87 'runner boosted

Hey guys,

I know there are a few 87's being built on here, but thought id throw in mine as well as we all have different wants/desires from our trucks.

To start, I bought this truck as a mostly stock (ill explain mods in a sec) 87 4runner which had 232,xxx miles on it when i bought it. Drove all the way to Wylie, TX (a bit north of Dallas) to get it. This was my second trip to Dallas to purchase another toyota after I totalled my 86 4x4 pickup on a sheriffs car one sunday while going to get lunch (guess who's fault that was). First attempt was at an 85 22re, lifted, tires, rims, would have been great but upon inspecting under the carpet, found a whole lotta daylight shining through under there, as a matter of fact, the cab mounts sat about 2" higher than the actual floor. Second attempt found the 87 4runner. I got to Wylie, checked out what seemed to be a pretty clean ride. The guy had spray bombed the truck flat black (had a really nice dark gray with the typical striping along the sides, really wish he hadnt). He installed some generic "cut to fit" carpet which sucks and will be removed. Several other parts on the inside look like have been grabbed from other trucks and pieced together on this one. I noticed a knocking sound when i bought it, but was hoping that i was something like the overhead or a timing chain (only did it while you were partially in the throttle, not at idle and not when you had a load on it). Plus, the truck was an original 22ret, which the PO said had been converted to a 22re. So, with all that in mind, i started my trek 3 hours home to abilene. Noticed first off that the truck had very low power. I tached it out and dumped the clutch while still in dallas and the truck didnt even think about barking a tire, not even a smidge. I tried climbing a long hill (known as Ranger hill, for any of you west Texas guys that might be on here, you know what i mean) and had to drop to 3rd gear to reach the top, at like 35-40 mph, and yes, there were horns honking behind me. Other than low power, I also had a very stiff ride in the back end, which wasnt too new to me as my 86 was pretty stiff too. So anyways, got it home.

Over the course of the next few weeks and a few trips out to the lake for some mudding to see how she performed as it was, I began checking for the quirks/odds and ends that needed attention with the truck. This rig was purchased close to the winter time and the mornings were chilly enough that a heater would have been appreciated, which this truck did not have. So i began investigating. Checked the water valve and found both heater hoses on either side of the valve (supply and return) were hot as hell, indicating we had heat to the dash, but wasnt blowing hot air. So i began the search for the heater core and hvac doors.

pic of blower motor/door assembly



I pulled the heater core housing and evaporator out. The evaporator was completely clogged with lord knows what kinda of debris (sorry, forgot to get pics of that). I cleaned every thing up as best possible and reassembled. Oh, and to fix the heater, I found that my dash control assembly was pretty much demolished and all the cables are siezed (minus the fresh air/recirc door cable, that one works ). So anyways, I opened the heater door manually and voila, I now have heat, and yes, its hot .

Im going to post this now so you guys dont get tired of reading it and add the next topic to the next post.

87 'runner boosted

Next came the lifting. After I got my Yota, I started a revolution at the shop (I work for freightliner) and a couple other guys wanted one too. I helped a guy find a 93 reg cab 4x4 long box and when he got it to the shop, we were checking it out and found it had 3" blocks under the back end and a 5th wheel hitch (apparently they didnt like it to sag and added blocks to compensate). My buddy didnt like the blocks under there as it made the truck look like one of those hillbilly 2x4's where they mount 38's in the back and little donuts on the front and think it looks cool. So, we swapped even steven, took my stock u-bolts and gave to him and I in turn took his blocks and put them on the 4runner. This made my truck look like the hillbillyride now which I had to correct. I bought some 1.5" ball joint spacers and cranked the t-bars just a little bit to get the ride even without screwin up my ride quality too bad. I purchased a 3" body lift kit from Rough Country Suspension and installed it. Got my ride to a perfect height for me (just high enough i have to hop to get in). Next I added wheel spacers and tires. Bought this set of Interco trxus's m/t off craigslist from a guy in town, 33's for $350/set and they only had like 5k on them, still had the tits on the tires. After all was said and done, the truck went from looking like this :

to this :


As you can see, I also painted the rims to match the truck, i like it, think it kinda looks recon with the top on

jason in tn

good lookin runner what other plans do you have?

