Well Heiney, Hows that saying go, " if ya can't beat em , join em " Next I'll just sell all this crap and get a Jeep,   NO WAY!
 
As far IFS goes, mines usually pretty stout, and can take quite a bit of pounding before anything really gets out of whack. It's when you DO have to take something apart that it becomes a pita. Just realigning the strut and getting the camber and toe back to correct makes any front end maintenance a real chore. I can take the whole front suspension apart and have nothing but the control arm dangling from its mounts in about 25/30 minutes. Reassembly in a bit less. Then, the fun begins. I don't care how carefully I  mark everything, inevitably, it's out of alignment enough to drive funny. That's the only part that sucks for me.
If and when I actually begin doing something about it I'll start a thread. Still have to procure a Sammy front axle, and I'm already in the middle of an engine build. It can wait a while.
One thing I've been thinking about , especially after seeing that pic of Drones bent steering linkage:  why hasn't anyone tried behind the axle steering on one of these? Then all you would have to protect are the housings. I've seen it done on Dana's and even did it to my RC crawler. Must be a way to do it to a sammy axle. I don't think I'd ever be comfortable bashing through rocks and fallen timber with that steering linkage hanging out there in the breeze.

Well Heiney, Hows that saying go, " if ya can't beat em , join em " Next I'll just sell all this crap and get a Jeep,   NO WAY!

Uggg...dont make me nausias....

One thing I've been thinking about , especially after seeing that pic of Drones bent steering linkage:  why hasn't anyone tried behind the axle steering on one of these? Then all you would have to protect are the housings. I've seen it done on Dana's and even did it to my RC crawler. Must be a way to do it to a sammy axle. I don't think I'd ever be comfortable bashing through rocks and fallen timber with that steering linkage hanging out there in the breeze.

I thought of that also when I rebuild a sami frt and changed one the Leaf setup to a S/R.....The idea was to run a setup like a FJ80 axle....It is possible, with some work. I was thinking to swap the knuckles left to right and then cut and rotate the balls to get camber right.

Probably the main drawback (besides the custom work) with a behind steering at least for samurai is the oil pan. Unless you move the axle extremely forward, the clearance just isnt practical. The steering has to go over the pinion, which is already close to the oil pan. Unless your running a fair bit of lift.....

This might not be the case on a tracker SAS...and you should be able to stretch it, which will gain you some wheel base, approach angle, and a more balanced weight distribution. But then you might have an issue with the steering box location.

I've seen your past posts/builds. You could do if you wanted. But then again how often to you bent the steering up? An over the top steering with crossover, or some fancy Mercedes arms might be more realistic and work 95% of the time.

You could go with a full OTT steering setup, then just cut off the front steering.  Easy as pie.  But you have a good point about needing to slide the axle forward a ways to be able to clear the pan.  You will also need a different steering box as your steering will be reversed.

And I've only bent that front tie rod twice, and I would rather hit it then smash my axle into something.  More give. 

one typically does not run the axle; ie tie rod into objects whilst wheeling.
additionally, the aftermarket ott solutions are more substantial than a oe sammi tie rod, and would take more of a 'hit'....

But in practice, in  a situation where that large boulder is in front f you, you are usually going to be crawling, thus negating any real impact speed anyways...fwiw

After you mock it up, you can decide whether to go thru the trouble, or design/build with the thought you can change later to reverse box behind axle if you really want to.

ps- found a front axle for $75, lmk if you want me to hunt it down.

I don't see a behind the knuckle steering setup being practical at all....from a clearance standpoint.  Like was said, unless the axle is moved forward a considerable amount, or you are running a lot of lift, you would have tie rod to oil pan clearance issues.
And also like was said, you would have to find a steering box that is reversed from the one you have now, otherwise when you turn the steering wheel right, the tires would turn left....that might be interesting.

Thanks for all the advise and info guys. Now I know why it hasn't been done, TOO COMPLICATED  If I were to go ahead with this project, I'll probably go the over the top route since it's already been engineered and worked out. No sense trying to reinvent the wheel. Besides, moving the axle forward some can only help with it's wheeling ability and road handling.
John, if you can get that axle somehow and hold it till we hook up that would be great! I really don't plan on starting this anytime soon, getting to close to spring to be tearing the rig apart. Maybe next winter, but I can at least gather some parts.

Guess who has 3 sets of complete front axles in his back yard??

I do!!!    Give me a call or if you lost my number its 856 340 9277

Hey stranger! Just saw your reply, good to hear from ya. I'll give you a call Sat 18th. Mike