95sr5z

Hey everybody, I've been roaming this forum for a while. Checking out some cool 4runners and pickups, debating whether to buy another Wrangler or get a 4runner. So Friday night I picked up a black 1995 4runner, SR5, 4WD, with a 3.0. This is my first import so it's all new to me. I'm using this as my DD, but I will definetly be taking it off road whenever I have time. Saturday I took it up to Gorman and I was very surprised at how it performed. My plan is to run the 31's til there dead and then swap them out with 33's. I read on here that if I put 33's on I'll also need 4.88's. Is that true? And I want a spare tire carrier/bumper, however I can't find one anywhere. Any recommendations? I don't know these cars or the engines so if you have any tips or tricks please let me know. Today I added two auxillary power plugs today. Ordered a PCV valve and everything needed for a tune-up. Forgot to order new CV axle halves. Any suggestion on brand, or does it not matter? Can't wait to get this thing outfitted. Will post pics ASAP my computer is a POS so I have to use my phone. Thanks in advance

westjohns yota

ahh a fresh 3.0 engine owner, youll soon learn that working on that can be a pita! anyways is this an auto or a 5 speed? you can run 33,s with stock gearing but its going to be a slug, and when it comes to cv axle i would stick with toyota OEM, another thing you can do while your tearing the cv axles out is a manual hub swap, their more reliable then the auto locking hubs you most likely have, auto hubs dont enguage in reverse either so manual hubs will also help clear that problem

95sr5z

Really? I thought having a V6 would be a little nicer. Oh well live and learn, its an automatic with auto hubs. I didn't know they don't engage in reverse, that's surprising. So if I'm going to swap out the hubs, do you have any suggestions? I have a very limited budget, I'm only 17. However I want to do it right and I don't want to screw this car up. Also if I get the 4.88's with 33's the gear/tire ratio should be pretty close to stock?

hiGis

could you explain that a little further??
what do you exactly mean?? I don't think you mean that 4wd does not work on reverse do you?
because it does, so you could be misleading our new born yota fellow here!

Many people swap to the manual hubs because they are more reliable, they say.
and many many of them swap them just for peace of mind but I don't see to much people saying,
"my auto hubs are broken again! so I'll swap them"

95sr5z maybe you allready have 4.88 gears, many 4runner's had those.
you should do some search on here, many treads that indicate how to identify your gears and fo from there. (I couldn't tell you how to, I'm not very familiar with the runner)

good luck with your truck! they are great vehicles and she will exced your expectations many many times as you allready discover from your trip!

combatcarl

The later "auto hub" Toyota's were not equipped with automatic HUBS. They were equipped with an electronically controlled, vacuum actuated front DIFFERENTIAL. A vacuum switch would engage the axles, while the hubs were "live" via a permanently engaged drive plate. Your 4wd will work in reverse. Unlike true "auto" hubs. Many disable the ADD system (Google that) and retrofit manual hubs to increase reliability and longevity of the front drive axle components.

'89 22RE 4x4 longbed DLX
Sent from my LG-P505 using YotaTech

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Welcome to YT!

First off- the ADD system is fine and like they said^^^ it does work in reverse. And i dont know why people say manual hubs are more reliable than fixed which is what u have because its literally once chunk of metal that holds the cv locked into the hub all the time an never fails. Manual hubs have many parts and do break.. But yeah deleting the ADD system would be a nice place to start.

Second- i bet you have 4.88's. Most auto v6 4runners in the later years 92-95 have them so go ahead and slap on 33's. Either way you have an auto an it wont matter as much. Though id say do a 5speed swap as its much faster lol

3rd- dont worry about the v6 being a pita. Yes its not easy at first but its really not that bad. Atleast after ive pulled the engine twice an done HG's i dont mind it at all. Buy first thing you should do if it hasnt been done in a while is get in there and do a water pump, t stat, timing belt, whatever idlers are gone, and think about a good rad. After that do a good coolant flush and run toyota red coolant not some crapy green stuff. Cooling is a big thing on 3vze's lol

Oh and make sure your fan clutch is working in the summer. Mine failed and it sure made it run hotter on those hot days. Congrats and enjoy the beast!

donomite49

gear ratio chart here.

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/vin/

westjohns yota

ive read on here that auto hubs dont engage in reverse once before, i may be wrong, as far as it being an auto one thing you should do is strip the radiator out of it and install a seperate tranny cooler and a manual radiator which will help you prevent your oil and tranny fluid from mixing, which in turn will most likely ruin your motor, when it comes to hubs just asisin manual hubs will work

westjohns yota

"The advantage of auto hubs is that they engage automatically...no need to leave the vehicle. The disadvantage is that they momentarily unlock during times when one either backs up or goes forward"

im not wrong im just not fully correct so they say, sorry about that!

