before I make any big decisions, I will get the suspension and everything where I can cycle it and see how much real world up travel I can get. That could change the ride height enough to effect caster.

The caster is close enough right now for me to just ensure Im not cutting too much away from the oil pan

 

Got it. That makes sense. I've actually thought and planned a lot about this same type of conversion and I had always figured I'd prob end up using caster plates, even though it makes more crap hanging down, cause I also didnt' want super low frame side mounts for the radius arms. But I think @slander is on the right track with the cut'n'turn if the caster isn't getting to where you want it. Proffitts Cruisers did this type of conversion years back on a 2G 4Runner and damn it had the steepest radius arm angle i have ever seen. I dont recall if it had caster plates or what. They usually do great work there though, so hopefully it was accounted for and the owner of that 2G 4Runner was happy with the ride.

But I think you've got a good go-forward plan of getting the axle and suspension to sit and cycle where you want it, then figure out if/where you need to change the caster. --It seems like you are not *too* far off from where the caster will need to be.

Keep the progress coming!

 

Problem with a cut and turn is you can only go so far before the tie rod rubs the radius arms.

 

Oh and one last thought while we're still on the subject of caster. There is two other options as well actually: after-market radius arms built for more lift/caster; or, flipping the radius arms to the top side of the axle and completely re-doing the axle side radius arm mounts. Though I kinda think both of these solutions would probably require more vertical separation between the axle and the frame (essentially more lift) than what @8sixFabrication is shooting for.

 

Can kind of "solve" this with moving the tie-rod up front using a RHD steering arm or some 80 series hi-steer arms--there seems to be a couple newer-ish options for that these days.

But of course, throwing lots more money and mods at this type of swap really starts to kill that cost/benefit ratio...

 

That's definitely a concern. As it is, I am really close with the rear rolled down as far as it can go.

There's no room to run the radius arms on top. They would crash into the frame at this ride height with almost no up travel. I considered making new radius arms also... Id almost rather do that than a cut-n-turn

There is no room for high steer. The only way I am pulling off this low ride height is by not having high steer. Plus, that opens a whole different can of worms with panhard relocation and a few other things.

 

Well, today was a productive one. First thing this morning while running some errands, I stopped for a little material for the panhard mount. I also stopped for some cheap-o hardware to mock up the coil mounts.

When I got back home I began taking some more measurements. I decided to get both coil mounts fit up to help confirm my measurements for the axle being center. Somehow, the drivers side coil mount sits about 3/16" higher than the passenger side. But, the whole truck has a degree lean to the passenger side, so trying to make everything level to the truck is time consuming and probably had a little room for error.

This fab table isn't the nicest one I have used in my career, but it sure is handy as hell to have at home



With both sides coil mounts firmly tacked in, I moved onto the panhard mount. Last evening I decided it would be easiest to use a 2-1/2 x 3-1/2", .250" wall rectangle tube to work from. The width of the panhard bushing sleeve was about 1.963", so it gave me a tad more than .030" wiggle room which seems perfect.

This didn't actually save much time doing it this way, but it saved a fair amount of labor. Its pretty plain looking, but it should be pretty solid.



With that mount made, It got tacked pretty heavily in. The panhard got a small pie-wedge cut in one place to bend a little , then sleeved to length to use temporarily. I grabbed the stock 80 drag link and it appears to be really close in length, so I put it in for the sake of mock up.

Everything seems to have landed in a place where I am pretty happy. The panhard is nearly perfectly matching the drag link for angle. I would say that the axle side could come up about 10mm to be absolutely perfect. The frame side is already as low as I could afford. As it sits, it will crash into the flat piece of steel right above the front, drivers side radius arm bushing at about 3.5" of up travel. That will probably get modified to accommodate for my 4" up travel goal.

