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Whats up y'all. I thought I'd document the rebuild of my '86 RTE on here instead of an album. I have a long interesting road ahead and I hope I can get guidance from those of you who've "been there and done that." Apologies ahead of time for noob mistakes. I plan on keeping most of her stock, though I will improve what needs improving so she retains most of her value. But who knows... I may completely veer from this original plan. LOL! I'll do my best detailing the whole rebuild process.
- She has surface rust on her frame but I think I can put a stop to that with some rust treatment stuff.
- The engine runs. I drove her 2 hours home from her former place but it's clear the engine and turbo are tired so that's first on my list of things to do. I'm most likely going with an RTE long block from 22REPerformance.
- I'm unsure if I'm going to rebuild the CT20 Turbo or go with an aftermarket model. I live in California so I'm sorta limited with what I can do as far as upgrades because of our smog requirements.
- I'm also unsure which exhaust manifold I'm going with. I may stay OEM or pick up a Steed Speed/LCE.
- I have to be able to park her in my garage so I'm probably not going to exceed 33's on a 4" lift. I'm most likely going to keep her IFS.
I'll be looking for GRAY interior trim parts to replace damaged or worn pieces. If any of you have GRAY colored trim pieces laying around, I'll post a list of what I'm looking for soon.
Last edited by TrailTrek2Fish; 04-05-2018 at 02:04 PM.
I dropped by the only true steam clean place I know of in the area. I had all of the engine grease, drivetrain gunk and frame crud cleaned off so I can clearly see what bushings need replacing, where current leaks are located and to provide a cleaner slate for a rust treatment to perform it's magic. I bring all of my vehicles here.
Prior to my visit, I inspected the distributor cap o-ring to see if it needed replacement. It wasn't a surprise that it was damaged and brittle to the touch. It wouldn't have kept any moisture or debris out during the cleaning process. What was surprising is the local auto shops did not even list the o-ring in their databases so I went to the local Yota dealership to pick one up.
Toyota P/N: 19127-15021 "Packing, Dust Proof"
Exploded view ofthe distributor
San Jose Auto Steam Cleaning.
Last edited by TrailTrek2Fish; 04-05-2018 at 02:05 PM.
Reason: I forgot to add the distributor o-ring information.
looks like a good start. word to the wise, you cant rebuild the CT20...well, not true, you CAN, but more than likely the exhaust housing is cracked. If its not cracked, expect the turbine play to be too excessive. either upgrade to the LCE GT25 kit(Bolt in), upgrade to the CT26 Supra turbo(minor mods required), or use a ct20 from a diesel(most of the ones you see on ebay are from a diesel and it will require mods to work as well). BEFORE YOU HAVE A MOTOR BUILT OR BOUGHT, check the turbo...seriously. if the turbo is junk, itd be cheapest and most reliable to swap it to standard 22re. the RTE is NOT cheap to play with.
Whats up Space-Junk, thanks for the reply. I just finished looking at the LC Engineering website. Could you please confirm to make sure that I'm looking at the exact LC Engineering parts you're referring to. I was going to unbolt and inspect the OEM exhaust manifold and OEM turbo assembly today but something came up.
I'm rebuilding my RTE 4Runner with longevity and durability in mind so I don't mind forkin' out extra coin to achieve this.
I have 2 additional questions...
- Is this setup California Smog Legal?
- I take it you're still currently running this setup in Stormtrooper? If so, was it a truly 'bolt on' system or did you have to augment anything to seal the deal?
Thanks again for your reply. It is much appreciated.
the manifold should be fine, they almost never have any issues because of how thick they are and the stock manifold flows pretty well. i wouldnt touch it.
i am running the turbo swap kit. you will need all the pieces as you will need adapters, oil lines, coolant lines, etc. i think its around 2500 all together, Its what ive got installed currently and you can see it in my build thread. it is NOT smog legal, however, the factory manifold heat shield does a pretty good job at covering the turbo and i dont think a smog shop will scrutinize a turbo to make sure its part number matching, especially since itll be close to a thousand degrees when they see it.
