I have a 2001 Tundra 4x4 and have been going back and forth for about 6 months on doing hte RCD lift or an SAS and i have decided on the SAS. i fugure that i should just set it up the way it will eventually end up.
I would like to put D60 front and rear and do a coilover setup in the front for a better ride. I talked to a local shop and they told me that it would be $7000 for the front axle, $5000 for the rear, $5000 for the kit, and labor and all the extra crap would take it around $22,000!!! Granted that is new axles but that is still insane in my opinion. I figure that i would be spending around $10,000 maybe more $25K there is no chance i would be able to do that. I have tried calling and emailing Bentup.com but i can never get a response from them. I dont have the knowledge or friends that could do something like this so it would have to be at a shop. I know there are other Tundra out that that have a SAS and for those of you that have taken it to a shop to have it done what did it cost, and how long did it take?
Most everyone on here has done it themselves and spent $10,000+. And that's with leaf springs! If you want to link the front with coilovers and have a shop do it using new axles, $25,000 sounds about right.
To have a shop get all the parts for the axles and swap, put the axles together then, all the cutting and grinding with coilovers. That's a lot of money.
To save on cost try and find already built axles with almost, if not, everything you want. It may take some time but, you should be able to find what you are looking for. Buy the parts from message boards or online classifieds. By from an actual retailer if absolutely necessary.
Start making friends with your local 4x4 clubs or members from other off road message boards (i.e. TS.com, TTORA.com, Pirate4x4.com, IH8MUD.com, etc.). Making friends with people that have the knowledge and skills to do a swap is definitely a plus.
Research, research, research....All the info/data is out there, you just to need to take the time to look for it.
AJ at Bentup.com is definitely a hard guy to get a hold of and only does fabrication on the side. I built my axles and had AJ do the cutting and grinding. So, the cost was really for labor only. Cost was approx. $2k (labor only). He had my truck for about 1 month only because, I had to take the front axle and have the inner C's rotated. He could do the swap on a weekend. I believe his record time is one day on a tacoma. Not sure how much he would charge nowadays but, it may be worth while to see if anyone local can help you out. Do really want to go with coilovers over leaf sprung?
I have over $15k into my truck, and that includes a leaf spring setup, Dana 50 front, Sterling 10.5 rear, 4.56 gears, Inchworm Dual T-case with 2.28 Gears and a handful of other stuff. I initially had a guy do my SAS which cost me about $9k for him to cut off everything, weld hangars, springs, and axles, steering and everything else. Labor cost is what is going to get you everytime. Here is my buildup if you haven't already looked at it.
Gave it a bump to O/R and left a 3-day redirect so the other guys have more of a chance to see it.
For 60s, look at Jon's setup...jjc aka 01tundra on PBB and TTORA. Also take a look at the 'Camo 60' build on Pirate.
Those numbers sound about right, maybe a little low even, for a linked front and top-shelf axles and steering, all done by someone else. Their axle numbers are about right for the good stuff. Budget 1K more for each axle than you think you need, for little stupid stuff and mistakes.
You'll save a pile of $ by dressing both axles yourself, and completely installing at least the rear axle. You'll need a 220V welder able to work 3/8" with C25 in a single pass.
You can dress a Diamond/Spidertrax/Solid housing with top shelf components for very similar price to the "fresh" stock D60 builds.
Leaves will be much cheaper, and easier in every area, than links.
Don't forget to swap the oil pan.
Budget for crossover high steer.
Don't skimp on housings, inner steering knuckles, or brakes (incl. parking brake). The rest you can junkyard if you need to at first. FWIW the OEM-style drum brakes seem to have the best parking brake. Spot calipers are garbage, mini-drums aren't that hot, and the blingy calipers I'm using need more leverage at the pedal.
Plan to end up at 35-spline at both ends. Look at available gear ratios before choosing differentials. Choose parts in roughly this order...differential, housing manufacturer, hubs, brakes, then steering for the front...and then in front iterate through hubs and brakes via steering.
