[1985taylor1925]

Hello all. Been a member of the forum for several years now, with all of my activity in the 3rd gen section as I bought my 98 SR5 back in August of 2010. Today I purchased a 1st gen here in WI. Ive been looking at 1st gen 4runners and similar year pickups for a few months now. Just been waiting for the right deal. I figured I would start this thread as I know Ill have a million questions along the way. And hopefully I can contribute to the forum as well as I post my info/pictures/experiences/tricks learned along the way/etc . . .

So here we go.

"Jitters" 2.0 (I affectionately named my 98 "Jitters" as I had a ton of issues with front end shakes and vibration initially after buying it)

-1988 SR5, Red
-3.0L 6cyl
-4x4
-Manual
-211000 with the engine rebuilt at 120000 via the recall on the head gasket
-All original apart from PO swapping in Aisin locking hubs and a cd player

It is originally a CA truck, and spent 16 years there. Has now been here in WI for the past ten. As a result the salt has produced some rust on the undercarriage and in a few small spots on the body. Nothing too crazy though. Driving it home today I was very surprised at how well it handled on the highway at 70mph. Suspension is fairly stiff as expected. But it handles surprisingly well to me, is fairly quiet at highway speeds, has far more punch than I expected for 150hp, and feels very solid overall. No wobbles or vibrations. Interior is close to mint, though it has a bunch of rattles which Ill work out along the way.

I intend to do a full restoration, or at least very close to it. Im going to stay pretty close to stock, though I will do some minor modification that I would consider beneficial over OEM. That would include a small suspension lift, slightly bigger tires, a new paint job (I plan to match the original red, but will leave out the vinyl graphics), nice aftermarket sound system, probably a bull bar with fog light, etc . . . But for the most part I will be staying close to original as these truck are becoming more and more rare, and I really want to see these things preserved. I would love to do a SAS swap as this truck has the torsion bars. And swapping in the 3.4 5vzfe would be awesome. But I don't if I want to invest that much money into the project at this point.

Here it is. Ill take better pictures in the future.













Running boards off

[KidVermicious]

Excellent. The first gen running boards are ghastly.

[fo' runnin']

Nice truck! Glad to see another one being preserved!

[1985taylor1925]

Originally Posted by KidVermicious

Excellent. The first gen running boards are ghastly.

True that. They make the truck look wimpy.

[SR587]

love it! looks like my old 1st gen, I wanted to do the same thing with mine but I didnt unfortunately

[1985taylor1925]

First question.

So I took the top off for the first time this past weekend. The previous owner said he never once took in off in the 17 years he owned it! Crazy. My parents drove here from WY on Sat, and I gave them a ride around town in Jitters 2.0. We ended up leaving my house in a hurry because we had reservations to stay at a cottage on lake Michigan.

Anyways, my dad and I threw the topper back on in case it rained, which of course it did. We got in on correctly, but I didn't put the bolts on as we were needing to leave quickly. So I just plugged the terminals (on driver side in the the back) back together. Im assuming those wires are for the rear window? Well I couldn't get the rear window to roll back up. Everything else worked fine. Anyone know why that would be? Havent had a chance to put the bolts back in or look at it yet as I literally drove from lake Michigan to work at Trek today. I work 2nd shift.

[KidVermicious]

You drove around with the top just sitting there? Huh.

You couldn't get the rear window to work because the third bolt from the back on the drivers side has an interlock switch. Put your bolts in and the window will work fine.

The wires are for the rear windshield wiper.

[Hyde802]

Originally Posted by KidVermicious

You drove around with the top just sitting there? Huh.

This. No bolts huh? Lucky it didnt blow off.

[1985taylor1925]

Originally Posted by KidVermicious

You drove around with the top just sitting there? Huh.

You couldn't get the rear window to work because the third bolt from the back on the drivers side has an interlock switch. Put your bolts in and the window will work fine.

The wires are for the rear windshield wiper.

Originally Posted by Hyde802

This. No bolts huh? Lucky it didnt blow off.

Ok. That's what I was thinking . . . that one of those bolts was a ground for something electrical. Thanks

And no, I certainly didn't drive the 88 4runner around with the top unbolted. Not sure where you got that idea from my last post. I gave my parents a ride in the 4runner with the top off. We then got back to my house and put the top back on as we were in a hurry to leave. My 88 has sat parked in the driveway since then, with a tarp over the rear window. I drove my 98 to the lake Michigan cottage.

[KidVermicious]

Originally Posted by 1985taylor1925

I drove my 98 to the lake Michigan cottage.

