I know these spring over questions have been done to death and I tried searching but I couldn't find anyhthing. I am putting in a H55 5 speed tranny which is about 4" longer than the H41 tranny it's replacing. Therefore I am doing the springover so I only have to do the drive shafts once. With that extra length is it necessary to cut and turn the front diff?

*assumption* FJ-40?

Well, if so, then a cut and turn is never necessary on an FJ-40 if you SOA it with stock springs. The front shaft is plenty long to keep it from binding.

By pushing it all back 4 inches you really won't need to deal with it.

One of the advantages to the "Cut and Turn" is doing a shackle reversal for clearance and being able to set more positive caster than the stock 1*

If you are on a budget and want to get it done with minimal fuss then go for it without the knuckle work.

Set the front axle on saw horses and weld the new perched directly across from the old ones. this should keep your caster corect.

IMO, if you intend or have a shackle reversal, then the cut-turn is a necessity. Has to do with the way the housing rotates as it droops.

If you plan to leave the shackles at the front of the frame, then it is optional.

remember one of the reasons for doing a cut-turn goes beyond the driveshaft...factory caster is 1 degree, which for 28-31" tires is just fine. Larger and wider tires, with their larger contact patch, tend to drive easier with additional caster, in the 4+ range...

Even if you can get away with out cutting and turning, I would not recomend skipping this job. This should be done in any SOA.

Jeff

Don't cheap out or skip the rotating of the axle housing
It you're close to my place come by and I'll show you what needs to be done, where to cut, etc, etc, even offer a few suggestions.
I have a selection of arms and turned housings so you can decide how you want to do the job for yourself.

Ok, since we are on the subject I have heard alot about cutting and turning the knuckles but I am always left scratching my head about a couple of details. I've been procrastinating on my SOA b/c I want it done "right" now I need to get on w/ it.

The new perches go directly opposite the originals,coorect? Isn't it foolish to rotate the housing in an attempt to reduce driveshaft angle? I thought both drive shaft joints need to be (as close as possible) to the same agle to minimize binding/vibration right? I'd rather do it right the first time.

How many degrees to turn? assume 36in tires, about 100 inch wheelbase, shackle reversal, stock springs, equal on/off-road time-trying to avoid trailer queen syndrome(TQS).

How do I measure the degrees turned? Please be specific, procedure, tools & tool application. The simplest effective method-pretend you are explaining this to a child.

As always, thanks in advance, this page is a great resource :) especially for nitwits like myself:rasta:

I don't think it is preferable to define a fixed number of degrees to rotate the axle housing, because all Cruisers are different. IMO the best approach is to put the front axle housing on jack stands with the full weight on the axle, but with the new spring perches not yet welded to the housing. Then rotate the housing so that the pinion points directly to the front output flange of the transfer case. If you drive at high speeds in 4WD and are worried about vibration, then you will need to install a CV joint on the transfer-case end of the driveshaft. Otherwise for off-road use the mis-aligned standard u-joints are fine.

Once the pinion has been rotated so as to point directly at the transfer case, then you can weld the spring perches onto the housing.Then you can cut and turn the knuckles to set the desired caster angle. I use an angle finder on a piece of pipe fit thru the knuckle bearing races to measure the caster.

Like he said, that's how I would do it!

Alright thanks for the info. I wasn't quite sure as I have read some people doing spring overs without cutting and turning. No need to cheap out now. Anyhow Mud Guppie I do believe I am just down the #1 from you, what do you charge for your cut & turn? One of these days I'll swing by your shop and we can talk turkey.

email me for pricing
You will need a housing with less pinion angle then usual due to your 5 speed, no biggie.
it's best to get your spring positioning and ride height figured out first then we can deal with the housing angles.
I hope you're going to push your rear axle back because your rear DS angle is going to be nasty otherwise.

Alright will do as soon as I get close enough to do the cut and turn.

when i had the H55 in mine, i found that with a spring flip, i was able to use the original H41 shaft in without problems, length wise
the flange is a little bit different that is all, just used a 5 speed top flange, and 4 speed shaft, and it was fine