gohawks

Your seals should be fine. The top has been coming off of my 4Runner for 17 years and they are still fine.

Asha'man

So what do you guys that pop your tops regularly do when it rains? It rains most summer afternoons here, so I'm not really wanting to be constantly soaking the seats or anything. I park on the street at home, too, so rain is a huge concern for me. Security?

Brian

Jimmeh

You either get a soft top or tarp that sonuvabitch.

PeanutRanger

Hey, there i own an 86 4Runner and have been looking for an altenate top, the best site to go to in think is http://www.specialtytopco.com/, which from what i understand used to be KayLine and is now STC! There price for a soft top is 517$, and thats without shipping so it is a really good price!

SR5_Sean

"RustBucket i think the seals are mostly the standard thick black topper tape stuff..."

I'm not sure what you mean by "black topper tape". Like general "one sided adhesive foam tape" from 3M type stuff? fealt maybe?

I envisioned , in my head of course, something like a special order door seal type. I would think if this type had been stuck together for 20yrs, it wouldn't come off in one piece. i wouldn't be as concerned if it had been removed w/in the past few years even.

Intrepid

I got a top off an '86 4runner that had never been removed, it was stuck on there so tight that two of us could not lift it off. The guy I was with crawled inside and basically stood on the seat with his back flat against the top and pushed until it came loose, and all the seals were fine, no ripping or anything.
Also, sorry to say gentlemen, but your powers must be weak, I remove my hard top on a regular basis by myself. You park on flat ground, unbolt the whole deal, stand on the rear bumper (mine is a little tall to get good leverage from the ground) and slide the whole top back, once it is past the roll bar, lower the end you are holding to the ground leaving the other end propped on the truck, then walk around it, get inside, put a hand on either side and lift it with your back, it really isn't that bad and it is nice and stable to walk it over to a pair of saw-horses or just put it down on the ground and crawl out. It is definitely easier with two people, but I have never NOT taken off the top just because I was alone and so far, I haven't hurt myself or my truck, haha.

stevrock

I was thinking the same thing, my top came off rather easily, and with the help of a friend. I figured it was going to be extremly difficult which is why I had the help with me.
I slide it back to the roll bar, hopped over that, then we carried it to the tailgate, where, still in my hands i jumped down and we placed it slightly out of the dog's reach.

The thing feels like 100lbs, be sure to put something under the edges when you lay it down though, grass is definalty not a good idea.

On a side not, when I bought my truck I was talking to the guy about the soft top I would recieve. He said he paid an extra $200 I think it was. The original owner paid I think it was either $400 or $600 for it, with three aluminum brackets, and the rest of the snaps riveted into the body. Not a big fan of that, but hopefully I'll get some brackets made for the sides if I go out and get new quarters for it.

But, I'd say for safety sake, if you don't know what you're doing, atleast have a friend help you for the first couple times, you don't need wind to catch it on you and push you off the truck or something.

Intrepid

I installed (not quite finished) an STC soft top on my truck on Saturday, the drilling sounds scary and painful, but after having done it, it really isn't that bad. Plus it is well worth it in the end. No more carrying the hard top around and no more getting caught in the rain without a top...doors...well...doors are another problem...

86Original

The downside of the STC top is that it is vinyl and you have to drill about 40 holes in your body panels to mount it. The advantage is that it's a "convertible", drop top.

The Can-back is really a canvas pickup shell that they've made to fit the 4Runner. No drilling, but you can't drop the top frame.

Intrepid

Of course, the STC is also less than half the price.
Drilling the holes sounds scary, but really isn't that bad, and if you ever have to remove the top and replace it with the hard top, all the holes except the ones on the tailgate are covered from the weather by the hard top. (and the hard top and window works with that peice in place on the tailgate). Even if I had the money to do it, I wouldn't go with the CanBack. It is definitely nice, but the price and function of the STC is great. I thought it was interesting also, the passengers in the rear seats have their own openable "windows" which can unzip and roll up separate from the rest of the top.