87 'runner boosted

Alright, well, here is whats next...crappy enough, i was actually about 5 hours from trading this truck to a guy for an 87 samurai (just to sell, but it was worth about $1k more than the 4runner). Anyways, on the way home from work, just cruisin along, *knock* *knock *knock*, took it home and parked it in the garage (about a week or so ago). I took the engine out yesterday and found #1, #2 and #3 rod bearings spun. I forgot to pull any of the mains to check those (hoping to god they are ok). Here are some pics :

87 'runner boosted

87 'runner boosted

87 'runner boosted

So, im going to rebuild (providing when I pull the main caps I dont find those spun too...). Got a couple questions though, and I may need to get ya'll some more pics to show you what im talking about, but here we go. Notice on the pic of the exhaust manifold, its very evident on #3 port on exhaust manifold, you will notice it is whitish in there. Its the same on #2 exhaust manifold port. To me, this indicates extreme heat. Also take into account this truck was an original turbo truck and has been converted to a 22re by the previous owner. I will tell you that when its dark outside, even just easy driving around, the exhaust manifold gets hot, and I mean RED hot, and bright too, which also indicates high heat. Now i dont know if the PO replaced the injectors back to the regular 22re ones, i know the turbo injectors flow a lot more which could cause that. I do know for sure that air flow is good. Im going to be deleting the EGR JUNK as I rebuild, dont know if its bad or not, but I want it gone anyways (Thank God Texas has no smog laws ) Also, all the exhaust valves and ports on the head are white as well, just like you see there in the exhaust manifold pic (i will get pics of the head maybe this evening and post them for ya). Any ideas/suggestions are much appreciated while I begin rebuilding this engine. Thanking you in advance!!!

87 'runner boosted

and another question, I was told that the only difference between a 22re and 22ret was the head, the turbo had a larger combustion chamber to reduce compression to room to put boosted air. Does anyone know anything about this and how to tell the difference between the heads. And on the block, if it were a 22r, 22re or 22ret, wouldnt the corresponding data be stamped into the side of the block??? mine has 22r stamped in side of block but you can clearly see where the turbo pressure and drain oil lines were installed...and i know the block is different as they did have a different oil passage rifled through the block to accomodate the turbo...

87 'runner boosted

Whew, pulled the main caps and luckily didnt find any that had spun. HOWEVER, holy freakin worn out crank batman....ive never seen main's worn out so bad, original bearings with 242k on them im sure...absolutely cannot wait to get this thing reassembled and running again with some new guts, oughta be night and day difference. Ill post some pics of the crank later.

87 'runner boosted

Aight guys, I NEED HELP. Im gonna be ordering parts for this runner in a week-10 days. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I will be needing : Crankshaft, Rods, Head, Overhaul kit (talked with ted @ engnbldr already about this, he is gonna hook me up). The crank ive found on ebay for $150 (reman) and the rods ive also found on ebay for around $100 (look to be new). Any and all help with this would be greatly appreciated. Anyone think I oughta machine the block (i.e. punch it out, shave the deck, etc). Anyone got any cool ideas for painting the engine? Also, if anyone knows if there is a visual difference between turbo injectors and the regular RE injectors, I would love to know. And the head as well.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Hey man ,..... WOW, you're really at this thang, aint ya? lol.

Great work, and GREAT LOOKING RIDE, BOOSTED!

Hmmmm, Injectors? Not sure. Maybe call LCE and ask them, ya know? I know they sell EVERYTHING performance and might know which application is for what/which, right? If not, they'll ask they're tech's, ya know?

Far as the block? Hmmmm, i thought it was the same block, just that the Turbo has ports filled up with connectors and such that are blocked off in the case of a 22re or 22r..... I would think Putney's would know that one for sure, man! Call Jim, he's a great guy, very helpful and knowledgeable, .... Tod or Ted might know as well..

Far as the Crank? 150? I'm pretty sure, here in L.A., the BIGGEST seller of Cranks, .....they sell BRAND NEW CRANKS for not TOO much more than that, Boosted.... I mean, I went to a yard, yes...but I got the WHOLE SMALL BLOCK for 150$ ! lol. I know, refinished, etc. ... But I WOULD BE SURE IT'S NOT ALREADY ground down to 30-20 or something, .... I mean, 30 is the MAX you can go, bud, ...if you wind up with an issue.... GOD FORBID, I know, ....but if so, ...that crank is a paper weight.

Great work on the dash stuff, man! I HATE that my cables are all junk! I've head that is THEEEEEEE nightmare job to replace all of them! lol. Still, I might, as I CAN'T STAND this reaching under there crap! lol. Oh well, I know, it's working for me for now, ...why spend money I DON'T HAVE, RIGHT? lol.

beautiful rig, man, ...scribededed!

