greyheadedguy

Are there any common problems or got-cha's on 87 Toyota 4x4 that I need to watch out for? I am negotiating for a 87 4x4, Toyota long bed, w 22R, standard cab, standard tranmission. It will be my first 4x4, it will be my prospecting truck and my daily driver.

I am planing on installing my newly rebuilt 22R out of my 85 Longbed 2x4 that was totaled 10 days after putting it on the road agin. I was heart broken. My old truck's story https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...ongbed-269270/

I had my 85 for 12 years and loved my truck. What do I need to watch out for on this 87 4x4. Dash shows 230K miles. It has a blown head gasket, but I am using my newly rebuilt engine and clutch with like 3,000 miles on it.

How much of the body parts are swapable? Can I put my 85 passenger door on the 87 truck?

Thanks for the help!

Crazy_Guy97

Bad cv joints maybe bad locking hubs. The hubs are not cheap

greyheadedguy

How can I tell what kind of shape the hubs are in? Truck has a bad engine?

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

See how they feel as you engage them. Jack up one wheel and see if things lock like they should .

Look at the CV axle boots once they are torn all the grease is slung out as they spin.

Being your in the desert I would look at all the rubber !!

Brake hoses

The window and door gaskets

greyheadedguy

[QUOTE=wyoming9;52218280]See how they feel as you engage them. Jack up one wheel and see if things lock like they should .

Look at the CV axle boots once they are torn all the grease is slung out as they spin.

.../QUOTE]


How do the hubs lock in? I've never locked a hub in before, total newby on 4x4... What am I trying to check by jacking up the wheel and how do I do it?

Are the CVs any different then what I have on my Corolla or my Camry?

Thank you for advice, I really am a decent mechanic, have done all my own work on my vehicles for almost 40 years.

RJR

The hubs engage/disengage with a dial on the end of the hub in the center of the wheel. It will be marked "free" and "lock"; pretty self explanatory. To check the hubs, put the xfer case in 4wd, and jack up one front wheel. With the hubs disengaged, the wheel should turn freely. With the lifted hub engaged, you should still be able to turn the wheel, but with more resistance because both CV's are now turning (in opposite directions). Now engage the other hub. At this point you should not be able to turn the wheel at all. Reverse the process to check for smooth release.

Aisin manual hubs are pretty tough and also pretty easy to work on. Biggest thing that happens to them is the grease gets old and stiff and they don't freely engage or disengage anymore. Pulling them apart, cleaning them, and relubing usually puts them back right again. If they're actually broken, generally you can pick up a replacement set on ebay for about $100 if you have a bit of patience. Check on this forum and on 4x4wire for some good writeups on how to disassemble and clean them if you find they need it.

I agree on the CV boots. Once they break the CV is on life support. New CV shafts are about $60-70 each and a fairly straightforward DIY job to replace. You can replace just the boots and grease for about $30/side, but from all I hear it's a really messy job and about 3x the work of just replacing the whole shaft. Most folks don't consider the money savings to be worth the effort and mess.

Just some thoughts on evaluating the amount of work/expense if you do find something wrong in those areas.

The other thing to check for is body rust, especially bumpers and the fenders around the wheel wells. Since this is an Arizona desert truck, probably not a problem. If it spent time in snow country, though, it's something worth checking. Body panel rust is one of the harder things to deal with.

greyheadedguy

Starting to get close for me to go get my new truck and I need to know if the information I am getting is correct. I am being told that I can tow the truck the 35 miles, with some of the speed limits as high as 65 MPH, without pulling the drive shaft. That all I need to do is put the transfer case in neutral and go. I have not dealt with a transfer case before so I have no clue if what I am being told if true.

Do I have to pull the drive shaft to tow a 1987 Manual Toyota 4x4 pick up truck on a car dolly?

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

If the rear wheels are on the ground pull the drive shaft !!!

