Rolling Thunder's 1998 SR5 Build

[Rolling_Thunder]

The Good: 1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5, White, Oak Interior, No Rust, and 84,000 miles when I bought her in 2014

The Bad: 2WD and an automatic....


Yesterday I picked up another 1998 4Runner... for parts... 4x4, 5-speed SR5.... so the plan is to swap the trans, 4x4 parts over to my white one and make it more of a fun vehicle...

This thread will be ongoing with pics and plans added as I go -

Really new to the 4x4 game and come from the classic car world so any guidance would be welcome....

First thing is the ADD system - some people bypass it and swap to manual hubs while others keep it --- I dont plan on going extreme by any means - this will be 85% commuter and 15% trail riding with some mud, snow, and dirt... no crazy rock crawling..... So get rid of the ADD or keep it for now? I figure swapping everything over makes it easy to do but if its apart would be the time to convert it all ?

Determining gear ratio - I know about counting wheel rotation with the driveshaft - but is there a more common way (door jamb info tag or something) - my white 4Runner is geared with 4.10 while the black parts 4runner is unknown -- both vehicles are equipped with 15" wheels and 235/75/15 tires so not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[jgue467]

I'd keep the ADD system as is, never know when it can come in handy even "just" for trail driving. Luck and enjoy the runners. :cowboy:

 

[BamAustian]

Look forward to see what you do here.
4X4 swap is quite the task from what i've read, so bravo for taking that on.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

The thing limiting me is honestly time - I am an ASE master tech and have a horde of cars I've restored over the years including my 1968 charger and my current 1973 challenger project

It should be a hoot once I get it done and honestly a long weekend should be all I need once I get the parts car stripped

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Started disassembling the parts car today - got a few parts off and got it up to pull the front driveshaft and noticed something weird...

I got the front wheels off to figure out why the front had 16" wheels and the rear had 15" wheels...

I guess these will make their way over to my 4Runner at some point.... but as of right now I am going to spend the week taking as much off this POS as possible and then the big thing is trying to figure out what to do with the frame / shell once it is stripped

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Actually got some wrenching done today on the parts vehicle... drained the front diff, removed the front spindles, CV axles, and front differential

Ended up being a huge pain in the ass with the third mounting bracket for the front differential - it hung up on the crossmember and wedged the trunion flange against the oil pan, steering rack, and bellhousing

After some cussing and patience I managed to get the third bracket off and the differential literally fell out.

I also removed a lot of the ADD system and began disconnecting the engine side wiring harness and drained the transmission and transfer case.

This weekend will be removing the trans / transfer case and associated clutch stuff and clean / media blast / paint / fix / repair / replace everything so it will be ready to go when the time comes to do the swap into my white one.

Picked up a hood to replace my dented factory one from my fender bender - going to drop that off for paint this weekend as well :guitar3:

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well not too much to show - been snow / rain / rapture around here so working on getting the parts 4Runner apart is slow - got all the front differential stuff out - disassembled the spindles, CV axles, etc - cleaned the stuff up and gave it a piss coat of paint.... couldnt put nasty looking crap on when I have the chance to clean it up a bit... Ordered a new clutch, universal joints, shifter bushing, clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder, hydraulic hose....

I'm planning on getting the front diff installed tomorrow and let it chill there until I get the 5-speed out of the old one.... figured out all the wiring so I'm hoping this will be a fairly easy and quick swap once I get it all apart and cleaned up.

 

[eli.sanchez.3344]

Man. A 2wd to a 4x4. Now thats talent!


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[MR24U]

Any updates?

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[Rolling_Thunder]

Just working a lot - got most things prepped for the swap - just waiting for my next 3 day break to do the swap itself. Everything is just moving slow --- :boxer: