vincevs21 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hey guys, Just completed the rear end swap from a '91 to my '83! The front did not go so well as per my other post but after some alterations I was able to get it to work really well. Alterations required and things I learned: - Longer u bolts as the axle came from a smaller camper with fewer leaf springs - Welded new shock mounts to the '91 lower shock plates to suit the / \ style factory shock setup using the bolts came in my Munroe 58486 shocks. Cut off the heads and welded the spacer to the bolt at the correct spacing to suit the washers, sleeve and a nut on the end. - The u joint flanges on the axle and drive shaft did not match. (so close) Since the splines are the same into the axle I swapped the one from my old axle - Looks better if you sand blast and paint the wheels and axle - New tires need to be 185/R14C with a D 8 ply rating. - Having a welder was handy as some of the little things don't bolt on in the same place. Cheers, Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Looks really good. I've never seen a 1983 up-close underneath. I had similar and somewhat different problems with my 1978. The older trucks have axle tubes that are smaller diameter then the newer. So the U-bolts are not only too short, they are also on too narrow and have the wrong bolt-centers . Not sure what year Toyota changed to the bigger axle OD but all the rears -single and dual wheel got the bigger axles tubes at some point. Was your old axle tube the same OD as the newer FF tube? I made new u-bolts for mine but also found stock u-bolts from a Chevy 1/2 ton truck would work. Also - RE the mating of the driveshaft to the pinion flange. Since you were able to swap flanges - your spines matched. On the older trucks they do not. Again, I don't know what year they changed. But now seeing your post - I know that in 1978 they had course splines and in 1983 they had fine splines. I could not swap flanges so I swapped the entire Hotchkiss center-section instead. I also found that when I tried to install the rear stabilizer bar into the 1978 - the frame was too thin to bolt the upper bracket on. Too thin to allow tightening the bolts as it would just start to cave in. NOT from rust. Just from being thin-gauge steel. So I had to add thick steel plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincevs21 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Yes, the axle tube was a larger diameter. I really need a set of the upper sway bar mounts (as shown in your last two photos) as they didn't send them to me and they are now gone. I will weld reinforcement to the inside of the frame as well. I'd be happy to pay for them if anyone has an extra set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Yes, the axle tube was a larger diameter. I really need a set of the upper sway bar mounts (as shown in your last two photos) as they didn't send them to me and they are now gone. I will weld reinforcement to the inside of the frame as well. I'd be happy to pay for them if anyone has an extra set. Not cheap but I assume something like these aftermarket mounts would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincevs21 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Wow... That's pretty spendy. Worst case I will just make some. Someone must have a set somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say. There are 2 ways to mount a sway bar the traditional way like you are doing, OR you can mount the body of the sway bar to the chassis and the arms to the shock mounts. Think front sway bar. Don't know which would work better in a total new fab mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say. There are 2 ways to mount a sway bar the traditional way like you are doing, OR you can mount the body of the sway bar to the chassis and the arms to the shock mounts. Think front sway bar. Don't know which would work better in a total new fab mount. I think trying to mount a sway bar in the rear "front style" via the shock mounts would be very difficult. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Toyota has already done the engineering. Easy to fab or buy the mounts and do it the way they did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Maybe so, the thought was don't eliminate any idea when you have to fab something from scratch. On my Chevelle the sway bar bolts to the lower control arms only and is not bolted to the axle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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