SAS for daily driver

Bigben75ford

Bigben75ford

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Location
Asheboro,NC
I have a ? I have been reading up on the sas swap.It looks like alot of work do yall know anyone who installs these?I mean Ive been working on trucks for a long time,but not 4x4 suff.I would like to do that and I seen that all pro off road has nice kits but i wouldnt know where to start.Also I drive this truck back and forth to base and home on the weekends.Do you think it would be a good idea to do this if its still a daily driver?Thanks for the help!
 
I dd'd a sased 93 4runner for about 6 months, it wasn't terrible, but then again it didn't go on any long trips (raleigh to wilmington once)
 
I DD'd a sas'd 92x-cab for a while and drove it back and forth from Charlotte to Hickory quite a bit.
 
if you wouldnt know where to start....most likely you wouldnt know where to finish either. i dont think i would attempt it if i were you, its not going to be a bolt on affair.

Take MacDaddy's advice, sell your truck. Buy a Jeep, Dodge, early bronco, or older chevy.
 
Don't take the advice above. Stick with the Toyota and put a solid axle in it. It is pretty easy to do in 95 and older Toy's. Although I would just buy an axle that someone is upgrading from that already has hi-steer and has been rebuilt, and I wouldn't waste the money on an All-Pro kit, all of the brackets and such can be made easily.

EDIT: No offense to anyone- Just think it would be a better idea to SAS a Toyota than to buy a Jeep and spend the same amount (if not more) to lift it...
 
Tacoma747 said:
Don't take the advice above. Stick with the Toyota and put a solid axle in it. It is pretty easy to do in 95 and older Toy's. Although I would just buy an axle that someone is upgrading from that already has hi-steer and has been rebuilt, and I wouldn't waste the money on an All-Pro kit, all of the brackets and such can be made easily.
EDIT: No offense to anyone- Just think it would be a better idea to SAS a Toyota than to buy a Jeep and spend the same amount (if not more) to lift it...
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What he said. I'd rather drive a cobbled together SAS'd yota than a piece of shit. :flipoff2:
 
It is a 1994 toyota pickup regular cab.
 
it mostly depends on the quality of parts and work. if it's done right with good parts, there's no reason any SAS'd truck shouldn't be just as streetable as its ifs counterpart.
 
Tacoma747 said:
No offense to anyone- Just think it would be a better idea to SAS a Toyota than to buy a Jeep and spend the same amount (if not more) to lift it...
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Not to start a debate, but lifting a jeep can be done SUPER cheap. I spent less than $1000 on 2 builds at 3" and 5" and 31s and 33s.


Of course I did most of the work myself, and if had the same knowledge of toyotas an SAS could be done on the cheap.

Either way, a built XJ or SAS'd yotas are definitely some of my fave 4x4s, I can't think of any reason other than poor build an SAS yota would suck on the street (35" tires on it would be a start).
 
i just did a 3 inch on a 99 tj for free ... spacers for the front, cut grand cherokee coils for the rear, factory dodge 2500 shocks, and made some track bar brackerts... only when u go above about 5 inches does the jeeps get expensive.. sye and 2 piece driveshaft. if u really like the yota just sas it i think you will be happy with it
 
If you'rea good welder and have some fab skills you can make a SAS kit pretty cheap and you could certainly dd the thing. The problem with selling the yota and buying the jeep is you get an unreliable thing that has to have the axles replaced as well because they won't hold up to a bigger tire. (Among other things.)
 
rattlecanpaint said:
If you'rea good welder and have some fab skills you can make a SAS kit pretty cheap and you could certainly dd the thing. The problem with selling the yota and buying the jeep is you get an unreliable thing that has to have the axles replaced as well because they won't hold up to a bigger tire. (Among other things.)
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Unreliable? As an XJ guy I don't know what that means, but...


Define bigger tire, bone stock '96+ XJ axles will do locked 35s...



Ditto what you said about the fab skills and DDing an SAS yota, but don't say things like unreliable. From my experience, I've seen 22res needing rebuild long before 4.0s, esp renix block 4.0s...
 
