Hello, gents. New here w/a black/burgundy 1987 22RE auto.

[flagbasher]

Very nice and clean truck love those SSR wheels aint nothing like a classic Japanese wheel.

Honestly, I didn't expect to find them in the right size, color, and price... but there they were. :shocked:

Most of the sets I've seen cost a few hundred more, and all of them had a color anodized center, which I didn't want. I just wanted plain silver.

Not sure if I'm going to do the SSRs before or after the trans swap. Dropping down to 30" tires and I'm going to keep the 32" buckshots for winter use.

I kinda want to see the incremental effects on my mileage. Dropping to 30" will have some effect, and I know for sure going to the manual trans will have an impact.

I can't wait to get them on the truck, though. I'm sure they're going to look great.

 

[flagbasher]

So I swapped the ignition switch with an Intermotor switch from Rock Auto.

Getting the key-in switch removed was a real pain. Hard to access with a screwdriver. I had to use a phillips bit and a small 1/4" closed end wrench to get the screws out. Everything else was pretty much plug and play.

The switch positions are a lot tighter and it started right up.

Hopefully this is the end of my click no start problems.

 

[flagbasher]

Lord help me, I just pulled the trigger on these SSR Auswuch wheels.

I saw them for the first time via an Aussie here. Here's what they look like on his truck.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/class...-4runner-picture-gallery-121.html#post1845634

These are the same size as his. And like the Aussie truck, I'll probably drop to 30" street tires, too. Keep my 32" tires and original wheels as winter shoes.

They've got a bit of curb rash, so I might take them to get repaired and refinished before I slap them on.

Let the frivolous idiotic spending season begin...

So, I cleaned them up. The backs were/are NASTY.

Even after cleaning with some heavy duty cleaner a few times.

After cleaning the front a few times (right). Still a lot of grime hiding behind those bolts.

I made the idiotic mistake of deciding to polish these wheels. I spent maybe 15 hours so far, and I've done most of the polishing on one wheel. :tape2: I'm sure the others will go faster, but, damn. I polished the logo right off of them too. No biggie, the logo is a bit silly anyway. I'm really in love with the shape of these wheels.

Click for full size here.


Close up of polished VS unpolished. Click for full size.


So, I guess some time next year I'll be done and have these mounted.

 

[flagbasher]

Well, this happened.

Got one intersection from home the other week and 1st started slipping and making a sloshing sound.

I took it into a nearby parking lot and confirmed how nasty it felt. It was like flipping a switch. No warning. It was great, then it instantly started accelerating poorly and made noise.

I went home and tried to drive it an hour or so later and it would not go into reverse without having to over-rev and have it jump into gear.

I took it to the shop I use to have them look at it. If it was an easy fix, I was going to do it, but they said the trans was probably going to need some serious work, so I just paid them to pull it, and I had it towed back to me.

So, I bypassed all of the fun of pulling the auto trans out... and they gave me a little box full of misc. bolts and I had to figure out which was which. :rip:

First I pulled out the console and driver seat.

Then I took out the 5-6 bolts holding the auto shifter assembly, unplugged the electrical plugs, and pulled it straight out.

Then the next step was to remove the automatic pedal bracket. But first I had to get at it, the lower dash panel and A/C vent line had to come out. Easy stuff. The lower dash panel was already cut in two. The original owner was paraplegic and maybe had to hack it up for hand controls? Not sure.

The auto pedal bracket has the hole to accept the clutch master cylinder, but doesn't have the bolts going through the firewall to support it. I marked the pre-existing auto bracket holes for this against the inside of the truck for reference. I also drilled a single small hole right in the center to help me drill from the other side later.

After removing the brake pedal itself, and the spring, and all of the bolts, I had to fight with the bracket for a while to wriggle it out of here. I came up with a little trick later which would have made this a lot easier.

But first, I have to drill some holes in my firewall, and I need some room. I removed a total of 5 bolts here to move the cruise control (2), coil (2), and one of the fender mounted wire bolts (1) out of the way. The green plug on the right is pointing right at the 5th bolt against the fender. It had to move so I could get the wire harness away from the bolts holding the coil in place. Various wire connectors unplugged as well.

If we zoom in a little, we can see the tiny hole I drilled in the center of the clutch master hole from the original automatic pedal bracket.

This is what I used to make the main hole for the master. It went right through the firewall like nothing. In hindsight, I would have stepped up the size a tiny bit, since I had to do some grinding for size before I got it in for good.