87 'runner boosted

Thanks for the hit chef!! Appreciate the info too. Im gonna give these guys a holler too just as soon as the money comes in to get all these parts ordered. In the meantime im going to get some parts hanging from my cieling while I paint them. I want this thing looking clean as it did when it rolled off the assembly line when I get it back together. Once again, appreciate the hit and the help chef

jason in tn

Hey boosted thought I would through my to cents in, one I would stay away from eBay parts mainly the crank as chef stated You want as much info on the crank as you can get, your looks pretty scored but you may be able to have it turned, two are you looking for a different block our just info on them? If your looking for a different one why? You may be able to salvage that as well. Three bearing to go at once would have me really checking the oiling system becouse that seems really odd. Anyway good luck You will find tons of support and advice around here.

87 'runner boosted

Thanks Jason appreciate the heads up. Ive def reconsidered the ebay crank gonna do some more research and see what I can find. When I bought this rig back in october, it had a knock to it then, I just figured maybe it was that timing chain knock or something...turns out it was a rod the whole time. One of the bearings had just barely spun, one of them had been spun for a good long while and the other one just plain old came apart (the one with the most pitting). And as far as the oiling system, when I go back together with it, it will be cleaned out very well as well as installing a new oil pump and new sunpro volt, temp and oil psi gauges (havent had a working oil psi gauge since I owned the rig). And I will be taking the crank to a machine shop to have them look at it, I cant get pictures that will show main journals on crank very well, but they are very very grooved, I mean it feels like a water board on there. Anyways, before I buy any kind of cranks, I will take it to machine shop to see if they can fix it. And about the block, I was just asking, curious mostly. I was trying to find all the info I could about the difference between a 22re and a 22ret so I knew when I put this back together that it would have all the right parts for a 22re on it. Anyways, thanks for the hit Jason.

87 'runner boosted

oh ya, and does everyone use photobucket to get their pics as big as they are on their threads???

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

YES< Photobucket, then copy the IMG, then paste IMG in the text window here. Done

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Here is Putney's, .....

http://22reperformance.com/22RE%20Pe...20Engines.html

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Here is LCE............(Actually the link is to a listing of "Turbo Block" and "22re Block", to the right of the page.... You might wanna calll them and ask them, ..... "Can I make what I HAVE(WHATEVER THAT IS) work? Or do I need 'this' or 'that'?) >>>>>

http://www.toyotacatalog.net/M1WebGe...ass=146&Page=3

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This is also LCE, ....... but a Crank, ready to go, guaranteed, for 239$ I believe????? Yeah, ..... up to you, but I'd shop around. I could probably get a crank for 50$, turn-able, and if it wasn't, they'd take it back if I could prove it, at almost any yard around here.>>>>>>>

http://www.toyotacatalog.net/M1WebGe...2-E483E5B3823D

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LCE's page(one of many) on injectors.... As you can see, the 22ret injectors are a different listing than the 22RE>>>>

http://www.toyotacatalog.net/M1WebGe...ass=150&Page=6

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Just a few things to get you started. Remember, .....sometimes, "you gotta do whatcha gotta do, even though you'd rather DO something else, ....."......... Other times, you can "Save my cabbage for a while and do it 99% RIGHT, the first time, best parts, etc."....... Just KNOW THAT YOU KNOW, ....... that other 1%? Yeah, it CAN HAPPEN, ...just read back in my build thread a few DOZEN pages! hahaha. Oh, yeah, the Troubleshooting thread, too, ...forgot bout that! lol.

TOTALLY up to you on what parts you get, etc. Some Pro's, that do this for a living, say "Original Toyota Heads, used or not, are just better quality"...... and some OBVIOUSLY disagree, as they're BUILDING THEM, new castings, etc.(usually from China, which isn't ALWAYS bad,..... and in fact, most EVERYTHING is coming from there, don't kid yourself. Especially with the Japan 'incident'). Just do whatever makes YOUUUUUUUUU feel most confident.

If you're going performance, ...well, just plan on less longevity. It's just the way that racing works, ya know? I just decided....."Gonna get what I can outta this, ......but it's a 4 CYLINDER, 130-140HP max, Torquey lil work dog, .....not a LSF!" lol. I wanted it to last, ....I even hired "the best guy around" according to a VERY reputable mechanic that had used him for years..... WELL? HOW'D THAT WORK OUT FOR ME? lol. Seriously, I say DO IT YOURSELF! Every step that you can...... And any step you feel less comfortable with, let a guy do it, and READ UP FIRST, ...then WATCH HIM! If you see him cutting corners, ..... SAY SOMETHING! The reason I re-assure you to do it yourself, Boosted, ..... it's because, YOU LEARN SO MUCH, ...heck, you could tear one down in a day next time you had a problem(GOD WILLING YOU WONT! LOL) ....but YOU COULD, if something came up, ya know?

