1988 samurai LWB build

[kris97ranger]

alright finished up the lift today no pictures just your standard pull leafs out put in new leafs.

picked up a new thermostat, a connector for my fuel line so i can put the fuel filter in,

then i decided to clean up the toyota rear axle to paint it. i used a flap wheel on my grinder came out real clean but now im likeing the bare metal look how do you think it would hold up if i just clear coated the axles?

i could be the most blingy person in the mud pit!!

then just a few of the rear suspension, i cant get a profile picture of the truck untill i can move it theres a boat on one side and a matco truck on the other.

 

[kris97ranger]

alright well i went ahead and cleared the bare metal we'll see ho wit turns out. wrst comes to worst if it rusts ill grind it off and paint it properly. or just let it rust haha no different then what under there right now.

got my fuel filter in today too, also pounded my front driveshaft apart. sprayd the slip joint down with penitrating oil to get it apart then packed it with bearing grease and threw that in

 

[kris97ranger]

had to go see my grandmother today for the weekley check in. so nothing got done.

bt last night i was talking to a guy with some 38.5x14.50r15 swamper sx's for sale on 15x10 beadlocks $1000 takes the package

they are 80% tread and comes with a full spare 100% tread i just have to wait till he finds some 42's for it. they are already grooved and all i know its bigger then the 37s i wanted but its too good too pass up and really only means i have to cut 3/4" more outta the fenders so screw it.

here they are on his truck

 

[Bennybooster]

good deal, post some pics when ya get them

 

[kris97ranger]

yea man. like i said its not 100% but im pretty pumped im hoping to get a little more guarentee tonight

 

[kris97ranger]

ALRIGHT! talked to the guy and im getting those 38.5s once he finds some 42s

and i also lied i was looking at the wrong picture b4 ive gone back and edited that post with the actual tires

its been half raining half snowing here for the last 2 days more rain then anything but plus 2 celcius. so i havnt done much
wen tto my buddys shop heated and all and replaced the high pressure oil pump on his 7.3 turbo diesel. ford quoted him somthing like 4 grand to do the job and we had it done in under 2 hours niether one of us had any previous experiance with diesel motors he just got into big trucks and away from low riders about 6 months ago and decided to start big lol and i just cant afford a diesel right now.


now in the summer time on the other hand
but thats a different story

 

[kris97ranger]

going to pick up a truck for my buddy tonight its a camo 84 datsun pickup lol
its still deciding on a motor it'll be his dd so he wants good miliage but at the same time we just want to get in it in fast as he commutes back and forth to windsor every week (roughly its a 5 hr drive)

but mostl likley it'll end up a carbed v8 for simplicity and power. trucks also going to get sas'd and some 35s.

now that im done jacking my own thread while we are getting this truck tonight im also gonna pick up some new rims for when i get the 38s they are 15x12 suuuper wide!!

it'll match up with the tires well though theyre just steelies so i think later on they will get some DIY beadlocks

 

[kris97ranger]

well i didnt end up getting the rims yet because they were still buried in snow. spent most of last week working on that datsun.

then i came home on friday and the truck was at the bottom of the driveway. apparently when you use the snow as a parking break then all the snow melts the truck leaves while your out in town lol.

went to move it up the driveway and it wont run longer then 3 seconds and has a ton of air in the system. so.... now i gotta figure that out.

 

[Little X]

That's a sweet little truck there.

my favourite rachet (the one i was using to remove the u bolts) stripped all the teeth in it... 24" swivel head matco ratchet the thing was awsome! and of course i cant get it warrentied untill next week when my dad aka the matco guy gets back from jamaica lol

Any tool will break when you miss use it. Get yourself a 24" breaker bar and use that to break the bolts loose, they don't have teeth to strip.

 

[kris97ranger]

thanks man its sure fun when its not being a pain in the ass. as for the rachet i got it fixed for free anyways and upgraded at the same time. dads a matco dealer

ive broken breaker bars then had to use that rachet to get the bolt off. now wether or not i maybe loosened the bolt a bit b4 it broke i duno but ive used it for everything

 

[kris97ranger]

well i was at the jy the other day and saw a landcruiser with solid axles. i was there for my parts for my buddys nissan so i just tried to ignore it and kept going well.... the other day a different friend of mine calls me and tells me he's at the jy right now and they have this toyota solid axle and he was letting me know about it.

i explained i had already seen it and was very tempted but was trying to save my $ and ignored it. then about 15mins later he texts me and says they want 300$ for it...























