twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

So I'm pretty bored an know eventually I will be starting a build so I'll start it now.

I bought an 88 Toyota 4runner a while back($1100), unfortunately its a 3.slow automatic that I was thinking about selling it because I had no room or need for another truck. But after having it sit so long and talking to the fiancé we decided to keep it so she can drive it around town when she doesn't have to go to school in the Honda (its a Manuel and she's not a big fan of stick shifts but it gets like 35mpgs).

Here are the only pics I have of it right now

When I brought it home on the trailer, was told the some be story that was in true that I kinda fell for.
Trying to start it, using the berry to jumpstart


It inside the fams shop to figure out why it wouldn't start



The clean side, the driver side has a few dents

Well after fiddling with it for a bit we came to the conclusion that it had a blown head gasket, no surprise their right.



So the truck got put on a back burner until I could figure out an engine solution, then my neighbors brother got a 2nd gen runner that had a bad tranny so they bought a 95runner that ran and drives but had a ˟˟˟˟ ton of DMV back fees so he used the tranny and sold me the engine($500) and a radiator($50).

My cousin owed me some money sold he told me he would do the engine swap to pay off the debt, and I am kinda really glad I agreed, that engine is a PITA, after swapping the engine out the starter($150) decided to quit as soon as we finished, and to remove it we had to unbolt the motor mount and jack up the engine to gain enough room to pull it out.



And since then its been sitting in the same spot at my cousins house. After the engine swap we ran into a problem, it didn't want to idle when it was cold, but I personally saw the engine work flawlessly in the 95. With the swap we had to keep the old upper intake(afraid the newer one would have made it fail smog visual do to being slightly different) and the sensor housing in the back of the engine that holds like 4 or 5 sensors(new one was broken when pulled from the 95). But after looking at it I think the problem is do to the fact that the PO installed an aftermarket temp gauge in the dash, and I believe he unhooked the factory temp sensor to hook it up, so maybe the comp isn't getting the temp signal and is acting up. Not sure until I get to look at it again has been a few months since I last looked at it, its a lil ways from me.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Also the when the ''new'' engine was removed, found out it had been previously worked on(new freeze plugs and the block had been repainted recently)

So the reason I gave in and bought it was because of how nice the interior looked it was almost flawless, sport no pics for a while.

This is goons be a kinda slow build like my other one is.

Plans:
-keep the its(already have one SAS runner)
-give it a small lift, wanna keep it low(fiancé doesn't want to have to jump to get in)
-put my "new" 31's (bought over a year ago then did SAS any went to 35,s) on it. No plans to go any bigger then that.
-build front and rear bumpers(maybe tire carrier), thinking tube style
-install my used sliders
-i really want a roof rack Baja style(can't put one on the berry, to tall). I want it to at least be mounted over the cab so when the top is off I still have it, but since it has a sun roof I don't know if that is plausible
-want to long arm travel(be really cool to have a LAT runner and a SAS runner), been looking at blazelands diys kit but Im also thinking I would love to make my own for the runner(bought a whole ifs suspension minus the lock outs an calipers for $50 to play with)
-want to fix all the dents and make the body super clean and maybe even paint something from the snow white on it.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

So since I want to do long arm on it I have been scrolling the net for the last 2weeks getting helps ideas, thinking I want to to make it kinda of like a Baja truck, so the front would be covered with the long arms but what about the back? Well after the basic long arm kits that all incorporate 4wd on these runners use t100 CV shafts in the front the accommodated for that 3" or 3.5"(have the exact number written somewhere) extra length, I've found out that their are a few stock Toyota axles that will match the front wms(once again got some of the info somewhere). Well that covers the width but what about the travel? Well one of the simple routes is Chevy 63's or ford 56's not sure on my route yet. So then I got the travel but what should I do for the shocks, lots of socal, Baja, dessert, etc guys get extremely long shocks and cut into the body and make bed cages to house them, no thanks I like have all my storage space. So I'm still researching but their are a few different options, one being these double sided gas charged shocks that an aftermarket company makes for mainly jeeps she it has a rectangle shape body and on the top it had to shafts going up and on the bottom it has two shafts going down, to almost gain twice the shock for the space of one. I can't find the page now knew I should have saved it. But the other option I found is a cantilever setup which has a lot of geometry but is cool

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

I mentioned a cantilever shock setup and figured some might want to see some pics of the idea







So this idea does 2 things. 1 it places the shocks horizontal to keep space and 2 it gives you the ability to make a variable ratio rocker arm. I.e.: its an L shaped bracket and a with it you connect one side of it to a rod that can pivot and is connected to the axle, so when the axle moves it moves the rod which is connected to the L shaped bracket which then pivots and moves the shock shaft. But a lot of people have found out that the "leg" of this L bracket that is connected to the shock can be increased in length compared to the other leg to make a ratio of let's say 2:1 so when the axle moves 2in the shock only moves 1in.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

I mentioned that I wanted to have a roof rack so here are some options I like

One I found on the internet


Then one of our members on here

Simple but awesome


Then I mentioned that because I have a sun roof I might not be able to have a Baja style rack, well I started to get ideas to maybe do something like these










And my final goal is to be able to do something like this

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Cantalever suspension would be awesome.
Looking forward to see how your build progresses

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Lots of great info you have there for plans. I like the cantilever rear setup. It's so unique you almost never see it done.

Man that runner is clean!!