While i currently have this setup installed, i havent actually ran the truck yet. im still trying to work out a few other kinks with my truck, however it is mostly a bolt on affair. i had to do some fenegeling to get the intake to air box lined up right, but i dont have the stock setup there either. also need a band saw to cut the charge pipe. i think it would be probably on par with doing a ct26 swap when it comes to how hard it is, but with the GT25R, its a dual ball bearing design and is extremely reliable.
Copy that, Space-Junk. I'd rather not revisit these turbo issues in the foreseeable future so I'll make this investment. When I have a chance to pull the exhaust manifold and turbo assembly, I'll give them a good inspection. If the manifold is in good shape, I'll leave it be. If not, I'll buy the LCE manifold. I'm going to monitor your build thread and take notes when it applies. Thanks again!
Which rear bumper are you looking at? After the last few years of pondering which one I should get that wouldn't cost me my 3 limbs... I settled on a 4x4labs one that is just what i'm looking for. It's not cheap, but Luke offers a weld it yourself kit that will work for me
What's up Gevo. I like the 4x4Labs bumper but I'm going with a full tube bumper. I saw a photo of one that I like but I haven't figured out who makes it. Who knows, it may be custom made? I sure wish I knew how to weld. LOL!
Thanks Melrose 4r. Yeah, I'm glad the steam cleaner is less than an hours drive for me. It's pretty co$tly but worth it.
FRONT BUMPER: All-Pro Off Road with a Top Fill Plate and Handles
REAR BUMPER: Badland Bumper
ROCK SLIDERS: Marlin Crawlers (MCAR-611)
FRONT LOCKER: ARB 7.5" IFS Differential (MCDF-17-ARB-456)
REAR LOCKER: ARB 8" RD132 (MCDF-211)
AIR COMPRESSOR: ARB High Output or ARB Maximum Performance (MCLE-313)
IFS LIFT KIT: TBD... (I know most of you will give me crap about staying with IFS but I do not want to hack away at the frame/mounts to accomodate an SAS)
TIRES: 33's TBD...
WHEELS: Pro Comp 52 Rock Crawler Series (52-5765)
Last edited by TrailTrek2Fish; 04-05-2018 at 02:08 PM.
Reason: Added P/N for OEM 22RET Exhaust Manifold
Well dropzone, I should mention that I'm selling my 95% rust free '88 Pickup w/a 3VZE to help fund the rebuild. I've been offered $10K several times in the recent past. He is nearly perfect so he should fetch a pretty penny. He's got 17k miles on a fully rebuilt 3VZE and he's all original, minus the wheels and tires (which I swapped with the 22RET), stereo, antenna, steering wheel and the flashlight charger. I believe I'm the 3rd owner. My girl and I are planning to start a family so I need to switch to an off road vehicle with more seating room, hence this 4Runner. That's the only reason why I'm selling him.
Last edited by TrailTrek2Fish; 06-19-2017 at 09:18 AM.
That is a great looking pickup!!! I had one just like it in the Grey Metallic and your runner is a great starter! I'm jealous of your turtbo.
No one around here is going to give you hell for sticking with IFS. I'm restoring an 88 4Runner (build thread here) and I toiled over an SAS or sticking with the IFS. I like to wheel some pretty aggressive trails but don't do any insane crawling and I wanted something very street friendly on FUBAR streets in New Orleans. I ended up going with Blazeland's long travel. Nate at Blazeland is a member here and a good dude. I haven't gotten my setup installed yet as I find myself amidst an unexpected engine rebuild but there are several members here that have been using the BlazeLand LT for quite a while and the setup gets glowing reviews from everyone. It all depends on how you intend to use the truck. If you're going to put all that time and money under the hood, you ought to consider a serious suspension to match it. Good luck with your build dude!
