advice on building my truck

[cjnielsen]

i got a toyota truck and im looking for advice on what parts to use for making it reliable on the road, do to it being my daily driver, but also good on the trails. its an 84 solid axle single cab long bed. already lifted, and with 33s. not sure who makes the lift. i think im sticking with 33s, bfg muds, on crawler rims. need advice on
what gear ratio to run, i hate how slow it is. the tires are killing the power. you have to change front a rear gears.

locker? my neighbor with a 4runner runs that cheap locker that replaces the spider gears. reliable? what do u recommend for lockers.

lift... its lifted, but ive seen longer shackles, but im not sure if id run the same legth shackles in front and rear.

need a console that fit in betwen to buckets? what are you guys using to squeeze in that small gap? theres not much room.

[bbagwell]

4:56 gears would be a good match for 33's. If you want a cheap reliable locker I would get a lock-rite, they replace the spider gears. They work great off road and once you get used to it drives good around town. You have to replace both front and rear gears when you change the ratio.

[toy4x4]

ok.. for 33" tires u should get 4.88 gears. 4.56 or 5.29 would be good too. i think 4.56 is a bit too high and 5.29 would be better on the trails but it would kill ur gas milage on the street. what you are talking about is prolly a lock right. i wouldn't get one but that's just me. i would get detroit lockers. they are alot stronger. as for a center console, there are alot of companies that make them for jeeps. look around and see if you can find one that will fit inbetween the seats. i made a speaker box out of plywood that goes inbetween the seats but it's going to have to go when i do dual cases because the box will be in the way of the second shifter. about the suspension, find out what you have. i would make some longer shackles. 6" eye to eye would be good. just get some 1/4" thick x 1 1/2" wide steel and cut 8 7" long pieces. then just drill holes for the shackle bolts half an inch from each end and your done. that will give you alittle lift and more flex. after that, take it out and have some fun with it. if it still doesn't have enough flex to do what you want it to do, call all pro, marlin or aor. they make the best springs for toyotas. that or put stock rear springs in the front and get some 1/2 ton chevy springs for the back.

[Oatmeal]

4.88s are just about perfect for 33s on a DD/trail truck. How much money are you willing to spend? A Lock-Rite is cheap and holds up fairly well (I've been running mine for over 2 yrs now with no problems) I've also been reading good things about the Aussie locker (similar to the Lock-Rite but, is reported to be smoother on road), maybe some 4.7 gears for the t-case ($399 from both Marlin and All Pro) , high/crossover steering would be nice but, you could get by with the stock steering and maybe a dropped drag link if you don't remove the torque rod (that'll allow more flex than the stock steering's "J" arm will accommodate and almost guarantee it to break). These mods shouldn't cost too much if you can handle most of the installs yourself (ring and pinion changes are beyond the ability of most do-it-yourselfers, though:eek: ) and will completely transform your truck! You'll love it:D ...........Hans

[1985toyota]

TOY4x4

what ya doin with that console :Angel: :Rockonman ?? any pics when ya decide to go dual cases i may be interested :p:

[cjnielsen]

thanks alot for the input. im not cheap, im just looking for the best bang for my buck, being that i have more then one project. 2 years sounds good, for the price on an easy locker. i havent thought about transfer case gears yet... as for tires, i think im buying bfg mud terrains on rock crawler rims, good or bad idea? just heard good things , and like the price. several buddys of mine run them. ill do everything myself, and have some to set up my third member gears for me.

[Oatmeal]

Originally posted by cjnielsen
[ i think im buying bfg mud terrains on rock crawler rims, good or bad idea? just heard good things , and like the price. [/B] You're going to get several opinions on this so, here's mine. I used to buy BFGs but I kept cutting the sidewalls (maybe the newer KMs are better:rolleyes: ) I've had Good Year MTRs, a great tire and if you buy them at Wal Mart (you'll have to order them) you might be suprised by the price:) you get lifetime balancing, rotation and road hazzard. I've beat the heck out of them and never hurt them! This time around I thought I'd try the Interco TrXus M/Ts. So far I really like them. They're pretty aggressive, have tough sidewalls, seem to wear well and they're really quiet on the highway! That's important to me because, my truck is also my daily driver and work vehicle..........Hans

[cjnielsen]

ive looked at both goodyear mtr, and bfg mud terrain. ive heard that the bfgs last longer. there cheaper too, i want a rim/ tire package, being i need rims also. never knew wal mart sold them, thats good to know. my buddy is a mud terrain kind of guy, and talk trash about the mtrs, says he ran them on his bronco and they run out fast. i dont know?

[bbagwell]

The Dude at America's tire told me that MTR's last longer. Opinions are like a-holes though we all have one and they all stink!

[toy4x4]

hey 1985toyota.. i won't be goin dual cases for a while cuz i'm always broke. i don't have a camera but i'm thinking about buying one. when i do i'll pm you with some pics. but like i said i won't be selling it for a while. when i do get around to the dual cases i'll pm ya. later

[leorn]

Originally posted by cjnielsen
i got a toyota truck and im looking for advice on what parts to use for making it reliable on the road, do to it being my daily driver, but also good on the trails.

need a console that fit in betwen to buckets? what are you guys using to squeeze in that small gap? theres not much room.

first of all what type of trails do you do?

if you do rocks or hills much scrap the carb, or buy a different rig. It's a lot of money to spend on everything else if it won't go up a hill because of the engine.

I enjoy my efi 4runner (22re) 10 times more than my 85 pickup (22r). the 22re has more power, doesn't stall on hills, and gets better gas mileage! if you look you shouldn't have to spend more than you sell your truck for. (bought the p/u for $1500 and the 4runner for $1200)

many of the other build up options have been covered above. you can find more by searching.

One last thing. In my opinion you may never need lockers, t-case gears, and some of the other modifications that are mentioned if you are not planning on really hairy trails. I say this because I made the moab rim trail in my stock truck on 31" tires with a crappy 5" skyjacker lift. That trail is rated 4th hardest out of the hundred or so in the book if i remember right. (there are a few (5?) trails that are not listed that are harder than the rim.) Ask yourself if there are places your truck can't go that you want to! if the answer is yes, spend $, if not don't fix something that's not broke!

well hope you have fun its addicting:Rockonman