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Boatguy's little Sami

The main place I plan on running it is essentially a jacked up fire road - worst obstacles will be mud holes and shed branches for the most part. I'm back at work (overseas) so I'm not pulling the trigger on anything yet, but I'm hoping to have a solid plan in place and start ordering parts before i go home. I'm open to other ideas, I am just thinking it would save time to jump a couple steps to yj's rather than do one step and wish I'd gone with the other. A shackle reversal on arched OME's or something similar is a thought as well.
 
Speaking of body roll, mine has the stock sway bar up front. I was looking at the bolt in panhard bar kit (think it was LROR) for the rear. Anybody run one of those, and does it still allow for articulation off road? Since most of my driving will be on road, I'm looking to improve on road handling to some extent without screwing off road. A rear sway with disconnects might work too.

Or do y'all even notice body roll in the back? I admit to overthinking on occasion.
 
Speaking of body roll, mine has the stock sway bar up front. I was looking at the bolt in panhard bar kit (think it was LROR) for the rear. Anybody run one of those, and does it still allow for articulation off road? Since most of my driving will be on road, I'm looking to improve on road handling to some extent without screwing off road. A rear sway with disconnects might work too.

Or do y'all even notice body roll in the back? I admit to overthinking on occasion.

On m SUA yjs with semi decent shocks, I do not have any body roll. But my track width is much wider than stock. Most people ditch the front sway bar.

I'm of the opinion that those panhard bars are pretty silly because they force your leaf springs to move in directions that they were not designed to move. It's a pretty expensive component that just puts your entire suspension in a bind for a little trade off in road manners. If things are built correctly, you shouldn't need it.
 
Long story short, I've been reading on what to do in the front and I think I'm going to try the trail gear 3" springs, just need to decide if I want to just do the front springs, or do the rears in the front.

I have the 3” TG springs front and rear on my sami, spua with 235s and I love them. They actually ride pretty decent.
 
Planning on the same springs (TG 3 inch) to go with the calmini shackle reversal, and going back to spua. Just ordered a VW AAZ diesel, and getting ready to order a bunch of other stuff to go with it (as well as suspension bits and an electric power steering set up). Ordered the calmini kit about a week ago. Should have a pile of parts waiting on me when I get home in a couple weeks.
 
Planning on the same springs (TG 3 inch) Ordered the calmini kit about a week ago. Should have a pile of parts waiting on me when I get home in a couple weeks.
LOLOLOL sure you will.....:smokin:
 
I have the 3” TG springs front and rear on my sami, spua with 235s and I love them. They actually ride pretty decent.

I put the TG rears up front a few weeks ago, had to move the rear hanger. They seem to ride decent out of the box. Only had 2 trips with tracks, but so far so good.

Planning on the same springs (TG 3 inch) to go with the calmini shackle reversal, and going back to spua. Just ordered a VW AAZ diesel, and getting ready to order a bunch of other stuff to go with it (as well as suspension bits and an electric power steering set up). Ordered the calmini kit about a week ago. Should have a pile of parts waiting on me when I get home in a couple weeks.

Shackle reversal is a waste of time, especially with calmini, crap.



The electric power steering is kinda interesting, I've seen a few things here and there on it. It's nice that you don't have a pump robbing hp. But then you have extra amp draw, which may need to be dealt with. What parts are you using?
 
Going to order a used electric setup out of a Prius, that seems to be the best route. From watching a couple vids there's different ways to do it, mounting the system under the hood seems to be the least labor/ fab intensive.
 
LOLOLOL sure you will.....:smokin:

Is that because of calmini, or...? Getting ready to order a bunch of other stuff from other vendors (TT, LROR), so there will be *some* parts waiting on me.
 
Canceled calmini, ordering the shackle reversal from warrior.

Question: I'm staying spua, but will be getting 4-5 inches of lift between the s/r and springs. The over the top steering set ups I've been looking at would appear to put both links above the leaf's. I'm thinking that shouldn't get in the way during compression, because both links will move with the axle which would keep them out of the springs?

UPDATE: already got confirmation from calmini of canceling the order. Asked for a status update last week and not a peep, cancel and almost immediate confirmation. Are they trying to go out of business, or what.
 
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Why do you think you need a shackle reversal?

Your steering will be above the leafs no matter what, your leafs are under the axle :flipoff2:
 
Good point.

Looking for a good ride without screwing up the off road manners. Read a lot of good reviews from guys who have done it.
 
Good point.

Looking for a good ride without screwing up the off road manners. Read a lot of good reviews from guys who have done it.

It's still a matter of opinion with some, but I prefer shackles in the front. I built my 4 runner SAS that way, and abused it for 4 years without issue. Use good bushings and not too long of shackles and you'll be fine. I'm not a huge fan of how the samurai shackle hangers are so low, but the shackle reversal kit is just as bad.

Lot of Sami people still think a front missing link deal is a good set up too :lmao:
 
The warrior s/r setup is nowhere near as low as calmini, at least the front ones. Already ordered, so we'll see what happens.

Haven't run missing links, but just looking at them...I would only try them on a dedicated off road rig. And I've heard of guys having issues with them on steep climbs as well. Seemed like they were a good idea, but too specialized.

My former FIL (he divorced out, not me) had an idea late 90s that he never told me what it was (big Jeeper back then). He was worried someone was going to steal his idea. Then I showed him an article in one of the off road mags with what I think was basically the prototype missing link setup. He just kind of nodded, and walked off. I think he had the same idea but someone beat him to market.
 
The warrior s/r setup is nowhere near as low as calmini, at least the front ones. Already ordered, so we'll see what happens.

