SOA fj55

[tacollie]

I have been going back and forth for a long time about what to do with my fj 55. I had kind of decided to stay in the 3in lift range. But recently I decided to keep my Tacoma which will probably be used for longer trips(time wise) therefore longer distances. So my logic is I could go SOA with 35s on the 55. I don't expect it to be the greatest on road but I am hoping it will be good enough to drive to Moab from Colorado Springs and that would be the farest for the most part it would travel. I was just wondering what everyone else thought about this logic. I will have plenty of power and I am going with slightly wider axles so it seems to me I should be all right. This is my 1st cruiser project and would be my 1st vehicle with 35s.

[dieselcruiserhead]

You might want to read my comments on my SOA 55 which is about the same diesel or not from this thread. http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ad.php?t=20341

That said I support it, I was also able to go 80mph or faster and I literally had less lean than my stock FJ55 when I first got it. It can be (and absolutely should be) built with decent steering and if you have a strong enough leaf pack it will behave just as it did before if not better. I made many trips to Moab and throughout Utah in mine with no issues at all, and again good speed on the freeway (being fairly crucial). The negative of the larger tires is good gearing though otherwise you will constantly stall out.

I hope it helps! There is a lot of good info on 'Mud and other sites. The 4x4labs steering arms and components are by far the best and strongest on the market. But you can do a budget Marlin highsteer with FZJ80 tie rod ends and it works out just great. I hope it helps...

[RHINO]

i'll second DRE,,,, an SOA pig can be built to do the road pretty well. but beware, you might end up in the same boat as me, i too have a taco for family camping and long trips, but the kids are nearing completion and want to spend more time with friends instead of dear ol'dad.

i have always preferred the pig to all other rigs i've owned for ALL my trips and i am tweaking here and there to get it up to snuff to eventually be my main rig.

[tacollie]

Thanks a lot. I am still torn. 4" SUA with some 255/85r16's is very tempting also, so I might do that 1st. Start small and go bigger in need be.

My other idea has been 4" SUA on the rear and some coils and radius control arms up front.

I have spent a lot of time reading on mud and pirate but wanted opinions from the expo crowd.

What do you guys think about shackle reversals? What about redoing the leafs and making them longer if I go with custom leafs?

[tacollie]

You might want to read my comments on my SOA 55 which is about the same diesel or not from this thread. http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ad.php?t=20341

That said I support it, I was also able to go 80mph or faster and I literally had less lean than my stock FJ55 when I first got it. It can be (and absolutely should be) built with decent steering and if you have a strong enough leaf pack it will behave just as it did before if not better. I made many trips to Moab and throughout Utah in mine with no issues at all, and again good speed on the freeway (being fairly crucial). The negative of the larger tires is good gearing though otherwise you will constantly stall out.

I hope it helps! There is a lot of good info on 'Mud and other sites. The 4x4labs steering arms and components are by far the best and strongest on the market. But you can do a budget Marlin highsteer with FZJ80 tie rod ends and it works out just great. I hope it helps...

Honestly I had written SOA off until I read this.

[Chas Stricker]

Howdy Tacollie,
Would you be doing the SOA yourself or paying someone? I used stock axles w/detroit for mine and did the shackle reversal and crossover power steering. I put a 6.2 diesel with a Banks turbo...700R4...203 gear reduction...toyota t-case. I loved my FJ55. I think they are the perfect size for wheeling.
Chas

[the dude]

Thanks a lot. I am still torn. 4" SUA with some 255/85r16's is very tempting also, so I might do that 1st. Start small and go bigger in need be.

My other idea has been 4" SUA on the rear and some coils and radius control arms up front.

I have spent a lot of time reading on mud and pirate but wanted opinions from the expo crowd.

What do you guys think about shackle reversals? What about redoing the leafs and making them longer if I go with custom leafs?

Personally, a well built SOA will out perform a SUA in any situation. I would keep it simple, remember if you do the shackle reversal, it may add height that is not wanted. On a SUA I wouldn't even consider one, on a Expo rig I would think twice about it.