Because even with the case in neutral the case still spins not getting enough oil to some of the bearings.

Do you really want to add rebuilding a transfer case to the other things that need done.

Match mark the drive shaft to get it back on in the same position.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Being in the desert, you probably wont need to worry about a rusty frame unless it come from elsewhere. I have paid for nice condition trucks and still they are going to have issues. Can you do the work yourself? If not it will get expensive. A lot of the problems these trucks have can easily be fixed. Your door will interchange.

I have tried to make my 88 Runner build below to show a lot of the common issues and fixes that can be done on these trucks. Most will apply to yours. You say you have a 22r which is the carbureted engine. If that is the case, I would suggest going to a Webber carburetor. If it is a 22re, the fuel injected model, it is an easy motor to learn and work on.

A very basic socket set and wrenches of 6,8,10,12,14,17,19 mm tools will do 90% of the work you will need to do to it. Pliers, screw drivers and some odd things will come in handy as well. Be ready to do some work on it but nothing to be worried about.

greyheadedguy

Thanks for the response, I finally found some towing posts after digging for 20 minutes. I will pull the shaft from differential and tie it up.

I had my old truck since 2001 and have done almost all the work on my vehicles since 1976. I know the 22R fairly well, rebuilt the engine (only got to drive it for 10 days before my truck was murdered), due to my naivety I have installed two head gaskets on this engine, 2 timing chains ( didn't trust the BAP chain set I put on it so I replaced it when I redid the head gasket.), installed new water pump... I can do the work myself. I loved my old truck and was so heart broken when it was killed... I can't wait to get the new truck. Between the 4 drivers in my family we own 5 Toyotas and the new truck will be 6.

It will be hard to part out my old truck when the time comes... Thinking about chopping the frame to make a trailer out of the bed & frame as I can never get the help to pull the shell off to have an open bed. If I have a trailer I can just hook up to it and go and not even have to empty my bed to protect what's in it.

Pictures to come...

It has been 16 months since my truck was killed, I can't wait!!! I WANT MY TOYOTA TRUCK!!! LOL

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

That is a sweet little truck you have. If the frame got bent, a frame swap is easier then you think. Just getting the inner fender pulled out or replaced is the hardest part I see. You have nothing to lose by trying to get a come along on it and slowly working it back into shape and seeing what happens. Just some of the disaster I have tied into may be why I think it would be an easy fix. I am trying to buy one just like that one with front end damage as well. Still waiting on the owner to decide if he wants to sell it.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

This^^ wyoming9 is dead on. The t/c doesn't get lubed properly according to Marlin of Marlin Crawler.
I was lazy once because it was raining and I didn't feel like crawling under my truck to undo 4 bolts when using a tow dolley. Truck got into gear some how. I destroyed a transmission and my forward t/c (I have duals)...expensive lesson.

greyheadedguy

I need to ask a dumb as a rock newbie question. Please forgive me as I have never owned a 4x4 and have not spent any real time around them except driving to claims with other prospectors. They all had new vehicle with automatics. I learn very fast and have a good head for mechanics and repairing things, but that does me no good with zero experience and vehicle in front of me to play with. I should have my truck next weekend!!!! You can't believe how excited I am

I have been told, "do not drive on hard surface with 4 wheel drive engaged." Why is this so?

I have also been told that I can tell if drive train is in decent shape by locking in the hubs engaging the transfer case and put the transmission in neutral and try to push the truck. If everything is right I should have quite a bit of resistance.


Is any of what I just posted true and why?

Thanks for your time and answers training a newbie who isn't really a dumb as a rock, but as naive as one when it comes to 4x4s,

grey

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

It is not recommended as it puts a lot of stress on the front axles and transfer case. Someone else may be better to explain it then me but I will pass on some other info you may want to know.

When you have your hubs engaged, you will not be able to make turns as sharp as you can in four wheel as you axle shafts will start to bind up. You will feel it in the steering wheel and know you are turning to sharp.

