87 toyota for a platform??

[Grim Reaper]

Hmmm... So from what I have been reading the last couple of hours, everything in the driveline and suspension areas from 86-95 are interchangeable?? No matter that its a v6 or 4cyl?

Yes it is swap. V6 got a stronger rear diff. That Pirate link has a section that shows how to tell them apart.
The Rear housing on 4Runners in the 90's is set up for coil springs. The diff 3rd however is plug and play in any 79-95 rear housing.

Front and all suspension parts is identical 86-95. The only appreciable difference is some front diffs have a central disconnect vacuum servo. You can easily swap that tube to and non central OR you can just plumb the vacuum to keep it locked in. Never heard of them breaking.

DO NOT LIFT THE IFS. Dropping the diff puts stress on the frame. It puts the tierods at excessive angles. It fits 33's stock. Ball joint spacer is all I would do on IFS or go with the TC long travel. That keeps stock mounting points, Stock diff location but 12 inches of wheel travel and HD control arms. It is 2 inches of lift. Makes it track 6 inches wider. Here is what a long travel truck looks like.

More pictures of Deathrunners over at Yotatech's truck. http://www.yotatech.com/ Thats is not the TC kit but similar by a different company. http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22518&postcount=15

If you just have to lift it with the 1.5 ball joint spacers. 2 inch body, 2 inch engine, 63 chevys (see the Pirate link I posted) and a custom crossmember or a www.budbuilt.com belly skid on it and it will be just about a flat belly. Thats good for about 6-7 inches of clearance better clearance over where the stock case cross member is. Rodger at http://www.4crawler.com/ has the lift parts and info on his site.

 

[XJxplorer]

Thanks for all the advice/info guys! One thing I am now considering is to go with a straight axle versus the IFS... f I went the IFS route I would be throwing a TC long travel kit up front.... BUT, this truck will not be used for any prerunning, I have other things for that! Sooooo.... I have a question. Has anyone ever put OME leafs front and rear on an 84-85? I know they don't make them for the 84-85 years but they do make them for 86 and on. With a little fab work you could get a nice 2" lift with the OME leafs versus the average 4" lift for the straight axles.... I want to keep a somewhat LCG and I want to stick with 33"s without it looking goofy.

Thanks again guys!

Edit: Did a little deeper esearch and found that the OME leafs are direct bolt on front and rear..

 

[XJxplorer]

Well let's hear some pros and cons for IFS and straight axle!!

I am used to straight axle and LOVE the flex it offers... I prefer IFS for prerunning.. What say you for a DD expo rig that will see some mild rock crawling to get to lakes, streams, and the middle of nowhere.. I want to stick with 33"s, no smaller, no bigger.

 

[BLKNBLU]

Personally I would get the IFS truck. I like the EFI which will be in any Runner 85 and newer but with trucks you will have to see on a case by case basis if they are carbed or injected. I think EFI works better if you expect to be in off camber or steep grade situations. You also don't have to worry about altitude changes.

If you go long travel you can still rock crawl pretty well. Take a look at this guy. http://www.yotatech.com/f77/deathrunner-84809/

If you decide you have to have SA, it's pretty easy to do on the 86-95 trucks and there are several companies with kits of good quality. A friend and I were discussing that it's maybe better to convert an IFS rig because you get some advantages.

The kits come with crossover steering which you will want on an 85 or older and you will need a steering box from IFS. (which you will already have with an IFS truck) You would want to upgrade the brakes to bigger calipers and vented rotors. (which you will already have with an IFS truck) You get a 3 inch wider rear axle with an IFS truck. You get a top shifting t case with 85-88 EFI trucks and a W series transmission. The top shifter is what you will need if you ever decide to get dual cases down the road. So... the EFI/IFS trucks have a lot of goodies that would be desireable if you decide to go SA. And you have the option to NOT go SA.

You can fit 33/10.50 without any lift, just pound some pinch welds. I will have to say though that I run 31's on my stock 4.10 gears and it's just barely tolerable. I personally wouldn't look at 33's without a re-gear in my near future.

Oh and sometimes guys with 85's think they have this goldmine on their hands and want a phenomenal price for a beat up POS. (though not always) That's all I can think of for now. I might have to add more later. Good luck.

 

[ntsqd]

I would leave the IFS under the truck. I do not care what SA guys say, there is no way that a SA can ever ride as nice (& not hurt your kidneys etc.!) as an IFS truck. Simply isn't possible, the unsprung mass is too great. I know, I own an '84 that I use for crawling, exploring, and chasing desert racers (have a race this weekend). It rides pretty darned nice, but it's taken a fair amount of work to get it to this point and it is still not as nice as an IFS. If I'd put the same amount of work into an IFS truck I'd really have a great truck for the way that I use it. If all you care about is crawling then a SA makes some sense. For longer trips over rough roads the IFS would be my choice.

There are two upgrades to the IFS not previously mentioned that are very worth doing. The first is that the IFS idler arm is notorious for bending. There are all sorts of bolt-on braces made and even one aftermarket part that is marginally better than OE. If you don't want to ever need to mess with it again, buy the Total Chaos idler arm and be done with it.
The other thing is to look at the lower control arm pivot points. One set needs bracing. TC offers a weld-in brace for this. The trick is that if you opt to make one yourself (not terribly hard to do) that you consider being able to get the front diff out of the truck without having to cut the brace. TC says that you can do it with their brace, might be worth just buying it and moving to the next thing.