My 1989 Build Thread

[4runnertank]

I didn’t think about taking pictures of everything I did to put them on here until now. So this is more like a timeline for all the different stages of my truck than anything.

I bought my truck on New Years Day 2010. I found it on craigslist in Pensilvania for 3k with 286k miles rebuilt 60k ago, on BALD 30” road tires. It also had an add-a-leaf in the back with the torsions cranked, so it sat about 2 or 3” higher. Drove down there and bargained the truck down to 2600, looking back wasn’t that great of a deal.

 

[4runnertank]

And then came the paint job and body work. Had barely any rust on it because it was an Arizona truck for 19 years! Also got a soft top for it off of craigslist for $250.

I ended up selling my tires and rims about 6 months later for exactly what I got them for  and got some 33x12.5r15 Pro Comp Xterrain tires on the same rims.

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And then came the new lift. Rough Country 5” suspension lift. The rear was easy, the front… well lets just say I spent over 18 hours on the whole thing haha. (no lift or air tools)

 

[4runnertank]

So I had 33" pro comp xterrains on my truck that i got for $213 a piece a year and a half ago. After I put the lift on i needed some new tires. I put my tires and rims on craigslist hoping to get $550 out of them, then buy my own... Then some guy offered a trade, his 36x15.5 Mickey Thompson ATZ's that still had the nipples on them (those are $340 tires)... DONE! Went to his house and swapped them on X-Mas eve! And THE MOST IRONIC THING was he was a toyota fanatic, he had the 36's on his 88 4Runner.

 

[4runnertank]

Air Intake

Here's the $33 Intake i got off ebay. Wasn't that hard to install, just had some issues fitting the mounts that they gave me. I noticed very little with it though. Throttle response was slightly better, but when you get the rpm's up to 3 grand it felt like there was a turbo kicking in. And it does make a badass roaring sound.

 

[4runnertank]

Diff Painting

Just to get rid off all that mud and grime, I wire wheeled and painted almost my entire front end. After putting the lift on I scraped the crap out of almost everything in the front end.

 

[4runnertank]

Diff Breather

Just did this yesterday. The stock diff breathers are pretty much junk. They sit on the top of of the diff and get clogged super often, especially with mud. If the breathers aren't working correctly, the pressure inside of the axle has nowhere to go when it changes temperatures, so it presses out the seals, resulting in axle seal and pinnion seal leaks. And if submerged in water, it can get sucked into your axle NOT GOOD!

This is the front breather which i used 5 feet of clear vacuum line to re-route up in my engine bay. I put a filter on the end of it as well.

And for the one in the back, I took the hosing all the way into the inside of the bed.

 

[KidVermicious]

What'd you use for filters?

 

[Hyde802]

Those wide 36s give it a nice stance :driving:

Edit: Lookin at your pics again.. Hows the ride/ axle wrap with the rear blocks?

 

[4runnertank]

What'd you use for filters?

When I got the air intake in the mail, it had a little 2" filter inside, on top of the big one. I think it was a filter you could use for one of the vacume lines. Thats what I used for the diff breather. I didn't use a filter for the back one since there's o way for it to get dirty in the bed.

 

[KidVermicious]

o way for it to get dirty in the bed.

I'm sorry, that's gotta suck.

 

[4runnertank]

What has to suck?

 

[KidVermicious]

What has to suck?

Not getting dirty in bed? Not as funny as I thought it was, I guess.

 

[Hyde802]

I laughed. :biggrin2:

 

[miner88]

hey wanna give a couple pictures and a quick description of that side mounted light. Like the look and wanna do the same with mine. Thanks

 

[CAN-03runner]

After the grey to orange paint job, it must have been screaming at you for some bigger tires.:crybaby:

 

[4runnertank]

hey wanna give a couple pictures and a quick description of that side mounted light. Like the look and wanna do the same with mine. Thanks

So here's the story on the spotlight... It was on the truck when I bought it. The guy said he used it when he went hunting, or to mess around with his friends. It worked for 6 months or so untill I splashed cold water on it making it crack, and the handle got stripped :/. I just haven't bought a new light or handle yet because I had other priorities (lift + locker etc.). But it's a General Electric Post Mount spotlight, with a 6" light. The thing is awsome.

 

[4runnertank]

Those wide 36s give it a nice stance :driving:

Edit: Lookin at your pics again.. Hows the ride/ axle wrap with the rear blocks?

The ride quality is HORRIBLE. Like I've said before, it's like riding in a wood-wheeled buggy from the 18th century haha. And the axle wrap is minor. Should've seen this guy's ford. he had like 8" blocks. :lmao:

 

[Pyroboy]

Nice rig! Any IFS diff problems with the 36's? You've got to be pushing the limit with those.

 

[4runnertank]

Nice rig! Any IFS diff problems with the 36's? You've got to be pushing the limit with those.

No problems so far. Despite what anyone says, the 1st gen ifs is extremely durrable. But I would much rather have a solid axle.

 

[4runnertank]

Diff breather

So here's what the diff breathers look like. And here's how they work.. The little mechanism is made up of three things, the metal cap, small spring, and little piece of rubber. When pressure is released through the little nossel at the top of the diff, it pushes the rubber up to let air out, and when there's isn't any air coming out it's "sealed". There's a few problems with this method. If your axle submerged in water and needs to breathe, it'll take in some water. And if the breather ever gets clogged with mud or ice or anything, the pressure will try to push through all the seals for your axle. I'm pretty sure thats why my wheel seal and pinion seal went out. Hope this helps others!