Ok, you guys are inspiring me. I want to rebuild my 1989 4runner. I am going to start with the interior because I think I can do it cheaply, and I know how to sew. What I don't know is how to do all this engine 'stuff'.

Let me clarify, I can replace belts, change fluids, plugs, wires, lights. I can read my Hayes manual and usually figure out how to do things like replace the starter. I have replaced the rear window motor 4 times (there is a short somewhere back there) and can change my oil.

What I don't know about, and want to learn, is the more complicated things. How do I rebuild an engine? How do I do a lift? How do I change my gear ratio so I can improve my performance? How do I rewire stuff so I can do things like add a light in the back?? Is there a book out there I can get that will help me learn how to do these things, learn the lingo, etc? Or do I just need to find a mentor that can walk me through some things?

 

browse through the build section on here, lots of good photos and breakdown on how alot of stuff is done. As far as the engine rebuild goes, iamsuperbleeder has probably got the best thread on here in his build thread.

 

First truck I worked on myself I wound up with a gallon sized ziplock baggie full of bolts that came off and didn't go back on. Don't be afraid of breakin stuff! You can always fix it, right? ;-)

That said, I wound up selling that truck for 650 bucks. It made some reeeeeal funny noises by the time I was done with it.

 

Be your own mentor.

A good text book on auto service and repair that I highly recommend. And a must have for info on engine building basics, and all things auto mechanical/electrical. Which also contains a suprising amount of info on Toyotas too.


Online Factory Service Manuals.
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1985/1985FSM_OCR.pdf
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/87-4Runne...4runner_88.pdf
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/

An invaluable Toyota specific automotive training and resource site for automotive electronics(and Toyota engine management systems).
AutoShop101.com

Those are the sources for most of the auto mechanical and Toyota specific information that I've found. They'll cover just about everything you could possibly want to know about 86-95 Trucks and 4Runners and then some. The amount of info that can't be found in them is relatively small. And that can nearly always be found with the use of the search feature on this site and/or by google. As well as Toyota history/timeline and repair write-up sites that also contain some very useful tidbits, like SR5.com and 4x4Wire.com. Even wikipedia has it's value(I wrote/compiled the majority of the stuff found in the YT wiki pages on FAQs regarding 79-95 Trucks/Trekkers/4Runners).

That's how I know what I know. And I knows ALOT about these things.