I too like my cargo/storage area to stay the same. I have to see beds/floors cut up to accommodate longer shocks. I guess I still like to keep it functional for me while being able to off road.

I know which shocks you are talking about with the triangle. Wish I could remember where I saw them and what it was on for you but I cannot.

I really like the idea of a roof rack To hold stuff. I really like chefyotas rack that he put on his runner. Has a great write up with video.


Can't wait to see where you go with this project.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Yea they would, this project is gonna be a slow one


Thanks, the interior is really nice, body not so much.
I'm hoping to move the truck to my fam's shop so I can work on it on the weekends

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Nice looking new Toy you have got. Looking forward to your build.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Edit: posted in wrong build

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Got the runner to my families shop today, may stop by tomorrow and drain the tranny fluid out of the engine and put some oil back in it, the battery is completely dead from the key being left on multiple times so i m gonna see if my dad will charge it when he is working Monday.

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Nice. One step closer to getting it going.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Went to my dads today to now his yard, so while I was their I pulled the truck in the shop and drained the engine, then put new oil and a new filter on, also replaced the broken ground clamp for the battery, replaced the broken ground wire going from the the battery to the body and removed the wire nut holding the power wire together going to the fuse block and crimped and heat shrinked it.

Put a battery box on the battery and got the truck to start, after holding the throttle long enough to warm it up It stayed idling(high idle but idling) I sprayed all the vacuum hoses with brake clean and found my egr gasket on the upper intake is bad, also heard a high end knock like a loose rocker(will have my uncle listen next weekend), also saw some exhaust fumes come out underneath the truck before the cat(might have a leaking exhaust) will check next weekend also.

I have 2 questions for everyone
1: will the stock gauge cluster out of my red Toyota(87 Manuel) work in this toyota (88 auto)
2: I saw this engine run in a previous vehicle and it was able to spin the rear tires, but now the truck is freaking gutless and has no power.

Jakesr5

Nice looking runner hope you get it running and good. The shocks you where talking about are either six pack or six shooter shocks and they are pretty cool though i have only seen them once on a heep brute on fortys.

Jake,

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Thank you, I could not remember anything about the shocks except the basic design. Here is the website
http://www.metalcloak.com/MetalCloak...hock-s/229.htm

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Worked on the runner today, made a llist of parts I need so far:
Tailgate cabels
License plate light holder
Ect switch
Shifter base auto(tells what gear you are in)
Pass headlight bezel
Pass wiper arm
Pass washer sprayer
Fuse box cover
Hood prop clip
Driver mirror
Driver tail light
Window crank
Sun roof latch
Dome light cover
Grab handle(o ˟˟˟˟ handle)
Driver seat slider cable
Pass door arm rest
Single wire temp senser(back of block right side, next to 2 2wire sensors and one 1wire sensor)
Pass exhaust manifold(to put on the driver side to move the crossover)

Swapped gauges and the 22re manual dlx gauge works in it, but swapped back after talking to my uncle, found out my temp gauge in the auto cluster doesn't appear to be bad, but cant tell since the put an after market sensor in with the aftermarket gauge.

So my uncle also thinks that the since the factory sensor is unplugged that it may be the reason my runner doesn't like to start or idle when cold, and or it might also be the possibilitly of a clogged exhaust.

So I talked to my uncle about the crossover delete behind the engine and he says it sounds like a good idea, and that I shouldn't have any problems with smog as long as I don't move my cat, he says they are in a specific place and a smog guy might fail me if he truely knows his stuff, so if I do the delete illl have to run the new pass pipe under the tranny instead of behind the tcase like I wanted

Also thinking of changing the build name, not sure to what yet, but my original plan was to paint it white and put the dwarfs on the rear quarter panels, but after talking to my coworkerd about my other truck and the new bumper I'm building we came up with a pretty nice paint scheme but I don't want to paint the other runner since I've painted the interior to match the outside.

So I'm thinking of painting this one airforce grey and making it look like an old bomber with pin up girl on it along with the shark teeth on thfront

chukarhunt

iTrader: (1)

Good looking rig! Thanks for posting up the cantilever photos! That opens up a new realm for me...


With the 3.0, crossover mod, ISR mod, exhaust and a good tune up will get it closer to spin tires like you saw in the video. Unfortunately your auto lacks the ability to "dump" clutches or get into your power band quickly. With my manual I can get the tires to break loose all day long. Only so much an auto can do, especially with the stall speed. Good luck with your build!

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, as for the tires spinning it wasn't a video it was the 95 4runner auto the I got the engine from, its a friend and he spun them in front of me. They didn't spin hella quick but they did spin.

But the exhaust work will probably help tht a lot.

chukarhunt

iTrader: (1)

Ah, ya sorry. Reading too many threads here and mixing up stories! Lol

Depends on what changed since it ran that last time. Might just need to do a really hard brake stand. Jk

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Worked on the runner on sat, put a hole in the exhaust before the cat to test back pressure, and sure enought the exhaust was clogged, so I cut the cat off. But it still seemed to act up, while I hade it running and reving it up a very loud knock became aparent, so I called it quits for the weekend, might pull it in the shop this weekend and pull the oil pan and check everything out, the knock def sounds lower end so mybe I can find something with the pan of.

I've read here and their that to pull the pan you either have to raise the engine or drop the diff, I'm thinkin of dropping the diff, but will see when the time comes