When it comes to tires, you will need to stay with the same brand on all four tires. For example two tires by Goodrich and two tires by Michelin will be the same size tires but one brand will be slightly larger or smaller then the next brand. If you have two on one end and two on another end and when you engage your transfer case, one end will be spin faster then the other and you will hear your transfer case growl as you are putting it into a bind when on hard surface. I will straight line drive mine for a few miles once a month just to keep everything lubed up.

To have four wheel drive you have to engage your hubs. That locks the tires to the axle shafts, but at this point there is nothing to turn the shafts. That is where the transfer case comes in. It connects the transmission to the shafts. Then you are in four wheel drive. I would do a test drive in 2 Hi, 4 Hi, and 4 Low. In 4 Low you will lose a lot of speed as it is geared way down for power. Always be at a complete stop when putting the transfer case into Low Range.

On snow or ice, you can get a false sense of security. In four wheel they do drive better on slick surfaces, an you may not think the roads are as bad as they are, but they don't stop any better. They only have 4 brakes just like a car. One reason you will see as many 4 wheels in the ditch as 2 wheel drives. In bad weather, I will start out in 2 wheel drive just to get a sense of how slick the roads are. In some situations you will see your truck worthless in two wheel drive and then you put it in four wheel drive and it is like you are in a completely different vehicle.

greyheadedguy

I know I never turn my steering wheel all the way to lock on my front wheel drive cars as I understand it is hard on the CV joints, so I assume same thing applies here.

Is tire size that critical on 4x4s? I get different size tires travel different distances in the same revolution, but figure there must be some kind of limited slip built in to the drive train to allow for this. Other wise you would have to replace all four tires at the same time. A worn tire could be a good bit smaller then a new tire. This is something I have not considered.

Problem is the truck has a bad engine, blown head gasket, not sure how bad it is and if the engine will run at all. I'm doing an engine swap as soon as I can get the truck home.

RJR

When you turn in any vehicle, the front wheels have to travel further than the rear wheels. That's just a simple matter of geometry and how the steering system works. In part-time 4wd vehicles such as we discuss on this forum, there is no center differential or limited slip system in the transfer case, so the front drive shaft and the rear drive shaft have to turn the same number of revolutions for a given distance when in 4wd. That's in conflict with the wheels traveling different distances, so you have stress and binding. If you're on a gravel or dirt surface, or on snow/ice, the wheels slip easily enough so that isn't a problem, although you can feel the slipping in a tight turn. On hard surfaces such as pavement or slick-rock, the wheels don't slip easily and you can get pretty severe binding and possible breakage if you push things hard enough. At a minimum you'll feel the wheels hopping as they intermittently break loose to relieve the stress.

As long as you operate on low traction surfaces (dirt or snow/ice), you can have slightly different tire diameters with no problem. On high traction surfaces, you'll get binding even when going straight if you don't have the tires matched. If the difference is more than a percent or so, it'll bind up so that the vehicle will not roll freely, and will feel like you have the brakes on while trying to move. I always replace all my tires at the same time in a matched set.

Please note that, with the hubs unlocked and/or the transfer case in 2wd, none of this applies, and the vehicle drives and turns just like it was rear-wheel drive vehicle.

The differences in resistance might be pretty subtle. I would lock the hubs in, jack up both front wheels, put the transfer case in 4wd, and try to rotate one front wheel. The other one should turn freely in the opposite direction with no clicks or crunching, etc. If that test passes, things are likely good and you can wait until the truck is running to investigate further. If that test fails, tell us what happened and we'll help you diagnose it further.

greyheadedguy

I am hoping to have the truck home Saturday, will post pictures shortly there after.

grey

greyheadedguy

Pooh! I have come down sick so I can't get my truck this weekend.

It's always something...

grey

greyheadedguy

I GOT IT!!! My new Buddy! :



Better pictures to come...