After hacking the main hole, I plugged the master cylinder in straight up and down, and drilled the mounting hole centers with small pilot holes. Then I drilled them out with one size larger than the posts on the manual trans pedal bracket. The firewall doesn't really secure the master cylinder, the pedal bracket does. It just needs to pass through, so the holes on the firewall don't have to be perfect.

I then de-burred and painted both sides with Rustoleum.

Now for the trick I was talking about earlier. Getting the auto pedal bracket out was a pain. Getting the manual pedal bracket in with the additional clutch master posts sticking out was impossible without removing more of the truck.

I took off the gauge cluster cowl and tried to get to that driver side vent to get it out. There are two screws holding it in place. One you get at easily from the vent after removing the gauge cluster cowl, the other is buried inside of the dash.

I drilled a 1/2" hole from near the speaker to access that screw and to get it back in later. The hole won't show when the speaker grille is back in place. Be careful not to hit wiring in the dash, there are a few that you could hit if you aren't careful.

This didn't allow me to remove the driver side vent tube, but it did allow it to rock around inside the dash just enough to get me the clearance I needed.

Getting the manual pedal bracket in was more of a pain than I'd like to admit. I started with the bracket without pedals. When it got close, I put the clutch pedal on the bracket, then I moved the bracket in place and bolted it in. Then I did the brake pedal, followed by all of the springs and connections (pivots, pins, electrical) for the brake.

After more grinding and Rustoleum, I got the clutch master cylinder in place and bolted to the pedal bracket. At this point, I hooked up the clutch pedal to the master cylinder clevis with the pin and lubed it all, of course. I did not yet tighten the backing nut for the master cylinder push rod. I did that when I bled the line later on.

Next I took the aftermarket braided clutch line and plugged it into the master cylinder. I used a bit of blue Loctite.

I passed it up across the top of the firewall. I got a cheapie wire/hose clamp and re-used a bolt in the center of the top of the firewall to mount it here.

And I passed the new clutch line down to the passenger side of the engine, passing through another cheapie wire/hose clamp and utilized another existing bolt to mount to. Leave the other end dangling and disconnected for now. I did, however, end up pulling the clutch line up through this clamp a bit and putting a cable tie above it so it didn't slip so low. It was wanting to rub on the upper suspension arm, and no good could come from that in the long run.

Now it's time to get the flywheel and clutch onto the engine. For reference, the clutch parts, bearings, and box/kit number.

The boxes the Koyo pilot and release bearings came in, along with the clutch disc and clutch spring/housing.

First the pilot bearing goes in. Being an automatic, my truck never had one before. Shown here are the MVPs for this operation. A big framing hammer and a 24mm socket. I started with a smaller hammer, and then a block of wood with a mallet, but I quickly got to the point where I was just tapping the outermost race of the bearing with the framing hammer to center it, then pounding it in with the 24mm socket. Went in easier than I thought it would.

The rear main seal is also new. I had the shop do that when they pulled the trans.

Next up the flywheel was going in. I had flywheel bolts, but no bolts to bolt the clutch outer housing to the flywheel. After some Googling and counting of threads on pictures of stock clutch housing bolts and some on Marlin Crawler's site, I figured out the correct bolts to mount the clutch housing to the flywheel were these. NOTE: I ALSO USED A SPLIT WASHER FOR THE FINAL INSTALL. Bolt head -> split washer -> clutch housing -> flywheel with blue Loctite.

I installed the engine/trans backing plate with the only two bolts in the pile that made sense, then lugged the flywheel up, plugged in the NEW Dorman bolts with blue Loctite, and torqued them down. I also wiped the surface with isopropyl alcohol to get rid of dirt and grease.

 

[flagbasher]

Put the clutch disc on the alignment tool and put it up in place. The front/rear of the clutch disc was NOT marked. So, THE FAT/TALL SIDE GOES AWAY FROM THE ENGINE. THE FLAT/SHORT SIDE GOES AGAINST THE FLYWHEEL SURFACE AND TOWARDS THE ENGINE. The side pictured here is the fat/tall back side of the clutch disc.

Now the clutch outer housing went on. Again, 6 bolts, 6 split washers, and blue Loctite, torqued in place in the correct pattern.

Now, a few more prep things before the trans can be lifted into place and bolted up. First, I cleaned up the bottom of the automatic shifter brace plate to find the spot welds, then I drilled them out and removed it. This will make it a lot easier to cut the tunnel from above once I get the trans in.

Then, I removed the automatic trans cooling lines. There were a few brackets to remove on the frame, and I had to pull the rubber lines from the bottom of either side of the radiator. The fluid pictured was in the radiator and trans cooling lines.

