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FarmersFight previously said:
You are telling me you aren't selling the kit without your Hybrid axle? Well that makes a lot of sense and no sense at all at the same time!
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It makes total sense as that is the axle the brackets and steering are designed around. If its a kit, than it needs to go together smoothly, as all our Tacoma kits have when used with the correct axle. All the problems people have had with our solid axle setups were with trying to make them fit a junkyard or different axle with wrong caster/camber specs, housing shape (brackets dont fit D44 knuckles or cast center sections) and steering knuckles not working with our arms. You always have the option of just buying the brackets and links and doing the rest yourself, but its up to the customer to make it work and develop their own steering setup and suspension geometry based on the axle they choose to use. As for the difference in price between our Hybrid axle and a junkyard D44, here is an excellent article written by Phil Howell from 4WD Sport Utility magazine when we did the original Tacoma solid axle kit, and keep in mind the FJ is even wider than the Tacoma this article refers to:
HYBRID D60 FRONTEND vs. DANA 44 FRONTEND
Is the 44 really cheaper in the long run?
In your quest to build the perfect Toyota Tacoma that works better than any other, you need to decide what frontend to use for the solid axle swap (SAS). The All Pro Off-Road Hybrid 60 frontend is your first choice, but a junkyard Dana 44 is so CHEAP that it’s hard to resist.
Let’s talk about the Dana 44 first.
As mentioned, the advantage to using a junkyard Dana 44 is its cost. After pricing expensive aftermarket frontends, it’s refreshing to find a complete Dana 44 for hundreds, rather than thousands, of dollars. This is the only advantage to using a Dana 44 frontend and even that advantage dries up as you install it and start upgrading to make your truck work.
First, the popular Dana 44 frontend to use is out of a Jeep Wagoneer. The Wagoneer frontend is too narrow for your Toyota SAS. This means you’ll be using wheel spacers and negative-offset wheels to get the width where it needs to be. No problem, as spacers are cheap, right? Wrong! When you use spacers and negative-offset wheels that have less backspacing, you increase your scrub radius, making the truck very hard to steer. Instead of your wheels pivoting around a center point, they now swing around in an arc. Once you’re in the rocks, you’ll find that the added effort needed to turn the wheels is stressing your steering components, from the steering box to drag link, tie rod and ball joints. The addition of a hydraulic ram assist is now a must. Hydraulic ram assist steering is sweet, but expensive.
Next, the 44 is a low-pinion design that’s 20% weaker than a high-pinion when used up front. You also can’t get 5.29 gears for the 44, which is usually the gearing of choice, especially since you’re retaining your Toyota rearend. There are no gears for the 44 that match the Toyota 5.29s within 3%, the maximum difference you can allow between front and rearend ratios. As you’re scratching your head trying to figure a way out of this conundrum, add this to the mix: lockers are more expensive for the 44 than they are for the Toyota and you’ll need to upgrade the 44 axles to hardened ones or you’ll be twisting and breaking them in the rocks. The wimpy U-joints need to be upgraded, too. You’ll want to do a high-steer setup, so you have to purchase new knuckles. Once you do, you’ll find that the Dana 44 high-steer design doesn’t provide favorable steering geometry, making it even harder to turn your wheels. The 44 brakes aren’t as large as the 60 brakes, either. As you can see, once you spend the needed cash to upgrade your truck and Dana 44, it’s almost as expensive as a Hybrid 60, but you’ll always have an inferior setup.
Now, admittedly, the All-Pro Hybrid 60 is more expensive than a junkyard Dana 44. Let’s take a look and see if it’s REALLY that much more in the long run . . .
The Hybrid 60 is the proper width for the Tacoma SAS. This allows the use of proper wheels with the correct backspacing and no need for wheel spacers and hydraulic ram assist steering, negating scrub radius and the effort needed to turn the wheels. This is further aided by the proper geometry of the All Pro steering arms used. The one-ton knuckles, wheel bearings, and hubs used on the Hybrid 60 are much stronger than the 44’s half-ton units and the knuckles are already set up to use All Pro’s Hy-Steer system. The brakes are much better and larger, as the Hybrid 60 uses Wilwood four-piston aluminum calipers.
The Hybrid 60 uses hardened 4340 chromoly axle shafts and Dana 60 one-ton U-joints. You get a sharper turning radius with the one-ton knuckles and 60 U-joints. The chromoly custom housing affords more ground clearance than the 44 and is easy to weld on, making things much easier for you fabricators. In the stronger (up front) high pinion Toyota third member you can get 5.29 gears and any locking differential you choose is less money to buy. The third member is easily removable in an emergency and can be interchanged with the rear third member - something you can’t do with a 44, modified or not. Finally, you get the proper driveshaft flange on the pinion with the Hybrid 60.
As you can see, the All Pro Hybrid 60 is super strong and custom built for your Tacoma. In the end, you’ve spent just a little more than if you went with a 44, but the cost savings in better performance, strength, and backcountry peace-of-mind can’t be quantified. You’ve already spent hard-earned money to build your Tacoma into the best truck around, so forget about that junkyard Dana 44 and go for the best – a Hybrid 60 frontend from All Pro Off-Road. You’ll be glad you did!
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