Bumper and Hitch question--where did I go wrong?

[Chewada]

I have an 89 4 Runner. I need a hitch for carrying bikes, towing, etc... I got a OEM hitch from an 86 thinking it would fit right in. When I line the hitch up on the 89, the opening is right behind the bumper. There are holes that work perfectly and the size it right, the bumper and hitch opening just don't line up.

Do the earlier 1st gens have additional framework for a lower mounting point?

So, I still need a hitch and was stoked to get a OEM from a junkyard for 50$ instead of a 300$ new one. Anyone had any similar problems? What hitches work best on the 1st gens? Should I just cut a whole in my bumper? I'm leaning towards taking it off and seeing any local 4x4 shops have a minimalist tube bumper that will work. It's not a off road rig, just to used to get me around and the family up in the mountains now and then.

Thanks!

 

[KidVermicious]

Might have been a different bumper on the '89, there are a couple different styles and one of them hangs kinda low. I'd cut a hole in your bumper, or take the hitch and truck to a local welder and see if they can space it down.

Got any pics of your setup?

 

[Chewada]

bumber blues

Thanks Kid for the reply. It's been raining here in CO for a month now, and I haven't done any work on the rig till last weekend. Here are some more pics of my rig, and with the hitch and bottom of the truck.

After checking it out more, I noticed the bumper is actually attached to the bottom of the back bed of the 4runner. Seeing how this seems like an incredible poor design, I'm going to try to attach the hitch to the frame (won't know 100% if it will work until i take the bumper off--the mounts are in the way of the hitch). Then see about welding the bumper onto the hitch. I'll probably have to cut a hole in the bumper, but I think all that will be far cheaper than a new bumper/hitch combo.

I did start going through the write up about the 3.0 engine at yotatech.

What EVERYONE should know about their truck & the 3VZE - YotaTech Forums

I changed out the oxygen sensor (was the original at 120K miles). There was a slight sound (groaned for 5sec) at startup, but nothing else i ever noticed. But with the new O2 sensor, that's gone, and I gained at least 1-2mpg on around town driving.

I'm looking at getting a pair of 16" rims (265,75,16) from a 2001 Tacoma. Anyone know what type of difference these would make driving/mpg/any handling wise?

After that, next project is replacing the shocks and the center storage console.