Its difficult to see in the pictures, but there is a small 3/16" spacer under the drivers front, top portion of the coil mount. The frame dives right there so I needed it to be level to the rest of the frame. Oddly, the passenger side sat level without the spacer. I set them to match the same angle of the overall frame length(my driveway is at about a 1.5* slope)

All in all, I am really happy with the progress today. It's a lot more visual progress than the last several updates. I am getting pretty close to setting it on some coils to see how it sits. Hopefully tomorrow I will have that milestone

 

That is looking awesome! Nice job.

And man, I've seen it hundreds of times from owning an 80 and friends with 80s and pics online of 80s ... but looking at your pics here makes me wonder how the hell Toyota squeezed a forward swing steering box in there? LOL.

 

Im really glad I didn't buy one and go that route. It would have made so many things much more difficult

 

Today I hit a hard earned milestone!

This morning before I went to the gym, I needed to swing by my local welding shop for an aluminum carbide burr. I had been considering picking up another welding hood that was a little lighter. So I treated myself. My neck has a little harder time at angles after my accident in this truck. Also, not having to look through the extra layer of the grindshield is nice for welding small parts. This new hood also has the more modern lens with the colors being more true which is really handy. I have 2 of those Speedglas hoods and love them. But it was time for another in the collection to help for other types of welding. It will probably get a dope ass pink/blue paint job before too long



After my workout, I blew the pine needles and cobwebs off ol' faithful to use as a poor mans lathe. Since the wheels have a lip that interferes with the front hub, I needed to remove that. So I bolted on the 2 front wheels for now, and let the truck idle while I evenly ground the lip of with a combo of the carbide burr and a flap wheel. I certainly died a little inside doing it this way, considering I used to machine parts up to 14 feet in diameter on my old vertical lathe at my last shop. But, I don't have those resources anymore unfortunately.

The first wheel turned out a little more rough than I wanted, but luckily it wont be seen. The 2nd wheel was much better. I'll do the other 3 wheels some other time when I am not racing the weather to get the truck rolled into the garage.






With the 2 front wheels modified, I moved onto the coil mounts. I had to mark and drill the upper mounts for the center section that holds the bump stops. I got those mounted and finally set the truck on its own weight for the first time in a while. I set my upper mounts at the overall compressed length that our stock 80 is. It sits about an inch too high, so I will lift the upper mounts 1 hole which is 3/4". The front bumper, winch, a complete front end, and all the fluids should have it sit where I want.

Tomorrow I will drop the truck a little, then probably move onto getting the steering shaft in so it can be steered with the steering wheel.

 

I’d consider making your own arms if you’re worried about the castor problems. Also y-link steering packages well


Something like this:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/jo...-hybrid-cage-4ds.1047573/page-2#post-11573835

 

That's certainly 1 opinion. However, if I were to spend that much effort, I would probably just do a 3 link. But Im really shooting to keep the radius arms. I like the idea of factory reliability.

 

Not a huge update this evening, but an update none the less.

Today amounted to figuring out some things critical to proceeding with welding stuff into place.

First order of business was to pull the coils and see what happens with the pinion when I simulate articulation to the pass side. I was pleasantly surprised at it not hitting the oil pan. The pinion rolled up too as you can tell by the bushing sliding down at the clamp. So there should be even more clearance in real life.

Not having to modify the oil pan is a nice bonus at this point.






With that sorted, I raised the coil mounts 1 set of holes and set the truck back down. It seem to be exactly where I am hoping it will sit. I'm not a huge fan of how far forward the axle sits. Especially since it think it looks silly. But that's just how it has to be unfortunately.




From there I moved onto see where I landed for caster. I was pretty bummed that I ended up with only .5 degree of caster. So I decided to fiddle with that some to have a game plan. At first, I thought pulling the rear bolts on the axle and rolling the pinion down was the best way to keep the tie rod out of the radius arms. But then I realized I had it backwards. So I re-installed the rear bolts, pulled the front and then adjusted from there. It gave me way more adjustability.

It put me at about 4.5-5 degrees of caster which is way better. It gives me some wiggle room to maybe go up an inch if needed, an still have good caster.

