Sporin

I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Dave ("Sporin") and I just bought an '85 4Runner.

Since falling roof ice made my Trooper a total, I decided to take the $3k they gave me for it and find something better. I initially thought I'd be getting a slightly newer Trooper, but then fate stepped in. I was scouring the classifeds for an "interesting" 4x4 and saw an ad for a (supposedly) mint 85 4Runner, 4x4, 185k, 31" BFG AT's, 22re 4cyl. 5-speed. Very tough trucks to find up here since Toyota seemingly made the bodies out of spun sugar. Most 1st Gens in new England are really rusty.

The truck is amazing. Almost no rust, immaculate interior, and in perfect running condition. You could eat out of the engine bay. The PO is clearly a car nut, and had every record for the last 165k miles! Every oil change, every repair, all the maintenance... everthing. The truck is his baby and he really didn't want to part with it. But he has a new Tacoma, a Miata (wife's) and a '61 Corvette.... too many toys and something had to go.

The truck came from TX to CO, then to here. There is very little of the body cancer so common on older Toy's her in New England. There is a little bit of rust starting to happen on the rear fender lips, but I'll take care of that this summer. It's tan with a brown interior and white top (removable).

The only thing that gave me pause is that it is only a 2 door which will make getting the baby in the back a bit more difficult, but I couldn't pass it up, it was just too nice.

Took an extensive test drive. Ran like a dream, tracked straight, plenty of power, 4hi, 4lo, all work. Doesn't leak any fluids. Every light, guage, window and accessory work as new. The carpet was replaced by the first owners with a very nice almost-shag brown. Apparently they liked to sleep in it camping and wanted something plusher. It's kind of funny looking, but very nice.

He wouldn't budge from his $2500 asking price as he had been getting a lot of calls and felt he could hold out for his price. I wasn't about to lose this gem over a couple-hundred bucks. I really enjoyed spending my morning with the guy, very nice, loves his automobiles, and very upfront about everything.

Here are some rather crummy pictures of my truck. I would have washed it, but it’s been around the zero mark here for a few days. You can see the difference in wheel well gap front to back. The front is holding up quite well but the back has sunk. I’ve already got lift shackles to correct that, just waiting on a warm enough day to put them on.







Spotless engine bay...



This is the only rust. About the same on the other side. A bit of POR-15 should take care of that...



The interior is in perfect shape. Nice Alpine CD player, lush brown shag carpet...





Almost new 31” BFG AT’s, stock Aisin manual hubs...



MOD PLANS:
• HD rear shackles to correct sag (got 'em)
• Complete fluid change and flush with AMSOIL refills
• More light!
• Extra bright back up bulbs
• Skidplating and sliders
• CB

A bit farther down the road...
• 2" suspension lift with Downey or OME springs.
• Long travel shocks
• Low gears
• Lockers (not sure which one)
• Lights, limb risers, bumpers

Two weeks in and I am pleased as punch. I am pretty amazed at how tight this truck is given that it is 18 years old, and has 185k on it. I thought that the very stiff all-leaf suspension would have jarred everything loose by now, but it has almost no rattles.

I've been driving to to work every day up and down VT-91. I got 18mpg last week, but that included a pretty extensive trip in 4HI during a snow storm. I'd expect things to get better this week if we don't get more snow. I also think that flushing the diffs and changing all the fluids will smooth things out as well. I'd like to see 20mpg on mostly highway trips and that seems to be a reasonable goal. Always correcting for the .9% difference in tire size btw.

Things I need to do:
• Change the PS fluid over to synthetic ATF to cure a cold start squeal. This seems to be the recommended fix according to the experts.

• Install a set of auxiliary low beams. Hella XL's if I can find some. I was going to upgrade the headlights instead, but needed to replace 1 water-filled one just to get inspected. So now that I have dumped $20 into the existing lights, I figure I'll add the auxiliaries first and wait and see how that combo works out.

• Figure out if I have a genuine lack of a cold start idle (bad IAC or cold start injector and timer) or if I'm just expecting too much from an 18 year old truck in -14 degree weather. It's definitley not as bad in the last couple of (warmer) days.

Overall, I'm pleased as punch.

HBoss

WOW! You have the 4Runner of my dreams!! In almost mint condition too...I'm extremely, extremely jealous. :eek:

I hope it you treat it well & vice versa.