95sr5z

Haha no worries this is all great information. The people I bought it from have already put in a radiatior and most of them I looked at had done that. So should I go for a bigger aftermarket one? Any junkyard recommendations? I am definitely thinking about swapping in a 5-speed. However I want to run the automatic for awhile. It's been awhile since I have had an automatic. Okay I thought it took the red coolant, right now it has the universal green stuff. So I'll definitely do a coolant flush ASAP. Also how exactly do you remove the ADD system? Okay so my computer just doesn't want to load. Maybe I'll make a photobucket account.

hiGis

I think a good stock rad. will suffice, Not so many people go for upgraded rad's
but if you have the $$ why not? this engines do like to run kind of hot! so a little extra help if you live on a hot area would be nice! maybe an aluminum one.

and def on the 5-speed swap, a friend of mine has a runner, V6, 4.88 stock gears, 31" tires, auto trany and it seems to lack power in comparison to mine wich is a 5-speed with 32"s and also V6.

and on the ADD subject, you don't just remove it, you swap it
you will have to get the parts from a non-add truck, try the search feature, lots of info on that!

some people run the ADD and the aisin hubs, that way you can put 'em in free when you DD and lock 'em when you hit the dirt and still have on the fly 4wd shifthing

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Honestly when i was doing my HG's and getting a new rad i wished i got a nice performance rad something with another core maybe but some guys here on YT told me to get a stock replacement which i dread now. When i do a 2JZ swap i wont make that mistake again. So od say check out koyo or mishimoto rads if u have the funds and maybe a nice flex a lite fan

And a about the ADD auto hubs.. You have the black plastic hub cap were a manual hub would be and it says "automatic disconecting differential" right? That has metal fixed hub behind it that keeps your cv's locked in all the time. Then theres the half shaft side (drivers) that has a fork operated by a air activated switch per say and that disconnects the inner axle to and from the differential thus making it an ADD system. When you stick your t case shifter into 4wd an the light is on the dash glowing you have 4wd forward and backward all the time! It doesnt unlock when you reverse or hesitate its fully in 4wd. Trust me ive gone down steep hills had to stop and reverse and back up the dirt hill and i had 4wd right away lol. Thr only other "auto hubs" you could have are super rare and im pretty sure only came on 80's trucks and they sucked and dont work in reverse right away and there is no way you have those on an 95 "sr5" 4runner with an auto v6 lol.

As far as removing it you have options. You can remove the ADD system completely which would be the half shaft to the diff with a solid shaft and housing that keeps the axle in the diff all the time. Then just toss on some ifs aisin manual hubs. Or you can even lock out the add system so its always locked in and remove all the air lines and what not but from what i hear the solid "older style" half shaft is stronger. An heck if u like not getting out you can keep the fixed hubs on and it will do what it always did. Plus you can stick shift into 4wd high when moving aslong as your hubs are locked since the front driveline is moving at the se speed as the t case output.

Oyah coolant- go to toyota dealer, ask parts guy for the "older" toyota red coolant, must be the older one from what ive heard. Its a tad bit more expensive that regular green but its much better for out aluminum heads and reduces cavitating an air bubble locks or so i hear.

95sr5z

Finally got the pictures to upload here's one from Gorman and another one of my first mod. Only having one cigarette lighter/power plug isn't the most convenient thing in the world so made a run to Kragen or O'Reilly whatever you want to call it and picked up a double power plug. Pretty cool, wired in an inline fuse for added protection and it works great.

95sr5z

So I have everything I need to swap out the front axle halves. I'll be doing that this coming weekend. A friend of mine has a car lift which has to be one of the best things you can have in your garage. Haha anyways, now I'm looking at bumpers... Well first off here is my plan as it stands now as too what I want to do to my 4runner...
ARB style front bumper, Swing away tire carrier rear bumper, 33's Duratrac's? maybe
Roof rack (hopefully going to start building that very soon.), Rock sliders (I'm thinking Low range offroad, they seem pretty cool. I'd like bolt on ones as I don't know anyone with a welder. However I can't find any so I think I'm just going to have to go for the weld on ones.)

95sr5z

Okay I think I finally got it. Here are some more pictures, some interior ones. Also a couple of my crappy window tint which needs to go ASAP. Okay so I'm looking into the ball joint lift. How does it lift the rear? Also checked out the Zuk mod, doesn't look like there are any draw backs so I will be doing that very soon. I'm thinking a 2 inch lift should do the trick. This is my DD so I can't get too crazy, not that 2 inches is anywhere near crazy haha. Anyways thanks for all the info.

Interior



I really like the vinyl/tweed seats.

I need this switch

The rear seats were hardly used.

Tweed Headliner

Here's the wonderful tint. Razor blade and hair dryer?

Sagging rear.

toyota4x4907

Wow that truck is quite clean! Looks very nice.

The "ZUK Mod" only applies to vehicles with leaf springs in the rear. '90+ 4Runners use coil springs in the rear.

95sr5z

Hmmm That would change things up a bit. Well I guess I better get a lift kit with new coils then.

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Very clean! I like it

You can do BJ spacers up front and a 2" spacer under the coils in the back for the cheapest lift besides a BL. Or get new coil all together? Old man emu makes nice size springs at a decent price- http://www.rocky-road.com/4runner.html. You could do that and run some 33x12.50's on some 15x8 steelies and you would be rocking!

ldivinag

they are stronger. take it from someone who has broken that inner axle stub, what toyota did was gradually "shrink" that inner axle a couple steps.

guess where i broke mine... yup. at the skinniest point.

yup this was over a decade ago. what i ended up doing was replacing the whole ADD thing all together.

someone told me in another forum, that in the pickups, from the front diff to the spindle was one solid axle stub, and the outer tube was also one piece.

all that was needed was a diff oil seal (i forget the toyota part) and everything bolts up.

then, all of the ADD vacuum related parts under the hood can be removed...

toyota4x4907

With butt-sag like that, I would get new coils- either lift coils or factory height then get spacers to compliment the ball-joint spacers.