Note I also removed the kickdown linkage and breather tube for the auto trans. When the shop removed the auto, they broke the plastic connector that hooked the breather to the auto trans, so it was stuck to the kickdown linkage. I removed the linkage from the throttle area by popping it out, unbolting it then and snaked it all out of there. The orange side was connected where the throttle cable operates on the throttle body.

DO NOT DO THIS YET. I attached my clutch slave to the trans, which was a mistake. There is a major mounting bolt behind here, and it's a pain to get at while the slave is on. WAIT TO DO THIS UNTIL THE TRANS IS IN AND YOU HAVE HOOKED THIS TO THE CLUTCH LINE FOR GOOD.

I also had to track down mounting bolts for these. Same as the clutch housing ones, except they were 25mm long I think. Also split washered and blue Loctite.

Now I put the clutch release bearing on the clutch release bearing collar using a bench vise and a block of wood. It was incredibly easy. The tapered part of the bearing is touching the block of wood. That's the side that pushes into the clutch housing. I got the collar and the clips that hold it to the fork from Marlin Crawler.

The clutch release fork (brand new part) is in along with a brand new clutch release fork boot (pictured above with the slave). I installed the clutch release bearing and collar assembly to the fork with the little spring clips, and made sure everything was lubed. The only parts here shown unlubed are the tip of the trans input shaft that goes into the pilot bearing, and the face of the clutch release bearing. I lubed those as I put the trans under the truck.

Skip a few painful steps. Seriously, I rolled the trans under on a furniture dolly, rolled the trans jack under separately (both were too tall), and used jack stands, another jack, bricks, and a lot of stupidity to get this thing right where it needed to be.

I had to put a second jack under the transfer case drain plug to twist the trans to get the right angle, then I was pulling the trans and both jacks closer to the engine as they were bolted in. What a pain.

I spent $40 on extra guide/helper bolts that were longer than the originals to close the gap and pull it shut.

And it's almost in. See, proof I lubed the bearing.

After bolting up the trans as best I could (a few didn't want to go in all the way), I battled with the crossmember for hours. Those frame bolts just didn't want to line up and go in. Ended up stripping one out. Ended up grinding out one of the holes to get it to fit.

The new trans mount (Anchor) went in okay. New hardware with split washers and blue Loctite there, too, except for one original type bolt I used I think

At this point, I greased the front driveshaft, and bolted it back in w/blue Loctite. Awful experience.

I greased my "new" repainted rear driveshaft of the correct length, and bolted it in w/blue Loctite. Slightly less awful experience.

Now to cut the tunnel! This job was made a lot easier because I happened upon an LC Engineering short shifter kit that was a perfect template. I lined it up, marked, and cut with a Dremel cutting wheel and a face shield.

This W56 trans is the later forward shift variety, and the ECT control box is in the way. I removed it. In fact, you won't even need it anymore.

Then I de-burred with a Dremel sander, and painted the newly cut edges with Rustoleum using a cut up box as a shield to keep the paint from getting on my dash/carpet.

Then I installed the shifters, bolted them in place, put the shift gasket over the shifters, drilled pilots, used self-tapping bolts, and screwed the shifter knobs on. Again, the ECT control unit can go.

I used a suction tool to put in nearly 5qt of trans fluid into the trans and transfer case.

I used DOT 3 brake fluid and bled the clutch after getting the slave end hooked up (w/blue Loctite). AGAIN, DO NOT ATTACH THE SLAVE TO THE TRANS UNTIL THE TRANS IS IN AND THE SLAVE IS HOOKED UP TO THE LINE.

The last functional bit of business left is to trick the truck into starting by jumpering two wires for the Neutral Safety Switch to trick the truck into thinking it's in Park or Neutral.

I wasn't sure which plug was which, so I found the NSS on my old auto trans, used my multimeter and figured out which plug it was by running through the PRND2L sequence and checking the connections. I made up a test lead, and plugged it into what I thought was the opposite end that was still attached to the truck's wiring.

So yeah, it started this way, then I clipped off the plug, soldered the black wires together, shrink tubed the red one, and I'm "done."

NSS plug shown here, and what I did to the 3 wires. I used a black cable tie to keep the wiring close to me, but I cut it and threw it away after I took this picture.

I wish people told you that sometimes your truck will sound absolutely awful for about a minute or two after doing a new clutch.

I started it up and it made a knocking noise for about a minute before it loosened up. I thought I had gotten something in wrong or off center. It was probably just the fact that the truck had been sitting for two weeks and needed to relube itself.

