Redeth005

Jerod. Nice to finally see your truck and read your thread. I like that color. I think that light metallic blue color plus black accessories looks really nice on 1st gen 4Runners. cant wait to see what you have in store for your truck dude! Your engine looks pretty clean. Much better condition then mine started off with lol Just a lil' dusty.

BTW i seen you noted that your shocks are gone. I have my old Rancho RS5000 rear shocks. I dont have any use for them. I bought them for $20 at a junkyard in perfect condition. If you'd like to have them they're yours for free. After all they are used. I'm not sure how far into central CA you live but if you want to pick them up i'd be fine with that or ship on your dime. up to you.


I was also planning on keeping my old set of black 15x7 aluminum rims and 31/10.5/r15 Lemans tires for my older brother for when he buys his 4runner. But i'm starting to wonder if he'll ever go that route. And i have too many sets of tires and rims sitting in my back yard. I have 3 sets of 33" tires. 5BFG M/ts that are on my truck and 2 in the back yard. and i have a set of 5 33" Sport King tires that i plan to use for street driving. and then my set of 5 31" lemans tires.

If you're interested in the tires let me know. the tires are still in pretty decent shape the rims are still black and may need to get repainted but they are all balanced already. I was thinking about selling the set for $150 or 200. Let me know if you're interested man.

Also not sure how much further down the line i plan to get myself a new front bumper but i see you are missing the black sides to your front bumper. I will have those available sometime in the future as well in case you cant find them in a yard near you. I'm actually gonna post up the pix of everything I have for sale on my thread in a bit. take a look.

EDIT:
That's funny because i had the same experience when cleaning up my truck. layer after layer of gunk one after another every time. lol
The Camry motor will work perfect for you. It bolts right into the 3 small bolt holes. you just need to cut off the connector and solder on the the one from your 4runner. Then it'll work like mine in that video of mine that you posted.

diableri

Thanks man, the tires and wheels may be a really good interim solution for me; I'll think that over. It's my front end where my shocks are gone and I think I'm probably going to go ahead and rebuild it all at the same time since things are looking and feeling pretty hairy up there, my rear shocks and leafs still feel OK for now until I figure out what I'm going to do as far as ride height goes. I'm up in the air about that part since I want to be able to do stuff like that Tierra del Sol but this truck is more about GETTING to places like that and riding bikes, quads and gator type OHVs via trailers.

I have to figure out where that balance is for wheeling the runner vs using it to take dirt bikes places etc. Tires and rims would definitely help though. I was just going to look at some TRDs that some guy had for sale but didn't get there in time (and honestly wasn't sure about lug style etc since they are late model). I also don't know how big I can go with no lift and just a bit of sag in the back so far. Depending on how much work the motor needs, it shouldn't take long to get the suspension lined out though, I have most of the budget for the parts and will just need to learn how to do it all.

I can't wait to get going on some of these fixes I've been reading about. With any luck, weekend after next I'll get some time to start going through some electrical and mechanical checks to see how things stand on that front. These 16+ hour days are gettin in the way of progress!

Redeth005

Sounds good. Let me know. I'd much rather get rid of those through local pick up vs trying to ship something so massive and heavy.
Here's my classified link in case you see anything else you like: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f189...runner-269317/

diableri

I'm in Bakersfield so it's not too far. I would just need to borrow a truck for the trip since the runner is already in pieces and not likely to start coming back together anytime soon (need to check out the belt, water pump, most of the electrical, rebuild the front end, finish cleaning etc). My commuter is a two door Accord so I don't think I could squeeze those wheels in somehow.

I'll keep it in mind and try to figure something out but for now, it's a logistical problem of no time and truck. I like em though, the wheels I was thinking about getting where the American Racing versions that look a lot like those.

Is there a wheeling geometry reason most guys run 15s on these rigs that I'm not aware of or is it just to keep the cost of the tires down since I imagine you can go through them pretty easily? Just more rubber/air and less rim as well as needing less lift?

Redeth005

It might be possible. I fit that whole set in the back of my 2000 toyota corolla. And the spare in the trunk.

The reason why I know most people run them is because when you decide to air down to 12-15 PSI for offroad your tires have much more cussion with the bigger distance from the outer tred part to your rim. VS If u had a bigger rim you would most likely have a greater chance to hit your rim. Not only that but you can air down a good amount with 15's and by doing so you have better traction off road because your flat-ish deflated tire hugs all the rocks on the trail. You can do the same with a bigger rim too but if u air down u run chances of hitting your rim once in a while. That's just my opinion. Oh and one more thing. It just makes your tires look beefier! Lol

I think the biggest tire you can run without a lift is a 31" or 32" tire. I was only able to run 31's on mine without a lift.

diableri

That all makes sense, thanks for explaining that. I've never done any kind of four wheelin. It's always been on two tires or my feet.

Quite a bit of 16s around town is what made me ask and I was just curious. The lower tire pressure makes sense. I hadn't even considered that. So much to learn.

diableri

So got some confirmation on my own assessment from a local mechanic today that I trust and sorting things into my to do list. I only missed a couple things luckily.

1) The muffler is broken/leaking, no tail pipe. I really need to decide if I'm going to run all new exhaust right now or wait for motor/header etc and just patch this up with a new muff/pipe.

2) All the shocks are bad, not just the front as I originally thought. Leaf seems OK for now but won't really know until I get it out and use it which is a long way off. Need to get to figuring out what I'll do regarding lift/tire size overall plan so as to not double up on work/parts. Need to soak the bushing and see if any are salvageable.

3) Upper and lower radiator hoses and flush the cooling system.

4) Oil leaks from the front timing belt. Probable cam and crank seals and a new belt.

5) The front turn signals will need to be repaired and rewired.

