Tacoma SAS 3 Link Steering/Suspension

alove0750

alove0750

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Location
concord
I'm in the process of getting my Tacoma solid axle swapped. I'm using a 82 Toyota axle in the swap. I'm going to run a 3 link setup, but I have ran into a few "issues"

1) I'm trying to find out exactly what coil setup to run. I'm using 12in Fox coilovers up front, and from talking to a few people on other forums that have done a very similar swap on their daily driver I gotten the recommendation of 250lbs on top and 350lbs on the bottom. Is there any advantages to running say a 10in coil on top and 14in on the bottom, or just running two 12in coils?

2) Trail-Gear is telling me that I could not run a regular high steer setup due to it "limiting" my drop/flex. With the setup I'm going to be running the shock should bottom out before I ever have to worry about the steering binding/breaking. I have talked to multiple people who have done it and some run high steer and some run a Y steering setup. Do you guys have any input?

I'm not starting the cutting part of the conversion until end of April/first part of May, so I still have time to make adjustments. Thanks!
 
1st suggestion is don't buy the TG kit. Look at the link crossmembers Infamous sells (link in my sig), they are VERY beefy, inboard the lower links some, and the center comes out to allow for transmission removal. I can guarantee you won't find a better crossmember for the money. You will probably want the 3" drop crossmember instead of the 1.5", unless you plan to do dual cases and rotate the pinion up.

The front suspension on my Tacoma will be 3-link/coilovers, and I can tell you, it's tough to keep the truck low and still have decent uptravel, I can say that and I don't even have the front axle mounted yet...
 
Nah, nothing for the link setup would be coming from them. My fab guy said that he was looking/liking the link brackets by ballistic metal fab and he was going to do a custom crossmember.

I'm not wanting to do anything crazy since it is just a daily driver, probably keeping it on 33's or 35's. I would be happy with 4-5 inches of up travel... I just want something that I wont have to worry about breaking, plus it would be a cool project.

As far as the case I'm going to run a gear driven case with 4.7's. I doubt I will ever go duals.
 
From the sounds of it a leaf spring susp will suite your needs. Unless you just want to spend on a link set up.
 
You shouldnt run a 12" lower spring on a 12" coilover. When the shock hits full extension the spring can get caught on the lower edge of the shock body.
 
Redneck92 said:
From the sounds of it a leaf spring susp will suite your needs. Unless you just want to spend on a link set up.
Click to expand...

The issue with doing leafs is all the nit pick things that I would have to change. I would have to do a new/shorter radiator (according to the TG kit), plus I would have to completely re-do my bumper.
 
Tacoma747 said:
Same t-case i will be running. You can still clock it up 10* with the inchworm gear adapter. At least look at the infamous crossmember, might be worth the time savings.
Click to expand...

I'm going to def give it a look... if it could save some time/money that would be great! Thanks for the recommendation
 
If you dont mind me asking, what are you planning to spend on this, and what kind of wheeling/dd? i dont know alot about toyotas but i thought the transfer case was passenger side drop in the tacomas, if this is true wouldnt it be easier to run a waggy 44?
 
alove0750 said:
So would it be better to do a 10 over 14in coil?
Click to expand...
No
The 10" upper spring and a 14" lower spring is something a lot of desert racers run so they hit the dual rate stop faster than if they ran a 12" 12" combo. For your application a 12" upper and lower will work just fine for you on a Fox coilover, you won't have any problems at all.
 
Nissanwheeler said:
If you dont mind me asking, what are you planning to spend on this, and what kind of wheeling/dd? i dont know alot about toyotas but i thought the transfer case was passenger side drop in the tacomas, if this is true wouldnt it be easier to run a waggy 44?
Click to expand...

It's just going to be my dd/camping rig. I'm not going to do anything crazy with it until I purchase another vehicle to drive. I was going to re-do the front suspension (tie rods, ball joints, etc...) after adding all that up I opted to go with the solid axle. It's something that I have wanted to do for a while so I just pulled the trigger.

On the Tacoma's the transfer case is a drivers side drop, so yes a dana 44 out of a old Jeep Waggy would world, but I want to keep it Toyota :rolleyes: In order to do that I'm getting the Tacoma Adapter from Inchworm which will allow me to run a transfer case out of a older Toyota (82/gear driven)
 
Ok, cool. I went throught the same thing with my IFS nissan and decided to SAS, although i have been wheeling with it yet im very happy with it.
I understand keeping it all toyota. I still think it would be easier, and cheeper to go with a leaf setup but thats my 2 cents, and its your truck.
but what ever you decide to do ill be looking forward to the tech on your build thread:bounce:
 
CarolinaTruggies said:
No
The 10" upper spring and a 14" lower spring is something a lot of desert racers run so they hit the dual rate stop faster than if they ran a 12" 12" combo. For your application a 12" upper and lower will work just fine for you on a Fox coilover, you won't have any problems at all.
Click to expand...

