hanjohnbono
New member
Hey everyone, starting a build thread for my 94 4Runner I bought for 1K a few days ago. My 4th gen is named Boris The Tank, so in honor of him this is Boris The Tank 2.0
Status the 4Runner of purchasing date:
~300K miles, previous owner said previous owner has the odometer go out, stuck at 280K, but previous owner said theres probably 10-15K after the odo went out. I didn't really care about this, the car ran which is what is important
-Engine was apparently rebuilt in last 80K? Not too sure how accurate it is, but I will say this engine has no rough idle and starts up great in somewhat cold weather
-Shifts fine into 4Hi, 4Lo, and Neutral, all those work work fine
-Came with decent mud tires and a 4in (I Think) lift kit, two additions out of the way for the time being
-Pretty prominent oil leak from I think the oil pan (I think), I saw it was dripping when I bought it in the parking lot, but I wasn't worried, and an issue with something in the drivetrain I think (Little throttle causes a grinding noise, but no throttle or slightly higher throttle doesn't make the grinding noise)
-All the windows work surprisingly, the rear, sunroof, all doors, which is nice haha
-Didn't come with any sway bars, someone removed them. I think this is what allows it to have a crazy turning radius at the moment.
Overall Goal For This Build
Want a semi reliable camping truck that I worked on from my own blood, sweat, and maybe tears, depends on how much grease I get in my eye. I enjoy working and mainly learning about cars, I had a 97 Tacoma that I realized I enjoyed fixing. It's sort of one of those things that in the moment you can sometimes be really frustrated, but as time passes your accomplishments cause you to go back and keep modifying because it's addicting and satisfying when all said and done. Another main goal is I just want to work on a car that isn't my daily, one where it can sit for a few weeks while I rebuild something, I don't want to feel rushed like when I am doing work on my 4th Gen, I like learning through making mistakes, and I view working on this car sort of as an education opportunity.
What about your current 4Runner, why not just modify that?
I know some people will be ask why not just begin modifying your 4th gen. Thing is I love the shit out of that car to the point where I am worried that when wheeling sometimes, there are certain trails that could really potentially damage car, and it is a potentialdamage but often I would find myself being swayed away from going on certain trails or doing certain things, and I didn't like that feeling, I want to go wherever without thinking twice. Also a big aspect is I want to learn more about cars without having to sacrifice significant potential cost of my daily, if I happen to make an irreversible damage on my 4th gen, it's most likely going to cost me way more than if I break something on the 2nd gen.
Things I plan on doing to the car
-Short Term-
-Redoing the entire interior, roommate said I should remove the carpet, and rhino line the floorboard (I don't think I will)
-Taking the engine out, and learning more about engines while having easier access
-Taking the transmission out I will find a donor R150 from the same generation as rebuilding it doesn't seem worth it if it is the main shaft bearing
-Adding a light bar or a few off the classic looking KC lights since I think it would match with the age of the car
-Armor, making my own rocksliders and welding them together, or buying a DIY kit (I want to start learning more about welding)
Budget
I am budgeting out around 3-4K for this build, which I think is reasonable. I want to mainly spend the rest of the budget on finding a donor 3rd for the engine swap and tranny components. There is a 5vzfe engine nearby for $800 still on the pallet with around 50K miles on it, I can probably talk the guy down to $600-700 since it hasn't sold for almost a month. Nice aspect about this is I don't have to pay for expensive shipping, and it's a 500 mile round trip drive so gas would be less than shipping along with the time it would take to get here.