6) The valve cover gaskets are leaking in the back of each head.

7) Replace/upgrade head lamps; right front head lamp (low beam) is dead.

8) The output housing of the transfer case is leaking. The rear drive line will need to be removed and the housing resealed. Lift/Locker etc. Figure it out.

9) Rust around windshield frame and replace/reseal windshield. Replace wiper blades.

10) Emergency brake lamp light on dash needs a switch.

11) One of the drive belt pulleys is failing.

12) Sway control shock is bad.

13) Tires and an alignment. Need to figure out what I'm doing with lift/tire size/wheels so I'm not doubling up on parts.

14) Cruise control not working. Need to track down failing part.

15) Misc dents for bodywork.

16) Interior upgrades for later.

17) Bumpers etc for later.

diableri

IFS post

Currently looking at the Blazeland setup.

Looking for fill in parts. Resources/references to follow.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Your list may look long, but is typical of how these trucks get neglected. You will be surprised at how fast the list will shorten with just a little time and patience. I dont know anything about the Blazeland setup so cant help you there. Maybe someone can chime in and give you some info on that.

diableri

Thanks for the vote of confidence Terry! I'm enjoying the learning process. I've never worked on four wheel drives and the new system is interesting.

ToyoTech559's thread has given me a lot of info on the Blazeland and he's answered my questions really well. As usual this forum has been a wealth of information. You guys just continue to teach new tricks to this old dog. Thanks again!

Basic tune up is now done, plugs, wires(what exactly did the engineers have against the mechanics and/or guys with big hands?), cap etc and some general clean up as well as running some cleaner through everything and cleaning up the injectors and an oil change. She's purring much better now and crossing my fingers that this little bump was enough to pass smog since all the sensors checked out if I did things correctly (which remains to be seen, darn things). I gotta learn some time. She just barely missed it anyway the first time.

Next up is timing belt/pump etc and fix all the leaks.

Redeth005

Blazen8 might have a bunch of questions for you too after all it is his company. Haha

diableri

So the 16+ hours a day for the last couple of months has me with far more money than time and my patience has finally worn out. I asked the mechanic that works on the newer family cars to do the belt, pump and seals for me since there's zero chance it's happening this month if I do it and I have very few opportunities for a few days to get away this year and only this ole girl to take me (the other vehicles are absolute not desert capable ). I'm disappointed but I know I shouldn't be complaining for plenty of work these days.

I do cardiac research and work with cardiac programs for a living. Recently I've been working with a team of people that are bringing together the three hospitals that do heart caths and cardiac surgery to bring more rapid diagnosis and treatment to potential heart attack patients in our area. That's meant bringing ~50 physicians a little less than a dozen hospitals, urgent cares, prisons, clinics, ambulance companies hundreds of nurses along with their departments across all the facilities, several government agencies and ~thousand patients per year into a unified system of care... a lot of work but a worthy cause to be sure. The good and the bad is that it's working. The bad is that because it's working, there's more work to do! There just hasn't been any time for my truck.

On a brighter note, I got to speak to Nate today from Blazeland (what a good dude). I should be ordering within a week or so! At least I think I'll be able to do that part myself and with any luck, will be able to move onto the rear/lift and maybe even e-locker (more copying of Toyo! ) before July is through. I have about four total days that I think I can work on the truck between now and August when I have my first trip planned. Hoping I can make it, I really need a short break at least to get away from phones, docs and people in general. Need some sky, dirt and peace.

diableri

So, I'm on the hunt for fuel rails (remember it's a V6)! Any help on a location to get some would help. The passenger side has a pretty bad crack too close to the threads for me to be comfortable fixing it.

I'm furiously googling right now. Thanks for any help or advice!

Redeth005

When you say on the hunt for fuel rails do you mean that you are looking to buy or looking on how to get to them? In order to get to them you must take off the intake plenumn, egr, and all that those hoses.

But if you gotta buy some i would say to hit up a few junk yards and look into the 90-95 4runners. Those would be much newer and in better condition then the ones off the 1st gens with the 3vze

EDIT
This might come in handy for removing.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/80...-question.html

diableri

I have it off already, found it leaking and then the crack was really apparent. Need to buy one. Junk yards here came up zippo but I wasn't sure that later models would fit correctly. If the 90-95's will fit (was googling images when the email for your post came up), I can get those ordered off the bay or somewhere like that.

Was desperately trying to get the truck running safe next week so I could move onto some other work. The motor is just about as steady as it's going to get for this phase of things. Thanks man!

The bumper is looking amazing dude. So glad you went that way with your pop's help.

Cyberhorn The Dragon

any 3.0 fuel rail would work diab when we were working on the 90 here (lady of the houses runner) i bought a set of inectors an fuel rail from ebay

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I have been keeping an eye on your build. I dont know the 3.0, but feel any should interchange. One reason I like to keep a junk motor on hand. Even if it is blown it is good for parts and comparing. Sometimes you would think something like a fuel rail would be hard to find, but it does happen. Will try and keep an eye out for one for you.

diableri

So... Seals, Timing Chain, Water Pump, Shocks, Passenger Fuel Rail, Exhaust leak patched, muffler (temp junkyard replacement), Coil, Wires, Plugs, Idler, Pitman, Tires, turn signal switch; done. She is safe to drive and running great. I even had an hour to clean some more grime up from the back but it needs a lot more.

I can now start to do fun stuff! I just wish I had time!

Cyberhorn The Dragon

lol ive got all kinds of time just no $

diableri

I know I shouldn't complain, it's just disappointing to not get to projects or family and friends. These unending long days with 7 days a week now are wearing thin.

I am not going to be in any kind of shape to go to Whitney next month. It's going to be ugly.