Ravencraft

Alright, I am one of these dreaded newbies. I have been on Yotatech forums many times to get insight into issues, and have decided it's time to ask the questions that have been on my mind for some time.

Background:
I have a 93 Pickup 4x4 3.0 automatic with about 205,000 miles on it. Bought it for a steal last year and it has turned into my daily driver. I have wanted one for many years to turn into my idea of the perfect offroad/trail truck. I want to be able to go anywhere, and get out of anything while still being (relatively) comfortable on the road. At which time I decide to start doing major modifications, I will have a new daily driver, but I still want to be able to drive the yota anywhere over the road. Also, I have no interest in rock-crawling at this point in life, but everything else is fair game. I will be doing one mod at a time as the wife is in law school and we're building a new house, so money is tight right now. The reason for this post is that I want the most economical and functionally sound products I can get my hands on.

Condition:
The day after I bought this truck, the alternator crapped the bed on me. This is to be expected at some point. Anyway, since then I have replaced plugs, wires, battery cables, removed the dry-rotted spare and extremely rusted attachment winch, added a topper, 15"x10" crager wagon wheels (only way to go in my mind for the price) and am still on the 32"x11.50" timberlines that came with it. I've treated a few minor cancer spots with POR-15, and the body is in very good shape considering the year and mileage.
It is still the original engine, which runs good but leaks oil slowly (rear main, me thinks). I'll replace the engine eventually I guess, but I want to keep this one running as long as I can. It's a little sluggish and idles rough when cold, but when it warms up it runs fine.

Questions/Intentions:

I want to lift it. Not too much as to make it too top heavy, 3-4 inches max. I want to be able to put 33's under there at most. If and when I do this, I refuse to do it half-assed. Bushings, shackles, NO BLOCKS OR BODY LIFTS, etc. Suggestions? Products? Websites?

As I said before, Rock-crawling is not on my agenda. Is a SAS real necessity? I don't think it would be, but wonder.

No spare at the moment, plan on buying a full-size, which brings me to my next question; I would really like to have a rear bumper with swing-away tire carrier. I have been eye-balling a company called Kennesaw Mountain Accessories, any other viable, economical options out there?

When it comes time for a new engine, I have been pondering multiple options. I am in Kentucky, so Orient Engines is a stones throw away. So, do I do a low mileage, rebuilt 3.0? Is there a reasonably priced version out there that is built for more power/torque? What is involved with trading up for a 3.4? What other suggestions might you wonderful folks have?

What areas do I need to focus on if and when I lift the truck? Driveshaft? As I said, 3-4 inches suspension lift max.

The exhaust has seen better days. Do I just go to a run-of-the-mill muffler shop and get a replacement? I've heard that pacesetter makes a good system, is something like that worth it? Are there other models you would suggest?

What else do I need to be looking at in the immediate future? What are some of the first things that you all would do? Axles? Lockers? Gearing? Performance?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions, I'm sorry this turned out much longer than I anticipated. BTW, if this long of a post violates some basic newbie rule that I was unaware of, my apologies.

Thanks

Bunta Fujiwara

okay...

Bunta Fujiwara

as far as the engine goes, the 3VZ-E would be your best option for cost-effectiveness... you're probably one of those people who would rather stick with the V6 (especially with automatic). If you like to drive really hard, the 22R/22R-E is a far superior powerplant, as is the 5VZ-FE. But they both have unfair advantages in that department... for low-end and keeping with what you have stock, I'd stick with the 3VZ-E.

But why not just rebuild your current engine if it still runs good overall?

Why pay for a whole new engine when you could rebuild it yourself (provided you had the tooling, expertise, and dedication)?

As for the 5VZ-FE, I own and drive one, and it's AWESOME....

If you want one and can afford it, ask someone who's actually done the swap...

if you wanted insane power, you could swap in a 7M-GE, 7M-GTE, or even a 2JZ-GTE.

with all the other mechanical stuff, don't ever lose faith in Toyota, because s*** happens... as long as you drive and maintain it right, you should be good to go... (and I'm not saying that you have or ever will lose faith; I don't even know you... but I've seen folks who have, and it's pretty sad).

Keep it up, and you'll have an awesome truck one of these days... totally cool that you bought one.

hope that helps a little...

Take care,
Bunta

Bunta Fujiwara

magnaflow and flowmaster make some pretty nice exhaust systems, I must say...

as for offroad stuff, ask people who have actually modified their trucks... my '93 is bone stock... with no tach.

I do insane offroading with it, but there's still some places I just can't get in to.

I drive "by ear". Literally. When it's at 8000 rpm, I can tell, just by sound.

Ravencraft

Well the old engine runs decent, but I can tell that it has lost a LOT of power. I realize that it was no dragster at new, but it's a dog these days. Plus, it leaks oil at a pretty high rate. This bugs me to no end. Again, I realize that this engine is notorious for that, but I want to fix it if at all possible.

I think the problem is the rear main. So my question here is, if I'm going to go through the trouble to replace a rear main, why not just go a head and swap the engine if I can? Thanks for your advice.

Ravencraft

How about for headers? Any ideas there?

My truck will stay mostly stock for the near future, one mod at a time as I get funding in line. But with that in mind, where are the parts in the suspension system that I need to have at the top of the list for replacement?

SOCAL MOTORSPORTS

When you're ready...Give us a ring...whether it be rear end diff., headers, exhausts, suspension, etc. we'll take care of ya....

John

2WDoffroadx

I have Downey headers and exhaust. It gives it a whole lot more spunk than stock.

Have you thought about a cold air intake, or valve cleaning to increase performence?
You mention that its a dog these days, so I thought you'd be open to some suggestions.

Ravencraft

No that's kinda along the lines of what I'm thinking about diving into soon. I have been talking to TNRabbit alot about a whole intake, throttle body, plenum, injector cleaning that he got into last year.

That thread is here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/inspired-dive-into-3vze-91330/

It's really pretty good, but I am no mechanic and it will be quite the undertaking. Anyway, how much more of a pain would it be to clean the valves while I'm in there/is there anything that I can badly screw up in the process?

As far as the cold air intake, I have been trying to read up on this deckplate/isr mod thing that I see posted about, but I can't seem to find the basic idea/explanation of the process... yes I've searched quite a bit, but I'm NEW.

How much did the downey header/exhaust run you?

SOCAL MOTORSPORTS

Thanks for the PM. PM sent back to you.....

Talk to you soon,

John