Hey guys

I am looking for some knowledge because I just purchased my 1st 4runner. I am the proud new owner of a 86 4runner. I have been looking for a 4runner for a while and bought this one as a good start to a hopefully lifelong ownership/reason to get the hell out of the house project. It doesn't really "need" anything as it sits right now but the first thing I am going to do is get rid of the shackle lift and lower it a bit and also hook back up the heater because I plan on DD it quite a bit in the winter here in Michigan. I am assuming that something went wrong with the heater core or some part of the heating system so they just eliminated it. Any thoughts on that or any other helpful info would be greatly appreciated.

4runner info:

1986 4runner
22re 5 speed
SAS - 80's pickup axle
rough country lift springs
shackle lift
35" tires
4.10 gears

 

Check out the heater cores, maybe run some water through them with a garden hose and see if they leak or are clogged.

 

Thanks, will have to hook the hose back up, its winter here in Michigan, garden hose is put up for the winter ha ha ha. Also any ideas or thoughts on the shackle situation? How much lift do I need to run the 35's? I would like to keep them but want to lower the 4runner as much as possible to make DD better.

 

For the lift, measure tire clearances and see how much you can lower it. Lift vs. tire size info:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...it.shtml#FAQ10

Shackle length vs. lift:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shackles.shtml#FAQ4

 

those swampers don't look like the best choice for a winter DD IMO...

 

bear in mind that losing some of the lift will also mean the front prop shaft (and rear driveshaft) will have to shrink.

And in general, shackles longer than stock add around 1/2 of the extra length to lift so a shackle 3" over stock shackle length adds 1.5" lift, give or take.