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As the truck sits currently
Whats up everyone? I suppose this is going to be my build thread. I should probably start with a quick back story although this might get kind of long. I have a love for old Toyotas. I've owned five so far and hopefully this one ill be keeping for a while.
My first was a 90 2wd pickup. I bought it after I sold my first truck as a gas saver. The second wasn't a truck but an 84 mkII Celica supra. Ended up having one of the scariest drives of my life in that car the first day I owned it and fell in love. Needless to say, it spent most of the time I owned it in my garage being worked on. Next on the list was a 92 4runner 2wd 3.0. The truck came from Arizona (zero rust) and I got it for $150 ... best $150 I'll ever spend. I owned it for a couple years and ended up selling it to buy my friend's Honda A couple years later I purchased a 91 single cab 22re flatbed truggy . I owned it for a few months. Kind of wish I didn't buy it but you live and you learn.
Now, finally, we get to the current truck. I've been looking for a 22re extended cab for a long time now, but living in Indiana it is nearly impossible to find one in decent shape. Two weeks ago I was in Oregon visiting my sister. When I had some time to kill I found myself scrolling through craigslist this ended up catching my eye. So I contacted the guy, met up, and about 25 minutes later I owned the truck.
It's a 89 22re with a manual.Has 240k on a slightly rebuilt motor. It photographs pretty well but being 30 years old it's a little rough around the edges and in need of some TLC. I will admit that I was a little nervous about this journey but once I got on the road there was no turning back. So I bought some supplies from NAPA and pointed the truck east. My biggest concern was the mountains. A 30-year old truck with 240k on the motor is defiantly one of the slowest vehicles in the mountains. There were times when it would struggle to get out its own way, but it kept chugging.I ended up doing the trip in about 5 days. Wish I would have taken more time but that's what summer is for. My main concern was getting it home. Luckily she didnt have any hiccups didnt even have to open the hanes manual.
My goal for this truck is to make it a capable daily driver. I mainly bought it so I could haul my DRZ around to different places. When you put almost 3000 miles on a truck after just buying it you learn what it needs fast. Needless to say, I'm excited to start working on it. \ After Before
Nice truck! I lived in California for the last 3 years before moving back east and can say it is absolutely worth the extra time/cost of buying a rust free west coast car/truck and driving/shipping it back. Til you tally up the time and cost of doing rust work to a local vehicle you come out far ahead and with a better result.
Thanks, man. The money I saved was well worth it. Buying a truck out here in this condition would have cost me 2 grand more...easily. I was even considering newer tacomas. but figured I can always by a new truck I'm not always going to be able to buy an 89. My main goal is to move out west before rust can affect anything major.
Nice looking truck! The service manual is also available online here if you need it, it's helped me out quite a bit already and it has good instructions for setting the idle. I just picked my '95 truck with 22RE up about 3 weeks ago and the idle was actually lower than normal, around 500 rpm or so and fluctuated. After a new cap, rotors, wires and plugs, it now is idling nicely around 800-900 rpm.
Well, here's an update on the truck so far. I've owned it for a few months now and its finally become my daily driver. I've slowly been fixing odds and ends on the truck. It's amazing what 30 years and who knows how many owners can do to a truck. Started with the front end with making it a little more ascetically pleasing. I discovered that the rear carpet was wet one day and I couldn't figure out why. After a little investigation, I found out the rear window is leaking and was just going down the back of the cab which made the carpet moldy. Ended up tearing out the old carpet and really cleaning the interior. Which forced me to source some misc missing interior parts. Now just need to find or buy new seats. Buying some suspension parts/ Bushings this week so it should ride better in theory.
This was a couple days after the big trip. This was the start. Decided to take everything off to sand and repaint it I'm happy with the progress. so far
As I continue working on this it seems like the list keeps growing, but I'm slowly getting into better shape. Recently I've done a few things. I installed a gauge set because knowing oil and temp is just cheap insurance. However, I'm not too sure I like the location. I also removed the rear blocks and adjusted the torsion bars. Ended up breaking the adjustment bolt and had to wait for the dealer to get new ones. Now it rides like a Cadillac. I ordered a complete bushing set from energy suspension and will install it in a week or so. I'm going to fix a leaking oil pan/timing chain while I'm doing the bushings.
OME u bolts After All the PB blaster in the world couldn't have stopped the bolt from snapping Excited about this bushing kit. New tail lights. I wish the paint was as nice as the photos make it look. This is where I installed the gauges. Old blocks
Pls research hard on Old Man Emu's. A few years ago, many people liked it. Recently I've seen lots of complaint about stiff ride. (Could be that we're just getting older - LOL!)
Originally Posted by steven91
...
3. Better lighting. Honestly the headlights suck and one of the taillights is cracked. What are people opinions on switching over to LEDs?
Trucklites are pricey but are legit. Much brighter, sharp cut-off, wide spread, and less load on the electrical system. See comparison here.
