budget hilux build questions

[Kingston_99]

ok i have a 99 hilux. im sick of the IFS crap. i have thought of SAS it, but have worked out its cheaper to buy an older hilux with an solid front axle allready in it.

i have a plan in my head of how i should mod this lux.
list is
lockedup 4inch kit F/R
air lockers
gears
tires (33inh)

what are some of your thoughts about this? am i headin on the right track or should i try a differnt car eg patrol? i dont want to mod something thats goin to blow a hole in the bank

[brad 93hilux]

Its always better damaging a older cheaper truck then a newer one, once you have the clearance and lokkers you will start driving harder and harder tracks and damage is inevatible...

I think if you are running 33's just get a set of 4.5 diff ratios of ebay or this forum and install the lockers into them... Dont think you would need to worry bout crawler gears for that size tyres.

You will drive just about everything with the mods you are doing, but will need some solid side rails because otherwise you will damage your sills.

if you are looking at the lift kits from locktup buy the complete kit's with the high steer in it as a 4" kit you will have trouble on the drivers side front shock pivoting in and hitting your 'J' arm and keep damaging the shocks.

sure you can buy a gq for bugger all but then parts/ spares are expensive, fuel comsumption is alot worse (though more power) and they have a large/heavy body... Each to their own but i'd rather a lux

look around you wiil buy a lux probably off this forum with all the mods done, will be a heaps cheaper way of going about it. You will be surprised how much things add up when you start spending.

Dont forget bout the engineering side of things (if you bother- i didnt )

my 2c
Brad

[DUDELUX]

if you buy an older lux, are you going to keep and mod the current one or mod the old one and sell the current.
personally, go with a sas kit and spend your cash on your current rig, you know its history.
if you buy an older one, you dont know where its been, whats wrong with it.
youll probably spend less modding the one you have, and youll be very proud of your work once its done.
just my 20cents.

[4RUNNER_01]

ok i have a 99 hilux. im sick of the IFS crap. i have thought of SAS it, but have worked out its cheaper to buy an older hilux with an solid front axle allready in it.

i have a plan in my head of how i should mod this lux.
list is
lockedup 4inch kit F/R
air lockers
gears
tires (33inh)

what are some of your thoughts about this? am i headin on the right track or should i try a differnt car eg patrol? i dont want to mod something thats goin to blow a hole in the bank

Only thing id change is go to 35' or larger cause the 4' kits make your truck really tall and normally a good idea to get something you dont mind a bit of panel damage on cause with all that gear you'll get yourself into some funny situations but sounds good mate...

[Kingston_99]

sorry for the noob questions, but is 35inch tires legal to drive on the road? or will i have to get it engineered and up grade brakes etc to pass the cert test?

[Willy Hilux]

Can't even run 33" on the road!

[dans-paj92]

hey mate,
If your thinking of SAS your front end may as well go with an 80 series front diff or keep it hilux front and rear and use a bundy front diff as they use the same housing but are coil and use the same diff centre and CVs im pretty sure?
Either way don't waste your money on doing a SAS leaf front, sure it will be better but you will hate it and basically money wasted.
Either way it will cost a couple thousand at least.
It will all have to be engineered as well.
Mines engineered for 35s on road.
Cheers
Dan

[brad 93hilux]

any thing over 2" suspension and tyres needs to be engineered, then it depends on what components you use with the lift kit which are illegal/ or need engineering....

Then depends on what state your in, can engineer in NSW drive to QLD and get defected because the rules are different.

Having said that i have had my truck lifted for around 4-5 years now with heaps of 'defects' , have driven through 5 states and only ever got pulled over in WA because the tyres were sticking out of the guards (33's) which was only a warning....

You can be lucky or not.... But insurancs wont cover a vehicle not engineered as well as the fact if you are involved in a accident weather its your fault or not they will blame it on you for having a 'unroadworthy vehicle'

Brad

[dans-paj92]

Mines fully engineered and is fully comprehensively insured aus wide.
I got flares and all that jazz but my car kinda stands out from the rest as its 10inches higher than a stocker
If your really serious, could always do gq diffs front and rear, thats what my mates LN106 dual cab has and it also has a 1KZTE donk in it.
Its all about money in the end.
Cheers
Dan

[berad]

If your after budget, sell it buy a early 97 or older thats already done, and have change in your pocket from selling the 99.

[thehanko]

If your after budget, sell it buy a early 97 or older thats already done, and have change in your pocket from selling the 99.

x2

you have basically planned to build my lux. ln 106 33's, twin locks 2 inch lift, front diff moved. plan to move your front diff forward and inch so the 33's dont rub on the fire wall.

just by going to solid axle it will be a hell of a lot better, then with the mods you describe it will be pretty capable.

if you want it to become any more capable you need to start looking at high steer etc to get the most out of the front. stock steering is very limiting, but i get by.