Flipper said:
if i spend 1000 to run 33's i'd be pissed
stock toy=33's
sas'd toy=35's to 38's easily
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As I said, I'm not trying to start a debate, but what engine do you have in your stock toy that's pushing 33s at highway speeds happily? Even bigger question for 35/38s. Those diffs open?.


And I was including wheels/tires in my price. Thta means 4 33x12.50 ats, 4 31x10.50 mts, 4 31x10.50 ats, plus 3 sets of wheels, the last being 15x8 alloys (5 of them).

I won't even get into it because I know what the stuff costs for yotas and jeeps. 2 lift buildups, a rear disc swap, and several sets of wheels/ tires for under a grand, but you're right. Jeep stuff is expensive.

Let me just reiterate, I like yotas, I also like keepin' it real...

Edit: also, you might fit those big tires on your stock yotas, but how about flexing them? My figures include brakelines, bumpstops, shocks, etc... Its one thing to "run" tires, another thing entirely to have the suspension to put the meats where you want them...
 
I ran 35's w/ a 3.0 and auto, factory 4.88 gears w/ detoit lockers. power was perfectly adequate for highway driving (althought NOT exceptional). My room mate has a 89 toy w/ 37" boggers w/ a stock 190,000 miles 3.0 5 speed and it will go 75 all day long. Stock 4.10 gears.

The same 4runner I ran 33" yokohama M/Ts w/ a 2 inch rear spacer (coils in rear) and went all over uwharrie, up and down daniel, w/ very minimal tire rub. brakelines, bumpstops, shocks can be changed for personal preference, but since the stock articulation was not effected, is not absolutely necessary.

I think XJ's look and perform great when done right, but its so hard to fit a decent size tire on them w/out getting crazy tall that they aren't worth it as a crawler / dd combo.
 
Flipper said:
My room mate has a 89 toy w/ 37" boggers w/ a stock 190,000 miles 3.0 5 speed and it will go 75 all day long. Stock 4.10 gears.

I think XJ's look and perform great when done right, but its so hard to fit a decent size tire on them w/out getting crazy tall that they aren't worth it as a crawler / dd combo.
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That's cool, I hadn't heard that much good stuff about the 3.0 My buddy has a 93 w/ 22RE/ 31s, and it SUCKS on the road, but its a 4 banger so whaddya expect?

I sort of agree about the hardcore crawler/wheeler thing, an out of the box XJ with its sways disconnected will crawl pretty well. http://youtube.com/watch?v=pDPzbPwP6L8

If you're willing to trim some sheetmetal, fitting decent sized tires is relatively easy.

If you trimmed and ran 2" spacers you could run 33s on an XJ, and trimming sheet is easier than SASing. stock brakes/shocks/driveline, etc would all be fine too.

at 36 or so most XJ guys go to fullwidths, that's pretty sweet if you can spin nearly 40" tires on locked stock axles, I'd always heard about the weak birfs, not true? I'm also a little flabbergasted as to how you can run 37s on 4.10s with an engine putting out 150 hp? rule of thumb for the 190 ho 4.0 would have 4.88s or 5.13s, and I'd allow for T-case gearing but 75 is highway speed...

I guess I think a yota is a better DD/crawler for those who want 36"+ tires given what you and your roomate get out of yours. If you want 35" down, I'd pick an XJ. Trim up and you can do 31s stock, 33s on 2-3" easily as reliable engine, good solid axles all around. Aisin-warner transmission is the bomb.

I had no idea the yota axles were so stout. I knew the 8" had a good rep, but I didn't know stock yota axles would handle 37s without flinching f-r. I'd heard before that there were weak links.
 