Originally Posted by steven91
... I installed a gauge set because knowing oil and temp is just cheap insurance. ...removed the rear blocks and adjusted the torsion bars.
Good idea on the gauges.
YUCK! glad you got rid of these.
Best of luck on the restoration. Old blocks
Last edited by RAD4Runner; 09-05-2017 at 09:27 PM.
Started doing some of the bushing kit. Judging by how the body bushings look the other ones really need replacing. Old vs new New bushings installed Did the swaybar and end links discovered this homemade spacer set up. This was actually the first time removing my front wheels. Not a fan of spacers. Next project is fixing the wiring for the rear lights. They all work except for the reverse
I'm going to order a greaseable shackle kit, and need an opinion. The ones on there now are 6 1/4 inch from center bolt to center bolt. They also look like they are homemade. I'm thinking about buying a 5-inch kit from marlin crawler. Is there anything I should look out for when downsizing or should I just buy the 6-inch kit?
Havent been able to get as much work done on the truck as id like, but hopefully that changes this week.
Installed fatmat sound deadening throughout the truck and couldn't be happier. The noise reduction is like night and day. Would recommend it to every Toyota owner. The driver side door panel was falling apart so decided to remove them and im going to find some kind of replacement. Decided to take the bed off. Just to make the work in the next couple days easier. This looks kinda sketchy and that's cause it was. It worked. Would have been better if I could get the straps straight. Definitely won't be installing it like this
Work that is getting done this week.
New headlights, bumper corners and lower section of bumper, oil change, replacing a few leaking gaskets, new shackles,ujoints, slave cylinder and clutch boot, rear brakes/ ebrake, bushing kit, a serious cleaning. I have my work cut out for me.
Work is slow. But managing between work and life. Came across some minor issues from the previous owners that needed to be addressed. But here are some pictures.
It'll be on the road soon hopefully While the bed was off decided to clean it up After a good pressure washing To prevent rust. I scuffed it up and put some chassis saver on the bottom. We'll see how it holds up this winter.
I did something similar, just not so far. I bought my 4Runner in Northern CA and drove it to Southern AZ. You definitely find out quickly what needs fixing.
Well after fixing some leaks I ended up opening up a can of worms that I wasn't expecting. After installing a new water pump, fixing the timing chain cover, and oil pan gaskets I decided to tackle the rear as long as the bed was off. Ended up doing the rear brakes, axle seals, diff gasket, new shackles, fixed some wiring, and wired a new led reverse light that I had laying around.
This happened as a result of past previous owner negligence/ carelessness. I was super bummed when it happened as it stopped the progress on getting new tires/suspension. After fixing all the leaks I thought I had. I came out one morning to find a decent amount of coolant under the truck. After some investigation realized it was coming from the EGR coolant crossover plate. No biggy right? Just 5 bolts. Well soon to find out after getting a new gasket that not only was I missing a bolt but also that two out of the three bolt holes had been stripped out. This meant that the only way to fix it was to remove the head.
All this work because if this one thing
Fast forward to removing the head and sending it to the machine shop to be resurfaced, cleaned, and having those threads fixed. End up getting a call that it's going to be a little more money because the cam and rockers are pretty much toast. This is pretty much every cam lobe. I guess after 240k its expected. New vs old rocker Can't really tell in the pick but the old rocker is extremely warn Here is the refreshed head. Its so cleanPiecing everything back togetherWith everything back together its running better than ever.
As the winter months slowly creep in Ive managed to get a few things done. However, not having regular access to a heated garage has made work almost impossible. After a trouble-free break-in of the new head and readjustment of the valves, the coil decided to take a dump. So ended up replacing it with a brand new one from a 94 and getting a new igniter as well. More progress includes sourcing the two missing plastic fender well covers and some original Toyota 4x4 mud flaps off a junked 4 runner. I've never been a big fan of mud flaps, but up here they are a necessity with this truck. As time passes each day I can see our mortal enemy rust starting to emerge on the bodywork. I'm thinking about replacing the front fenders with fiberglass ones so I'm not too worried about them. Its the cab and doors that I'm most worried about. I think they can hold out until I get a chance to paint the truck. Other improvements to the truck include new door panels and door handles, I painted the gas tank and transfer case skid plates. Ended up finding some new LED headlight that work 1000 times better than stock. And the best thing yet a bed cap. Its the wrong color and is in need of a refreshing, but you can't beat free! Pictures to come.
New headlights Managed to snag some clean door panels off of a junk truck Decided to get a smaller wheel to give me some more room Had a crack free dash before this winter. -16 degree weather really takes a toll on things. Got a retro tach. Excited about this RIP.
03-15-2017, 12:21 PM
A couple years later I purchased a 91 single cab 22re flatbed truggy . I owned it for a few months. Kind of wish I didn't buy it but you live and you learn.
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This meant that the only way to fix it was to remove the head.