PeanutRanger

This is kinda ghetto but hey it worked, My rear window switch would not work, so i cliped a jumper wire to a ground (the bar under cd player) then touch the switch plug on the left side to roll down, left side to roll down, wish i had some pics for you!

SR5_Sean

I removed my top for the 1st time this week.

I snapped a bolt & tore about a 18" section from the bottom seal, on my buddys side of course.
It was worth it though, i enjoyed the hell out of it w/the top off

the seal attatched to the cab was tube type similar to door seal which was fine, but i'm not sure what the seal on the cap is, solid ~1/2" thick cushy rubber, model specific molded? this is what tore.

is this what you guys have or do you have something aftermarket general cheap stuff? i'm not going to toyota for this!

I'm certainly not weak, but I don't think i would want to remove or install this thing by myself or w/ the 100lb GF, being fearful of snapping the fiberglass. i may try to use a couple of boards or pipes next time.

Jimmeh

How about exhaust fumes? Has anybody had any problem with them overwhelming you? I know with my windows down, I can smell it coming from the truck, but I think it is because the whole exhaust needs to be replaced. Anybody have suggestions for cheap but durrable headers, and a good muffler? Just a few more weeks before I start working full time, so for now, my budget is very low.

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, Sean, don't use the 100lb GF to help you take the top off

I had one once, she was 4'10" and didn't help at all with that sort of stuff

Hey Intrepid, how much did the soft top go for? Got any pics of it for us?

SR5_Sean

exhaust fumes... not with the top off.
I had just replaced the exhaust, sandblasted & undercoated a few weeks ago, because of fumes in the cab. i still get a little fumes, but it must be creaping in the wheel-well.

the fumes were worse w/the door windows down( creating a vaccum chamber pulling fumes from the back to the front & out the front windows.)
i ran it with the cap rear side windows open for a while, this helped.

i ran 1-3/4" pipe from the Y-pipe (cut off flange) to the muffler, (no cat), using stock 86 "truck parts" from Walker, via Napa. real cheap stuff. Not on my dream list, but certainly affordable.
I stuffed the tail pipe out the side molding (between the spring & frame) similar to 4crawler W/these parts.
MUFFLER- SMU18204 ~$30
TAIL PIPE- EXH44841 ~$18
2- PIPES 24"L X [(1-3/4"ID)(1-3/4"OD)] between Y-pipe & muffler, & extra what i cut-off was used as an exhaust tip. I dont remember what i paid for these.... <$20

linuxrunner

Those who use a vert lift system to get the top off what do you do about the roll bar? i built one that has two 2x4's one for the back and one piece goes in the front and i lift the top up about an inch and slide them under. Then ratchet the top up about 2 or 3 inches but i cant just "drive off", becuase the front 2x4 is stuck infront of the roll bar? what did you do?

Jimmeh

If you lift it high enough, you don't have to worry about the roll bar. However, if you get it on a lift that goes on the corners rather then accross the bottom of the top, then you can drive right off. We used to do it like that with our old Bronco after we put one in there. Of course, the top for the Bronco was a lot heavier.

Jimmeh

Can anybody tell me what would be a fair price to ask for the windows' motor? The guy at one junk yard I went to asked $100 for it, and the other guy said it is my call on it. I don't want to screw him because he has helped me in the past get some great deals on parts, and he even told me things about our old 2nd gen that I used to use as a DD that I didn't even know existed.

Jimmeh

Alright, well, I called in to a different salvage yard, and he told me they stopped making 1st gens in 89, so when I told him he was wrong, he hung up on me. So, I disguised my voice, and called again about an hour later, and he said that they have an 88 4Runner that they have been parting out, so I will probably head down some time. My dad is thinking it is the relays, and I imagine he will probably say it is the motor once we start working on it. Either way, this is going to be a pain in the ass.

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Hey Jimmeh, is your window just like, not doing anything? One thing to check is the pack of wires on the left side. That is, when you drop the gate its the pack that is in between the gate and the body, sort of crammed in the crack. Mine were all messed up I think from exhaust heat and when I spliced new ones it, it all worked.