Thanks RAD4Runner! I'm actually going to be selling that bumper, LOL! I have my eye on a different design.
I'm interested, I like it and it looks easy to modify
EDIT
Also, if you have the digital turbo gauge, and are looking to switch it out (some people don't like it) I will definitely buy your fuel level sender off you.
Thanks Heironymous Josch! I really love Dusty, my '88 Pickup, but I only have room for 2 in my garage. So May, my '86 Turbo, won out. The other space is for my Lexus is300, Sophie.
I just looked at Blazeland's website. Thank you so much for the heads up about them. I gotta do more reading to see if it fits my needs or if it's under/overkill. I need a lift that will withstand the abuse on the Rubicon Trail at least once a year. It's just over a 3hr drive from my garage to the staging area next to Loon Lake so I'd be a fool not to partake in sum'a'that action. LOL! I'm not too proud to bypass Big & Little Sluice, though I heard that Little Sluice isn't the same as it used to be when I last went on the trail in 2003/2004 in my buddy's Chevy K5. As of late, I've also been eyeing the Fordyce Creek Trail. Though I'm pretty sure that I'd need to slap a snorkel on my '86 Turbo to do the crossing. Woohoo! On the flips side of that coin, she needs to be a daily driver. Thanks for the well wish, I'll be subscribing to your '88 4Runner build. Good luck to you as well!
Wassup magnet18! Thanks for posting the link to the parts page, I'll surely be perusing through it tonight!
Where are you located? I'm sure we can work out some deal with that bumper. I'll take a photo tomorrow and post it.
I do have the digital gauge but the window is slightly cracked and it appears that the face is slightly damaged too, so I am looking to buy a replacement as well. LOL! So who doesn't like their digital gauge, PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF(VES)!
Last edited by TrailTrek2Fish; 06-18-2017 at 09:28 PM.
Reason: Type0
My girl is such a trooper. We went to a local Pick N Pull and scored a booster, master cylinder and calipers off of a donor 2nd Generation V6 4Runner and she barely complained about the 108 degree weather, I figured it would be a great idea to upgrade to an improved braking system since we're going to be tooling around May anyway. Thankfully, from what I've read on this forum, it's a bolt on upgrade (please feel free to correct me if I'm a bit off on this). I decided not to score the rotors off of the donor because they were gouged up pretty good and I have no clue how many times the last owner had them resurfaced, if at all. I know there is a limit to how many times rotors can be resurfaced because of the factory thickness tolerance. I figured I should buy those brand new and save myself the heartbreak of possibly being told by my local machinist that they're already garbage and only worth recycling.
Booster, Master Cylinder and Calipers from a '91 4Runner
Last edited by TrailTrek2Fish; 06-19-2017 at 08:12 AM.
Reason: Typ0
Good call on the rotors. In my experience OEM Toy rotors last longer than aftermarket cheapies. The cheap ones seem to be of a different metal composition and will warp faster. So buy quality oem.
IFS LIFT KIT: TBD... (I know most of you will give me crap about staying with IFS but I do not want to hack away at the frame/mounts to accomodate an SAS)
....
I don' think you will get crap for this, but if you do, screw them. My stock IFS system has been doing extremely well with everything I've thrown at it. It has it's pros and maybe a few cons compared to Solid axles.. You'll be fine
06-12-2017, 05:54 PM
I bring all of my vehicles here.
I figured it would be a great idea to upgrade to an improved braking system since we're going to be tooling around May anyway. Thankfully, from what I've read on this forum, it's a bolt on upgrade (please feel free to correct me if I'm a bit off on this). I decided not to score the rotors off of the donor because they were gouged up pretty good and I have no clue how many times the last owner had them resurfaced, if at all. I know there is a limit to how many times rotors can be resurfaced because of the factory thickness tolerance. I figured I should buy those brand new and save myself the heartbreak of possibly being told by my local machinist that they're already garbage and only worth recycling.