Archdukeferdinand said:
Unreliable? As an XJ guy I don't know what that means, but...
Define bigger tire, bone stock '96+ XJ axles will do locked 35s...
Ditto what you said about the fab skills and DDing an SAS yota, but don't say things like unreliable. From my experience, I've seen 22res needing rebuild long before 4.0s, esp renix block 4.0s...
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I wasn't talking about just the engine here, Seems the 4.0 IS a good engine, it's just the rest of the truck that falls apart around it. And as a whole Toyota's are MUCH more reliable than Jeeps. And I can run a hellofa lot bigger tire than a 35 on my toyota axles, yea I will have to replace the shafts with upgraded ones at a certain point (much larger than 35's), but jeep axles are usually the first thing to get replaced with a stronger WHOLE UNIT, not just upgrading the axle shafts.
 
rattlecanpaint said:
I wasn't talking about just the engine here, Seems the 4.0 IS a good engine, it's just the rest of the truck that falls apart around it. And as a whole Toyota's are MUCH more reliable than Jeeps. And I can run a hellofa lot bigger tire than a 35 on my toyota axles, yea I will have to replace the shafts with upgraded ones at a certain point (much larger than 35's), but jeep axles are usually the first thing to get replaced with a stronger WHOLE UNIT, not just upgrading the axle shafts.
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Bah, I don't care about the rest of jeeps (don't drive 'em either).

My XJ is a hp d30/8.25 4.0/AW4/NP231

I looked up some stats on the toy 8" and its about as strong as a D44 in most respects (shafts, ring gear), D60 in some places (pinion, more offset easier on R&P altogether). The same is true for the 29 spline chryco 8.25, it has a stiffer housing and pinion shaft than the d44 but slightly smaller axle shafts (d44 shafts same size as yota 8).

Strength isn't the weakness in XJ axles (barring the 35), its aftermarket support.

AW4 is an aisin-warner tranny, and is the same transmission as the A304 that the tuner guys push with 500 hp.

np231 is a chain drive TC, but aren't later yotas too? This is a proven TC to be sure.

So yeah, some jeeps fall apart on you but the NEWEST XJ on the road is 7 years old, and they are all over the place.

I can't believe that no one has mentioned the XJ's main downfall in longevity, the uniframe construction. That can be fixed by making a subframe from u-channel or angle iron. $100 of metal and one afternoon of welding. Also a nice platform for long arms, skids, etc...

My point is more about XJs being cheap and easy and in various places lasting nearly as long, as long, or longer than most yotas. Mine is higher than I'd want it for a DD at 5" on 33s and trimming sheet is definitely easier than an SAS. Yota might be a better hardcore crawler in the end, but the XJ will be easier to build to a trail killer/DD.

Usually when xj jeepers upgrade to new axles its to a d60, ford 9 or 14 bolt. Many look for d44 rear ends to replace the sheisty d35 rear end, and I've even seen a couple toy 8 swaps, but not a ton as it'd be a mostly lateral gain in strength.

There are tons of upgrade axle shafts for jeeps, and most jeepers (not just xjs) will do shafts before a whole swap, but junkyard rears and cheap and certain rear ends are easier/cheaper to swap discs to than others.
 
all the pissing and moanin aside that toyotas ARE better than jeeps i DD a solid axle tacoma everday. have been since june and i have no regrets. sure it doesnt drive how toyota designed it to but i think it does alright...reason i did it was for trail benefits...if you want the added performance for wheeling purposes there is nothing better the swaping out he old IFS. if your doing it for looks then i wouldnt bother unless you got a lot of money u just want to shit away. if you wheel ur truck and have out grown the capabilities of your trucks IFS performance then the only step is to go with a solid front. thats the only reason to do the swap because if you dont wheel the truck the lack of onroad abilities will get annoying if you have no use for the benefits offroad. it will get old. thats my advice at least
 
the reason for upgrading to a 44 or a 60 is that i can get a 60 cheaper than a set of good nuckles and shafts for a yota
 
tacoma87 said:
thats the only reason to do the swap because if you dont wheel the truck the lack of onroad abilities will get annoying if you have no use for the benefits offroad. it will get old. thats my advice at least
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I disagree, a properly setup SAS will ride just as good if not better than a IFS. Driving my dad's stock IFS Taco, it seems to have a very soft suspension and alot of sway, I won't say MY truck is better than it, but a fairly low (5" or less lift) SAS'd truck with good shocks and springs (and a good alignment) will likely ride better than IFS (especially lifted IFS).

BUT I do agree partly, if it will never see off-road, it is a waste of time/money to put an SAS in it.
 
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