So I want to put a set of Toyota axles in a 2004 Chevy Colorado crew cab 4x4. The only think is that I don't know much about Toyota axles. I see people reference parts as 4 cylinder or v6 what is the difference in the drive train? What year or model axles would be the best? Not just for strength because i'm not running over 33's but also brakes and after market support. Any info or incite would be greatly appreciated. BTW i'm am not choosing Toyota axles for any reason other than they seem like a good match. But am open to other suggestions.
I'm thinking Toyota axles might be a little small for your truck. You might be better off with 1/2 tons like a D44 for the front and a 12 bolt or 9" for the rear.
Toyota axles come in 3-4 different width's. The 1st and (early) 2nd gen trucks came with a solid front axle. From '86 to late '95 the rear axle was 3" wider, so you'll want one of those. Or you could get a Tacoma rear which is a bit wider still. If you can find one and got the coin, choose the e-locker version. (Though they are hard to come by and usually pretty expensive.) What you are hearing v6 vs. 4 cyl is the third member. The v6 one is a stronger unit, so you'll want one of those. The e-locker is based off this diff but if you have an older housing, you'll have to modify it to get the e-locker to fit. If you get a non e-locker tacoma rear, the third member is different than the others. it is a bigger unit and has a brace bolted across the back of the third member.
For fronts, you want one from an '83-'85 as they have a gusset welded to the bottom of the housing on the long side. (Though you could do it yourself if you find an earlier one that doesn't have it.) The other thing you're going to need is a Hi steer kit because you don't want the old push/pull type of steering they all came with. You'll also need wheel spacers on the front to match the track width of the rear axle if you go with anything other than the 1st gen/ early 2nd gen rear.
Thats exactly what I was looking for. I seen some one mention once using a Toyota ifs steering box on a solid axle setup. Is this similar to a recirculating ball system like on a gen 2 Chevy truck? I looked for a picture to answer this my self but did not see what I was looking for.
Yea, you use an IFS box because the sector shaft comes out the bottom and the SFA box (push/pull) the sector shaft comes out the side. You could probably use a chevy recirculating ball box, but would probably have to get a custom made pitman arm. You can see my hi steer setup on my build thread. Called "the drivetrain swap."
Edit: Actually you can't see it cause the pics are still on the camera! Sorry! Will get them up this weekend as I'm at school in SC for the week.
I guess that is a matter of opinion. Personally, I like the wider stance of the larger axles, and they give you more room to grow to larger tires in the future.
yeah, my thoughts would be that the toyota mini truck axles would be too narrow for the colorado... you might be able to use fj60/80 axles to get the wider stance...
also, Id bet the Colorado has dsd transfer case in it, so you will either need to change that or get a dsd axle... id recommend running hp44/9" combo...
The Colorado is a passenger side drop . I want to do the swap because of the nonexistent after market support for the current axles and the outrageous price for parts for them. I also like the wider stance the wider axles would provide but because of the way the current rear axle and the prospected front axle tuck in to the wheel wells if i use wider axles i would have to go considerably higher not to have tire/body interference. So in short, more body cutting and less drivability than I want for my $15,000 truck. I am really looking for the perfect solution to a problem, But understanding there is no perfect solution. I want it to look like a regular Colorado with a regular 4" lift but have solid axles on both ends with tons of junk yard parts and after market support But not require tons of custom machining on the axles to get there.
you could use the tacoma rear axle and a 79-85 toyota SFA with 1.5" wheel spacers up front to make up the difference inwidth front and rear. the only diference between TRD and non-TRD rear axle other than the e-locker, is the fact that the non-TRD actually measures 8.4 and is a little bit stronger and the TRD is still an 8". you would still have to do something as far a steering shaft to go to your new steering box since the colorado is rack and pinion. i'm sure there will be a good bit of custom fabrication to get to where you want it. i'm not sure that there is even an SAS kit offered for the colorado. not that it can't be done though. you can also look on pirate4x4.com and see if anyone on there has done this type of swap on a colorado to see what options they came up with.
That seems odd that the trd has the smaller axle! Unfortunately I haven't found any one who has done this yet to gain any incite. There are no sas kits for this truck, there really are not many after market parts at all for this truck. If there is any advise I could give before you buy a truck look online and see how much support there is for it.
