Hey a family friend is giving me his '87 4Runner for my daily driver. I want to build it up a little bit though, (stock's no fun lol).
I am wondering what you guys would suggest as far as lift, wheels/tires, gearing and engine mods. I have spent a lot of time searching and reading previous posts so I have a general idea, but I would love more help. Any help is appreciated!

 

I am sure the folks on here (including myself) want to know what you have found in your research.

Tell us what you want to do with it, (31's? 33's? Wheel, just street drive) what products you found to do it (rancho, pro comp, LCE, etc) and more folks will chime in if its a good product. The broad, generalized question you posted will net you some "use the search" responses, as there are a lot of threads covering each of those subjects.

To help you out. I wanted a DD on 31's.
Zuk mod
BJ spacers
supra AFM
battery/intake swap
BM 165 E-fan
LCE header
high flow exhaust
4.56 gearing.

Its still not fast, but I still get 20 mpg, I can keep up with traffic, and its still cooler then driving a car. I still DD it, but I can take it out in the woods too if I like.

Welcome to YT.

 

Kiyo is right, this question is asked almost daily on here.

We always ask the same questions:

What do you want to do with it?
What is your budget?
How does it sit now?

We would definitely like to know what you have found so far.

Fink

 

x3, we could go on forever telling you what to do with it. congratulations on the score man.

Welcome to YT!

 

Since you search I guess you already read this thread: Newbie Modification thread
and the IFS what Tire will fit thread

but just in case you didn't find them, they are great suggested reading for new owners..
welcome to YT

 

Some more links he can read up on are in my sig...

 

Here is a picture of my 86, it will give you an idea of what can be done, it just depends on how far you want to go.

 

You're right... It's not fun to go in places with 30's most guys can't go with 35's...

B/c you built the rig proper and can enjoy all the benefits such as high MPG and low maintenance b/c you emphasized traction over a big lift and tires... That still have open diffs.

What's yer excuse?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk6KJ...eature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w01J7KNTe4I&feature=fvw

 

That first video with them pulling the trailer is crazy, they took it places most people wouldn`t even try to go with a trailer.

 

first off, thanks! im glad you guys arent jerks lol.
Im sure this type of questions asked a lot by ppl like me who are new to this. Im a 19 year old college student and im glad to find a forum like this!
I really like that pic u posted, ur runner is sick!
I have read most of the links u guys shared already, now I have read all of them...they do help, but dont replace actually, 1st-hand experience from ppl who drive these vehicles everyday in my opinion.
So my budget is about $3750 and i want to lift it about 4"-5" and put it on 31-33s with prob 15" rims. obv with that im goin to have to add power and/or change the gearing. gearing is the area i know the least about, its never made sense to me. i dont have the money to put in a new tranny or even a new axle right now so i need a cheaper option. also i want to put a bikini top on it and add armor, but without adding too much weight. this will primarily be a daily driver, to and from work/school and occasionally on the a 100 mile road trip to see my girlfriend lol. i dont have the expertise/tools/time/place to do the major mods like suspension, engine and gearing myself so they will have to be outsource, other than that i plan on working on the runner on weekends and in my free time. im really looking forward to picking in up in a week or so...also there's no rear seats in it so im looking for a way to remedy that problem while retaining the tumble feature of the stock bench for a good price.
thanks again guys/gals

 

if you want around 33s 4.56 or 4.88 gears would probably be best for daily driver

 

I will soon be running 265/75/16's (32's) and fit em no problem with a zuk mod and bj spacers, about a $200 "lift" kit. less then $500 for gears. You now have $$$$$ for new shocks, tires, and armor. btw, those tires and 4.56's put your speedo dead on and keep the power nice at all speeds. 33's and 4.88's are combo-ed for sure. most 33's are 12.5's, and get real heavy real quick. Your MPG's will drop significantly if you go that route. And I could clear 33's with that same "lift" setup.

Gears are easy, man. Simple tool set is all you need. Click the link in my sig. Find the threads on removals/installs. Very straight forward.

 

You need to decide what mods you want to do first, rims and tires are going to cost around 1200-1500 dollars (best guess), im not sure what a lift will cost, but check out marlin crawler, trail gear, and all pro, all of those places sell lift kits and gears, and armor, so you can get an idea of what things cost, plus what ever the labor would be to have things installed.

Check out your local wrecking yards for the rear seats, you will need the seat, the mounting brackets and the bolts. You can also try Davez offroad and yota yard for the rear seats, do a google search and you will find there web sites.

If you want to see more pictures of my 4Runner let me know and i will post some more.

Were are you located ?.

 

Thanks for the links guys! Some of them are very helpful (I have been subscribing and bookmarking like crazy lol).
I want to lift it and put the wheels/tires on it and re-gear it before doing anything else.
I am located in Orlando FL and got got several price quotes, the best one is a 4-5" Superlift kit installed with rear blocks for $955 or with rear springs for $1200.
If I do that with 32" tires, am I going to to run into serious strength issues? I want it to be fairly reliable...
I am having a tough time finding a rear seat, I want to be able to carry more than one person ya know?
As far as I have found, the Zuk mod is replacing the leafs with coils...is that right? What does that offer? And would it be better for me to get a 2" OME kit and then a body lift instead of a 5" Superlift kit?

 

Do not use blocks, they cause axle wrap and other problems, go with springs front and rear. I gave you the names of two places to check for a rear seat, also check the classified section here, there are several 4Runners that are being parted out. Any rear seat and mounting hardware from an 84 - 88 will fit your 4Runner, what color is the interior ?.

 

its burgandy, but I plan on stripping it and rhino lining it soon as possible lol.

 

Thanks for the help with the seat, Im talking to a few guys who have the seat so it looks like Im in good shape with that now.
Ok so Im now looking at doing the Zuk mod and replacing the rear leaves with coils. It looks like 12"/125lbs springs are the most common. If I do this will I gain any lift over stock or will I just get read of the sag that all 4Runners seem to have?
As far as teh front, ball joint spacers seem to be super common so that must work for people. Do they cause alignment or wear problems over time?
My problem is I really want to lift it a little bit (at least 2") without spending $1200!! Also I have read about tightening the torsion bars to gain about 1" up front, but I cant find the downsides to this. Seems like there must be a con, nothing is free lol.
With shocks, I know to stay away from ProComps, but what have you guys had good experience with?
Everything I have seen about gears makes it sound like its best left to the pros...but that it's going to cost me about $800 or so. Is that about right?
And lastly for now, with larger wheels/tires, how much does breaking performance suffer, I cant find anything about that
thanks again guys!

 

When you do the zuk mod your not replacing the rear leaves with coils, your adding the coils as a helper spring. Depending on the spring rating that you go with you might see a little lift. Ball joint spacers are a good way to raise the front, but adjusting the torsion will give you a little lift but it will make the ride very hard. Its better to let someone with experiance set up the gears, its not just a matter of bolting them on.

 

I'm keeping mine as a DD and im doing a 2" lift with BJ spacers up front and add-a-leafs with the ZUK mod in the rear and putting 33's on and adding 4.56 gears. And im doing bumpers and such as well. But my lift combo and tire size means i can kick arse offroad but still be a capable DD.

 

Your doing a very simple lift but it will work well, and the gears will help also