lostmenoggin

Dear diary.. j/k! Hey guys, this thread is a journal of sorts for my 4runner which starts today! My main reason for starting this thread is to keep all my info consolidated for easy reference. Yesterday I sold my 95 Toy reg cab pickup and picked up these 2 virtually rust free 4runners..










I got the white one from a friend. It is a stock 1994 3.0 with the R150F 5 speed trans and manual tcase shifter. Its got some decent 31" BFG ATs in the front and 31" BFG MTs in the rear. Blue interior is ok condition. Has 4.30 gears. My buddy recently did a timing belt and everything on it and a week later popped the head gasket. I think it is worth it to fix the headgasket in the car but there is a 92 sc400 parts car not far from me and that 1uz looks pretty tempting. Also have a pro comp stage 2 lift kit from my pickup that I bought used but never installed. I'm going to put the front on and get a lift for the rear, sell the 4" leaf springs.

The black one I picked up off of craigslist. It's a 94 too and has the G144 axle code so that means 4.88s!! The tan interior is a little nicer but no engine and it has the a340h auto trans. Smittybilt front bumper. Rear air deflector for the rear window.

My plan is to swap the interiors and a bunch of other parts and put the 4.88's in the white one. White one will end up being a DD weekend warrior type thing. Not really interested in crawling but more trails and stuff. Shoot, the roads where I live are pretty much like a trail with all those damn potholes. The black one might be going to a buddy of mine after I'm done taking what i want from it.

Couple questions..

I was looking at the DNJ head gasket set on rockauto. Is this a decent kit? It was $80 bucks and was shown as a "favorite" meaning lots of other people have used it. Def don't wanna have to do the HG again for a while and was wondering if anyone else had used it.

Will the truck still drive good with a 5 speed, 4.88s and 32/33 inch tires? My pickup had the 22r with 31s and 4.56 gears a340f auto trans and was kind of lethargic on the highway. I don't wanna do the 4.88s if I can only go 65 mph tops lol.

If I order a truetrac for the rear from LCE will I have any problems installing in the 4.88? I heard the 4.88s were unique in a couple ways and wasn't sure if I would have any problems with installation.

Well thats all I got for now. If it wasn't so cold out I'd go get something done on this thing.

lostmenoggin

Ended up getting a good running engine for cheap and it's going in the black runner. Before it goes in I want to do the crossover elimination mod. I found this Y-pipe at the junkyard today and I might end up using this.. It would be almost perfect if I re-route the exhaust on the passengers side and crossover underneath somewhere but it looks a little tight and I may have to relocate the trans cooler. Or I might be able to cut and rotate the ends so I can get it out the drivers side. Can't do anything til my buddy gets argon for his welder so might be a few days. Here's a couple pics.. Also picked up a pair of heavy duty tow hooks from an Excursion that weigh 15 lbs a piecs almost, some cheap fogs and a radiator..

lostmenoggin

Crossover pipe mod is done. Ended up just cutting the flange off the drivers side manifold and making the crossover turn down at that point instead. I have another fully assembled 4runner here that we looked at to check clearances so it should hopefully not hit anything although getting it in might take some finesse sneaking it in.

Roark

Your crossover deal looks good. Lucky score with the junkyard find, definitely. A lot of guys would be fine using the Rock Auto kit for head gaskets, but many others will vouch for the OEM Toyota gaskets. They may be pricier, but generally, are better quality, too.

lostmenoggin

Yea I'd like to get yota headgaskets but the rock auto ones are appealing to the wallet. Here's some more pics of the crossover. Sprayed it with 1200* Krylon grill paint. I just got the engine in today and there were ZERO clearance issues minus having to bend a heat shield back an inch. If you have the heater lines that go back for the rear heat controls it might pose a small issue but this one doesn't have that. I was skeptical of this engine but I think it is gonna be fine. There is very minor surface rust on the cams and its coming right off with my finger nail.

















I have a friend that might show up and if he does I'll get back to it otherwise I might be done for the day.

Just_ Rollin'

I'm confused by the exhaust work you did. Isn't the purpose of headers and the like to remove the crossover thereby reducing HG failures?

lostmenoggin

It's the way it crosses over. Previously all the exhaust from the passengers side manifold had to go past the cylinder #6 exhaust port on the drivers side before it hit the downpipe which some assume is why there are HG problems. Exhaust inefficiency. The bulge in the crossover is just a flex pipe not a pre-cat or anything so theres no hold up there. Now it flows much more freely and merges more naturally.

Just_ Rollin'

Oh I see. I can't justify $600 for headers and I can't weld, so I guess I'm stuck with my fingers crossed that the HG doesn't go at some point with my stock header. I like what you did.

lostmenoggin

Thanks Im happy with it. Yea man headers are super expensive. I cant weld either I paid a friend of mine to come out and weld it up lol.