I am going to look into caster correction plates to make sure nothing exists already before making my own parts. I want to keep the rear bolts in the factory spot, and just have new holes in front as seen in this picture.




After that was sorted, I started looking again at the radius arm mounts on the frame. It seems as though I needed to force the axle a fair amount to the passenger side for it to be center. I didn't want everything being under a lot of stress, and have bushings wear out prematurely.

I believe I identified the culprit. The drivers side radius arm mount seems to be tweaked some, causing it to force the axle to the drivers side without a panhard. So I am going to cut those tacks and make a minor adjustment, then see if it is better.

I figure putting a little more effort into these details will make everything go together and come apart much easier. Before I do any final welding, I want to be sure I am happy with everything.

I feel like I can slightly see the light at the end of the tunnel for this first checkpoint. The goal was for it to sit on its own weight and be movable before steady fall rain. If I can accomplish the below check list within the next couple weeks, I would be pretty satisfied. From there, I will clean and re-organize my garage and tuck it in there for a while.

-Permanently set caster.
-Make adjustments to radius arm mounts so they're not under tension
-Weld out everything
-Get a steering shaft in between steering column and box
-Complete the install of the oil pan


The rest of this work can be done in my garage. The main reason I did it out in the driveway, is because of all the mess involved with cutting everything out is easier to clean outside. With the majority of the big fab work coming to an end, I will be able to comfortably work on it over the winter in the garage.

 

Found you

 

You’ve been here before

 

Update time!

Well, Although I reached the goal I set myself, I unfortunately didn't hit it with as many details buttoned up as I would have liked. The original goal was to have it sitting on an axle and movable by Fall. Technically I made that checkpoint today.

Getting the truck in the garage has sort of become a priority with all the dew in the morning air and rain. Even with it covered with an easy-up, I was getting a little surface rust developing on the bare steel. With this next coming week and weekend booked, I figured it was time to utilize the remaining sunshine and get it rolling.

Life has gotten in the way lately which has put me behind more so than I would like. That's how it goes though.

During my evenings this week I cut out the radius arm mounts and corrected some of the problems that was putting some stuff in a bind. The drivers side mount was at a very slight angle. They both were mounted a tiny bit wider than the axle side. So I built in some shims and got them re installed, helping everything go together much easier. I didn't take any photos of this because it would have looked identical to the previous photos haha.

I started off this weekend by wanting to make my caster correction parts and have the caster set. I got part way through that and haven't finished. But I at least have a design nailed down and the parts are about 50% complete.

Saturday morning we ran to our favorite local wrecking yard and scored this complete 80 series rear axle with elocker for a pretty damn good price. This is supposed to go under the rear of our 80 when it gets lifted and 37's stuffed under it. However I don't know that I want mix-matched lockers on that(ARB in front if this goes in back). So it might get sold off for a quick profit ORRR.... I'm considering swapping it under the rear of the Tacoma . I figured the benefits would be the full float, disc brakes, and a little more beef for down the road if I decide to do a 1uz swap(which I am considering for way down the road)




With that unplanned trip out of the way, I set out to get a steering shaft in. I ended up fighting this for a little bit because I didn't realize the steering shaft I bought wouldn't mate up to my steering column. So I Hodge podged this together as a temporary setup to help moving the truck around. Making this temp shaft was in a way helpful, because it helped me decide how I am going to tackle the permanent one.




With that put in. I had to clearance the front vertical plate for the coil mount to clear the rag joint. It ended up still catching it when we moved the truck, so I will need to trim a little more off. I do plan on utilizing a stock rag joint at this point.




With everything put together enough to proceed with moving it, I threw the coils in and the wheels/tires back on. The wife and I pushed it and flipped it around, and rolled it into the garage.

While I am bummed I am not a little further along(seems to have been the tone so far), I am still happy to have it at its first checkpoint. I'll take a short break on the project before getting back to work. The wifes car needs some work, and our landcruiser needs some maintenance before I dive into the rest of her build.