I'm a new owner (1985 New Horizon) and a new post-er to this site. I recently acquired my rig with 36,000 original miles and in fantastic condition; however, it is still sporting the original axle. Anyway, as I'm sure many of you know, it's tough to find anyone who knows anything at all on the topic of these recalled axles--much less where or how to find one. My local salvage yard did a search and found a one-ton axle several hundred miles from here; my local Toyota dealer parts department was essentially lost when I began to describe my situation. So my questions to you all relate to any alternatives that have been tried.
1. The full-floating axles ("one-ton") do not seem to be listed as an option for trucks in the early 80's. Now, when Toyota distributed the full-floaters for recall purposes were these specially designed units for RV's only, or were they being utilized on other, more standard Toyota vehicles as well? Is there, for instance, a different type of Toyota truck made during these years that already sport the "good" axle? And, does the full-floater I'm looking for need to be specifically for the "duallies", or will any one-ton floater work?
2. Has anyone tried retrofitting a full-floater from another auto maker (ie. GMC, Ford) onto your rig? If so, any suggestions?
3. I have researched the full-floating converstion kits. Has anyone tried this? It seems as if it would not necessarily rate the axle assembly any higher (1/2 ton to 1 ton), but may as least prevent wheels from leaving the vehicle if an axle breaks (which is, in fact, my biggest concern with the standard axle).