Haven't run missing links, but just looking at them...I would only try them on a dedicated off road rig. And I've heard of guys having issues with them on steep climbs as well. Seemed like they were a good idea, but too specialized.

My former FIL (he divorced out, not me) had an idea late 90s that he never told me what it was (big Jeeper back then). He was worried someone was going to steal his idea. Then I showed him an article in one of the off road mags with what I think was basically the prototype missing link setup. He just kind of nodded, and walked off. I think he had the same idea but someone beat him to market.

All the funky in folding shackles, buggy leafs, ect are really only good for poser shots. When you actually wheel, they show their disadvantages quickly.
 
Very cool.

I looked for a nice Sammy and the prices were either stupid or it was so beat to shit that it would need everything just to get it out on the trails.

I ended up with a clean Tracker.

I still have my eyes open for a nice Tin Top.

I will be following your build.

Been a few in Sacramento CL, not sure what fair pricing is but a cherry one was listed for $8k a few weeks back. Currently one in decent shape for $6k.
 
For what you are looking to do with this rig I would stay with the tg 3" lift springs for 31's/32's. Front shackle or S/R, they both have there pros and cons, I feel this is where you should do your research, compare both and make the decision for your use and expectations of your rig.

Yj's are a great upgrade for a lot of reasons. I'm a firm believer in putting in the longest spring possible whenever possible (within reason) but I also wouldn't put 33" tires on my toyota with 63" chevy swap. 35's sure haha. I think Missing links are garbage and wouldn't use them for anything more than getting yj's under the rig easily (if you don't weld or fab) and then bolt the "missing link" portion shut or have someone weld it shut rendering unsprung weight flex useless which it is just that, useless. (I'm going to get hell for this statement as tons of guys use them without issue and good for them.)

Also something to keep in mind, the AAZ oil pan is going to get really tight with your spring under setup.
 
That's why I'm not going too crazy on this rig- my expected use just doesn't warrant it, so I'd end up with a mall crawler essentially, that would only see a little dirt and mud. S/r, TG 3" spua is the current plan I'm sticking to. Already got a set of DC 31s on the way.

Been thinking the same thing (oil pan clearance). Current thought is to drop the pan and modify it for more clearance where it's needed. I saw where another guy put collars under his shock bump stops to limit travel, might look at that as well. Only other option I see would be going spoa, but i definitely don't want to do that on top of everything else lift- wise. Talk about being tippy.
 
I wouldn't get caught on the idea of SPOA being tippy, SPOA nets around 4" of lift when using stock springs so only an inch higher than your 3" lift. But I'd watch how high I went with any samurai with stock wheelbase.

And you are correct, you could notch out the oil pan of the AAZ some but you'll need to watch the pickup tube depending where your axle lands. Good luck, can't offer much else as I had a completely different suspension setup when I went with an AAZ so clearance wasn't an issue for me. Good luck with the build!
 
So, got home end of last week. Spent the weekend wrenching on the diesel. Did the timing belt, oil pump, and water pump, and started in on the acme parts. After pulling the oil pan, notching it will be more involved than I had realized. There is a full length windage tray, which would most likely also have to be trimmed. And that's assuming the oil pickup tube isn't in the way. Might have to rethink my suspension again. Good thing I already have the new parts 🙄.
 
Got the little girl in the garage today and started in on her. Fenders are pretty crap, so I got another set to put on after the swap is mostly done. Broke three Phillips bits trying to get them off, had to go buy more. That's what I get for using normal bits in an impact.

Anybody know where to get the front top and bottom connecting pieces, other trucks would call it the core support? Only place I could find was ebay and they were shipping from India. Screws holding the original pieces on just snapped the heads off as soon as I got busy on them.

photo48607.jpg
 
Negative, they just dent the side in :homer:​​​​​​

Best thing for the big door ones is heat, either weld a nut on and replace them with not Phillips screws, or use a propane torch.

you are a fucking idiot.
 
you are a fucking idiot.

Oh, OK, did I hurt your feelings? :rolleyes:​​​​​​

Those things suck for sami's, I tried them 15 years ago, and every one I talked to said they had the same experience. How is it going to work on the side of a ultra thin piece of sheet metal?
 
Same old shit 15 years ago, everyone you talked to blah blah blah. fucking idiot.
 
Same old shit 15 years ago, everyone you talked to blah blah blah. fucking idiot.

WTF is your deal? You can't even make a post that makes sense. What did I do to hurt your feelings?

I personally tried using an impact driver on my first Sami, all it did was dent the area around the hinge. I talked to my buddy, he had the same experience, later looked online and many people had the same experience. Which is where I learned the other tricks. But OK, I'm fucking idiot :laughing: douche bag:lmao:
 
Tried using a hammer impact like that, did nothing. Used a cordless electric impact, that worked a treat. And also snapped several heads off, or augered out the slots.

Finished prepping the engine to come out yesterday, will have it out today.
 
Tried using a hammer impact like that, did nothing. Used a cordless electric impact, that worked a treat. And also snapped several heads off, or augered out the slots.

Finished prepping the engine to come out yesterday, will have it out today.

Once they're stripped, I've had OK luck with drilling the head off. Often the shank will just thread out by hand. Guys said in the thread I linked that left handed drills are even better for this. If the heads are snapped off, obviously that's out the window. :laughing:​​​​​​

I hate dealing with broken off bolts. :mad3:

Another trick I saw in that thread that I had wondered about, using a soldering iron to heat the screw a bit. A lot of the stuck screws are from the factory paint/locktite/glue they use and a bit of heat does wonders.
 
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