A few pictures of my Runner
- Thread starter 1985taylor1925
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1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Called it
Whatever
Wait a minute, I thought Whiteline bushings were discontinued? Aren't they polyurethane? If that is the case, I would have definitely gone that route in hind sight. With your east coast rust that job could be a nightmare. New control arms and bushings would certainly be the best and easy option. My control arms aren't bad, just surface rust. But the outer metal sleeves of the bushings were borderline with rust and pitting, though I did re-use them. This is with only 4 midwest winters. The rest of its life my truck was in Florida and Colorado. So yeah, 19 years in NJ and I bet your lca bushings are toast. Definitely the most significant improvement I've seen in handling/stability, save the Safari steering rack.
absalom
New member
I just did my 2nd set of LCA bushings this past week, and it was MUCH easier this time.
To start, remove one of the metal caps from each of the bushings using a pickle fork.
The trick was using two torches held directly to the LCA itself (not the rubber) and wait for a "pop" noise -- takes about 5 solid minutes of burning to get this point. Then, your buddy grabs the bushing with a pair of pliers and it'll pull right out with zero effort.
Next, take the bushing and heat the metal on the inner sleeve with both torches and wait for a second pop. At this point, the old rubber bushing will fall completely away leaving a mostly clean inner sleeve.
Hit the sleeve with a wire wheel or sandpaper, file away the tapers until the old caps slide on, lube up the holes, and pop your new poly bushings in. Voila!
To start, remove one of the metal caps from each of the bushings using a pickle fork.
The trick was using two torches held directly to the LCA itself (not the rubber) and wait for a "pop" noise -- takes about 5 solid minutes of burning to get this point. Then, your buddy grabs the bushing with a pair of pliers and it'll pull right out with zero effort.
Next, take the bushing and heat the metal on the inner sleeve with both torches and wait for a second pop. At this point, the old rubber bushing will fall completely away leaving a mostly clean inner sleeve.
Hit the sleeve with a wire wheel or sandpaper, file away the tapers until the old caps slide on, lube up the holes, and pop your new poly bushings in. Voila!
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
So you did this step with the bushings still in the lca right? Using the lca housing to pry against
We did the same thing here (heating the lca), except we pressed out the whole bushing, rather than just the rubber and inner sleeve. That would have saved a lot of time!
Brilliant. Didn't think to try that. Getting the rubber off the inner sleeve was by far my least favorite part, as I had to burn sections at a time, and pull/scrape it off. I couldn't get the full bushing to break off. It was super messy, and the fumes are nasty.
So you filed the tip as well? Great minds think alike eh.:guitar2:
But still, I have no desire to ever do this job again - separating the bushings that is. Im fine with pulling the a arms and pressing out the bushings. But I wish Energy Suspension, or someone else sold a complete bushing kit, metal sleeves included. Or if you could just get the sleeves separate, without rubber bushing pre-installed. I looked up the Whiteline bushings, and unfortunately they're rubber.
Ed_C
Senior Member
So Phil, are you finally satisfied with the ride quality or it still some room for improvement?
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Well, there's always room for improvement. But money is the big factor there. I want my truck to be a road going weapon, with good off road capability. I would love to have KING coilovers in the front, set on a lower setting, and even a custom rear KING coilover setup. But I cant afford that now.
I will say that it feels far better now than it ever has, especially when I first bought it. And my feeling about the truck has certainly changed. I enjoy driving it much more now. Now I just need to . . .
1) Get rid of all driveline vibrations
2) Rebuild the engine, and supercharge it. More preferably turbocharge
3) Load it with sound deadening
4) Convert to manual
5) Regear
6) Repaint
7) Build a custom structural bull bar
8) Do a projector retrofit
9) Get a JOAS spoiler
10) Find a girlfriend
the list goes on
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Oh yeah, I am satisfied with the results for now. The bushings were the final cure for my front end vibrations. I'm running 99 coils front and back, with Taco Bilstein 5100's in the front, and LC Tokico's in the back. Overall the ride is just a tad bit stiff for me as a dd. I can tell its due to the shocks, as the LC Tokico's are too stiff for my truck at stock weight, and up front the 5100's are a little stiffer than stock on down travel. Rebound is about the same though. I ordered a set of new oem 99 Tokico's to replace the LC's in the back. So now after 5 years of experimenting with suspension lifts, turns out that all oem is probably the best option for me (at least on my low budget). I may even sell the front 5100's and replace them with Tokico's, and then just add 1" Daystar comfort ride spacers front and back.
Now that the front end is really solid, I can feel some slop coming from the back. I'm thinking rear lca bushings are the main cause there. And possibly wheel bearings.
Close. Stan is a Spaniel/Bichon mix.
fourfive
Senior Member
I called whiteline about a week ago & they said their bushings are synthetic "elastomer" & definitely not rubber. They said they manufacture the elastomer in house and the main difference between elastomer and polyurethane is that they could control the hardness of the bushings based on intended application whereas the poly's are the same hardness across the board...