It's all so clear to me now!

You didn't seem like the sort of fella that would be that retarded, but you never know. This is the internet after all.

[1985taylor1925]

Havent posted here for a long time as ive been doing a lot of work on my 98 4runner and driving the 88 as is. But after driving it for several months now I have decided that Im going to restore it, and then keep it. I had originally planned on restoring and selling to try to make a profit. But after driving for months I just love it too much. I can spin the tires is 1st gear, and by "double jumping" it I can wheelie my 4runner haha. I mean literally get the front tires off the ground. Too much fun

Anyways, I have a strange issue with the truck starting. Every now and then Ill go to start it and nothing will happen other than a whining noise (Im thinking that's the fuel pump?). And then Ill just keep on turning the key and messing with it, and suddenly it will start. There was one case where it took me 20 minutes to get it started after work. Clearly this is an electrical issue. I just don't know enough about electrical to know what it is. Once it does decide to fire it starts right up perfectly.

A friend suggested the solenoid? Can anyone tell me if that sounds like the right culprit? Thanks

[DeclansDaddy]

Glad you came to you senses and are going to keep this beautiful piece of toyota history. I know the 22re have the infamous staring problem fixed here Final fix for intermittent no-crank on the 22re. but I'm not sure if it's the same kind of issue for the 3.0. Keep us updated with pics on the resto. First thing I'd do is check the connections on the starter. Maybe a new relay? Usually if your solenoid is sticking it will at least make a click.

[1985taylor1925]

Its been awhile since Iv'e posted in this section. Most of my time is spent in the 3rd gen section. But I have recently put this truck up for sale both here and on craigslist as I am dealing with an illness right now and am not able to work full time. I had planned on restoring this truck, but do not have the energy or money. Now I just need money for medical bills. So the truck is for sale in the classifieds for any who are interested.

In the mean time, I am trying to figure out why the passenger window doesn't work so I can fix it. With some help I replaced the motor, which didn't fix it. I took apart the switch and didn't see anything wrong with it, though I'm not 100% sure about that. I read on Ih8mud forum that there is a control unit for the windows that is located behind the kick panel and is often the cause. But I looked for it behind my kick panel and near the clutch lever and couldn't find it. So now I'm stumped. The driver side window works fine, along with everything else.

Can anyone offer me some advise for what to check next? Thanks.

[1985taylor1925]

Originally Posted by DeclansDaddy

Glad you came to you senses and are going to keep this beautiful piece of toyota history. I know the 22re have the infamous staring problem fixed here Final fix for intermittent no-crank on the 22re. but I'm not sure if it's the same kind of issue for the 3.0. Keep us updated with pics on the resto. First thing I'd do is check the connections on the starter. Maybe a new relay? Usually if your solenoid is sticking it will at least make a click.

Still having starting issues, but now they have changed. I read through that thread. But the issue my truck is having seems to be different. I just replaced my battery as it wouldn't hold a charge, and also replaced the starter with a duralast unit as I suspected the starter was having issues. Turns out the starter was not the issue.

So before I changed the battery, I could almost always get the truck started with a jump. Now I go to start the truck a few weeks later and after installing a new battery, and it still wont start. So I try to jump it and now that doesn't work! When I turn the key, all the lights come on. I'm getting full power to everything from the battery. But nothing happens when I try to start it. So I had my dad turn the key while I put me ear next to the starter relay to make sure its clicking. I hear a click, but it actually sounds like its coming from the starter, not the relay. Couldn't hear anything from the relay. So does that mean I blew the relay?

[1985taylor1925]

Originally Posted by 1985taylor1925

Still having starting issues, but now they have changed. I read through that thread. But the issue my truck is having seems to be different. I just replaced my battery as it wouldn't hold a charge, and also replaced the starter with a duralast unit as I suspected the starter was having issues. Turns out the starter was not the issue.

So before I changed the battery, I could almost always get the truck started with a jump. Now I go to start the truck a few weeks later and after installing a new battery, and it still wont start. So I try to jump it and now that doesn't work! When I turn the key, all the lights come on. I'm getting full power to everything from the battery. But nothing happens when I try to start it. So I had my dad turn the key while I put me ear next to the starter relay to make sure its clicking. I hear a click, but it actually sounds like its coming from the starter, not the relay. Couldn't hear anything from the relay. So does that mean I blew the relay?

Anyone able to help me with this question? I went to autozone to get a new starter relay, but the cost $180. So I'm not going that route. I will have to look for a used relay. But I would like to figure out for sure if the relay is even the issue before I spend the money even on a used one.