jeopardy98

Thanks for the comments. I paid WAY too much for the truck but I'd missed out on too many and this one really was calling my name. I'm kicking myself now but that will pass I suppose. I think I'll order the Marlin Crawler rear bumper and just use that as my tow hitch. It looks good and the price isn't bad. I think the gears will have to wait since I don't have $1000 to dump into this thing right now. I'll probably just leave the lifts and be prepared to replace things. What things exactly?

Greg_Canada

thats the same height as my cousins truck.
he has 4" susp, 3" body, and 37x12.5 SSR's.. and it's on stock gears right now. It goes from 1st to 2nd to 3rd... 3rd is his highway gear! 4th is for downhill!
Go 5.29's for sure, but if you want to wheel it, you can get porsche CV's from downey, but you might want to think SAS with those big wheels.
Oh, and why buy smaller tires, instead of doing it right and just buying gears instead of wasting money on tires?

jeopardy98

I guess I'm a little confused on how this gearing works. The gears are much shorter with large tires, correct? So why would I be cruising in third? Just because the engine will be running so many RPM's in the higher gears?

Also, what all is involved in the gear swap? What parts will I need? Can anyone point me to a good thread to read on this? Thanks.

881stGenRunner

www.gearinstalls.com if u plan on keeping the 37s i would consider 5.71s. Though you would be fine with 5.29s. Re-Gearing your diffs is not an easy thing to do. If you are going to do it yourself, make sure you do it right.

jeopardy98

Thanks for the link. I don't plan on doing it myself at this time but who knows. I'll take a look at the link. Also, I'm not sure if I'm keeping the 37's or not. SAS might be a better option but I need to save some cash for that and the time involved is another thing that I don't have currently.

I'm going to pick it up tomorrow and drive it home. After that trip I should have an idea of how the thing will perform at highways speeds.

BluYot

Nice...very nice! What are you planning on doing with the truck? Daily driver/mild to moderate offroad? You don't need a SAS for that. You could always sell the rims/tires for some 33's and save some $ and less hassle. Even if it's got the 4" bracket lift you could ditch the 3"BL or vise versa. Or sell both lifts buy a 1"BL from 4Crawler and put your new 33's on. If you search for SAS-IFS pros and cons to that might give you a better idea. I think at this point you could make some money back and have it riding "normal" or at least not ridiculously (not to mention dangerously) high. People will say SAS and toss that option out there when the truth is most the population can do fine with IFS and reasonable CV angles. Plus it's ton of cash, you need experienced people to do it...well the list goes on. If you have the urge and the funds, by all means go nuts, but it seems like you're just getting into the game. Search "TC" on this forum...he has some amazing thing to say about his stock IFS runner with 33's...it's amazing where he goes with that thing! Again, nice truck...but I'd bring it down a few inches and make it reliable and practical first. Hope that helps.

jeopardy98

I'm thinking all of that sounds much more practical. I would still like a really aggressive looking truck with plenty of clearance. I might just lose the 3" BL but that is a ton of work to take off and I'll only make like $100 off of it. I could just sell/trade the rims and tires for some nice 33-35's and gear it for those tires. That would still allow me to do some moderate wheeling.

Man, I have so many ideas swirling through my head. I just can't wait to get in it and drive it a little. The thing will be outrageously high for highways speeds.

So I'm a bit confused on the gearing. Why is third gear better then 4th or 5th for highway speeds on a truck with tires as big as this? I guess I just don't understand HOW it all works. I'm quite mechanically inclined but I only know what I know from reading and doing.

scuba

im not an expert on this type of thing

but as to your Q with the gearing
with that large of tires
itll just be slow as a dog
and hard as hell to get it fast enough to be able to be in the powerband of your motor when you shift into 4th... SOMEONE CORRECT ME IF IM WORNG PLEASE
but i think im on the right track with that
btw
what motor..22re or 3vze ?

jeopardy98

It's got teh 3vze motor with a K&N CAI which is a TAD better but I guess I see what you are saying. So much rotational mass will just bog the engine down. Makes sense I guess. So in 3rd at 70 I should be running like 7500 RPM's? Ha Ha.

So here are a few more pictures. What kind of stuff do I have going on other then the dual shocks? What is the filter apparatus? What kind of differential do I have? It looks stock but painted black? Isn't that rear bumper gosh awful looking? So what kind of good sounding exhaust should I slap on this puppy?

You see if you people keep responding, I'll keep right on talking. Actually, I think I might like it here. I haven't had the first person tell me to "search noob".

aviator

Welcome to the family...
good luck with your new Toy.
The filter apparatus is a remote oil filter kit.
on the 3.0 the oil filter is located in a RPITA place to get at behind the alt. and above the axle... it is a contortionist's dream to get to... a lot of people like to install a remote oil filter to relocate it to an easier to get at location, the wheel well is one choice for lifted trucks. There are a few isues with the remote filter kits though some use poor quality hoses and fittings [like those ring clamps on yours]which can fail easily you will piss your oil all over the ground before you know it and if you don't shut down fast you may smoke your engine. Your particular install is not protected very well from road/trail debris and it look like at full compression you might even get tire contact, especially if the wheel were loaded with mud and ehat not, a small sheild could easily be fabbed and installed though.
There are a few threads here on remote oil filters which recommend AN fittings and good quality hydralic lines or braided hoses a search will reveal them all.

