Kind of what I was thinking brosama. For now the plan is to add a little lift, probably 2". Thinking of the OME kit. Then maybe some 33s down the road a bit. It will mostly be for daily driving; any off-roading will be light trails...nothing too extreme. I will just be happy to get it all back together and on the road again!
rusty_p's 1985 4runner
- Thread starter rusty_p
- Start date
Kind of what I was thinking brosama. For now the plan is to add a little lift, probably 2". Thinking of the OME kit. Then maybe some 33s down the road a bit. It will mostly be for daily driving; any off-roading will be light trails...nothing too extreme. I will just be happy to get it all back together and on the road again!
You can't go wrong with the ome lift. They make good stuff and from talking to you about what you want I think that's a good choice for a lift kit.
Rear Axle
So now with the axles out and the frame off to the shop, we turned our attention to getting the rear axle cleaned up. We will also replace the drum brakes as they were looking pretty bad and one of the wheel cylinders had been leaking. After removing the brake lines and e-brake hardware, the axle was wire-wheeled to clean off rust/grime...
Then removed the brake hardware from the driver's side. Our plan was to only do one side at a time so we could refer to the other side when putting the new brakes back on.
We set up our own home zinc plating operation to coat some of the parts to protect from corrosion. There are many write-ups about ways to do this on the internet, so we picked one and tried it out...and were happy with the results...
Before installing the new brakes, the axle and brake backing plate were painted with VHT chassis black. Here's the rebuilt brakes on the driver's side...
With that done, we turned our attention to the passenger side. You might be able to see in the first photo the effects of the leaking brake fluid on the painted surfaces...
And all cleaned up, ready for paint and new brakes...
With new brakes installed, another coat of paint was applied to the axle and also added a little color to the drums...
That is pretty much where we are at the moment. The front axle will be next, but that will have a wait awhile as I'm out of town for the next several days. By the time I get back, the frame should be done, so we will have to make a decision on a suspension kit and start getting things back together.
On the front axle, I was wondering what we should replace while we have it apart. Possible a knuckle rebuild and wheel bearings? I would appreciate any advice.
So now with the axles out and the frame off to the shop, we turned our attention to getting the rear axle cleaned up. We will also replace the drum brakes as they were looking pretty bad and one of the wheel cylinders had been leaking. After removing the brake lines and e-brake hardware, the axle was wire-wheeled to clean off rust/grime...
Then removed the brake hardware from the driver's side. Our plan was to only do one side at a time so we could refer to the other side when putting the new brakes back on.
We set up our own home zinc plating operation to coat some of the parts to protect from corrosion. There are many write-ups about ways to do this on the internet, so we picked one and tried it out...and were happy with the results...
Before installing the new brakes, the axle and brake backing plate were painted with VHT chassis black. Here's the rebuilt brakes on the driver's side...
With that done, we turned our attention to the passenger side. You might be able to see in the first photo the effects of the leaking brake fluid on the painted surfaces...
And all cleaned up, ready for paint and new brakes...
With new brakes installed, another coat of paint was applied to the axle and also added a little color to the drums...
That is pretty much where we are at the moment. The front axle will be next, but that will have a wait awhile as I'm out of town for the next several days. By the time I get back, the frame should be done, so we will have to make a decision on a suspension kit and start getting things back together.
On the front axle, I was wondering what we should replace while we have it apart. Possible a knuckle rebuild and wheel bearings? I would appreciate any advice.
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The rear axle looks sweet! You guys are doing great work!
One thing to consider for the rear axle is replacing the bearings. They're cheap and good insurance for you at this point. For the front, replace all seals and bearings as well. Check out Trail-Gear | Toyota, Suzuki Samurai, and Jeep Off Road Parts for some good rebuild kits.
One thing to consider for the rear axle is replacing the bearings. They're cheap and good insurance for you at this point. For the front, replace all seals and bearings as well. Check out Trail-Gear | Toyota, Suzuki Samurai, and Jeep Off Road Parts for some good rebuild kits.
Cali 4runner
New member
Also check out Marlin Crawler. I hear they have great rebuild kits
brosama
New member
Sounds like a great plan. There's almost nothing better than a clean, slightly modified first gen. Yours will definitely be clean.
I agree with the others of getting a full rebuild kit for the front and taking care of the rear too, perfect time to do it. Nice job cleaning up the rear.