I went with;

1. Yard Short Block 150$ w/Crank
2. Had my Head Totally rebuilt for 220$(Including/Manganese Guides, Viton Seals, Engnbldr Valves{ all 8 }, Racing-Dual Layer Springs)Already had a 261 Engnbldr Cam and new Adjusters(So bout 360 for the complete Head, minus the Rocker Assembly
3. Hastings Rings USA, Sankei(?) Japan Rod and Main Bearings(NEW/Old Stock at 10/10)
4. Pistons from Engnbldr
5. Rods from my Original Block(mine were fine, yours might not be)
6. Timing Cover Kit/including new Timing Cover from Engnbldr(H20, Oil pumps, Seals) 120$ or so? (you probably just need to goodies to go on yours, 60$ from them?...My Cover was possibly hairline cracked, that was another 58$)


My complete long block rebuild(pretty high quality stuff's), including the other stuff's from the last one was around 800$, INCLUDING the new to me block and crank, the machining of them,(also including the resurfacing my fliywheel, pressing out of my CA bushings and more) all the parts for the block and head, gaskets....

On the gaskets, .... sidenote; (I ordered what I needed from Putney's/22reperformance.com and..... even though I went with Nippon OEM HG, ....IT BLEW IN 5 MINUTES! Freak Circumstances, like I said, eh? lol.... Put in a Felpro Permatorque Fatty and it's held for around 1500 miles now, head bolts checked twice, haven't budged! ..... That doesn't mean OEM isn't BETTER or that you should avoid them, NO WAY. Just sharing how 'CRAP HAPPENS!' lol....Even with PERFECTLY surfaced head and block-to-head surfaces! hehe)

That 800$ cost didn't include the new clutch master and slave I needed(Altrom from Napa, 70$ for both), the clutch kit(159$ for Aisin), the Injector Service(Walked in to RC Engineering in Torrance.... 80$ or so including my CSI), the new 02 Sensor(Denso/50$ on website), Replacement AFM that my PO screwed up(45$), Coolant Temp Sensor(OEM 30$ on line),*Plugs, Magnecore-Wires and Billet Harness/carrier, Rotor, Cap, LCE Header to CAT/BACK, cold air intake(700$ for all 7 *), bout 700$ for the nearly complete restoration of my IFS (incl. CA bushings/Ball Joints, Spacers, Diff Drop kit, Shocks, Stabilizer, then 70$ for 4WD alignment that was WAY out of whack, lol,), nor the entire rebuilding of my Brake System(minus lines, Altrom Calipers, Cylinders, etc., etc., 300$ from Napa), Manual Locking Hubs(got lucky on that, even though they're WARN Premiums, ...80$) ......... THAT'S PROBABLY ONLY HALF OF IT! lol. Nah, ...but Im' SURE there's more, lol. MY ONLY point in mentioning that is I'VE LEARNED A LOT SINCE THEN! lol..... And you CAN do this for half of what you're probably thinking, with MORE quality than you'd thought.... Just have to do LOTS OF RESEARCH and not get caught up in 'impulse buying'. However, ...sometimes, if you commit to a project.... you will find LOTS WRONG, .... 90% OF what I did needed to be done.

jason in tn

Boy mark how do you keep track LOL. Your rig is an insparation to a lot of us.
Boosted chef is one of the guys to listen to around here he's been there done that on about everything and knows his stuff.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Thanks, Jason...but really, I feel bad for taking up so much of the page... It's just that, ..I have this crazy memory, ...which is usually quite the NIGHTMARE! lol.... But really, it's just that I 'get going, then have to share all I can remember, otherwise, it'll be harder to find that small detail that might help, later on. I just don't want him to go through 1/20TH of what I did, ...and if I tell him, "HEY, TRUST ME, DON'T DO THAT!" lol... well, it might save him a thousandth of his life, eh? hahahaha.

87 'runner boosted

LOL NO!!!! dont feel bad. All that info is what i wanted, its greatly appreciated. Im doing some major research on this thing so ill hopefully make the right decisions. Will be updating list of parts ordered more later this week. Appreciate all ya'lls help guys. And ive opened a photobucket account so all my pics from here on out will be huge for everyone to see. Thanks GUYS!!!!

87 'runner boosted

WHOOP!!!! Just gotta give a little shout out here, was checking on the injector stuff, still dont know exactly what kind I have (I do have pics to reference them to when I get them off the fuel rail now) but if they are the ones im supposed to have (the 22re kind), a local diesel injection shop here has the ability to flow, clean and balance them for like $15 - $20 a piece. Pretty snazzy if I do say so myself