88 4Runner Project! (Lots of Questions)

Dropped the truck at maaco, kind of holding my breath until it's done on Friday.
Hope they get the color right! Last "before" shot.
 

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Truck is back from paint! I'm pretty happy with the results. Two large dents removed and fresh paint for the body and top. The blue looks ever so slightly brighter than the stock paint on the inside but I still think it looks pretty darn good for the money.

Not so sure about the sheen on the top, looks ok but I may eventually put some bedliner on it. They said they did the best they could but the fiberglass was in such rough shape before they couldn't get a perfect finish on it. I think I got my money's worth at $120 for the top.

No rear bumper stands out worse now that it's all cleaned up. Need to take care of that ASAP. Also the windshield trim is pretty awful need to fix that as well.

Next on the agenda is.
-Find a rear bumper!
-Re-finish rusty wiper arms and exterior trim with plastidip
-Re-paint the grill and headlight bezels
-install my vinyl flooring kit
-find some used rear seat brackets and install rear seats and cage
-Hella h4 conversion
-Find/install a factory skid plate
-Get a dash cap or find another way to fix the cracked dash.
-find/fab a spare tire crank so I can mount/use my spare
-shoot some high heat paint on the rusty exhaust tip.
 

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P.S. the things that look like paint runs on the top are actually just water/watermarks. Finish is actually pretty decent.
 
Need some rear bumper recommendations here. The metal portions for the factory bumper are everywhere but the plastic corner and "extension" pieces are nowhere to be found.

I don't really care much if it's a factory or aftermarket bumper, I just need something back there!
 
I also have the factory rear bumper and driver side plastic cover. The passenger side is damaged. I'll get you some pics when I get a chance.
 
I also have the factory rear bumper and driver side plastic cover. The passenger side is damaged. I'll get you some pics when I get a chance.

Sweet that would help out a lot. I'm planning on some low profile tube bumpers eventually but itd be good to have something on there in the meantime. I'll PM you my email and phone number so you can send me pics/price.

On a negative note, my low idle problem is back. New plugs seem to have worsened it but I forgot dielectric grease. May put that on and see if it helps. Anyone have any other ideas?

Here's a couple more pics in the sunlight half way through my Hella H4 install.
 
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Anyone have part numbers or a source for the rear seat center bracket? It's the one that goes into the four bolt holes in between the two seatbacks. I needto put these rear seats in!

Also my rear seat fabric is in ok shape but it is nasty velour with a bunch of stains that won't come out. Does anyone make some nice seat covers for those for a reasonable price?

My truck is missing the most annoying parts to replace! If you have a bunch of spare 1st gen parts or are parting out a truck, check out my wanted ad in the classifieds.
 
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I know this is a lot of stuff but I did warn you in the title!

One more issue I'm going to have to address is the ride height in the rear. Tires fit ok now but once I add the rear bumper, spare tire, and some people and gear it might get pretty close to rubbing.

What are my options for getting the ride height up 1-2"? Want to avoid body lifts if possible. I like OME products and I have helped a buddy install a 2" kit on a wrangler but they are pricey and probably a bit overkill.

I guess I could go the other way and replace the tires with stock size but I like the 265/75/16's on it and BFG A/T's aren't cheap.

Ideas?
 
if you search for ZUK mod you'll see an in-expensive solution.

basically, install a coil spring between the frame rail and the existing leaf spring.

the other option is to replace the existing leaf springs with OME... i went with ironman.

unfortunately, the ironman was not exactly bolt-in and required a custom bolt thingy for the install.

i didn't do the install but was shown the problem with the bolt that shipped.

good luck!!!

joel

I know this is a lot of stuff but I did warn you in the title!

One more issue I'm going to have to address is the ride height in the rear. Tires fit ok now but once I add the rear bumper, spare tire, and some people and gear it might get pretty close to rubbing.

What are my options for getting the ride height up 1-2"? Want to avoid body lifts if possible. I like OME products and I have helped a buddy install a 2" kit on a wrangler but they are pricey and probably a bit overkill.

I guess I could go the other way and replace the tires with stock size but I like the 265/75/16's on it and BFG A/T's aren't cheap.

Ideas?
 
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Hmmm ZUK mod is interesting. Seems simple enough but I'm not sure I like how the shock sits on the bump stop. Seems like it would need some kind of cup or puck type thing to sit on.

I didn't realize the stock tire size was so small for these things (225/75-16) and now I'm a little more worried about the 265/75-16's that came on it. Do I need to re-gear at this size? The tires are 3.3" bigger than stock. No telling if it's been re-geared or not. Feels a little sluggish in low gears but I don't have anything to compare it to. I'd say it's doubtful.

On the highway the speedo seems to run about 5mph slow, always have to remind myself to compensate.
 
My 4Runner came with the equivalent of 30" tires and it was good... looked a little small :)

When I replaced my wife's 265/70/16s for 265/75/16s I bought 16" steel wheels and put her old tires on...

I can feel the difference. But I just have to downshift a bit more going up hills.

I have a 5-speed 22re and Downey intake & headers and custom 2.5" exhaust with stock gearing.

Joel
 
About how much space is there supposed to be between there supposed to be between the A-Arm and the bump stops on the front? Mine looks awfully close.
 
On a negative note, my low idle problem is back. New plugs seem to have worsened it but I forgot dielectric grease. May put that on and see if it helps. Anyone have any other ideas?

For low idle possibly check your throttle sensor or throttle cable?
 
The idle issue is a bit complicated! After m first fill up after I bought it it developed a consistent rough/low idle. I put in new plugs, added seafoam, and ran a tank of premium gas through it. That improved it quite a bit but it would still give me a low/rough idle sometimes.

I picked up from paint earlier this week and it was still idling a bit rough, but not as bas as before. I put new NGK spark plug wires in and that seems to have made it worse.

Current situation is...
-Cold crank, idle surges to about 1500
-Quickly settles to 1100-1000 RPM
-Holds for a few seconds
-Drops down to around 400rpm
-Back up to 1000rpm
-Repeats this for about 30-40seconds then eventually conks out during a low idle.

Truck runs great on the move, problem only shows when it's sitting still.
 
...
One more issue I'm going to have to address is the ride height in the rear...

What are my options for getting the ride height up 1-2"? Want to avoid body lifts if possible. I like OME products and I have helped a buddy install a 2" kit on a wrangler but they are pricey and probably a bit overkill.

I guess I could go the other way and replace the tires with stock size but I like the 265/75/16's on it and BFG A/T's aren't cheap.

OME is the properly engineered solution. Ask Defrag (Home on the Highway) and Ruined Adventures who had put it through the paces in places and conditions that most of us owners could only dream of going.

Two-inch lift in back will require:
1)Cranking your torsion bar to level it up front,
2)OR upgrading to OME's torsion bars,
3) Or using BJ spacers - a debatable option in terms of reliability.

I do not have the budget for OME, either, so I ZUK'd mine (write-up here). I'm very happy with it.
You can research used springs, or
OR save time, 14-inch, 100-lb/inch Black Magic (Ebay) springs would give you around 2-inch lift.
12-inch, 125 lb/inch BM springs would give you back stock height.

Getting bigger tires without fixing the suspension sag:
1) Will only mask the problem, and not improve your ride quality.
2) May cause another problem (rubbing).
 

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