So for a DD/weekend warrior, the 12" over 12" would be better? If I were to run the 10" over 14" or the 12" over 12", what would be the gains/losses? I want something that will handle well on-road, but still be able to handle/flex well off-road. I believe I'm going to do a 250lbs over 350lbs coil rate with 150psi.
 
If you are not too far into it, leaf springs will do just fine on and off road. I wouldn't spend the $$$ on a 3-link setup unless you plan to wheel it HARD. If you plan to run ~35's, and plan to 'crawl', (in other words, you are not a speed demon offroad), then leaf springs are fine. Only when you are constantly BASHING the truck offroad at fast speeds would the coilovers/link suspension really come into play, you can go plenty fast offroad with leaf springs and decent shocks.

It doesn't sound like you NEED a link suspension, but that's up to you and your wallet, you may be planning to wheel it harder than I'm thinking. If you think the truck will change into a dedicated trail rig in the future, go ahead and link it...
 
No, I don't "need" one, but it was going to cost more to do the leafs. Once you add in all the b/s stuff that would have to be done to run leafs it would be easier to do a link and I would be coming out cheaper. I would have to change the radiator (hangs bellow the frame) I would have to either completely re-do my front bumper or have to fab up a new way to mount it. For now it isn't going to be wheeled hard, but there will come a day when it will get put to the test. I'm just going to need something else to drive as a back up
 
alove0750 said:
So for a DD/weekend warrior, the 12" over 12" would be better? If I were to run the 10" over 14" or the 12" over 12", what would be the gains/losses? I want something that will handle well on-road, but still be able to handle/flex well off-road. I believe I'm going to do a 250lbs over 350lbs coil rate with 150psi.
Click to expand...
The 12 over 12 will probably work better for you. Desert guys that run that setup generally run a much heavier bottom spring and a lighter top spring. In conjuction with a bypass shock the heavy bottom spring on the dual rate stop acts like a heavier than normal bump setup. You can run 10 over 14 without a problem must likely but I think youll get more out of the 12 over 12 setup. We have lots of coilover experience along with coilovers in stock so if you have any questions give us a call.
Also setting up your link suspension, probably the most important think for you is going to be your drag link and track bar relationship along with some minor steering details to get the best on road driveablilty with it. Again if you have any questions give us a call and Ill be more than happy to help you.
Alex
 
CarolinaTruggies said:
The 12 over 12 will probably work better for you. Desert guys that run that setup generally run a much heavier bottom spring and a lighter top spring. In conjuction with a bypass shock the heavy bottom spring on the dual rate stop acts like a heavier than normal bump setup. You can run 10 over 14 without a problem must likely but I think youll get more out of the 12 over 12 setup. We have lots of coilover experience along with coilovers in stock so if you have any questions give us a call.
Also setting up your link suspension, probably the most important think for you is going to be your drag link and track bar relationship along with some minor steering details to get the best on road driveablilty with it. Again if you have any questions give us a call and Ill be more than happy to help you.
Alex
Click to expand...


Thank you for all the info, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I'm new to the idea of coilovers and exactly how the different spring lengths/weights and the shock valvings make a difference.
 
No worries, you're fairly close to me. Your best bet would be to swing by here and let me give you a quick schooling of what you need to do. I have some examples here so when you leave you should know exactly what to do.
 
Sounds like a plan. I will try to swing by, plus I would like to see what all you have in stock. I was thinking about running just a standard Fox coilover, no resevoir. Any recommendations?
 
Just curious when it comes to the axle have you thought about cutting a toyota axle and flipping it to make it drivers drop? I like the information in this thread. i am doing a SAS with my montero. Monteros have even less support, so everything is pretty orignal. Good luck with your swap.
 
I did think about it, but I figured by the time I had all that done I would have less in the gear driven case adapter. Plus I can't gear my factory case down and I can't afford one of the crawl boxes for the Tacoma case. I just figured by swapping the case I would have less of a head ache with the axle, plus I can/am doing 4.7's in the case.
 
Same reason I did the passenger drop t-case/axle. The dual case (or lefty) setup is well over $1000 from inchworm. The adapter+4.7 gears is about $800-$900, and if doing a SAS anyways, it's cheaper to go ahead and flip to the passenger side.

Have you bought the adapter yet? I bought mine back in December, it was on sale for 20% off (about $340 shipped I think)
 
Back
Top