So I apologize in advance...this is likely to be one of those monster threads that lasts for years with many months of inactivity here and there..and this is a monster thread opener. But my wife's 4Runner has sort of adopted me and I want to make it and keep it "right"...we've got a lot of adventuring to do. I'm no spring chicken to automotive repair among other things...I've rebuilt an engine before and a cylinder head or two...and I know how to run a metal lathe and mill and I can weld, though its been decades since I've used stick, but the modified off-road thing is new to me...not that it hasn't been of interest for a great many years. The first vehicle I can remember really, really wanting at the age of 14 was Marty McFly's Toyota pickup in Back to the Future. So zoom ahead a few decades and at least the Toyota part lined up.
Here she is...this is from the other night...blew the cobwebs off and took it out simply go somewhere we'd never been...wife, infant daughter and dog are inside:
The long and the short of it: this 1989 4Runner DX was purchased used as a stock manual trans IFS 22RE truck by my wife after it had been rode hard and put up wet...my wife's ex picked it out...I don't think she would have gone for it had it not been at night...she didn't really get to see it before buying it. But she always wanted one, and so it was. The exterior isn't bad...there's some normal rot in the tailgate at the base of the window (I think there are parts missing there), a dented front driver's side fender, and we had some rear fender rot repaired. Other than that it is pretty rust-free and straight. So its pretty good, but not too good. The interior is rough...hope to address that some day. It spent some years sitting under a forest of evergreen trees here in Oregon. Mold was growing on everything inside. The carpet is trashed as are the front seats and door panels. Perfect for the dog.
Its got 243,000 miles on it.
The steering gear and maybe pump leak and sound like a whale in heat. The transmission sounds like the Zipper at the state fair when you let off the gas in 3rd or 5th, though it shifts through and stays engaged in all gears no problem. Its got newer injector seals, distributor cap, rotor, wires and plugs...I also put a new radiator and coolant hoses in. Its got A/C but its all disconnected and looks like it was pulled up from the Titanic...would love to just gut the A/C stuff out of it and save the weight someday. We also had some work done to it keep the idle stable. I really need to replace all the vacuum lines and I'd love to look into an EGR delete. I need to clean the air filter and replace the fuel filter...preventative maintenance. It puffs a little blue smoke when its first started, but it runs and idles like a champ and cruises down the highway with plenty of get-up-and go for my taste in spite of the big tires...runs like a champ really...amazing.
Not long after my wife got it along came new 15" rims and 35" rubber. That didn't fit so good with the stock suspension. Along came a cheap lift kit and I understand a leaf or two or maybe a spring mount or something broke, so my wife's ex got his way on her dime and started converting it for rock crawling...In went the solid axle swap, looks like a 5" IFS Eliminator Solid Axle Swap Kit, and according to paperwork a set of Trail Gear rear leaf springs. What my wife's ex lacks in a great many areas he makes up for with his metal fabricating and welding skills So that's a plus.
I read this thread end to end and it was a great education:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/classi...beginning.html
So with that education I took a closer look...Here's how it looks from the front:
Now, I'm going to butcher the terminology so please forgive me...the cross-member under the front of the frame...the one with the spring mounts...I don't know if that came with the Eliminator kit...I think the ex may have fabricated that...but he welded it all the way across under the frame.
I haven't looked yet but I expect he welded all the way across on the back side too. There are drop links at the other end of the springs for mounts. The front and rear diffs were re-geared...I don't know what ratio was used...would like to figure that out. It has Warn hubs in the front. I'm not yet sure if the front diff was spooled. The ex spooled the rear diff. Yes its kind of a pain in the ass with those big tires. Its on my list eventually to put some sort of locker in the back. I'm totally fine with the idea of the front being spooled if that's the case. I mean, really...is there any reason why you wouldn't want the front locked when you put it in 4WD?
The front axle looks like it was set forward...Compared to other pictures I've seen of lifted 4Runners it looks "right". What do you guys think? What's the easiest way to verify this?
Bilstein shocks with the Eliminator shock mounts...
And the steering gear looks like maybe it was pushed forward? I think that's about as far forward as you could go...but I can't tell if the mounting was reinforced. How can I determine that? what do I look for? And the system leaks and sounds pretty unhappy constantly...I need help with what to do there. I think its going to need a new steering gear at the least.
I had somebody comment on the pinion angle at the front...like an "I'm not so sure you're going to want to put it in the 4-wheel drive" sort of comment. I have reason to believe my wife's ex may have cobbled the front driveshaft. Can anybody help me chase down if it is okay or if there is work to do there?
Moving to the rear...this is where its really unfinished...no shocks...I can't even find shock mounts anywhere. I need help with what to do here. And the lift blocks...are they okay there? And all the e-brake stuff is unfinished...
To be continued...