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2001 Toyota Tacoma Buildup - ifs Truck Steering Box - Photo 23166794

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  • A Toyota IFS truck steering box has been mounted to the reinforced front framerail. The box has been ported for hydro assist hoses and a 1.5-inch-diameter PSC assist cylinder helps turn the tires with power from a PSC pump. Budbuilt heavy duty draglink and tie rod are hooked to a custom pitman arm and to the Solid Axle steering arms.
A Toyota IFS truck steering box has been mounted to the reinforced front framerail. The box has been ported for hydro assist hoses and a 1.5-inch-diameter PSC assist cylinder helps turn the tires with power from a PSC pump. Budbuilt heavy duty draglink and tie rod are hooked to a custom pitman arm and to the Solid Axle steering arms.
In the belly of the truck lies the Toy reduction box and 3:1 Atlas II transfer case that give us front and rear drive power. Some substantial cab floor sheet metal work was needed to tuck the massive Atlas up high to get us the ground clearance we wanted. We now have three t-case shift levers poking through our floor. Under the front of the truck lies a Solid Axle D60 supported with an All-Pro Off-Road Taco Supreme link suspension kit. The kit uses two lower links, one upper link on the top of the differential, and a panhard bar. The guys at J.E. Reel Drive Line Specialists took our build dimensions and crafted us a pair of beefy 1350-based CV driveshafts to mate the Atlas output yokes to the axle yokes. The high-pinion differentials help keep the driveshafts up out of harms way. A Toyota IFS truck steering box has been mounted to the reinforced front framerail. The box has been ported for hydro assist hoses and a 1.5-inch-diameter PSC assist cylinder helps turn the tires with power from a PSC pump. Budbuilt heavy duty draglink and tie rod are hooked to a custom pitman arm and to the Solid Axle steering arms.
With the front portions of the fenders trimmed upward, we fabricated a front bumper mostly from 1.75-inch round tubing and incorporated a Budbuilt 1/4-inch-formed winch plate into the design. The engine is an essentially stock 3.4L V-6 motor with a Gibson cat-back exhaust added. The PSC steering fluid reservoir is mounted up front near the passenger headlight and an Odyssey battery provides 880 cold cranking amps and juice to run the winch. The rear bumper is also constructed from 1.75-inch tubing and is welded to the rear frame rails. Before it was added, the rear bed skirts were trimmed up high. The license plate can be removed to reveal a standard two-inch receiver when needed. Inside the cab we ride on Mastercraft Baja RS seats. These reclining suspension seats proved to be perfect for an application like this where you want the ability to pull the seat forward for rear cargo access and have a comfortable seat with improved safety. Stock seatbelts remain but Mastercraft 3-inch lap belts are used for most trail running. The tires we chose were 37x12.50R17 Mickey Thompson Radial MTZs and we mounted them on Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels that were beadlocked by the folks at OMF and topped with a set of their scalloped rings. We went with a 5-inch backspacing to minimize scrub radius and help keep the tires tracking true on the highway. Steering effort was also kept minimal by avoiding a smaller backspacing dimension. A Ramsey Patriot Profile winch in the 9,000-pound variety sits in the Budbuilt tray and is spooled with their synthetic rope. We also have a Ramsey wireless remote that allows us to control the winch from anywhere near the truck without having to deal with a corded remote. For added safety, we installed a cage designed by Offroad Solutions. The cage kit came with all the pieces pre-bent. All the components were tacked-welded together inside the truck. The cage was removed for final welding and paint, before being reinstalled in the cab using several bolted sleeves to mate the cage halves. A voltmeter and transmission temp gauge overhead help keep an eye on important engine stats. Our rear suspension consists of a set of All-Pro 5-inch-lift leaf packs complimented with a pair of Bilstein 7100 reservoir shocks. The spring packs flex well and allow us plenty of articulation. We can further tune the ride as needed by changing the nitrogen pressure in the shocks. Mods to the rear frame included fully boxing the tail section for added strength, along with the addition of a crossmember to mount the upper ends of the rear shocks. The gas tank was relocated about three inches higher to increase ground clearance, placing its bottom about even with the bottom of the framerail. We also shortened the exhaust tail pipe and it now exits higher above the passenger rear spring pack. Lower body armor comes in the form of 1.75-inch tubing sliders from Stubbs Welding. Each side is welded to the frame rail in four places to give us solid protection from the rocks and they also provide a handy step for climbing in and out of the cab. Tucked up under the body in six locations are Roundeyes rock lights to give us some illumination when we choose to wheel after dark.
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