Tacoma Solid Axle Swap [Part 10] - Steering Box Mount

[@Lonesomebees]

Thanks for your build videos I own a 94 Toyota pickup and used a trail gear sas kit but I’m looking at the Tacoma sas because I have a friend that is wanting to sas his Tacoma. I see you are having clearance issues with that pitman arm. Trail gear makes a drop pitman arm for just over $100. Might wanna check into that before you cut a channel into the frame. Thanks again for the uploads really enjoy watching a good build video.

[@Trav74r]

Sorry for the slow reply. I intentionally picked the flat pitman arm for this project, because I was trying to keep the overall ride height low. Honestly I got it low enough that I am actually fighting the leaf springs clearing the pitman arm under compression. Thank you very much for the compliments on the videos though, it means a lot.

[@wealthyblackman2655]

Thank you for explaining SAS acronym. GEEZ... Any time these videos just utilize acronyms it is confusing as hell to figure out...

[@4lownslow]

Sorry for not watching the whole series but … are Is it possible to weld the spring perches 31.5” apart to fit the full size axle swap kit from sky’s off road ?

[@Trav74r]

Yes, that's actually what I did in this series

[@4lownslow]

@@Trav74r Nice thank you Is the axle a 61.5” wide Tacoma size Or is it the +5” size axle ? I want to do the same I’m just not sure if the Tacoma size 61.5 axle allows for the spring perches to be 31.5” spread apart.

[@Trav74r]

@@4lownslow the rock assault axle I used is the widest they made (best of my memory). I thought that it was considered the Tacoma width. However the axle is closer to 63" WMS, not 61.5. I ended up running 1.5" spacers in the rear to make the factory 60" rear axle match the new front.

[@Trav74r]

@@4lownslow actually you may be right. I'm going off what I can remember. I went with Tacoma width rock assault that is like 60" wide. Then I also did the IFS hub swap to pick up adding extra 1.5" on each side. Giving me a total of 63" WMS. So yes you can use the Tacoma width and run a 31.5" spring perch center.

[@227lazer]

Drag link and tie rod clash. Give minimum 1 inch space between when straight at full comp.

[@227lazer]

How did you over come tie rod scrubbing spings

[@motoboggin2619]

what pitman arm is that? i cant figure it out. im in the process of swapping to a toyota ifs box and i am using Heim joints instead of ball joints.

[@Trav74r]

The pitman arm came from a trail gear high steer kit. You can select from either a flat arm or a drop arm. The individual pitman can be purchased here. trail-gear.com/steering/toyota-pitman-arm.html

[@motoboggin2619]

@@Trav74r thank you so much

[@Kamshaft93]

What Pitman arm are you running

[@Trav74r]

It's a trail gear branded pitman arm. I chose the flat arm for my setup.

[@Kamshaft93]

@@Trav74r that’s what I need is a flat arm for mine. I’m running a Toyota box in my Chevy Colorado.

[@MrLiveforwinter]

What steering box did you use?

[@Trav74r]

I used and Toyota IFS steering box. It's one of the most commonly used boxes for Toyota swaps.

[@devanolear3121]

But if it full lock to the right and drivers tire goes down your tie rod will hit

[@Trav74r]

You are correct. I have changed the setup a little bit. I swapped the tie rods on the drag link for heim joints. Then I drilled out the steering arms and used misalignment spacers to step the drag link up enough to clear. So far no problems.

[@devanolear3121]

Im doing high steer on my 85 and I'm waiting on kit to get here to mount my ifs box

[@Trav74r]

I think high steer is a no-brainer upgrade on most Toyota solid axle trucks.

[@devanolear3121]

It should be but I still cant decide how I wanna mount my box the kit come with a drop pitman arm and I have 7 inch lift so I may have to tilt it back some

[@zakaroonetwork777]

Drop Pitman Arm

[@Trav74r]

Need the steering to clear the suspension currently, not the frame. Managed to get the truck low enough that a drop pitman arm would actually make everything fit worse.