Current plan, if someone has any tips or a better idea please let me know
As mentioned above there is a low mileage 3.4L nearby, what I am thinking is buying that engine, and then finding a manual donor 3rd gen 4Runner or automatic but I've read the wiring is more difficult on automatics than manuals which makes sense. On the Yotatech forums it's recommended to buy a donor as you will spend more time and maybe more money finding each individual part that could potentially be required when doing the engine and tranny swap. If I buy this engine, I am left with $1500-2500$ for a donor vehicle, now of course I would prefer to buy one on the cheaper side, but I don't know how realistic that would be. Post comments below if you think this is an unrealistic plan or I would need to budget higher for something like this. I am trying to get as much advice as possible whist still having a fun project
Photos of the 4Runner:
Status the 4Runner of purchasing date:
~300K miles, previous owner said previous owner has the odometer go out, stuck at 280K, but previous owner said theres probably 10-15K after the odo went out. I didn't really care about this, the car ran which is what is important
-Engine was apparently rebuilt in last 80K? Not too sure how accurate it is, but I will say this engine has no rough idle and starts up great in somewhat cold weather
-Shifts fine into 4Hi, 4Lo, and Neutral, all those work work fine
-Came with decent mud tires and a 4in (I Think) lift kit, two additions out of the way for the time being
-Pretty prominent oil leak from I think the oil pan (I think), I saw it was dripping when I bought it in the parking lot, but I wasn't worried, and an issue with something in the drivetrain I think (Little throttle causes a grinding noise, but no throttle or slightly higher throttle doesn't make the grinding noise)
-All the windows work surprisingly, the rear, sunroof, all doors, which is nice haha
-Didn't come with any sway bars, someone removed them. I think this is what allows it to have a crazy turning radius at the moment.
Overall Goal For This Build
Want a semi reliable camping truck that I worked on from my own blood, sweat, and maybe tears, depends on how much grease I get in my eye. I enjoy working and mainly learning about cars, I had a 97 Tacoma that I realized I enjoyed fixing. It's sort of one of those things that in the moment you can sometimes be really frustrated, but as time passes your accomplishments cause you to go back and keep modifying because it's addicting and satisfying when all said and done. Another main goal is I just want to work on a car that isn't my daily, one where it can sit for a few weeks while I rebuild something, I don't want to feel rushed like when I am doing work on my 4th Gen, I like learning through making mistakes, and I view working on this car sort of as an education opportunity.
What about your current 4Runner, why not just modify that?
I know some people will be ask why not just begin modifying your 4th gen. Thing is I love the shit out of that car to the point where I am worried that when wheeling sometimes, there are certain trails that could really potentially damage car, and it is a potentialdamage but often I would find myself being swayed away from going on certain trails or doing certain things, and I didn't like that feeling, I want to go wherever without thinking twice. Also a big aspect is I want to learn more about cars without having to sacrifice significant potential cost of my daily, if I happen to make an irreversible damage on my 4th gen, it's most likely going to cost me way more than if I break something on the 2nd gen.
Things I plan on doing to the car
-Short Term-
-Redoing the entire interior, roommate said I should remove the carpet, and rhino line the floorboard (I don't think I will)
-Taking the engine out, and learning more about engines while having easier access
-Taking the transmission out I will find a donor R150 from the same generation as rebuilding it doesn't seem worth it if it is the main shaft bearing
-Adding a light bar or a few off the classic looking KC lights since I think it would match with the age of the car
-Armor, making my own rocksliders and welding them together, or buying a DIY kit (I want to start learning more about welding)
Budget
I am budgeting out around 3-4K for this build, which I think is reasonable. I want to mainly spend the rest of the budget on finding a donor 3rd for the engine swap and tranny components. There is a 5vzfe engine nearby for $800 still on the pallet with around 50K miles on it, I can probably talk the guy down to $600-700 since it hasn't sold for almost a month. Nice aspect about this is I don't have to pay for expensive shipping, and it's a 500 mile round trip drive so gas would be less than shipping along with the time it would take to get here.
Current plan, if someone has any tips or a better idea please let me know
As mentioned above there is a low mileage 3.4L nearby, what I am thinking is buying that engine, and then finding a manual donor 3rd gen 4Runner or automatic but I've read the wiring is more difficult on automatics than manuals which makes sense. On the Yotatech forums it's recommended to buy a donor as you will spend more time and maybe more money finding each individual part that could potentially be required when doing the engine and tranny swap. If I buy this engine, I am left with $1500-2500$ for a donor vehicle, now of course I would prefer to buy one on the cheaper side, but I don't know how realistic that would be. Post comments below if you think this is an unrealistic plan or I would need to budget higher for something like this. I am trying to get as much advice as possible whist still having a fun project
Photos of the 4Runner:
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