Welcome to the forum!

loosehead

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Looks like you got a really good deal, too. Very nice truck!

rimpainter.com

Welcome! Nice "classic" rig you got there.

Brown

Very NICE!

Nice writeup on it, too. Looks like you'll be having some fun with that for a good long time. That's a heck of a deal for sure. Welcome aboard!

airrikk17

some things to keep an eye out for , from the experiences i had with my 87 4 funner , the rear window switch in the center console will probably got out , everyone said never ever take off the top it will leak , i took mine off a lot during the summers and not once did it leak, but clean the rubber before you put it on jsut in case.
my rear end went out on mine , but i think it was because of the po driving it hard and not taking care of it .
mine developed a weird idle problem that i never did cure before it was stolen .
humm really thats all i can remeber about my baby .
youve lucked out and got the front solid axle right ?
if so you have a truck that is in high demand from many 4x4 enthusists , especcially fellow toyota lovers who know its capabilities .

have fun and enjoy .

erik b of oregon , ( lived in NH for a few years , i know all about the cancer there , sucks bad >LOL)

HBoss

P.S. Can you snap me a quick pic or two of the solid front axle up close & personal?

I'm quite the I know...

Al

Sporin

Thanks for the tips!

• The PO had the rear diff rebuild in '99 because it was leaking. I'll have to check the papers to see what exactly was done, but I believe it has new R&P. It's a shame he didn't take the opportunity to regear or add a locker at that time... I sure would have.

• Rear window and switch works ok.. a little slow, but that may be the cold as well.

• The PO had the top off a few times and was very meticulous about reinstalling it to the letter. No leaks, no odd noises. My wife is really looking forward to doing the same this summer.

• It does have the straight axle (HBoss, I'll get you some pics as soon as I can). I'm really looking forward to 'wheeling it once the ice age passes. My b-i-l is a big Jeep nut and wheels all the time so we are looking forward to getting muddy.

• I love how "tucked up" everything is on teh truck. Nothing but the diffs hanign down. On my old Trooper (which was fairly rugged underneath) the shock mounts hung way down and looked very vulnerable. Not so with the 4Runner. Can't wait for Spring!

airrikk17

when my rear end went out i had it rebuilt and put in a lok rite locker. i wasnt that happy wit hit , it was really noisey and clunky , but there are other options out there , i was jsut new to the 4 wheel scene and didnt know any better, i wish i had had it regeared though.

have fun .


erik b of oregon

fenman666

got the same truck myself though its 2.4 turbo diesel and ifs mine is in top condition also and is a recent japanese import to the u.k have seen the original sales literature and it was being sold as the american dream in the 80's just keep a check on the connections for the rear wiper inside the plastic housing if these work loose or the wiper park switch is not adjusted correctly the rear window stops working......... caused me some grief for about 1/2 a day :pat:

Dr. Zhivago

Nice truck! Welcome to the forums!

Dr. Z

Sporin

Thanks gang... happy to be aboard.

tomus1000

It looks like you got yourself a pretty nice rig there. Just keep it away from falling ice and you should be ok for quite a while.

frick

Congrats on the new purchase and welcome to the fourm...

You have one of the most wanted 4runners out there. '85 The only year that offered solid front axle with the EFI. I know that I'm jealous.

Hang around here long enough and your likley to be spending some more $$$ in mods for you rig.

Have fun and Welcome to the YotaTech community.

Eric

toyota parts dude

iTrader: (2)

welcome to the forum. that 4 runners in real good shape for the year. ive been looking for a solid axle one for a while. it's nice off roading to have the short 4 runner wheel base. if i ever find a nice one i'm going to put all the lift and lockers off my 82 long bed on it. you wiil be amazed how much nicer the solid axle trucks ride with a 3 inch lift. with the stock springs you only got 4 inches of upward travel before they bottom out. the lift springs only have 3 leafs factory has 4 thats why stock trucks ride so lousy. they flex way better to. you'll be able to put 33's on it no problem then. have fun testing it out when the weather gets nice. talk to you later

toyota parts dude

iTrader: (2)

i'd suggest the detriot locker they are real durable. there a full case locker . your dont just replace the spiders gears you replace the carrier. with them you don't ever have to worry about air hoses or wires getting ripped off when off roading.