SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

1985 4Runner



Condition of the truck when I bought it:

• 281,000 Miles
• New 22RE long block with 16,000 miles
• W56 transmission with new clutch
• Various engine work done at the time of new block
• 4.88 Gears
• Eaton TrueTrac rear locker
• Warn Hubs
• 4" Pro-Comp suspension lift
• 33" Maxis Big Horn tires
• All-Pro 1st generation rear bumper

Guy I bought it from works overseas and even though he'd poured over 8k into building up this truck for the trails he never used it and therefore put it up for sale. He was asking 6k and I got him to take 5 cash. Even with that amount of money thrown into it, the truck does need quite a few things.

Work/Maintenance needed:

1. Rear window weather strip worn (Remove/Replace) - Page 9 - Post #179
2. Shifter boot tattered (Remove/Replace - Only place I've found them is on Ebay) - Page 6 - Post #109
3. Rear interior panels missing (Missing/Replace)
4. Driver side door weather stripping worn (Remove/Replace) - Page 11 - Post #219
5. Passenger side door weather stripping worn (Remove/Replace) - Page 11 - Post #219
6. Windshield trim missing vertical pieces on both sides (Missing/Replace - Possibly remove all stock trim and replace with rubber gasket TBD)
7. Carpet was stripped from entire truck and replaced with a bed liner that is now peeling. (Remove/Replace - Either replace with a superior liner or with replacement carpet TBD)
8. Exhaust leak where collector meets manifold (Remove/Replace - Planning to replace with Doug Thorley header and down pipe). - Page 4 - Post #69
9. CAT is original and is likely clogged and the cause of above leak. (Remove/Replace - Plan is to replace with test pipe). - Page 4 - Post #69
10. Steering wheel is not centered when tires are centered (Remove/Repair)
11. Rear brakes are in need of service (Repair/Replace - Highly considering a disc conversion on the rears TBD).
12. Dome light switch is broken (Repair/Replace)
13. Passenger door lock is on its way out (Repair/Replace)
14. Speedometer is not accurate (Repair)
15. Idle is surging (Diagnose/Repair - Possibly TPS and or air in the coolant system)- Page 9 - Post #167
16. Exhaust is rattling off and on (Remove/Replace - Already planning to replace headers and collector, may just do an entire new exhaust) - Page 4 - Post #69
17. Hard to shift, especially into 1st and reverse. Likely a bad slave/master cylinder (Remove/Replace) - Page 10 - Post #194
18. Front brakes squealing (Remove/Replace) - Page 11 - Post #204
19. Headlights need replacing as they are dull and the passenger side has burned out (Remove/Replace) - Page 14 - Post #262
20. Strip sliders current paint and replace with POR-15 and POR-15 top coat(POR-15 and POR-15 Top Coat) -Page 16 - Post #304
21. Belts are squealing on acceleration (replace with Toyota bando belts sourced from dealer) Page 16 - Post #319
22. Replace spark plugs and wires (NGK wires & Plugs) Page 16 - Post #319
23. 4th & 5th gear are going out on transmission (remove and replace) Page 17 - Post #342
24. Violent shuddering when leaving first gear especially on inclines (remove and replace clutch, flywheel, clutch cover, pilot bearing, and throwout bearing - Marlin HD 1,200 lb kit) Page 17 - Post #342


Mods/custom work to be done:

1. New custom front bumper (Badlands baja - http://badlandbumpers.com/bajabumper.html) Page 13 - Post #243
2. New custom rock sliders (4xinnovations) - Page 9 - Post #180
3. New roof rack (TBD open for suggestions)
4. Swap in SR5 gauge cluster
5. Swap in SR5 inclinometer
6. Custom stereo system (TBD)
7. Add new alarm (TBD) Page 12 - Post #223
8. Add remote start (TBD)
9. Add off-road lights/light bars (TBD)
10. Add front locker (Spartan, Aussie, or Grizzly - not sure which to go with. Been doing a lot of research.)
11. High Steer (Marlin Crawler if it ever comes back in stock) Page 17 - Post #335
12. 3RZ Swap - Page 9 - Post #167
13. Add winch (Warn M8000) Page 13 - Post #243
14. Add CB radio and antenna (Cobra 18WXSTII and FireStik II 3 FT antenna - Page 16 - Post #304
15. Upgrade tires (Goodyear MT/R Kevlar 35x12.5x15) Page 16 - Post #316
16. Add 1.5" wheel spacers (G2 Wheel Spacers) Page 16 - Post #316
17. Replace tired stock 22re radiator (All Aluminum Nippon) Page 16 - Post #319
18. Replace stock 3RZ thermostat with 180* (LCE sells it and its accompanying o-ring) Page 16 - Post #319
19. Replace terribly stiff Pro Comp leaf springs (All-Pro Springs) Page 17 - Post #335
20. Replace unknown white shocks (Bilstein 5125) Page 17 - Post #335
21. Install long slip custom square driveline Page 17 - Post #335
22. Custom rear tire carrier with Hi-Lift mount & jerry can mount (Badland Metal Manufacturing Custom) Page 17 - Post #341
23. New steering stabilizer (Marlin) Page 17 - Post #341
24. New bump stops front and rear (Daystar 4 1/2" rear & Daystar 3" front) Page 17 - Post #341
25. Diff armor front and rear (Badland Metal Manufacturing Custom) Page 17 - Post #341


Major Events:

Feb. 2014 - Truck purchased
May. 2014 - 22re Engine Fails - Mechanic diagnosis comes back as no compression on 2 cylinders
Jun. 2014 - 3RZ swapped in
Sep. 2014 - Truck stolen and recovered by police in same night



I will be taking pictures of the entire truck as it stands in the next couple of days. The weather wasn't really co-operating today. I would like to say a preemptive thank you to any help I receive going forward on this build. I am a rather young inexperienced guy who will definitely need some advice on a lot of this stuff. I do have a FSM in hand and a will to do the hard work and research necessary. I would like to give a shout out to some of the builds who have inspired me as I have lurked through Yotatech for the last year or so. Including but not limited to:

Inspiration:

Chef : https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...thread-210796/

This guy's meticulousness is an inspiration to many and I hope to accomplish a 1/4 of what he has with his beautiful build.