BluYot

Man, that is one clean truck. It looks like he re-routed the oil filter for easy access...don't know cause I've got a 22RE. Sounds like you have the right idea with ditching the BL....more cause of the high center gravity not so much getting some coin back. I'm not too sure how much work is involved though if you wanted to get rid of the bracket lift, especially with the dual shock setup. It might not have any impact but might be the easiest at this point just to leave it. Also, just to let you know, you can fit 33" on this gen pickup/4runner with no extra lift whatsoever...but, you may have to take care of the pinch weld with a little friendly help from a BFH. Actually a guy on here squeezed in some 35's on his p/u with no lift. And you won't have to go to crazy with gearing with 33's...again check out TC cause he's got the 3vze and re-geared if I remember correctly. And remember, your MPG's will be suffering if you keep the bigger the tires and not re-gear. So much to think about eh? Goodluck and keep us posted on that beauty!

zlathim

It looks like you have a remote mounted oil filter. Generally installed as a kit from an automotive supplier like Summitt. If you look on the block where the oil filter is supposed to be located you will see an adapter plate that those two hoses in your picture hook up to.

I'm not wild about where the PO located the filter, but it looks like it is really accessible. Easy oil changes, but susceptible to damage from foreighn material being flung off the tires.

CC_yota

The hoses with the filter is an oil filter relocation kit, you might want to move that or put it back in it's stock location if you plan on wheeling it. I'd be worried about the tire rubbing on it at full stuff.

You've got a 7.5" diff in the front and an 8" in the back.

And yes, that bumper looks horrible but thats what you're going to have to live with if you plan on keeping the body lift and adding a MC rear bumper. I personally would take the body lift off, and get some 35 x 10.50 SSR's.

jeopardy98

Well it makes me feel good that you all think the truck looks good. I thought so too and that's why I paid so much for it. I'll keep asking as things come up. I have a set of BFG's in 32 on my Frontier that I could just take off. They have the same bolt pattern on the wheel so I could just sell my Nissan with the stockers. I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I'll have to wait and see once I pick it up tomorrow. I hope it looks as good in person as it does in the pictures.

breknraj

Welcome aboard!

Judging by the pic, I would change the oil ASAFP, but get your ducks in a row, first. Get a reasonable measurement of how long the filter hoses are, and get a pair of high quality hydraulic hoses made, with 90* fittings on one end (they'll go on the engine plate). Get the fittings you need for both the engine plate, and the filter plate to convert them to the hydraulic hoses. Seal the threads of those fittings with locktite hydraulic sealant, and use blue locktite on the THREADS of the hose fittings (NOT the mating surfaces!)

I would also lose the Fram filter, and go with a NAPA gold - you'll probably need a Ford 1515 filter. BTW, you'll also need about 6 qts of oil.

I have my filter in the same location, and I would second the shield idea, but that could be added at any time. The shield also has the benefit of shielding the filter from curious eyes.

This is the voice of experience, and you'd rather not learn the lesson the way I did!

blakegeee

Nice looking rig! Good luck and have fun with it! Keep an eye on the gauges on your way home, just in case. Also check the oil and coolant before you go anywhere.

jeopardy98

Keep an eye on the gauges meaning the temp. gauge specifically? Don't get me all worried that it won't make it home set up as it is .

So as I sat and thought some more, I think gearing the truck with 529's is the best place to drop money to start with. Those should be good for 35's and better for the 37's but not perfect. I think I can get it done right for 800-1000. I've already contacted ZUK and that's about what it's looking like.

Also, if I just take the rear bumper off the truck and add a hitch it will stick down where the bumper is now, correct? I'm guessing so since it attaches to the frame and that is where the frame is.

What about steering on this truck? I have no idea if it's been upgraded but if it hasn't I suppose I need some kind of brace, right? I'm sure if not I'll be eating bushings like popcorn.

I'm starting to wonder if I made a poor decision. I know I can fix it but I could have had the truck I'll end up turning this into for $3K less then I bought this one for. Oh well, live and learn

87TurboYota

Nice truck I actually checked that truck out when it was on Ebay. It's a nice truck. Welcome to the darkside!

leebee

nice find, welcome aboard! you had better get a second job, sell one of the kids, put the wife/girlfriend on a spending sabbatical and be on a first name basis with parts departments within a 50 mile radius of your home!

the second job is a good idea, the rest of that stuff is just having some fun at your expense. once you start modding, it never stops.

another member you should check out is axleike, not sure if flygtenstein is still around or not but hes another one to check out.

lee

jeopardy98

Yep, you aren't too far from me either. Is there anywhere around us to go wheeling? We should get together and hit some trails sometime.