My 1987 build..."Achillies"

[joeynational]

Been lurking on here since i bought my first gen a couple months ago. Ive always wanted one and in AZ they are hard to find in decent shape that people dont want 10k for. Ive always been into Toyotas. I actually still have my first car when i was 16...

1991 pickup. I was into mini trucks at the time so its completely shaved w custom interior and paint other things




But recently my HG went...again! I didnt have much $$ at the time so i went cheap on my rebuild guy. I got about 60k miles out of it



I said F*** the 22re and picked this up with 36k actual miles! 2001 2rz with trans and all wiring etc.




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[Bad_Vision]

Not my cup of tea but at least it's a Toyota.


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[joeynational]

Back to the 4runner

So i picked up this 87. It was pretty clean and complete with a recent 22re rebuild


Since ive had it ive fixed some minor things like broken trace on my cluster. All lights and tach works again!

I just did a zuk mod too



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[joeynational]

So i bought a 1.5" ball joint spacer to even up the front and this happened



Guess its a good time to rebuild the front suspension!

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[joeynational]

Im mainly going for a strong and reliable DD thats capable to go where i want on the weekends or when camping. No rock climbing for this guy. Once the 2rz swap is done im going to swap a 3.4 in Achillies

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[RAD4Runner]

Back to the 4runner
So i picked up this 87. It was pretty clean and complete with a recent 22re rebuild......
I just did a zuk mod tooView attachment 203850

Cool build. May we know what springs you used for the Zuk mod?

 

[joeynational]

3rd gen 4runner coils...i got them from walmart! Lol...they are moog too

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[joeynational]

Here is part# for your reference

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[rustED_]

Good looking runner, the interior looks really nice! Just once I wish I got a yota with nice grey interior to start with, lol!

 

[coveboy]

Great looking runner, and I dig the mini truck too!

What all did you do to the front suspension? Just reboot it or whole new cv's? This is my first real project and I just ordered bj spacers and new shocks, and have one torn boot already, so was curious what else others replace when they work on their front end.

 

[joeynational]

Great looking runner, and I dig the mini truck too!

What all did you do to the front suspension? Just reboot it or whole new cv's? This is my first real project and I just ordered bj spacers and new shocks, and have one torn boot already, so was curious what else others replace when they work on their front end.

thx!

i was going to do the full thing, bjs, tie rods, pitman etc. But after inspecting there is nothing wrong with them. No torn boots or anything. The BJs are a little loose, but i'm just trying to get it on the road right now. So i'm doing brakes and new CVs.

What shocks are you going to run? I was thinking of doing those but not sure which to get with the new 1.5" lift

 

[coveboy]

Nice, lucky then! Both my cv's are ripped haha...gotta get on that asap. And ordered so Pro Comp ES3000's. About an inch longer than the stock shocks to make up for the slight added lift

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[89FourRunner]

thx!

i was going to do the full thing, bjs, tie rods, pitman etc. But after inspecting there is nothing wrong with them. No torn boots or anything. The BJs are a little loose, but i'm just trying to get it on the road right now. So i'm doing brakes and new CVs.

What shocks are you going to run? I was thinking of doing those but not sure which to get with the new 1.5" lift

The 4Runner looks like it is in great shape!

Regarding reliability...

You should consider spending the $20 and buying a differential drop kit. It is just two spacers and longer bolts to lower the diff for the BJs kit you have. This way you won't tear boots anymore, and you won't have to worry about binding or premature wear. They can be had on ebay and amazon. It will return reliability to the front end.

The truck responds well to a ball joint spacer lift with a diff drop. The only wear that accelerates are the lower ball joints, and they are pretty cheap and easy to replace over the years.

If the rear coils raised the truck up over 2" (it looks as if it might of lifted it around 4"?) you should consider putting some angle shims between the axle perch and leaf pack to restore a healthy angle between the rear axle and the drive shaft. It will save the propeller shafts as Toyota likes to call them, but it will save the pinion gears in the long term too.

Many people will tell you a differential drop "isn't necessary" or restoring the angle of the drive shaft "isn't necessary", but if you are looking for reliability and it is going to be a semi-daily driver, these two things are dirt cheap and easy to accomplish, plus it will keep your toyota reliable.