I often described it as the budget build. I run 4.3 centers and 33's and have never had a situation i coudnt crawl slow enough in. id save the coin on the gears at first and add them later if your finsing the stuff your driving is punishing your clutch etc. I had 4.88's but decided to keep my 4.3's.

mine is an 89 and i have now rebuilt most of the drive line from unis to diffs (while fitting lockers) hubs, bearings, power steer, etc etc.

expect to have to do some work on any truck that old especially if its been used off road and is already modded. but you get to know the truck that way and it doesnt cost that much.

good luck

[4RUNNER_01]

If your after budget, sell it buy a early 97 or older thats already done, and have change in your pocket from selling the 99.

x2

you have basically planned to build my lux. ln 106 33's, twin locks 2 inch lift, front diff moved. plan to move your front diff forward and inch so the 33's dont rub on the fire wall.

just by going to solid axle it will be a hell of a lot better, then with the mods you describe it will be pretty capable.

if you want it to become any more capable you need to start looking at high steer etc to get the most out of the front. stock steering is very limiting, but i get by.

I often described it as the budget build. I run 4.3 centers and 33's and have never had a situation i coudnt crawl slow enough in. id save the coin on the gears at first and add them later if your finsing the stuff your driving is punishing your clutch etc. I had 4.88's but decided to keep my 4.3's.

mine is an 89 and i have now rebuilt most of the drive line from unis to diffs (while fitting lockers) hubs, bearings, power steer, etc etc.

expect to have to do some work on any truck that old especially if its been used off road and is already modded. but you get to know the truck that way and it doesnt cost that much.

good luck

Ill bring up the other side of this debate...

Buy a stocko so it hasnt got all the offroad 4wd dramas and do it youself how you want it once, when you buy a modded 4wd its never exactly what you want and you always end up changing everthing anyway why not just do it to your liking once and do it right?

MY 2c
got at least a $1 worth for later...

[booflux]

sorry for the noob questions, but is 35inch tires legal to drive on the road? or will i have to get it engineered and up grade brakes etc to pass the cert test?

Not in Qld your 31s are technically illegal. Its your call at the end of the day, anyone who tells you a leaf sas is money wasted imo has no idea.

My sas was one of the best mods I did to my Lux, although if I hadnt of already had so much money into my truck I probably would have bought a gen2 and gone from there

[nate_lux]

how much is a sas???

[thehanko]

If your after budget, sell it buy a early 97 or older thats already done, and have change in your pocket from selling the 99.

x2

you have basically planned to build my lux. ln 106 33's, twin locks 2 inch lift, front diff moved. plan to move your front diff forward and inch so the 33's dont rub on the fire wall.

just by going to solid axle it will be a hell of a lot better, then with the mods you describe it will be pretty capable.

if you want it to become any more capable you need to start looking at high steer etc to get the most out of the front. stock steering is very limiting, but i get by.

I often described it as the budget build. I run 4.3 centers and 33's and have never had a situation i coudnt crawl slow enough in. id save the coin on the gears at first and add them later if your finsing the stuff your driving is punishing your clutch etc. I had 4.88's but decided to keep my 4.3's.

mine is an 89 and i have now rebuilt most of the drive line from unis to diffs (while fitting lockers) hubs, bearings, power steer, etc etc.

expect to have to do some work on any truck that old especially if its been used off road and is already modded. but you get to know the truck that way and it doesnt cost that much.

good luck

Ill bring up the other side of this debate...

Buy a stocko so it hasnt got all the offroad 4wd dramas and do it youself how you want it once, when you buy a modded 4wd its never exactly what you want and you always end up changing everthing anyway why not just do it to your liking once and do it right?

MY 2c
got at least a $1 worth for later...

This is how I bought my car, stock as a rock.

but the point was at that age it will usually need a fair bit of maintenance stocker or not, which you can do as your modding it.

however to go out and buy twin lockers, suspension and tyres off the shelf will leave you out of pocket close to 10k, so either take your time with it, or maintain one which has some of the key points such as lockers already.

[4RUNNER_01]

This is how I bought my car, stock as a rock.

but the point was at that age it will usually need a fair bit of maintenance stocker or not, which you can do as your modding it.

however to go out and buy twin lockers, suspension and tyres off the shelf will leave you out of pocket close to 10k, so either take your time with it, or maintain one which has some of the key points such as lockers already.

