ok I was told that you guys here could help me out with some of the problems I'm going to encounter so here goes...I was wrestling with the idea of doing an IFS differential drop, Sammy axle SAS or Toyota axle SAS on my 96 Sidekick for a long time. First I planned on the diff drop then I changed plans and bought some Toyota axles and now finally I am going with the Sammy axle. I really want the flex of the solid axles but I cant afford to put the Toys in for now because of the cost, difficulty level and time involved. I'll save them for my next project. The 96 sidekick I'm going to do the Sammy axle swap on is also my daily driver so I don't want it to be down for too long.
 
  With that all said, other than the axle what do I need to get it on my Sidekick? For simplicity, I think I want to do a leaf spring over axle for the front. For the back I will leave the kick axle in with the coils. What leafs should I use on the front? I'm planning on having a winch with some steel bumpers. The next issue is steering. The Sammy axle has the tie rod and drag link on it still but if I do a spring over what am I going to do for a drag link? Do a Z bend or mount something on the steering Knuckles and make my own high steer setup? Not sure right now about this... Finally what am I going to use for a driveshaft. Can I use the Kick front driveshaft...I don't think it has a slip yoke like the Sammy, so do I have to use the Sammy front driveshaft and can I make it work?   

    Basically this is my first Solid axle swap and I am on a budget, so that is the reason I'm thinking of the cheapest possible way to make this happen. I know I could buy a high steer and go to a driveline shop...for this truck I want to do it as cheap as I can.

   Any help or comments is appreciated with my little project. Once I get going I will post pics... 

Copy/Paste from another forum (my post):

Let's clear this up.

Toyota Minitruck axles are wider than Samurai, by about 2 inches, and are narrower than Sidekick, by about 2 inches.

Stock Toyota front axle measurements for comparison:
55.5" wide, 29" spring perch centers, '79-85 Toyota trucks and 4runners
63.5" wide, (set up for coil springs) 90-97 FJ80 and FZJ80 Landcruisers
'86-95 IFS front end is about 58.5" wide
'93-98 T100 IFS front end is about 65" wide

Toyota Rear Axle Widths:
55" wide, '79-85 trucks/4runners
58" wide, '86-95 trucks/4runners
60.75" wide, '95.5-up Tacomas/4runners
66.75" wide, '93-98 T100 trucks

Sidekick is 57.5" wide.

So, let's say you want to run a samurai axle under a sidekick. Is a 4" difference, (2" on each side) going to be an issue for you? There are some people that have done this, using wheel spacers to get back the track width, but don't forget that a sidekick is a heavier vehicle, and take into account the scrape ratio while turning in the front using wheel spacers.

......OK, I've been told that a samurai axle measures about 51.5-6. If this is correct, then we're talking a 6" difference between a track-kick and a samurai.

I've seen people do it, just letting you know what you are getting into.

EDIT:

Also, FYI, putting a smaller axle from a smaller vehicle into a larger vehicle (especially a 4 door if you have one) decreases your turning ratio. (Sammy knuckle turning ratios suck. I went through this.)

There is a reason sami guys get rid of the sami axles when they go bigger. IMO it would be a waste of time to put a sami axle in there. I have seen and driven kicks with IFS that would outperform what you are tlaking about. Flex is overated in alot of situations.

www.markyb.co.uk
he has done a sammy axle swap using coils.

  Thanks for the info Heather, I've followed your build for awhile. I know Toy axles are the way to go...as soon as I mention the Samurai axle everybody always says "Go Toy!" I will eventually, but for now I just need answers to the Sammy axle issue. I still don't know what springs to use...I've seen a thread that says you can use Sammy rear leafs up front to minimize the amount of fab work and cost. I also am very unsure if I can use my existing sidekick front driveshaft with the Sammy front axle. I talked to Mesjr about this and he said it would work, but do I need spacers or do I have to cut and lengthen/shorten the shaft. The Sammy front driveshaft won't work right? And finally the steering issue...how can I make a cheap and safe steering setup? Is a reinforced "Z" bend drag link ok?

   I have pretty much exhausted my searching results on this issue.

   Isn't there anyone that can help me with these issues...?   :'(

www.rhinocentral.co.uk
talk to tim weston. he has done a few of these or rhino ray www.rhinoray.co.uk