I turned it on the first time and it made this horrible knocking. I immediately shut it off. I did it with the clutch in and out, not sure what it was.

Finally I just said **** it, and let it idle out. After another 45s, it sounded FINE. Phew.

Then I get in and push in the clutch, and there's another crappy noise that made my heart sink. I gently pushed it for about another minute and that noise went away, too.

I nearly took the trans out to look at it again. I would have been so angry with myself if I had.

I've been driving it for the past week, and it's so much better. Quieter. More fun.

 

[flagbasher]

A few more things to do.

My brake lights stopped working. Not sure why. The fuse is good. I tried bending the fuse tabs like some suggest. The wire leading to the switch carries 12V, and the switch checks out. Not sure WTF could have happened.

Find the correct mechanical speedometer driven gear and sleeve to hook the speedometer back up. The trans I have is a 92, and it has an electric VSS. Bah.

I did not install the LCE short shift kit. Wasn't sure I was going to need/like it. Should be an easy addition later if need be.

Need to hook up 4WD and reverse lights. Need to track down the original plugs for those to see if I need to cannibalize and take things from the old auto tranny harness and graft it to the 92 W56 harness.

Next week I'm taking it back to the shop for rear pinion seal, new metal radiator, new inner/outer rods, and to look into a vibration on the driver side that's been there a while.

I've also got a nice hole in my exhaust pipe, so it's probably time to buy a fresh kit. Maybe even a fresh cat and muffler. Do the whole thing.

Once I get it back, I need to remove a bolt they snapped off when removing the sway bar. I got new sway end links and bushings I'll install myself.

Lots to do, have done, and spend. I'm happy that trans is in, though.

 

[Chuckles89]

Hooray!! :banana:

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Check the switch for stops at the brake pedal. Could either be unplugged or broken.

Nice writeup for auto to manual swap though, this will become a good reference for those who wish to do the same.

 

[flagbasher]

Check the switch for stops at the brake pedal. Could either be unplugged or broken.

Nice writeup for auto to manual swap though, this will become a good reference for those who wish to do the same.

I pulled the switch from the auto over to the new bracket and locked it down. Testing the switch for continuity I depressed the brake and continuity was good. Releasing the pedal, it returned to an open switch as it should.

It just doesn't make any sense. Nothing I touched should have affected the brake lights... yet here I am.

 

[flagbasher]

I pulled the switch from the auto over to the new bracket and locked it down. Testing the switch for continuity I depressed the brake and continuity was good. Releasing the pedal, it returned to an open switch as it should.

It just doesn't make any sense. Nothing I touched should have affected the brake lights... yet here I am.

Turns out one of the 1157 dual filament bulbs was bad. :doh:

I checked the smaller 168 bulbs at the bottom, but not the 1157s right above it. :doh:

That said, this is the 3rd or 4th time that bulb has burned out since I've had the truck. Maybe it's time to swap to all LEDs.

 

[Cali 4runner]

Yay!! Haha glad you swapped to the manual world :rapture:

 

[RAD4Runner]

Yay!! Haha glad you swapped to the manual world :rapture:

Second that, swap looks good (That's more than what I want to tackle- LOL!) , and good forward thinking on the Hotshot relay.

 

[wallytoo]

I might add one of those original style bullbar/light bar setups if I can find a nice one. I'm assuming that's what the extra bolt holes in the bumper are for. I need to get 2 extra bolts for that. Surprised I didn't notice them until today.

i know this particular post was from a few years ago, but i believe the two holes are for a license plate to attach to, not the "bull bar".

nice detail on the auto to manual transmission swap, too.

runner looks good.

 

[flagbasher]

i know this particular post was from a few years ago, but i believe the two holes are for a license plate to attach to, not the "bull bar".

nice detail on the auto to manual transmission swap, too.

runner looks good.

Thanks!

The bolts I was talking about were the two just inside of the orange bumper turn signals. Square carriage bolt holes that connect to nothing.

 

[rustED_]

Your runner is looking great, nice work so far. I'm interested to see how your interior comes along as I have the same color burgundy/faded red interior and am in the process of changing it over to grey as well. Keep up the good work, look forward to seeing some more!

 

[flagbasher]

Your runner is looking great, nice work so far. I'm interested to see how your interior comes along as I have the same color burgundy/faded red interior and am in the process of changing it over to grey as well. Keep up the good work, look forward to seeing some more!

Thanks!

I'm actually starting to put gray pieces in slowly. I've had gray sun visors, rear view, steering wheel, and tailgate for over a year now.

