Rear axle.....60 or 9" or ??

[basalt51]

My ford 9" is only 58" wide I think, and the only real problem is that the rear tires don't track behind the front. Makes it a little more difficult to get the rear tire on the same rock as the front around a turn. It also track wierd in the snow and the rear was still working after the front had packed some snow. When I get 35s it may be necessary to get spacers so I don't rub the inner fender well.

 

[BrettM]

it is ideal to have the rear axle 1-3 inches narrower so that it tracks better on turns, though it won't track over the exact same ground straight. my Waggy 44 front is 61, 8" rear is 58.5, perfect if you ask me. my main concern over width is if there is enough room to mount spring perches at XJ width. there was barely enough room for my MJ, and MJ springs are an inch or two closer together. check my thread out here, go down a ways and you'll see the Toy axle mounted and the spring plates are very close to the drums. again, if you were to mount the XJs leaves under the "frame" rail, or link the rear this wouldn't be an issue, or get a 60" wide rear.

 

[BrettM]

okay, so the brakes aren't on in that picture, but you can see how close they are to the ends of the axle

 

[BajaXJ92]

heres another axle to consider. a mopar 8 3/4 if you don't mind a spool you can run 35 spline shafts. they cam in a 61 width I just got mine I'm droping 5.38 in it and a spool.

Can you run 4.10-4.56s in the Mopar 8 3/4?

 

[Safari Ary]

If I decide to go with a Toy 8" can I use a 2wd rear axle and swap in alloy shafts to get my bolt pattern right? I spent the morning scouring the junkyards and all I can find are 2wd housings. Are they the same width at 58.5" wide?? Thanks

Ary

 

[REDXJ4FUN]

Can you run 4.10-4.56s in the Mopar 8 3/4?

Ya everything from the 2.?? down to a 5.??

 

[offroadman83]

I agree with redxj. If I wasn't almost done with my 9 Inch ford I would definitely got 8-3/4. These are very beefy axles and they have awesome ground clearance. They are as good as a toy axle if not better in my opinion. My friend is putting one under his cherokee on 35s. You can run just about any locker in them and any gear ration and even upgrade the shafts. They look to have more clearance than a dana 35 too.-----------Kyle

 

[Lincoln]

I starting to really hate Toyota's.

1. Everything with the e-locker has 6-lug. The only 2wd is the Prerunner but it is the 6 lug vs. the 5X4.5.
2. Forget about carrying extra shafts. The backing plates are pressed on under the bearings so you have to carry all the brakes with your spare shaft.
3. Only the V-6 2x4's have the 5x4.5 with a 31 spline axle.
4. Some of the axles without anti lock have tone righs and some do not. The ones that do have the seal about 1.5" deaper in the housing end. The shafts have a different taper between the two designs.
5. The 5x4.5 have smaller 10" (roughly) drums.
6. The 2x4 (except the prerunner) the housing tapers down towards the end.
7. Wheel bearings (need if redrilling) are somewhere around $70 each.
8. Pinion bearings are $$$$$$$$$$. The rest isn't too bad.

So far I've found about six variations in the Taco housings. I'm getting real close to scrapping this project.

 

[Safari Ary]

Lincoln, it sounds like all of your troubles are arising from trying to retain the 5x4.5 bolt pattern. Also, I have no intention of running drums, so none of that concerns me. It also sounds like you're using a Taco housing, and not the 8" found from '86 to '95 which seems much harder to get aftermarket goodies for in general.

I'm really liking mad maxj's suggestion of running the common Toy 8" from the '86-'95 Toyotas and running wheel spacers. After reading the link he posted it seems that will be the most cost effective way to go.

Ary

 

[BrettM]

absolutely! I have about $400 into a locked, geared axle that will take abuse on 35s. Rumor has it Allpro has 3/4" spacers with longer studs for under $100 a pair (but they're not listed on their site)

 

[Lincoln]

Yes, the 5x4.5 is causing a problem. I can understand why there isn't much support for these axles. There are too many different variations. I was just out looking at swapping the e-locker third member into the other housing. Stud size on the 2x4 is 10 mm and the studs on the other are 8mm and the seperation is slighly different on several of the studs (not counting the different locations for the locker itself). It all might be fudgable though.

I did find out that toyota has always had the step in the tubes between the 4x4 and 4x2. I haven't decided how much weeker it is. It's only 1/4" difference and the tapper begins right before the spring perches. The 4x4 housing tapers in the same spot but only down to 3".

 

[BrettM]

i really doubt that taper is a problem, just go hang out on the Toyota section of the Pirate board for a while (I have been for about a year now) and you'll realize that tons of these axles are being downright abused and performing great. some guys truss them for that extra bit of assurance, and like I said above, I heard a rumor that Sky Mfg. is going to be selling a weld on truss for $30, which would save a lot of time with the torch.

 

[Lincoln]

A friend and I talked a lot about this before I started. He's been running 38's for almost 10 years now and the last few winters he ran 44's for the snow. He hasn't a shaft failure or bent housing yet.

I had forgotten that the e-lock couldn't be retrofitted to the other housing. I think I'm going to kick this to the side so I can work on something else.

 

[BrettM]

for anyone doubting the strength of Toy axles, here's another great example: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=240313

this guy is now running 39.5" Iroks on his Toyota rear and has wheeled the Hammers with them on. he has also wheeled Fordyce and Rubicon dozens of times with 37" MTRs. somewhere around 200:1 crawl ratio. spooled 4.10 v6 third in the rear. No breakage.