so i got it lol.
its outta a 88 landcruiser which isnt the axle i was looking for originally but the more i look at it the better it seems it'll work its wider then the regular toyota pickup front axle so that means i dont have to run wheelspacers

here it is still in the bed of my truck, that was fun taking out alone....

i used this to clean if off and now that its clean ill go over it and cut off any brackets i dont need and hit it with the flap wheel and clear coat so it matches the rear

on a side note that thing throws grase EVERYWHERE so if you have things that are important move them.

as for the spring perches they were built for a 3" wide spring and the samurai springs are only 2" wide so ill have to tri, one said doen and add to the other to get it the right width for the samurai

im thinking i may just cut the top of the mount for the u bolts and weld a flat plate on because my trucks spring over then i have me perches.

my rear axle is 58" wide and this one is 58.5" and the spring perches on a samurai are 26" apart and this one is 26.5" big deal i gotta move each perch a 1/4" as far as i can tell the landcruiser axle would be a hell if alot stronger. it was under a bigger truck with a diesel in it. and the diff is huge. as in thick it still wont hang down very far.

now on the subject of the diff the vin says it has a diff lock. but i see now wires going into it does this mean that its a mechanical locker? or is it just talking about the locking hubs on it? this would be a good question for bones but i dunno if he's seen this thread...

 

[BONES]

Actually I hadn't seen this thread until you PM'd me.

Nice build man, I must say.

A half inch in spring perch distance is minimal, like you said it's only a 1/4" per side, it was the very same on my Rover, the spring spacing was 26" on it and the diff was 26.5. I just lowered the rig, with springs in place, down on the diff and with a slight push with my hands the springs centered in the diff perch holes. 1/4" per side is easily taken up by the spring bushings.

Actually looking at the diff, you have to weld on either a plate on top of the old u-bolt guides or better yet, cut off and weld on new perches. Places like Princess Auto sell leaf spring perches for building trailers, these perches are made from 1/4" wall plate and made for 2" wide springs. IIRC the Cruiser has 2.5" wide springs and your sami will have 2". Remember to weld the perches on at the correct castor angle. Sami's have somewhere around 0 degrees of castor and so do the late 80's Cruisers. It wouldn't hurt to give it a degree or 2 of positive castor. (rotating the pinion down will be positive castor) This will help it drive straight and not be twitchy on the road.

Definitely no factory locker in that diff, sorry to say. The factory Toy locker has a solenoid sticking out the side of the drop out.

I swapped a set of Toy 8" axles in a buddies 90 Sami swb SOA. With ifs Toy steering system and hi-steer. Only problem he has now is the stock sami tcase has the rear output of to the side and the rear Toy diff is centered. He's saving for a Rock assult Toy housing with offset drop out.

Keep up the good work man, I just subscribed.

 

[kris97ranger]

That's the one partwhere I'm lucky right now I'm running the Toyota 2.4 fuel injected motor with a 2wd trans so I can have the divorced sj-410 transfercase with the rear output. Offcentered to match the Sammi rear diff, but because I'm going to a centered rear diff I'm just gonna swap to a Toyota 4wd transmission and run the Toyota transfercase with it. And as for the perches I'm runnin outta $ this week and don't wanna wait 4 more so I'm just gonna leave the Toyota ones there and make them skinnier to match my springs and while I'm at that I'm going to just throw some flat plate on the upper perch. Power steering is definetly in the plans it's was a pain in the ass b4 with the 33s I can't wen imagine 38s and I'm a pretty big guy lol my 110 lb gf wouldn't stand a chance haha I figured it didn't have the electric locker because like you said there was no solinoid but it said diff lock on the vin but I didn't k ow Toyota had a transfercase like what you explained thanks

 

[kris97ranger]

Holy solid paragraph.... I dunno how to seperate them with an I phone haha also I'm debating on plating the diff b4 I shine this thing and clear coat it..... thoughts?

 

[BONES]

The truck you stole the front axle from may have had a rear diff lock too. The drops out will directly swap front to rear as they are identical. If I were you and I had a couple extra bucks in my pocket, I would go check out that rear diff to see if it has the solenoid sticking out the side of it.

Plating the diff?

As in diff protection, like a steel guard on the front? Good idea! Even strengthening the house is a great idea, like trussing it. Make sure to add gussets to the knuckles if your going to truss this axle.

I have been seriously considering shaving my Toy diffs. Can gain another 1" of clearance under the pumpkin, 1" under the diff is as good as 2" taller tire as far as ground clearance goes. I have 40's on it, lol.