Since I have the console out, I put my gray console together from 3 different consoles. The only piece I'm missing is the cup that has the switches, which I took from my red console for the time being. If it's hard to find, I might just paint mine black and see how it wears.

I got 1st gen gray front seats in a box on eBay that I haven't opened yet... and a rear set on eBay that hasn't shipped yet. :frusty:

Correct swap door panels, passenger panels, headliner, etc. Just about everything is a used OEM part hanging out in my garage.

The only thing I have to get that I don't have is replacement carpet... which I'll probably do a shade darker.

I have a dash pad that needs to be repaired and repainted, too. 84-86 style.

The inside of the top would need paint and headliner, but chances are I'll never put it back on ever again.

 

[wallytoo]

Thanks!

The bolts I was talking about were the two just inside of the orange bumper turn signals. Square carriage bolt holes that connect to nothing.

hmm.

mine doesn't have those holes in it. :shrug:

 

[rustED_]

Thanks!

I'm actually starting to put gray pieces in slowly. I've had gray sun visors, rear view, steering wheel, and tailgate for over a year now.

Since I have the console out, I put my gray console together from 3 different consoles. The only piece I'm missing is the cup that has the switches, which I took from my red console for the time being. If it's hard to find, I might just paint mine black and see how it wears.

I got 1st gen gray front seats in a box on eBay that I haven't opened yet... and a rear set on eBay that hasn't shipped yet. :frusty:

Correct swap door panels, passenger panels, headliner, etc. Just about everything is a used OEM part hanging out in my garage.

The only thing I have to get that I don't have is replacement carpet... which I'll probably do a shade darker.

I have a dash pad that needs to be repaired and repainted, too. 84-86 style.

The inside of the top would need paint and headliner, but chances are I'll never put it back on ever again.

Wow, sounds like you're well on your way to having all the parts to convert it over. All I have is front and rear seats (not oem, just nice seats I found on CL and are making them fit) and I have a front carpet kit that covers the front passenger area, I still need the rear cargo area carpet kit. Oh and I have a grey rearview mirror out my old 85' pickup that I parted out. It has a dome light in it that I want to wire in, then I will have the dome light along with the maplights. I have some SEM medium Pewter grey interior paint for the dash and plastic parts that matches my seat color really closely. My biggest concern is the headliner, like you mentioned, not sure how to go about it, if I should try removing it, painting it and reinstall...I can fore see it being troublesome.

 

[flagbasher]

Wow, sounds like you're well on your way to having all the parts to convert it over. All I have is front and rear seats (not oem, just nice seats I found on CL and are making them fit) and I have a front carpet kit that covers the front passenger area, I still need the rear cargo area carpet kit. Oh and I have a grey rearview mirror out my old 85' pickup that I parted out. It has a dome light in it that I want to wire in, then I will have the dome light along with the maplights. I have some SEM medium Pewter grey interior paint for the dash and plastic parts that matches my seat color really closely. My biggest concern is the headliner, like you mentioned, not sure how to go about it, if I should try removing it, painting it and reinstall...I can fore see it being troublesome.

I'd be interested to see how the SEM medium pewter looks for the dark gray. I got my dark gray from another build thread. It's also SEM, but I think it's a FoMoCo color.

I did find the correct light gray though. Color matched for Toyota. They don't produce it anymore, but you can still track it down.

I would look on eBay for a headliner. It might take a while, but there are still some good ones left.

Or you can chance it on a newly made one. I had this link saved for a while.

Toyota 4 Runner 2 Door Headliner 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 New 3 Day Sale | eBay

Has the slots for the metal bows and everything. Just need to slide your old ones into the new headliner.

 

[rustED_]

I'd be interested to see how the SEM medium pewter looks for the dark gray. I got my dark gray from another build thread. It's also SEM, but I think it's a FoMoCo color.

I did find the correct light gray though. Color matched for Toyota. They don't produce it anymore, but you can still track it down.

I would look on eBay for a headliner. It might take a while, but there are still some good ones left.

Or you can chance it on a newly made one. I had this link saved for a while.

Toyota 4 Runner 2 Door Headliner 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 New 3 Day Sale | eBay

Has the slots for the metal bows and everything. Just need to slide your old ones into the new headliner.

Thanks for the link on the headliner, that looks like a better option!

You have me thinking about a second shade of grey for the interior to break things up. I hadn't really thought about it before, I was planning on just using the medium pewter, but the more I think about it, I think it would probably look bland, kind of how it does now with everything the same shade of red...except where it's faded, lol.