100% Bolt-On Rubicon Express Super Flex Joint, 1/4" wall DOM tube lower links.
1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner
Pair of lower links, one end Rubicon Express Super Flex Joint, the other end a Rubicon Express poly bushing. Everything you need to install the links is included. No drilling or vehicle modification required.
Rubicon Express Super Flex Joints, spacers and Grade 10.9 Metric hardware.
Poly bushing end of the links, also made by Rubicon Express and allows for more articulation than the stock Toyota bushings as the bushing sleeve is thicker in the middle and thinner at the outer walls to allow the poly to compress.
Set of lower links and Rubicon Express tool.
Here you can see the difference in tube wall thickness. Stock tube is 1/8" and these links are 1/4" wall. The other thing to be noted is that the stock links have a welded seam, which can be a weak point. These links use 1/4" wall DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) which DO NOT have a welded seam. These links will not bend.
Frame bracket spacers that Sonoran Steel has custom machined, not only do they perfectly center the ball of the joint, but they perfectly re-size the hole and beef the mount up.
Super Flex Joint and Bracket Spacer.
Notice how the Rubicon Express Super Flex joint can twist in the mount to allow your rear suspension to move easily and more freely. The Rubicon Express poly bushings on the other end will do the same thing but not to the same degree. Stock Toyota links used two types of bushings, in the early 3rd Gen 1996 hey used a standard rubber sleeved bushing, later in 1999 when they added the rear coil cones, they switched to a "smooth ride" style bushing that dampened more vibration.
Why would I want these links? A few reasons, the stock links bend easily if you hit them on a rock. You can only bend them back once or twice before the metal fatigues and breaks. The links will allow you to take advantage of the added travel of longer shocks, giving you truck considerably more articulation. Finally the main point of the 3rd Gen rear suspension is to give the best road ride as possible. There is nothing in that entire system designed for off road use. The proof is from Toyota Motor Company itself.
Article: Car Wars, By: Arthur Kretchmer, Playboy Magazine, January 2006
“The predominant buyers and drivers of SUV’s are women. SUV’s have become the family wagon, and very few of them went off-road. Customers told us they liked SUV’s. But here is what they didn’t like: SUV’s are trucklike, they ride terribly, and they have crummy fuel economy. But customers like them. – Mike Michaels, Toyota Corporate Communications Manager.”
Updated 4-1-2006: These links now have the Rubicon Express Super Flex Joint on BOTH ends. After a round of intense testing and 4 Wheeling in Arizona, it was clear that have Super Flex Joints on BOTH ends would produce something out of this world. All older sets of links were given the opportunity to upgrade and all new sets will be made with two Super Flex Joints on each link.
Links with TWO Rubicon Express Super Flex Joints, one on each end.
Dual RE SF links with all associated hardware.
Updated 7-11-2007: With the introduction of the FJ Cruiser in 2007 it seems "everyone" is jumping on the IFS bandwagon and making parts for that vehicle, even shops that have for years not included IFS trucks in their line up and put them down. With the advent of Trail Gear taking over the older truck market, these trash talking shops must now re-invent themselves and are trying to sell to the IFS market that they once shunned and dismissed altogether. Just because another shop makes a product one way or claims to have a certain "feature" it is not necessary something you want. Lets take adjustable links for an example, they are made by one of our competitors. They will tell you it is an added "feature". This is a lie. They make adjustable inks because they outsource everything. By having the ends screw in, they do not have to employ a welder, they just simple screw three outsourced parts together. It's not a feature, it's cheaper.
Here are the problems you will encounter with adjustable links with all factory bracketry: This is what will happen if you adjust the length of the lower links, the pinion angle will not be correct anymore, inducing drive train vibrations and accelerating wear. With adjustable links set to any other length then stock, there is a really good chance you will screw up the perfect pinion angle Toyota built into the links. Which is maintained though the entire suspension cycle. If you make both upper and lower longer to maintain the correct pinion angle, you will have a serious parts collision with the upper arm mounts and the frame cross member for the trac/pahnard bar mount. An individual with a 1999 4Runner did this (extended both top and bottom links) back in 2003 and destroyed so much of the frame and upper mounts as well as sheared off many bolts that he had to do a rear leaf conversion, there was no other choice. We have known all about adjustable arms and these huge issues since 2003, we did not just jump on the band wagon in the last year.
With Rubicon Express Super Flex Joints on both ends. The links will side twist 40 degrees. No other link on the market even comes close to this. They are lucky to hit half of that twist.
1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner: Torque bolts to 55 Foot Pounds!
100% Bolt-On Rubicon Express Super Flex Joint, 1/4" wall DOM tube lower links with RE tool.
DISCONTINUED - No Longer For Sale
Why you ask? The machine shop that made the spacers to use the Rubicon Express joints in the Toyota mounts went out of business. I had an inside hook up there that allowed me to get the parts made for a reasonable price in smaller quantities. No other machine shop we have found is able to make the pars for the price we were paying and wants to run huge loads of them, requiring a very large amount of up front money on our part.
Now that being said, we already have prototype links with press in Genuine Toyota high articulation joints in the testing phase. Look for those very soon.
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e-mail me: steve@sonoransteel.com