Hello all, I'm going to assume in advance that this is a stupid question with an obvious answer so I'll just get my noobishness out of the way. This is my first post.

I just picked up my 1st 4runner last weekend. It's a 1988 body on a 1985 frame. It made the trip from Fairfax VA to Baltimore MD like a champ. Very happy with the purchase. But I did have one semi-major issue occur once I hit highway speeds. In instances of heavy breaking, going from highway speeds to relative stop is common on the DC beltway, the truck would swerve pretty wildly both left and right. The tires on the truck are fairly old and may have some dry rot but plenty of tread... so I wasn't sure if it was just a case of needing to swap out to fresher tires or if it's perhaps the alignment or breaks I should be looking at. Just didn't know if there was an obvious answer I was overlooking and my (admittedly weak) search-fu turned up nothing of note.

I also noticed a fairly strong pull to the left in normal driving conditions, possibly related?

Really excited to make more posts about my journey with this truck!

 

Could be any or all those things you mentioned !!

You need to take things one step at a time

Without knowing just what has been done .

Are you sure the whole frame has been swapped or just the solid axle in the front.

If the Cab and Body was installed that could be part of the swaying .

Then just what are you comparing it with

It might be just the vehicle being new to you

If you moved two lanes of traffic .without moving the wheel

Pictures would be a big help

 

Yeah I might be getting a bit ahead of myself. I really don't have a full history of the truck so don't know EXACTLY what was done, though I believe it was a full frame swap as I was given both titles (85 and 88) when I bought it. I think step 1 should probably be to take this to a mechanic just to get it to a base level of safeness/functionality before I start poking around and changing things with a collective 0% knowledge base to work from. I was sort of just checking if there was any common issue that could be causing it.

It has also been a long time since I've driven stick or an older truck for that matter so it may just be like you said... it being new to me. Every vehicle wants to be driven a certain way it seems.

Let me get it a good once over by a professional and I'll report back to you guys. With lots of pictures.

Noobs... am I right?

 

afaik, there isn't a vin on the frame of these trucks... but don't take my word for it, try and find the 1985 title vin on the frame... if body parts were swapped out also, you could have competing vin numbers to deal with.

if the tires were fully inflated, i'm not seeing how they could be much of a factor in the truck being all over the place when braking.

were the brakes grabbing?

does it have sway bars on it?

is the truck raised? ect.

you need to provide relevant info, even pics of the undercarriage would help.

 

The VIN on the frame is on the passenger side just behind the front axle.

 

that's a chassis number, it won't be the same as the vin... i think that some of the chassis numbers should match some of the vin, but which number will the dmv use? you can't take two titles in there... it probably won't even be a partial match on my truck because the body was swapped, i'm in the same situation as the o.p., my truck is titled by the vin.

i really don't want the chp looking at my numbers, lol

"For example if your VIN was JT4RN62D9G0021564, the frame VIN would read RN61-0021564.

R = R-series engine (22R or R-E)
N = Hilux/Tacoma/4Runner/Hilux Surf Code
61 = vehicle wheel base (not sure what 61 is, so far 60= long wheel base, and 37= short wheel base)"
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f114...cation-215471/

That RN37 is Toyota speak for:

08/78 - 07/80 Truck, 20R, short WB, 4X4

I think the rest of the #'s after the RN _ _ are just the sequential production numbers, which doesn't help you determine the year.

The 10th didgit in the vehicle VIN indicates the year. For the example I used, 10th digit G= 1986

Do you have a pink slip to the vehicle? It should let you know the original VIN and year first sold. If you get that, here's the decoder for the 10th digit of the VIN
Digit 10 - Model Year
A = 1980
B = 1981
C = 1982
D = 1983
E = 1984
F = 1985
G = 1986
H = 1987
J = 1988
K = 1989
L = 1990
That thing looks like an...umm...interesting build if it did start as a toyota lol so good luck!
EDIT: Here is a good layout of all the other VIN decodings, I haven't been able to locate frame VIN decoding charts, so if anyone has please post them!"

 

I have found here in Pa it goes by the Vin on the cab .

So the 4 Runner would be titled as a 88 .

The Vin for the 85 is nice for ordering whatever original parts are still one the frame .

OP I hope whatever Mechanic you use is a Toyota Person otherwise most likely they will be a little confused I know I am just trying to figure just what might have belonged to which vehicle

Is the drive train from the 88 or 85 or a mix of both ??

Try to be patient working your way through this endeavor it might be a little expensive or more so but the end results In my opinion are worthwhile

 

Does the truck still have the factory push pull steering? Is the front axle torque rod in place? If not, the axle will tilt forward during heavy braking. This changes the relative distance between the pitman arm and the J-arm on the left knuckle and causes the truck to veer to one side when braking. It's one of the reasons guys with factory solid front axles sometimes convert over to high steer.

 

1st post- I bought my 4runner last year and im slowly fixing it up as i go.


I had this issue on my 1990 toyota (i know its different) and I changed my pads, rotors, calipers and supply lines to the calipers.
It solved my issue.

i know im new here...just trying to contribute.
love the site

 

@endsjustify Hey did you ever get this squared away? I live out towards Harper's Ferry if you want a set of Toyota eyes on that thing.

 

I would assume factory frame and suspension with a newer body on it. If that’s the case,

tires and alignment, new brake pads and come back. That’s assuming rotors and calipers are good, and brake fluid.