Redeth: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...ection-252426/

Another inspiring build with an amazing transformation. Full of incredible knowledge.

Dragon: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...ebuild-256427/

A build full of great tips and know how. Love all the attentiveness to detail and massive amounts of photos.

Volcom: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f198...thread-164224/

A 400 dollar Runner turned into a trail slayer! What a build, and a must read.


Of course there are many more builds and threads I have and will pull inspiration and advice from but I really wanted to highlight these because they have really given me a vision as for what I want my truck to be. Thanks guys!

*** More pictures found here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f198...l#post52166975 ****

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

Nice man... Glad to see you have some major plans. (Deep pockets lol) I'm gonna subscribe to this so keep me updated with pics.

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

Nah I really don't have deep pockets at all. I just got a bonus at work because my fellow union members decided a 10k carrot was worth signing away our pension.... I will have pics very soon and throughout the build!

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Looks like a solid base to build from. And looks to be rust free, which is a plus.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

$10K carrot? Boeing?

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

Yessir

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

It is remarkably rust free. Not just the frame but all the body panels as well which is somewhat of a miracle for its age and mileage. I don't know if it had rust that was repaired a couple of years back though. The paint is not the original job obviously. Either way though I'll take it. I do plan on doing some kind of protection to the undercarriage. Maybe POR-15? I'm open to suggestions in that regard.

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

The POR-15 is awesome stuff but expensive.

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

So would I have to scrub everything on the undercarriage, followed by a solvent wipe, and then followed by POR-15 application?

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like a great build, have fun!

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

Yeah prepping is the key to any kinda under coating or paints. Just give it a good scrubbing with wire brush on grinder then wash it real good.

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

I would love to have a conversation about LCE headers and the corresponding down-pipe. From all the reading I've done on various different builds it appears that unless you use a heated O2 sensor you will be throwing codes. My question is where do I obtain this heated O2 sensor and what do I have to do to install it? I know that the LCE kit comes with an O2 relocation kit but I believe that I will have to get an entirely new wire harness to make it heated. Is this correct?

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

I cannot answer those questions however I can give you some header INFO.

Why are you choosing a LCE header? Yes it is a good header according to what I've read. I've never used it.

My all time favorite is the Doug Thorley TriY header. I have purchased 2 of these headers. I am a fan and firm believer in there performance gains. I had one on my 93 Toyota pickup and let it go when I sold the truck. I've also got one on my 87 Toyota pickup. The 93 is EFI and the 87 is Carbed. I've never had any kinda issues with sensors or fault codes with this header. To be honest I've never blew a gasket either. The TriY header produces a Power Band effect kinda like a 2 stroke dirt bike. I see a major power band from about 2500-4000 RPM range. That's on both trucks. Now I've since added a cam as well that really maxes out the headers performance.

The other header I've ran is a hedman off eBay. JUNK.... It's no different then a stock manifold. It may produce some kinda power gain but I couldn't tell.

Last but not least was a custom built header using a driver side header from a Chevrolet small block. I use to race a 85 Toyota Celica on Dirt track. We made a completely tuned header for my car. That's about all the header info I can give ya.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Great looking runner. Most of the problems you have are not to much to repair and a day or so on it will make a big difference. Just like any older truck, it will have some issues but these are easy to fix. I see you are wanting to protect the underneath. I haven't used POR so I am no help there, but would suggest flushing your frame with high pressure air and a water hose, lots of junk gets stuck in there. Looking forward to your build.

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the quick response man. I was initially leaning towards the Thorley however I came across some people who said that they are not made like they used to be and that they are now a hard fit. Often coming with gaskets that are junk and other fitment issues. I have a couple videos that I came across that really made me weary of the thorley.

1st the thorley this guy buys that doesn't fit and he ends up returning:
2nd the video of the LCE he ends up replacing it with that he is very happy with:
When was the last time you bought one? The reason I ask is he states in the first video that their quality is not what it once was. I will say though that if you have bought one recently I'll take your word over some guy on YouTube any day. Would love to hear from some other guys too.

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

Thanks a lot man I appreciate it. Yeah I was planning on either a power wash job or at the very least an air nozzle spray down. I imagine that if I went the power wash route that I would end up drowning myself in gunk.

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

The most latest one bought was about this time last year. I'd have to check my build thread for verify that. However I know it's been within 1.5 years. My came off eBay. You gotta watch tho man. They make these headers for lots of different trucks. I mean if you buy a header for a 2wd then it won't fit a 4wd. But I've had no issues with the ones I've purchased other then there pricy

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

That makes sense. I wonder if thats what people are doing and blaming Doug for their error. The Thorley has the O2 sensor in the same location as stock header as well right? Does it come with a new downpipe as well? Is it pretty much header to cat? I see you are an up before the sun guy like me by the way

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

I'm up till 3:30am and back up at 6:00am getting my kids ready for school. Plus every time someone post in a thread I'm subscribed to my phone dingles.

But the Doug Thorley TriY is a complete length header. And yes mine had the o2 sensor locations on it. I believe they all have the sensor locations

SqWADoosh

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I have mine setup that way too. When you say it is a complete length header does that mean that there is no downpipe? It is all a part of the header? I also am reading that I have to lift the engine to install it?