glad you kept it! sometimes (usually when somethings not working right) i get the itch to sell mine and buy something else too, but i channel that into building on it instead...as long as i can keep working towards something it stays fun! YOu did great on the paint!

 

Thanks Bud. I appreciate it. I have been trying to channel that into areas that need work on it, like you said. I am really trying hard to get the funds together for High steer and new front springs. I think getting that done, coupled with a soft top, would make it a keeper no matter what.

The wife and I were talking about taking it camping this summer and fall with our boys. Just trying to find an SUV tent or something similar that would allow the 4 of us to comfortably sleep in it yet still be practical.

 

Sometimes camping is a hassle but in hindsight the memories are always worth it. Post up some pics of the Iowa countryside when y'all go!! (I'm way down in Texas)

 

For sure! Our boys love to go camping. We used to have a 20' tow behind camper. It was nice to sleep in, but a huge pain in the butt with everything else.

Plus my wife and I grew up camping out of tents and would rather have a minimalist approach to camping. I like to have as little stuff with us as possible.

 

Same here I hate spending all day packing! An ac unit sure would be nice but I'm not sure how ill work that one out. Maybe a window unit on a lightweight stand?

 

Yes! A/C would eb nice for the kiddos.

 

Staying motivated today. Painted the NEw to me wiper cowl for my Runner. I think it turned out pretty good.

 

Your runner keeps looking better. Seen you working on your rear brakes, I have in the past gotten the wrong slave cylinder for the rear of these trucks. 85/86 have one style cylinder and the 87 and up have a different style. An 87 cylinder is to short and the piston will pop out. It looked like you have the correct one but compare to the other side to make sure, I lost brakes when mine popped out. I just replaced the one side as it was leaking and did not realize the difference.

I enjoy camping and been spending sometime doing repairs on mine. I agree with you it is great but getting everything around and getting set up is not the most fun part of it but when done is great. Sometimes I miss having my little pop up camper.

 

I keep a large tote full of my camping essentials. So nice to always have it ready. My trips been cancelled this weekend tho. I can't wait until things are dry and I can wheel with my doors off!

 

Thanks for the compliments Terry. Also thank you for the sound advice on the wheel cylinders. I did not know that there was a size difference for certain years. I will have to remember that.

I hear that. I would not mind making a set of half doors just for those kind of situations.

 

So after painting my wiper cowl and putting it on, I decided to tackle the cab leak once and for all. I had a pretty good idea where it was leaking from but getting to it was the issue.

There is a weird seam under the wiper cowl near the opening thats behind the fender. Its almost three seams together. Its actually right behind the bracket/hinge pocket for the hood arm.

There is no easy way to get to this to clean the rust out and seal it up so the water continues to run out behind the fender rather than leak into the cab.

I ended up having to cut the opening larger so I could scrape out all the rust build up and lay some seam sealer down.

I really hate to cut anything open to make a repair like this, but there was no possible way to effectively get at this area to seal it up.

Here are a few pics.













As you can see. I loaded it up with the sealer that kind of self levels itself in there. I also hammered down on the lip to help the water to get out of there easier. Hopefully.

With this cut, I was able to fully get in there to clean it all up and seal it.

I need to repeat this process on the passenger side.

I believe the main issue with this area is that stuff like leaves, twigs, and other small items get trapped down there not allowing water flow out into behind the fender. So what happens is that over time, the factory sealant that is in there breaks down and then the water takes the path of least resistance into the cab right above the fuse panel on the drivers side, and above the computer on the passenger side.

 

What you cut out wont hurt anything. I have done the same myself. It does make you cringe a little but sometimes just no way around it. Still better then dealing with wet floors. As soon as I get good at welding, I am going to weld in patch panels to get rid of the cowl just for this reason.

 

Seems like on these trucks, that would be a good idea.

From what I can see, it does not seem like it would hinder the ventilation system for the interior. I could be wrong but, I think it would still flow fine without sealed up.

 

Hey guys. I have been away from YT and working on my runner for a few weeks. It's been a busy summer, and it's aoat back to school time!!!

I picked up some front shoulder seat belts from a 91 ex-can Toyota pickup a few weeks ago.

I finally installed them in the rear of the runner. It was pretty straight forward. I also retained the lap belts in the system as well.

I also installed my twins car seats in it yesterday and we went cruising for almost 4 hours!! They were loving it.

Luckily the humidity was down and kind of cool while driving.

I'll try to get some pics if anyone is interested in seeing the seats back there. I know a lot of us on here have kids and like the possibility to bring them along.


I now am really considering picking up a 4x innovations passenger length cage over hi-steer at the moment. Especially since my boys want to ride in it a lot more often now.

https://www.4xinnovations.com/mobile/84-89-4-Runner-Internal-Roll-Cage--Passenger-Lenth_p_10.html


Has anyone installed one of these cages before? Pretty good quality?

I am also planning on doing a the axle seal rebuild to the front end when I get back to school. First thing!!

Thanks for looking guys.

 

Welcome back. Doesn't the school have a tube bender? You have all that free labor at your disposal I'd make the kids help on your runner lol. Is that cruel? I'd be glad to come up and help too!

 

Never installed a 4xinnovations cage but heard good things

 

nice work on fixing that leak, i have a leak in the exact same spot on the passenger side. i shot 1/4 tube of silicon in there in high-hopes of an easy fix, no good. i'm going to be doing something similar to what you did. thanks for the tip!

 

About the leak you posted above. Did you treat the bare metal before you sealed it? If you didn't put a POR15 treatment on the bare metal and rust expect to be repairing it again in the near future. Rust never sleeps. Don't want to be a nay sayer but I don't want to see you waste your time. Anyone that owns one of these trucks that sees any road salt or humidity should have a can of POR15 and brushes on hand at all times. Never ever leave metal bare.
And the issue with the rust in those spots are twigs and dirt being trapped as you mentioned, but the damage is done by the vibration of the running truck letting the dirt and debris eat thru the paint to the metal, then holding moisture....you get the picture.

 

Good idea on the cut out. I have POr-15 and I use it on everything. I was in a hurry and did not put any on there. I will for sure.



I just talked to my boss and he gave me the go ahead to order. Nice tubing bender for the school. I want to teach the kids how to use one.

I was thinking about something like this.

http://www.pro-tools.com/products/hydraulic-tube-and-pipe-bender-302-one-shot

 

So I purchased the Pro tools 302 Bender with a few different Dies, and the Pro software program. I am pretty pumped to get this in the shop and start messing around with it.

I will be sure to update you guys when it gets here. Its supposed to ship out this Friday.