I never used loc-tite on my shock bolts. Sometimes I put a top locking nut on top of another to keep it from spinning off.

 

Went back and applied RED loc-tite and retorqued the shick bolts. That was stupid easy--did I mention working on 1st gens is SOOOO much wasier than new junk?

I started cleaning up the topof the radiator too. The paint was all corroded and ugly, so i took a wire wheel and cleaned all the old paint of and revelaed a nice gold finish. it isn't perfect, but it is BLING for sure I also cleaned the radiator support brackets and sprayed them with flat black paint.

I took a bunch of pics, but the rain storm last night took out my internet connection, so no pics until tonight.

 

I went with Gabriel Ultra SUV shocks.
For the money, they are great. $80 for all 4 after rebate.
Heck, anything was better than worn out OEM shocks.

I am very happy with the ride as the 88 will serve DD duty until the SAS (one day)

I have my WabFab battery box to install tomorrow. I am also ordering a new t-stat and going to flush the radiator and replace with Toyota red coolant.

She is coming along nicely, and the mpg is great. Gotta love 87 octane.

 

I wanna see some box shots.

 

hahaha

 

Silly wabbit...

 

what would cause blue smoke at start-up? Not a ton and doesn't last very long. I recently changed the only with Mobil 5000 10W-40 and an OEM filter.

 

Blue smoke on startup from a gas engine is not so normal, but considering its age, I wouldn't get too worried, especially if the car has a lot of miles on it.

What you are most likely experiencing is oil seeping past the valve seals. A little bit of oil can make a surprising quantity of smoke. As the rubber in the valve stem seals gets old, it gets hard and brittle and does not seal against the valve stems quite like it should. The result is a film of oil on the valve stems and in the exhaust and intake ports. When the engine starts up, the oil burns off, creating the blue smoke.

I would just take note and watch it. Now if you have white or black smoke, then you got issues.

 

no white or black smoke, just a little blue.
The truck has 88k miles, but sat for a long time in a garage.
Thanks

 

valve seals.

 

ok, bear with me as I am in newish territory....how do you repair/ replace??

 

You have to pull the head to do them right. They are cheap and fairly easy to fix, just time consuming. Plan on a full day or most of a weekend to get it all done.
Of course I am slow, so you may finish a bit faster than me.

 

if i am noticing smoke on start-up, will it get worse--slow/ fast.

it isn't a lot of smoke. Should I address this sooner than later?
Thanks

where is the best place to get them?

 

it will get worse. I had that same problem a while back, I just ignored it for a few months until it got annoying. It started smoking while sitting in the drive through!
replaced the valve seals an havent had a problem since.
make sure you get a quality head gasket when you do this. I suggest OEM.

 

so just order OEM headgasket and valve seals??

any other parts that will be needed?

 

intake plenum gasket set. Check the timing chain and thermostat while you are in there.

 

I am already going to replace a faulty t-stat.
Would you recommend OEM timing chain too?

 

Alot of people recommend the metal backed timing chain kits from engbldr and others over the OEM replacement.

I just bought an '87 and my project sounds alot like yours. My buddy just picked up an FJ40 after having an '88 Runner for a long time and as soon as he heard I got a Runner he yells on the phone, "Solid axle and 33's baby!!!" Looks like I need another job besides bike mechanic...

 

Check it all, fix it all, do it ONCE!

 

most definately.
I am now looking into engnbldr for all my parts-except the OEM head gasket. Is still have to do my research and study the FSM as this is new (22re) to me. Looks like a top end rebuild for me....