think333

Hey guys i have been reading as much info. as i can for about5 hours here and there is alot. I have a few questions. First i have a 86 toy 4x4 with the dreaded automatic trans. My origonal moter finally craped out and I got a crate motor that I couldn't pass up. I want to try and gain a little bit of power while i put the truck back together(not a whole lot just enough to bring it back to a stock setup truck). Right now the truck has 35in tires and 7in of lift. I am going to put 5.29 gears in and a detroit in the rear. Here is a list of upgrades i was considering:

Header (NWOR or LCE)
Cam (TDR level 1 or RV "C")
full exhause including cat ( dont have a clue as to a good company)
Intake (maybe K&N)
Flowed and balanced injectors
Electronic Fan (this will come later)

My question is this would it be worth my time and money to port/polish the head and intake? And if i am going that route would you sugest doing biger valves. Also I live in California and still need to pass smog so that is a issue. Is there any other upgrades that would be worth my time? I am hopeing for maybe somewhere in the 95-115whp range. But I know this is probably wishfull thinking. Any advise would be great.

myyota

I have an 86 4Runner that was like yours stock, the automatic was junked and a 5 speed manual was put in it place. to gain a little more power i have added a downey header and will be running a 2.25 exhaust with a new cat and a flowmaster 50 series muffler. im also going to replace the upper intake manifold with one from a 90 22Re because it has better air flow than the early intakes and the idle air control is built into the throttle body. I will also be adding a larger AFM. my 4Runner has at least 12'' of lift with a solid axle up front and im running 37'' tires, i have a high pinion third member in the front with an arb and in the rear im running a detroit, with 4.88 gears front and rear. Be carefull of doing to much porting, that will increase air flow through the engine and you might have a hard time passing smog, ive heard of this happening before.

abecedarian

Header- no particular opinion, but a CARB exemption is a must for smog reasons.
Cam- for compliance with cali regs, get one with a CARB exemption order, so that would probably mean TRD. Also get an adjustable cam gear and degree the cam.
Exhaust- 2.25" tubing, magnaflow cat, magnaflow or flowmaster muffler. The cat must have an exemption order number stamped into it and must be for your truck per new California laws- the smog stations check.
Injectors- flow matched and balanced is not a bad idea particularly if you're going for more hp over stock.
Electric fan- generally not necessary and may cause you to fail Cali emissions unless it is fully automatic / thermoswitch controlled.

As for port and polish- it won't hurt but rumors are it isn't as much of a gain as you'd think... just a few hp. Might not be a bad idea with the cam swap. Big valves won't hurt either but it's the same thing- not a lot of hp for the cost. If you're going to be in there then I'd probably do it anyways just for the brag-factor.
Another thing that will get you some pep is upping the compression ratio a tad... since you're in the planning stages, now would be the time to do the research.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the mods you're contemplating and the gear change.

tommthebomb

Yeah, I had to go to 5.29's on my 86. I have the automatic blues!! haha