This is my first Toyota EVER! I always wanted one of these trucks but never had the time and money needed to do what I wanted to it, much less never could find one in any type of good condition (when I was in market). Well all that has changed, except I still have very little time. I found this 85 on CL, it had been used as a ranch truck for 20 years. Previous Owner was a mechanic by trade and did regular maintenance and overkill grease jobs on it, even though it wasn't used 8 months out of the year. This resulted in pretty good preservation of most all components.

I now have a fresh start on this Truck. I am currently Troubleshooting the transmission electrical, having an apparently rare issue https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f131...85-p-u-299533/
Fixing stock stuff if cheap so I can tool around in it til I figure my path forward out. Lots of learning to be had on my part, as I have only ever worked on street cars. Already loving the smart engineering on this vehicle with ease of maintenance in mind.


Figured I would start with some sort of lift and a High steer kit. redo brakes as well. Very open to suggestions at this point and would appreciate any input! Thanks and more to come pics and progress wise!

 

Cool truck. Definitely looks as if the po loaded it down by the sag of the rear springs so your on the right track with springs/lift. How does she run? Go thru it and change all fluids, crankcase, trans, tcase, axles, brakes, and coolant. Non Chinese brake parts are getting hard to find in the aftermarket. If budget is not an issue, the dealer is the place to go. Good luck with the rig!

 

The 22re is strong, no smoke, no leaks, 300k on the working odo. the a340h and TC is strong as well, shifting issue seemingly related to the ECT computer. Looking for wiring diagrams to help with troubleshooting.. looking to go w56 or some other manual swap at some point either way.

Lol I had 300 lbs of salt in the back right of bed in the pic. Sits higher usually but still VERY soft.

Front tires are seperating, going 31s all around for now as the back tires are new 31s

Overall I feel good at $2500 purchase price.

Thanks for the words

 

 

Welcome to Yotatech, looks like you got a nice truck to start with, I've always wanted an 85' ex-cab, and you got the 22re to boot that's awesome! Shouldn't be to hard to find everything you need off CL to do a manuel swap. One thing I would suggest is taking your inside panels of the bedsides off and give it a good cleaning. If they used it for a ranch truck it probably has all kinds of dirt and debris behind there that will hold moisture and start rusting your bed from the inside out. Sounds like you have a good plan already mapped out for the truck, look forward to seeing your progress!

 

It's already worked it's way to the outside in front of the wheel wells
Thank you for that info, I will do that today.. I always wonder why those spots rusted and the rest didn't.

 

Getting a rebuilt W56 (heavy duty) from Marlin, dual cases and lower R&P front and back to start. Ordering anyday now. Got a complete 22re with a thrown rod for $100, a good block for another $100. Rebuilding. Selling a 84' Pace Arrow RV W/ a 454 and 400 Turbo tranny in it to pay for lockers and lift/ Hysteer stuff. Now I just need to clean out my garage more so I don't have to go under my truck to get to the other side of it.

 

Nice! Nice!