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Good info. In that case I would consider their bushing if I ever do this again in the future. Do you know if the elastomer is harder or softer than polyurethane? Im guessing its somewhere between rubber and poly.
fourfive
Senior Member
A little softer from my understanding. The guy i talked to said for certain applications they make elastomer that is just has hard as poly but if certain components wouldnt benefit from a bushing as hard as polyurethane, they will slightly scale down the hardness.
I initially ordered ES front lca bushings since they were cheaper bc they dont supply the hardware like the whitelines but after thinking about it, i didnt want to run into issues trying to use the oem hardware for the ES lca so ended up ordering the whitelines.
Comparing the two brands just by feel they feel VERY similar.
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Yesterday I replaced my FJ80 Tokicos with OEM 3rd gen Tokicos. The ride with the LC shocks was just too stiff for my truck at stock weight, and they were overkill considering Im only lifted 1" in the back.
So, I'll probably post these in the classifieds shortly, if anyone is interested. They have around 40k EASY miles on them. 60/40 highway/city miles, at stock weight, with very little towing and hauling. As far as off road use, literally just logging road type trails. Nothing that could even be considered true "off-road". The rust is just surface, and I tore up the upper protective sleeve a bit getting them off yeasterday. But, functionally they are perfect. So if anyone is interested before I get them in the classifieds.
Next to stock 3rd gen Tokicos
So, I'll probably post these in the classifieds shortly, if anyone is interested. They have around 40k EASY miles on them. 60/40 highway/city miles, at stock weight, with very little towing and hauling. As far as off road use, literally just logging road type trails. Nothing that could even be considered true "off-road". The rust is just surface, and I tore up the upper protective sleeve a bit getting them off yeasterday. But, functionally they are perfect. So if anyone is interested before I get them in the classifieds.
Next to stock 3rd gen Tokicos
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1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Burning smell from exhaust, not coolant
Posing this question on my build thread to avoid starting a new thread. I have been getting an increasingly stronger smell from my exhaust pipe. Its like a somewhat sweet, potent burning oil type of smell. Im 100% certain its not coolant, as my coolant level has stayed the same since changing my rad 3 years ago. It literally never looses a drop. And I do loose oil over the course of each oil change (roughly half a quart over 6000 miles).
So my question is, what could be the possible causes of the burning oil smell from the exhaust. I know my valve cover gasket is leaking, and you can smell the burning oil from the engine bay as the oil contacts the exhaust manifold. But this doesnt explain the smell coming out of the tail pipe. Any ideas?
Posing this question on my build thread to avoid starting a new thread. I have been getting an increasingly stronger smell from my exhaust pipe. Its like a somewhat sweet, potent burning oil type of smell. Im 100% certain its not coolant, as my coolant level has stayed the same since changing my rad 3 years ago. It literally never looses a drop. And I do loose oil over the course of each oil change (roughly half a quart over 6000 miles).
So my question is, what could be the possible causes of the burning oil smell from the exhaust. I know my valve cover gasket is leaking, and you can smell the burning oil from the engine bay as the oil contacts the exhaust manifold. But this doesnt explain the smell coming out of the tail pipe. Any ideas?
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1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Soon to be for sale
Putting up a teaser thread for my 88 4runner that is soon be for sale. I got sick a year ago, and havent been able to return to work yet so I need the money. I still have to figure out an electrical issue with the starter before I list it. Its got 212000 miles, but with about 40k on a rebuilt engine and clutch. 3.0L 6 cylinder (updated head gasket installed via recall), and 5 speed manual. Ill be putting it here in the classifieds, on craigslist, and probably ebay. But I wanted the forum to see it first. Im in Cheyenne, WY. Im thinking Ill be asking 4500 obo. More to come . . .
Putting up a teaser thread for my 88 4runner that is soon be for sale. I got sick a year ago, and havent been able to return to work yet so I need the money. I still have to figure out an electrical issue with the starter before I list it. Its got 212000 miles, but with about 40k on a rebuilt engine and clutch. 3.0L 6 cylinder (updated head gasket installed via recall), and 5 speed manual. Ill be putting it here in the classifieds, on craigslist, and probably ebay. But I wanted the forum to see it first. Im in Cheyenne, WY. Im thinking Ill be asking 4500 obo. More to come . . .
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starclassic
New member
So, you're in WI? I assume you made it out to CO to pick up the rig? How was that experience? How much "faith" was it going out there if so? Or did you have a way to check it out before making the trip?
Sweet rig, congrats.
Sweet rig, congrats.
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
Just saw this post. I am originally from Cheyenne, WY, which is less than an hour from Ft Collins CO. I went to school in Wisconsin but always went home for summer breaks. So I bought my truck when I was home for summer break back in 2010. Then I took it back to Wisconsin and lived there for several years after school. Now I'm back in Cheyenne (unfortunately after getting really sick) for now. Ive taken the truck back and forth many many time, about a 1000 mile trip one way. Never had any problems with my truck, other than getting up hills with the weak 3.4L, high speed vibrations and poor handling at highway speeds. But as we all know, that's part of the territory with 3rd gens
