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1993 Toyota Pickup - Weekend Warrior: Part 2, Rear Suspension

Link it up
By Mike Alexander
Photography by Bobby Martins
Toyota Pickup Drivers Side View
Before:
What we started with this Saturday.

Toyota Pickup Rear Suspension Final
After:
What we ended up with Sunday.

0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Measure Bed Z
One of our pet peeves is making sure the wheels are centered in the wheelwells. So before we set up our rearend on just wheel-base measurements, we decided to measure the bed and set up our rearend to assure the wheel will be centered in the well opening.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Center Axle Z
After we measured and marked where we wanted to set the rearend at, we made sure it was centered in the framerails and then welded it in so we could set up the links.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link Bar Trim Z
With the rearend in place, we measured all the way to the back of the cab wall because we wanted our link bars to be as long as possible. The factory pieces that were in the way had to be cut off. (And of course, we never hesitate to give our trusty Sawzall a workout!)
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link Bar Tabs Z
Lucky for us, Bobby is a Toyota specialist, so he already had tabs that we could trace for our link bar mounts.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Drill Link Mounts Z
With everything cut out, we marked and drilled our holes in all the link mounts.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Smooth Tabs Z
Another thing that we try to do is keep everything super-clean, so all the tabs are rounded and smoothed out on the grinder.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link Mount Setup Z
Here's a look at our link mount setup. So far, so good.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Weld Plate Z
Instead of just welding the tubing directly to the frame, we made sure to use another plate to strengthen the link mounts. That plate will be completely welded to the frame, and the tubing will be gusseted to ensure the link mounts are super-strong and can withstand the abuse.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link End Measure 01 Z
Next, the link ends were measured and set up in the mounts...
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link End Measure 02 Z
so that we could assemble the actual mount and weld it together.
0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link Mount Weld Z
After the mount was built, it was measured out and tacked into place. To ensure that both mounts were equal, everything was triple-checked before being fully welded.

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Toyota Pickup Drivers Side View 0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Measure Bed Z 0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link Bar Trim Z
Toyota Pickup Rear Suspension Final 0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Center Axle Z 0606Mt Do It Yourself Welding Mini Trucks Link Bar Tabs Z
 
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