Landcruiser axles will work wih some effort. The early ones are basically no different, strength-wise than the mini-truck axle, bit different diffs.

The FJ80 axle is high pinion, wider than stock, very strong. A bit harder to find steering kits for, I think Ott in Canada is one of the only vendors for high steer arms. High pinion adds clearance, helps w/ front driveshaft angle and also is stronger in the front axle with the reverse cut gears:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_TechInfo.shtml#ReverseCutGears

Disagree w/ Roger a bit on this one. FJ-40 axles are a no-go, period. You'd need a mini-truck axle to replace the outers anyway for discs and for descent birfields. The FJ-60/2 axles are wider, which is nice, but I don't believe you can get a 29.5" perch width on those. Also, you have to cut/turn the knuckles if you're going to do a spring over anyway. Doable, yes, but not the easiest nor cheapest. FJ/FZJ-80 axles are great but do require custom steering components which are NOT easy to find. OTT may still make arms, but they are no longer, last I heard, machining the knuckles to accept them.

Go mini - it's easy.

oops didnt see page 3

high-pinion = 1750
longfields = 630
hysteer = 380
bearing and knucle rebuild kit = 120
arp hub studs = 69

actualy more then 2500. Yes it is possible to do cheaper, but i dont see the point when u can buy a hgh pinion d60 for a grand which is way stronger then a 8" anyhow.

as for rear axle
1700 on a floater kit
1150 on a diff
over 2500 right there.


I didnt break anything on the rear, but i chipped ring gear teeth that ZUK setup on the front, blew a 30 spline longfield and have totaly f-ed up my spindles. Blown hubs. They are just such a fn pita to deal with and way to much money for what you get.

dont roll your eyes at me bkg <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

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Trying to base an argument on hyperbole and exaggeration does not lend credence to your position...

I have built a few Chevy D44Æs cut down to ~61-64ö and a couple of Toy fronts so I have a pretty good idea of the costs involved in both cases.

Try to compare apples to apples here as well, a Front HP D44 with a selectable locker to a Front HP 8" Toy with a selectable locker.

A brand new HP 5.29 ELocker is $1300 from Marlin and an ARB is $1600.

How much is it going to cost to get a professionally set-up HP D44 or HP D60 with an ARB or E-Locker and 5.38 gears? A passenger drop HP D44 is easy enough to mix and match factory length inner shafts in either OEM or aftermarket to get the width and spring perch dimensions you want but a D60 is lacking the wide variety of widths and consequently inner shafts to be able to do this without going to custom length shafts.

You could also argue the cost and availability of getting a HP D44 or HP D60 housing and the subsequent re-tubing to make it work on a passenger side drop vehicle.

All three axles are likely going to need the front kingpins/ball joints and wheel bearings looked at.

As someone who also has a full floater rear axle with a 5.29 ELocker diff, vented rotors and small piston IFS calipers I can tell you that I spent less than $2850 by a LONG ways. I have under $2000 Canadian into it including the TC E-brake and new wheel bearings.

Interesting breakage. I assume the spindles were damaged when the Longs broke. Otherwise, there must have other issues having to with set up, bent axle or something else, because the spindles rarely have issues. Assuming a swapped axle, was the axle from a wrecked truck? That right there could explain a lot. It's often hard to tell i if Toyota axles are bent or the spindles damaged until bad things happen. Chipped teeth could be an overwhelmed ring gear...it could also be a weak defective ring gear or a cheap aftermarket. The Long breakage could have been defective parts, bent axle, bad spindles, if they were already bad before the Longs were installed, wrong birf lube, etc or you just the reach the limit of the part. Every part has a limit. Even in a Dana 60.

The Aisin hubs are usually the last thing to go, especially with a stud upgrade, and considering how strong the Aisins are, it seems like your axle set up must have stood up to some serious abuse, but everything breaks at some point.

I'm not sure how this proves that a Dana 44 is stronger or less expensive to build of equal or better strength. Do you run a 44 now that was cheaper to build and has held up to more stuff than the 8" did?

There are so many variables that can cause everything from hubs to ring gears to even Longs to break. Poor quality parts, defective parts, poor quality set up, bent axle housings, etc.

The debate between the 44 and 8" aside, since I'm really not qualified to judge the 44, cleary the 8" has held it's own, because it's run on literally thousands of rock crawling trucks and has been for many years with great success. That speaks volumns right there. If it was such a piece of junk axle, I don't think Toyotas would be as popular as they are now, because the number of people who swap different axles under a Toyota are relatively rare compared to the tens of thousands of people who wheel them with great success on the stock axles. And people sure as heck wouldn't be doing SAS swaps by the thousands using an 8" front axle, if a 44 was so much better.

The debate between the 44 and 8" is probably a waste of time, without taking two identical set ups and putting them through a torque test, because it's hard to compare breakage between the two axles, when there are so many variables, but I think there's plenty of evidence that the 8" front is a seriously capable axle.

You may have had bad luck, but most haven't...and that's my point.

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Im not complaining about it. And no I dont run a d44 Im just saying for the type of wheeling I wont ever run less then a d60 in the front. Maybe a 9-60 combo. I wheel hard i and i accept that stuff has limitations. I was mearly saying if you have a heavy foot and you want to spend less money on beef in the long run get a d60.

Your prices are WAY inflated.

Please describe HOW you broke those parts, please.

I have a Dana 44 under my 4runner. It came out of a 75 blazer. The reason I went with the Dana was b/c it cost me $200 from hub to hub and I couldn't find a toyota axle under $350. The birfields kinda scared me at the time, but from what everyone is saying they're not that bad. I only shortened the long side, and rotated the pinion up 10 or 12*... can't remember which. I have 4130 custom cromo inner shafts, Detroit and all.

Pros: NO birfields, big brakes, 1/2" thick housing, big wheel bearings and better turning radius. Easy to find axle and parts in general.

Negatives: Requires a Chevy Master cylinder, which is also a fab job. The steering system is all custom built so it takes time to order it if you bend it up. However most of my TRE's are off 80's 1 TON TRUCKS! Setting up gears is a PITA, b/c you can't ship the 3rd to ZUK! A high pinion would be nice. Custom brake lines. and the ratios's don't "match". 5.29/5.38. But that's not really a problem, i've yet to notice anything weird.

Overall I am very happy with the Dana 44. It has it's pros and cons. 6 or half a dozen in the end. I personally would do whatever axle you can get quicker. b/c having 1/2 ton brakes is AWSOME. I can bring that 4runner to a stop in a hurry and easily! and brake pads are $20!


But remember it's not a regular SAS. you have to know WTF you're doing. and take your time to "perfect" some things. Can't throw it together in a hurry.

Those prices are about right. At least on the front end stuff. Remember, he had the 30 spline longs which are a lot more expensive than the old school stuff.

I'm not sure what kind of locker he had, but trust me, a custom high pinion lockered up diff can easily cost $1800, because that's about what I have in my ARB high pinion, which was all brand new, including the diff casing, gears and that included a better than normal price on the ARB locker.

The high steer price is a lot less than I paid, but I guess prices have come down since I did my SAS back in '02.

As for the Dana 60, I don't know what prices run, but I'm sure that's a better option if you're breaking the best the 8" and 44 have to offer. I can't imagine that a narrowed 60 with the proper gears and lockered up would be cheap, though. And then you'd probably want one in the rear to match gear ratios, strength and wheel bolt pattern, etc.