I have thousands of miles on my SOA HJ61. This summer we drove to Alaska and wheeled for a week while there. On the highway we drive at 75mph. It's not for everyone, but neither is a Cruiser. Our truck drives better, handles better, and steers better with a SOA.

I would have done it slightly different for an Expo style truck. I may even downsize our big rig to be a little more friendly on the trail. It's not that the truck can't handle everything, but it has become to big and too capable for what I want to do with it...It's a waste so-to-speak, unless I want to endure a ton of body/glass damage. And at this point, with this truck, I don't.

I am looking at regearing to 4.88, dropping the body lift and running a 37x13.5 tire... (and that's downsizing ) When the OME springs settle out enough to rub, I will modify the fenders to fit.

[cruiseroutfit]

A properly built spring over axle Land Cruiser can drive the road at 100 mph, even with a trailer behind

Seriously though, when done right, with proper technique, parts and assembly, an SOA provides IMO a superior ride, offroad clearance and overall flex. I've done dozens of SOA's and built the axles for over a hundred others. I feel 100% confident in an SOA conversion, again, when done right. I've seen some scary, scary setups, but I've seen scary SUA setups too. Don't let the wrong way scare you from benefiting from the right way.

The question I always as a customer: What tire size do you intend to run? 33's and less, an SUA is a much simpler and more cost effective solution. Anything greater than that, the SOA starts to be the best option. Keep in mind the "domino" effect, gearing, steering, drivelines, etc. All things you don't normally deal with on a SUA lift.

I'd be happy to answer any specific SOA questions, I had a SOA FJ55 for a period of time and have had SOA 60's, 62's and my current SOA FJ40 that I've been traveling in for 7 years now in its current setup.

Additionally, Andre wrote a great SOA overview a few years back, I send customers to it all the time to get familiarized with the merits and process of the SOA:
http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/soa/index.html

[RHINO]

I would have done it slightly different for an Expo style truck. I may even downsize our big rig to be a little more friendly on the trail. It's not that the truck can't handle everything, but it has become to big and too capable for what I want to do with it...It's a waste so-to-speak, unless I want to endure a ton of body/glass damage. And at this point, with this truck, I don't.

this is the pickle i am going through, i prefer my FJ55 all the time but since i'm pretty much over rock crawling its over built for much of what i do now,, but on the other side i like knowing that while on an innocent explore trip down a new piece of dirt i have a rig that can get me through almost anything, and occasionally i like to play on the rocks still. so, where do you make the line? i'm getting close, my rig now sits only marginally taller than a 4" SUA, and thats mostly the 37" tires.

when thinking of a SOA think about it like this, toyota trucks and runners were all SOA. if its good enough for the factory it should be good enough right? kinda makes ya wonder why toyota went SOA on trucks when they were doing SUA all those years before with cruisers?

on the shackle reversal, i wouldnt do it with the SUA, it just creates a low hanging rock finder that way. incorporating it with the SOA will let you keep things nice and tight since you have to burn in new spring hangers.

my buddy wheels his 4" lifted SUA rig just fine, hes been down most the same trails as me with no apparent problems that make him want an SOA, in fact he just dropped a bunch of coin buying all new springs and hardware.

many guys dont realize the work and money involved in a REAL SOA, they all seems to think its cheap and easy and end up half doing it and it shows.

i dont know, seems like many guys who start out small end up wanting or doing SOA. but then you wont know if SUA fits you if you dont try it.

just for reference sake here is my pig currently, its about as low an SOA as you can build, with 37" parnelli's.

[dieselcruiserhead]

Here are pics of Kurt's FJ40 which is (as he mentioned) a super solid SOA basically done they way they should be... Note the speed limit as well No limitation at all. But I also generally refrain from recommending a SOA for most, and because the domino effect is expensive and necessary with large tires unfortunately... It ads up