Putting full-width axles under a Toyota frame has just gotten easier, thanks to Sky Manufacturing in Springfield, Oregon. Its full-width solid-axle swap kit includes a front crossmember/spring hanger made of laser-cut 1/4- and 3/16-inch steel. After I had the IFS components cut off and ground through some rust to find some solid steel on the frame, we were ready to hang the front crossmember. It is designed to hang in the stock location or either 3/4 or 1 inch farther forward. To try and keep the tires clear of the body, I pushed it to the farthest point forward, and bolted it in place until I was ready to weld.
I convinced Fernando Gutierrez from Atlas Spring to stop by the shop and discuss making my front springs. I wanted Clampy as low as possible, and was willing to trade uptravel for a wide, stable rockcrawler. Gutierrez and I decided on a near flat leaf pack, 45 1/2 inches from front hanger to shackle hanger. This would actually push the spring into negative arch under full stuff. The center pin was located off center so that it would sit 20 inches from the front hanger to give more firewall clearance for the tires. After wheeling with this setup, I would have gone with maybe an inch more lift, since the springs settled slightly with the weight of a winch and from extreme articulation.
The front shackles must match the outboard location of the front hangers, but since the frame steps outward behind the front axletube, Sky offers special offset shackles. I measured 45 1/2 inches from the front spring hanger bolt, used the supplied template to mark the inside and outside of the frame about centered under the body mount, and started cutting with my Spectrum 625. I originally thought you could duplicate this cut with a quality holesaw, but inside the frame are some gussets that need to be cut through as well. Once I had the holes cut, I installed the springs and offset shackles to determine where the frame sleeve should be welded. By measuring from corresponding frame openings side to side and diagonally, I made sure everything was square before tacking the sleeve in place. Next I removed the bushings and burned steel to rusty steel with my Millermatic 210 MIG.
About this time I told my buddy JR that I was hosting a sorority kegger at the shop and he should stop by with his grinder and work clothes. Unfortunately the girls of Tapa Lota Pi had left before he made it, so instead he got to help me repair the rusted framerails on the back of Clampy. JR showed me a trick where laying a rough cut piece of poster board over the area we wanted to repair and tapping the frame through it with a hammer left a mark on the paper that we could then cut along. This gave us a template, which I then copied onto a sheet of 1/8-inch steel and cut out with the Spectrum 625. JR recommended cutting the steel 1/2 inch taller than the framerails, and then once we tack-welded the ends into place we just pounded the top and bottom 1/4 inch over. I realized later that I should have spent more time - or got JR to spend more time - grinding and cleaning the framerails, as just a small bit of rust would contaminate my welds. The final beads were gorilla style - big and ugly, but strong.
With the frame repaired I was ready to start the rear suspension. While digging around in the 4-Wheel and Off-Road storage I found a set of Tuff Country 5-inch (PN 19590) rear springs for 1988-1998 Chevy trucks that were left over from a previous project. These 60-inch springs are plenty long and, with the overload leaf removed, should flex really well. Plus by going spring-under rather than spring-over they should help fight the spring wrap Toyotas are notorious for. The Dana 70 I used was spring-over, but the spring perches were in the wrong place, so I had to cut them off and grind the housing clean. I also left the drums since I wanted the future option of hooking up the parking brake. I got the heavy-duty spring perches from Off Road Unlimited, used the stock Dodge U-bolt plates since they have shock mounts built in, and had some new square U-bolts made at a local spring shop. Check out those trick lower spring plates from Dynatrac with the ends angle cut to help these low-slung leaves slide over obstacles.
The stock rear-spring hanger was cut off and the new ones clamped in place 11 3/4 inches farther forward as per Sky Manufacturing's instructions. The angled design helped in many situations, but during UA I had to adjust my line over big rocks a couple times in order to keep from getting hung up on them.
Sky's heavy-duty shackle hanger is a TIG-welded little gem that gets welded on just behind where the stock shackle was. I installed a rear crossmember/bumper to strengthen the rear of the frame, and booger-welded the shackle hanger on with my MIG gun. After the trip I realized that the shackle hanger should have been about an inch farther forward to get a better shackle angle, and to help keep the shackle from being pushed forward under extreme articulation.