68-72" is a good range for final width on this truck, mounting surface to mounting surface.
As you increase tire size, bump the numeric gear ratio up a little over where it should be for stock speedo numbers. Naturally aspirated with a chip and headers, the V8 loses speed going up Vail Pass and the Divide on 37s with 4.88 gears. With the same setup on 35" tires, it accelerates until it either hits the limiter at 105 on the speedo (about 90ish actual speed), or I run out of mountain.
Consider an Atlas or similar transfer case. You might be able to pick up an original 2-speed Atlas or something used on Pirate, since people will slowly be selling them to upgrade to 3- and 4-speed cases.
For deep snow, Arctic Trucks recommends rigs over 6K# use a 44" tire. Doesn't mean you need to build for rocks on 44s tho...they also suggested 38s on the IFS for the same application assuming a light right foot. Hey, if they'll fit...
Make sure your brake calipers, master cylinder and rotors are matched. I highly recommend the Wilwood fixed-piston calipers...they are the closest thing to the OEM calipers. Kevin Taylor at Revolution Brake was a lot of help when I was sorting out the brakes on the rear axle.
When you've decided what parts you likely want, pick a supplier like Spydertrax, Solid, or Diamond Axle. Make a down payment at least half the cost of a single axle, and get their help designing it. Wait on the second axle until the first is dressed, installed and running on the street...also why I recommend the rear end first. You'll figure out what you want for the front and it's easier to handle all the details on one end at a time.
If you or a buddy can weld competently enough to make the new crossmember and link or shackle hangers, you can do all this yourself and save about 5K on the install.
You don't need to throw as much money at it up front if you start with a good housing, and look for used hubs and outer knuckles, and differentials.
Take everything you read online with a big dose of salt.
Last piece of advice is armor up and then wheel the **** out of the stock IFS and rear axle so you're well acquainted with the truck's size and maneuverability. COTTORA will be in Moab in November if you want to join them (I'm not going, truck's not done).
That's all I got...I'll probably be putting down for a front housing at the end of next year and slowly filling it over the next couple seasons as I play with the LT...everything here is pretty close to my own plan.
$6K into my front & rear axles (D-60 front / 14-bolt rear)
$1k in leaf springs
$1k in driveshafts
$1k in steering
$1k in shocks
$1k in misc. steel for hangers, hoops, tabs, ect.
$500 in brakes
$500 in oil pan parts
$4k in t-case & parts
$0 in labor
So I would say I have a minimum of $16k in a leaf sprung rig with doing all the labor myself.
Now throw in coilovers, links, ends, brackets, labor, ect - min of $25k.......
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2001 TRD 4x4 with a lift kit & a bone stock 2008 TRD 4x4
I didnt realize that a coil-over setup was so much more. is there any real benefit from it aside from a better ride? what would a good price be for a shop to convert it with used D60 in the front and rear with a leaf spring setup?
Leaf sprung setups are definitely simpler than coilover set-ups and just as functional. In the front, there's a couple of rigs running 4" lift springs for chevys. Including me. For the rear, there's a lot of different options. I'm actually running stock leaf springs (with an AAL) from a chevy 4WD truck. Also known as 63" chevys. A lot of tacoma guys are running these.
The 63" chevys provide some great flex for stock leafs and actually provided a bit more payload for the bed compared to stock tundra leafs.
Up to now, I'm in about $15k with my swap and the front axle is my second one and I'm on my third set of tires. First axle was standard rotation (low pinion) 44. Second one is a reverse rotation (high pinion) 44.
...I think everyone here has been through at least two or three major revisions of their build...check out everyone's threads here so you know what to avoid...
You can get a hair shy of 14" vertical travel with 60.5" leaves and the stock rear shackle setup. Unfortunately the shackle isn't wide enough to accommodate long secondary leaves, and I don't know if it'll fit ball joints either.
Tundra SAS information
Linear Mode
