

Guess which pinion is the 5.29? Believe it
or not the small one on the right is the stock Samurai 3.73. The next
picture shows the size difference between the stock Toyota carrier and front
Samurai carrier.


I chose to run a spool for the rear traction
device. Basically the spool is a solid piece of metal that the axles slide
into and the ring gear is bolted to. No moving parts and the wheels are
always locked together. This setup will be little harder on the
tires but I'll gladly say goodbye to the typical locker pops, bangs and slop.
I had Kong's 4x4 Off-Road Center (602-944-2411 ask for Mark Mason ) install my
gears and traction devices. I was advised not to use Genuine R&P's due
to several failures that Mark from Kong's had seen. A little searching
on the internet turned up quite a few failures with Genuine gears in
Toyota differentials so rather than risk it I ordered some Superior gears and
returned the Genuine gears I had picked up by mistake (forgot to check the box).
Update 2-14-03 If you can afford it I'd run
ARB's front and rear. the spool works good, too good in some case.
For instance when driving in sand, even with the front wheels turned the spool
will tend to bulldoze you forward.


The rear spring pads were about an inch further
outboard of my springs, I cut the Toyota perches off and sandwiched the new
perches between the axle housing and springs to set the pinion angle.



This is one of the parts I was worried
about. Since the rear Toyota axle has a centered differential my rear
drive line will be running with a compound angle. Here's a couple shot
from various directions showing the angle. I was actually surprised that
it wasn't any worse looking. I am planning on having a bigger u-joint and
Toyota flange added to my rear drive shaft so that and the double cardan joint
should allow this setup to work good. From what I have read you can also
take the front Toyota drive shaft (which has a double cardan joint on it) and
have it cut down for use on the Samurai.
Update 2-14-03 A lot of people ask about the drive shaft
setup and if it vibrates. I can do 65mph and have no vibrations. The
u-joints have been in this configuration and have shown no wear or ill
effects. In that same time period I have damaged the front shaft beyond
repair twice due to contact with rocks.
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