I Reckon that a built lux do it yourself or buy one done your looking at similar cash around the 10K mark for an old one i bought mine with a few mods that are now worth nothing after ive upgraded and their just spares in the backyard tires, diffs, suspension, engine and so on...

and mine also had a few more problems then your average street driven lux as you'd expect so realistically just replacing all the things that get trashed offroad will bring the price up as well but ideally one that hasnt been offroad shouldn't have those typical probs saving you money....

Anyway what he said he wants with careful spending should be able to do for under 10K if he picks up a cheap lux to begin with and can do most of the mods himself or through mates...

[4RUNNER_01]

This is how I bought my car, stock as a rock.

but the point was at that age it will usually need a fair bit of maintenance stocker or not, which you can do as your modding it.

however to go out and buy twin lockers, suspension and tyres off the shelf will leave you out of pocket close to 10k, so either take your time with it, or maintain one which has some of the key points such as lockers already.

I Reckon that a built lux do it yourself or buy one done your looking at similar cash around the 10K mark for an old one i bought mine with a few mods that are now worth nothing after ive upgraded and their just spares in the backyard tires, diffs, suspension, engine and so on...

and mine also had a few more problems then your average street driven lux as you'd expect so realistically just replacing all the things that get trashed offroad will bring the price up as well but ideally one that hasnt been offroad shouldn't have those typical probs saving you money....

Anyway what he said he wants with careful spending should be able to do for under 10K if he picks up a cheap lux to begin with and can do most of the mods himself or through mates...

[DUDELUX]

as i said before, if you go and buy an older one, you have no idea about vehicle history, so anything it needs like timing belt, etc, driveline bits, there could be bits that are fairly worn and will need replacing, all so you can upgrade later on, plus you have the problem of rust in places, all which will add up pretty quickly.
so spend the cash on the lux you have now, mechanically, you know where it is and what its problems are.
buy and fit a sas kit, do as many mods as you can to save a bit extra, get some decent offroad tyres, learn to drive it offroad before you buy stuff like lockers and gears, which you can do later.
you already have the car, and you know its history, so id work from that.
just my opinion though

tony

[Kingston_99]

as i said before, if you go and buy an older one, you have no idea about vehicle history, so anything it needs like timing belt, etc, driveline bits, there could be bits that are fairly worn and will need replacing, all so you can upgrade later on, plus you have the problem of rust in places, all which will add up pretty quickly.
so spend the cash on the lux you have now, mechanically, you know where it is and what its problems are.
buy and fit a sas kit, do as many mods as you can to save a bit extra, get some decent offroad tyres, learn to drive it offroad before you buy stuff like lockers and gears, which you can do later.
you already have the car, and you know its history, so id work from that.
just my opinion though

tony

yeah i'v thought about it, but its just way cheaper to buy an older one and mod it up. money wont be an issue but i want to do it up cheap. i'll be buyin an stock lux so i dnt have to chnage stuff that someone else has changed etc, just cant see the justuse in moddin mine more with SAS lockers etc

[Kingston_99]

as i said before, if you go and buy an older one, you have no idea about vehicle history, so anything it needs like timing belt, etc, driveline bits, there could be bits that are fairly worn and will need replacing, all so you can upgrade later on, plus you have the problem of rust in places, all which will add up pretty quickly.

ummm thats why you check a car out good before you buy. test drive, take to a machanic if you have no clue yourself etc etc

im pretty good with cars now after workin on my lux and mates cars so i know what and where to look before i buy one

[Kingston_99]

how much is a sas???

ask boof

but from me research its over 5K just do do a SAS job and get it rolling, then you got other things to do like longfeilds, lockers after the sas.

[booflux]

how much is a sas???

ask boof

but from me research its over 5K just do do a SAS job and get it rolling, then you got other things to do like longfeilds, lockers after the sas.

Mine cost me $1800 after I sold off all my old stuff and that was with longfields and an airlocker.

5k for front and rear is about right using the TG kits, but if you have some stuff already on your truck you can make money back by selling it off. I always said I wouldnt do up a late model truck ever again but yet here I am going through it all again.

[johnsy86]

its only a later model cab lol

[Kingston_99]

how much is a sas???

ask boof

but from me research its over 5K just do do a SAS job and get it rolling, then you got other things to do like longfeilds, lockers after the sas.

Mine cost me $1800 after I sold off all my old stuff and that was with longfields and an airlocker.

5k for front and rear is about right using the TG kits, but if you have some stuff already on your truck you can make money back by selling it off. I always said I wouldnt do up a late model truck ever again but yet here I am going through it all again.

yeah thats with TG kits, i dont know where else you can get the same kits so only went by TG ones