Otherwise these issues will become your 4Runner's Achillies' heel! ...but seriously, it is true.

 

[joeynational]

The 4Runner looks like it is in great shape!

Regarding reliability...

You should consider spending the $20 and buying a differential drop kit. It is just two spacers and longer bolts to lower the diff for the BJs kit you have. This way you won't tear boots anymore, and you won't have to worry about binding or premature wear. They can be had on ebay and amazon. It will return reliability to the front end.

The truck responds well to a ball joint spacer lift with a diff drop. The only wear that accelerates are the lower ball joints, and they are pretty cheap and easy to replace over the years.

If the rear coils raised the truck up over 2" (it looks as if it might of lifted it around 4"?) you should consider putting some angle shims between the axle perch and leaf pack to restore a healthy angle between the rear axle and the drive shaft. It will save the propeller shafts as Toyota likes to call them, but it will save the pinion gears in the long term too.

Many people will tell you a differential drop "isn't necessary" or restoring the angle of the drive shaft "isn't necessary", but if you are looking for reliability and it is going to be a semi-daily driver, these two things are dirt cheap and easy to accomplish, plus it will keep your toyota reliable.

Otherwise these issues will become your 4Runner's Achillies' heel! ...but seriously, it is true.

Thanks for the info, i was actually contemplating the diff drop but never thought about the rear pinion angle. Good point as you stated its cheap fix to ensure reliability which is what im going for with this truck.

 

[joeynational]

Just completed by BJ spacer. It was hard to tell in previous pics but it was slightly higher in theback. Question is does the front seem high now to anyone?

After a drive i noticed it was a little more bouncy and not so smooth. Almost felt unstable taking turns like it wanted to tip over. Anyone else experience this? I may just need new shocks

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[89FourRunner]

Just completed by BJ spacer. It was hard to tell in previous pics but it was slightly higher in theback. Question is does the front seem high now to anyone?

After a drive i noticed it was a little more bouncy and not so smooth. Almost felt unstable taking turns like it wanted to tip over. Anyone else experience this? I may just need new shocksView attachment 204851View attachment 204852


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No, it doesn't look too high in the front. It is actually a little higher in the back based onthe pictures.

It is "level" when the front measurement (from the top of the wheel to the bottom of the fender) is 2" higher inthe front than the rear. Fake example: 16" front, 14" rear. The front fenders are higher on the body.

Looks good to me where it sits.

If it seems tipsy test out your suspension. Put a jack under the cross member at the bottomof the skid plate, and jack it up - see how many inches the suspension has to droop. Measure from wheel to fender to compare. You want at least a couple of inches. When you gey an alignment make sure they fix the camber this will also inrpove turning and cornering.

When you raise the truck off the ground if you do not get much droop the shocks are probably too short like you thought - this can make it seem tipsy too.

 

[joeynational]

Thanks your right my camber is jacked...ill check the travel too.

I just wasnt used to it before im happy with it now and i measured it and its exactly 2" higher in the front..guess im level!

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[joeynational]

Did a lighting upgrade today. GOt all my LEDs in, from left to right I have license plate LED, dash LEDs, and two different dome/cargo area LEDs. The one on the far right is a high powered one. You can see the difference.


High power LED


and the other one


My license plate lenses were pretty nasty. I buffed them out and put in the LEDs

 

[rustED_]

Wow, the "high power" led is really, really bright, looks like day time when it's on, lol! Gotta get me some of those!

Did you pick those up at Superbright LED's .com?

 

[joeynational]

Wow, the "high power" led is really, really bright, looks like day time when it's on, lol! Gotta get me some of those!

Did you pick those up at Superbright LED's .com?

No I actually got them on banggood.com I think superbrightleds are a little over priced.

License plate lights are super bright too. If your patient you can get them way cheaper. Just takes about 2-3 weeks from China, otherwise some of their products may have an option to be shipped from a US warehouse but they are a little more expensive. I've never had a problem with them and I've bought quite a bit of stuff. Here is the links;

Dome $2ea
http://www.banggood.com/6W-6000K-CO...mber-License-Plate-Light-White-p-1000754.html

License plate $.99ea
http://www.banggood.com/1156-BA15S-COB-12Chip-LED-Car-White-Brake-Reversing-Light-Bulb-p-990393.html