jljered

Hello all! Brand new owner to a 1985 xtra cab sr5! Ive been wanting one of these for a few years now and finally came across one i could afford. It was a project from the previous owner who half ass attempted to swap in a 6m. Not keen to the swap, i chose to install a 22re instead. So after a bit of internet research im still unsure of what year motor, ecu and wire harness will be a "plug and play" setup. I found a 22re for sale locally from a 95 4x4 and the ecu and wire harness didnt matchup with my 85 stuff. Can anybody clue me in as to what years i should be looking for to make this as painless as possibile? Any help would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

jljered

heres a couple pics. first one is the day i got her (sunday).. second pic is from tuesday..

85sr5excab

I would think your best bet is to stick to 85 thru 88 model years. Mines an 85 and is a factory 22re. Sharp truck btw. I'm sure I'm not alone wanting to know more details about the truck.

slo6i

^^ What he said about wanting details... I too am new to the yota scene... so my knowledge is... lacking.

jljered

so 85-88 are the years that would not require any cutting, snipping, soldering, splitting, cussing or spitting? hah! as far as details go, its a sr5, not sure how tall the suspension lift is, but the tires are 35's. was told it has 5.29 gears. its a 5 speed (any idea on what the tranny code is anybody?).. i think thats about it... nothing too special. just want to take it out to some mild trials.

85sr5excab

I can't say for sure that everything will match up because I've never done a job like that before but if I was going to swap a 22re into an 85 then that's what I would look for. I'm sure there's some other guys on here that have the knowledge to tell u what will work. Good luck getting it up and running. Gonna be a sweet rig when it's done.

jljered

ok, well i found an 87 being parted out in my area. Its from a 5 speed 4x4, so im hoping everything will work. (fingers crossed). i know that i can unplug the two wires from the ecu and pull the harness through the firewall as well as unhook the trans wiring. At that point i should be able to coil the wire harness on top of the motor with out unpluging anything else besides accessories that are mounted on the firewall and wheel wells etc...

jljered

also, truck is still mostly complete minus the seats. I need some dash screws and radio bezel and a radiator. Anything i should look out for to insure im buying a good motor? Will a simple compression test suffice? thanks for the help! i badly want to get this truck on the road!

KYLEFOO

Yes check compression. I'm not an expert but be careful when taking everything that you'll need off that part out. You'll also need to buy his air flow meter and ignitor/coil amongst other things. My 87 has the wires for the alternator and o2 going into the drivers side firewall. Those stayed on the body when I pulled the motor/harness as you plan to.

edit: Congratulations on the good looking 85!

jljered

alright, well i found a motor and radiator today!! whoo hoo. engine has a miss, but i think its due to moisture in the distrubter. will know more tomorrow. previous owner said bottom end was rebuilt 20,000 miles ago. oil pan is still nice and dry, so that leads me too believe what he says is ture. also has a rebuilt head and brand new clutch as well. im gonna clean it up a bit as well as the engine bay before i install it.

jljered

also on a side note, the dash, all heater controls and ducting were removed when i bought the truck. previous owner just threw all the screws in the center console without thinking to put the screw back in the hole it came from when disassembling. i tried to sort though the mess but had no luck. fortunatley, the guy i bought the motor from was parting the whole truck, so for another $100 i bought the whole dash with all vents, ducting, heater core, blower motor and all associated parts. i pretty much left his dash looking like mine... lol. not only did i get some needed parts, but i also got to remove all the screws from the dash, get them bagged and tagged and installed on my truck. i feel great about how the dash went back together, knowing that i used all oem screws and they were installed in the correct spots! heres a picture of what my dash looked like before i got started today. i will post a finished picture tomorrow!

before:

85sr5excab

Keep up the good work.

jljered

alright, well the dash is complete minus a stereo and ashtray. all heater control levers work properly and my fingers are crossed that the heater core is still in working condition. ( i filled it with water, plugged one end and hooked my air compressor to the other end to test for leaks. hopefully that will suffice)

after:

jljered

now its off to the exterior... two of the three gas lines were re-routed for the 6m swap by previous owner. bent beyond saving, i located the two lines that run along the bottom of the cab off craigslist, but im still in need of the bigger line that runs along the frame and attaches to the fuel filter. i also pulled the gas tank and cleaned it inside and out... one more gas line to locate and i can reinstall the tank. heres a pic...
before:


after:

jljered

well, i called the guy i got the motor from to see if his 87 long bed fuel line was still available. he said he was tired of the mass phone calls and flakes from craigslist, so he made me an offer i couldnt pass up on the entire rest of the truck. besides the items i bought, the only other items he sold was the seats! So it looks like i get to ditch the carrier bearing driveline for the 87 one piece!! Also get to acquire the steering gearbox for a future hi-steer project. I think the rear axle is wider then the 85 axle but not for sure.. maybe somebody else knows what else i should grab off this truck before i sell it off.... what the hell.. heres a pic...lol

jljered

oh.. also get to swap grills and one tail light as both of mine have a crack in it. :-)

rokblok

iTrader: (1)

Rear diff should be 3" wider. I would get trans and case at least for spares.

85sr5excab

Or for dual cases ;-) could use the doors to make a set of half doors. The hubs from the ifs can be swapped to your solid front axle to match the rear also. That's basically all the stuff I plan on doing to mine eventually as I have an 87 parts truck for my 85.

jljered

update: i nerfed the big fuel line off my 87 parts truck. the line wasnt a direct fit like i hoped, but it will do. with that being said, i mounted the 3rd fuel line and got the gas tank re-installed! Also took that sweet, 1 piece drive line from the 87 and got her installed in my 85. To hell with that carrier bearing!

jljered

forgot to mention that the previous owner also re-routed the hydraulic line for the master cylinder located on the bell housing. the parts truck payed off again! not only did i score an unmolested line but i also got both clutch cylinders in like new condition!! whoo hoo! i think its gettin closer for engine installation! got to go pick up a rear main seal, pilot bearing, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, ex mani gasket and an oil change! hoping to have this beast on the road within the next 7 days!