stockleeroy

After passing up on that poor '87 Turbo last week, I decided to check out an 85 I found on craigslist. Previous owner told me he rescued it from a friend who let it sit for 12 years. He primarily used it for wheeling, but apparently drove it very little during the past 2 years.

The frame has been repaired in a few spots, but they look really good to me. The body panels have a few scrapes and dents, but nothing major. The bed is pretty rusted, and will be my first welding project pretty soon.

Here she is:



1985 TOYOTA STANDARD BED 1/2 TON
VIN: JT4RN60R3F507765X
PICKUP
2.4L L4 2BL
4 WHEEL DRIVE

It has 31" MTX Kevlar tires on it right now, with a 3" lift ( body & suspension, need to call the PO to find out for sure.) 22R Carb, G52 transmission.

My only experience with trucks is my grandpa's 96 tacoma auto 2wd. This is a little different! The alignment seems to be off, and the truck doesn't seem all that stable over 50 mph. I'm thinking of getting rid of the lift and putting it back to stock height, as I dont' feel I'll need the extra clearance around here, and I feel that'll help the handling a bit. Primary uses will be hauling things and driving through the woods. I have a honda civic and soon to be 86 Celica as daily drivers, so I won't be using this on the highway too much.

So far i've taken it on a small trail through the brush and over a nice ditch in the back.
It's awesome

rokblok

iTrader: (1)

Sweet find!! Congrats!!

In regards to stability, I would check that front end with a fine tooth comb. There are lots of places the steering linkage can get loose. And check knuckles and trunnions bearings, spring bushings and shocks. Everything.

Spend some time a do some searches here on Yotatech. Everything you need to know is here.

I have an '84 with 4" lift, 33s and I can do 80mph all day long...

stockleeroy

thanks rokblok, how do you like the 3rz in your '84? I always thought the 2rz in the '96 tacoma wasn't bad, so long as the bed wasn't full!

I took a look at the suspension and steering, and everything seems pretty tight. I did notice some grease leaking from the steering nuckle, and can sometimes hear a bit of a clunk when turning the wheel in a certain spot. I'm going to look into the shocks and read up on the trunnions. I found a few threads for the axle rebuild and I figure she could use it from the looks of things.



I snagged some Mobil 1 75W-90 Gear oil for the transmission / transfer case and a 1985 Cab and chassis manual.



The tires read 45 front / 40 rear (warm) on the MTRs. I'm trying 40 front / 35 rear now and it feels a lot better.

I also managed to find a nice grille at the junkyard yesterday which will replace the partially broken one currently on the truck.

Here's a picture from the side, before she got a bath:

rokblok

iTrader: (1)

The 3RZ is the best mod you could do, in my opinion. I love it! It's not a rocket, but it does very well in everyday driving. I travel for work, and this truck gets me there. 18-20mpg, easy 80mph all day long. Granted, I have 33s and stock 4.10 gears, so it's a little "long-legged". RPMs at 80mph is about 3,000.

Hysteer is the second best mod I have done. Made it much more stable and responsive. And I tend to believe agood bit stronger due to much larger tie rods and ends.

And from the looks of those knuckle wipe seals and the encrusted mud, I suggest a visit to a car wash, immediately followed by a knuckle rebuild. I did it on mine within a week after I got it about a year ago. Followed by the Hysteer, and recently the 3RZ and V6 brake upgrade. Everything was bolt on mods with the exception of the Hysteer(IFS steering box plates Wabbed on).

You have a good truck, bro, let the modding begin!!

stockleeroy

Let the mods begin, indeed!

Seems to be getting better the more I drive it. The steering feels much better to me now that i'm used to it. It doesn't have a lot of play, but it takes more movement than a modern setup.

I ran some seafoam through and will be adjusting the valves, timing and testing the compression tomorrow. Also ordered a knuckle service kit and the 1" master cylinder from wabfab.

I'll see how the steering is after I go over the front end and an alignment.

Here's a pic from the side:

stockleeroy

The knuckle rebuild kit should be in tomorrow and will be keeping me busy over the next few days. I've noticed the truck has been getting close to overheating when on the highway or when driving for long periods of time.
I flushed the radiator and found a lot of foam, which when drained into a water jug produced a thin brown-tinted liquid (no sludge). I can flush the radiator until it drains clear, but when I drive it around and drain again, it's all brown. I'm also seeing small bubbles come up in the radiator with the cap off. I've read this could be a sign of a headgasket failure...

I did a compression test and all were right around 175 psi. I'm not seeing any sign of coolant in the oil or vice versa. It does seem to be using a bit of oil (1/4 quart in 250 miles) The foam has me puzzled at the moment but i'm wondering if this could be a sign of a crack in the head, with exhaust gases getting mixed into the coolant. I'm going to try one of those head gasket testers from napa tomorrow night.

Managed to get the bed off and have begun tackling some surface rust on the frame. It's dirty, but it's all there!

Next up is fixing the cooling and .456 or .488 gears

86bedlesstoy

flat bed build?

Bigdady

Nice looking truck, and good luck with the build.

stockleeroy

Right now i'm looking to get the bed welded up and painted and have a liner put in.

I tried the block tester from napa and it didn't show any sign of exhaust gas leak in the coolant. I picked up a new thermostat, radiator cap and fan clutch try to pinpoint the problem. The bubbles / foam in the radiator is the most puzzling to me. I'm thinking there must be a leak somewhere...??

The Mobil 1 gear oil didn't work very well in my G52. The day after I filled the transmission, 2nd gear started to grind. I've since swapped it out with Royal Purple Synchromesh and it's much better.