hey all yes omg its the dragon the runner is back running thanks to rad4 i needed a bit of help but together we got it damn electrical issues but lets back up a bit hmm past two months have been utter hell

house issues money you name it its gone wrong then truck alternator goes out well it was to be expected ive never replaced it on this truck so luck out an get a higher amp one for less than the standard one since im running H4 headlights figure hey this is a good thing putting in the alternator i get coolant in the eye looking up the core of my original radiator around the outlet is rotted one touch an the copper n brass crumbled ugh finish the alternator

off to the land of ebay i try three of the ones they say are for the 4cyl BULL they dont fit either the shroud wont bolt on or if it does it hits the fan, the flange on one was totally wrong IE:three weeks of lost time so i think ya know what F it i go measure the v6 radiator lo n behold it should fit i order up a full aluminum 3 core one it does fit almost its a bit taller at the core the cap has to be a short one and need to modify the hood rib a bit to fit (read hammer) but other than needing to make a hole for one bolt to hold the fan shroud on the others fit perfectly all else lines right up

but i guess it was a bit too late within a week the right rear corner of the head gasket failed couldnt take the full pressure of the coolant? i dont know so into the engine i dove yep popped the seal ring on the #4 cyl to the coolant passage and outside it was puttering out near the firewall but sigh after replacing that new head bolts getting the thing all bolted back together EGR pipe broke

yes im getting tired you tired yet?

i got a replacement egr valve got the pipe cleaned of the broken bit which was stuck in the threads (pipe that feeds into the upper plenum) thats installed YAY crank engine over just checking for fuel leaks go to try a bit more clunk.....nothing wtf?

ugh (insert list of rude bad words here) i go round check the obvious an then the not so obvious still nothing she wont crank over

ok i message terry87 no response waited a week
i look up various things it could be here on the forum an send off for a kit to rebuild the starter solenoid as it seems to be a regular culprit an i havent done nothing with it since i got the truck glad i did the one terminal inside it was baddy eroded it bent with a gentle finger push so that rebuilt reinstalled and!

nothing.....

oh the cussing was epic im sure a few truckers would have blushed i was just pissed i cant even start testing if i cant get her to crank! i get a hold of rad4 an it was a combo of bad connection and dirty terminals the connection had to be replaced but that done a bit of distributor adjusting she fired right over (i was off a couple teeth on the dist) im 50 years old damn younger truck kicking my butt

tomorrow refill the coolant get the thing nose high get any air out of it let her warm up set the timing put the hood back on and the belly pan

ow my back....

 

She Lives!
Tnx for the info on V6 radiator. Please keep us posted on how that does because my engine runs hotter than normal in the summer running up hills.
I left Terry a how are you post on his build thread.


Greetings from where LC70 sightings are frequent ...

 

4/11/2024 5pm ish
heading east on poleline road towards blue lakes ave a green F250 with a 17 yr old driver decides to not wait at the yellow yield left an went on causing a 3 vehicle wreck my 88 4runner and another ford an F150 my 4runner drove off the road out of the way the fords were DOA so already got the insurance done they totaled her an i bought her back OF course but now begins the work got new yes not the best parts but i have to get what i can with the $ i got my grill guard is done for i got that from here but the thing saved my engine an likely me an my passengers as well witnesses said my rig hit the 250 an BOUNCED off i had the time to say oh fu* an that was it

already have the front end taken apart an the fuse box is busted BAD got squashed tween the fender and the battery anyone got one up for sale?
no brken glass but the drivers window is out of its track i havent checked it yet i hit the door an roof pretty hard had a concussion for a week center rail of frame got a kink in it will have to get that out

 

Wow! I am glad you were not hurt worse! Take care of yourself.

That sucks!

Is there any frame damage?

 

Oh. Long time no hear from. That is terrible. Did insurance total it? How much did they give you? I have learned it's better to go through the driver at fault's insurance company. If you can't find parts, there are a bunch of sellers on Facebook 1st Gen 4Runner Mafia. I look forward to your rebuild.

 

a small kink in the center its mostly all the body fan was crushed into radiator fan clutch fell apart once i got it off the lower radiator shroud survived an is already on the new shroud LOL

 

yep they totaled her ive got to take my tital in to the dmv an pay to get it changed to a salvage
an yes the at fault insurance paid me for her the guy they sent out was freaking over the rig with a fine tooth comb even checked the condition of my oil i got extra due to the face the interior is in such great shape an oil was clean newer tires on the back
ect ect they compaired her to two rigs one in boise with a 6 an blown engine sold for round 9K an a 4 cyl in lakeland florida which was near identical to mine it was sold at auction for 9.5k so they gave me in that region paid out 1265 for her back just in towing her home had no less than 5 people wanting to buy her as is i was like back you vultures! BACK

 

That's great you did pretty well. You have years of labor into it. I'm glad you'll be able to repair it.

 

it was worth $1265 just for the parts.

are you really thinking of fixing it? do the doors open and shut correctly? that severity of damage can ripple back thru the body and tweak a number of things.

 

doors open just fine now that the bent fenders are out of the way the gaps are fine (drivers i need to replace the worn hinge but its been that way for awhile)
shes my girl i have to fix her the $ is also proving to be a benefit i can get my 79 pickup back up an usable a friend of the family may have a 87 with a locked up 3.0 an no rear axle parts rig which that i will part out after ive got my needs met

 

i took three semesters of autobody at the local community college, which isn't much, but what i can see is that the driver side frame rail is severely bent inwards, and the crushed engine compartment sheet metal area will have to be put on a frame jig to be pulled out, with no guarantee on the results.

here is an example of straightening the frame itself, it's expensive to pay a shop to do that... you could switch your body onto another frame(the '87 you mentioned?), but you'd still have to pull out the crushed engine compartment sheet metal... in other words, what you want to do is a huge amount of work even for someone with autobody experience.

 

been sick with strep an then bronchitis been getting parts a welder ect

 

ok after a visit to the frame guy shes back on track got near everything guy restores old cars an was well id replace all of this stuff put ona new frame from firewall forward ect ect im like in my head dude if i had that kinda money id bought my own frame machine an did this myself
do need the engine bay fuserelay box as mines smashed i put up a WTB listing we shall see tried some place the frame guy said to they had the inner tubs but price for shipping from up washing to state was outrageous
so its back to the old fashioned way hammer more hammer and patience i miss terry site says hes a mod still but no response from old messages

been working on kids 05 neon as they will be eventually going to canada for college to be a veterinarian their mom took it to boise for doctor visit for her hubby an the old shifter bushings gave out left um with no reverese gear well it was there just couldnt get it lol
trying to get guy i bought other 3d printed bushings from to sell me 1 lg where all the others in the shifter were smalls
then tried to fix the 04 escape of the moms an the brakes bought online guaranteed to fit...didnt soooo that went back together least she got the purchases price back but not shipping i got the front end pushed over the deer an previous accident left it out of alignment the hood overlaped the fender soo now it dont but the front was too low after repairs an the other issues the hood gets hood pins instead an it dont look half bad

 

Great to see you back, but sorry to hear about your accident! Glad you’ve got things on track to get your Runner back on the road. Sending you a PM that may help…check your inbox.

 

thank you! ive been busy an just checked in sorry bout the late reply

 

my side an shoulder caved the door in as it wasnt a straight hit got the window back in the right way an fixed the caved in part



frame is straighted he even pulled the body mount back out boxes were supposed to be rotors for a 05 escape but way too small rockauto got ti wrong on all counts sent pads for the wrong year rotors too small ugh now ive got parts for something i dont have



i have a new core support as this one is beyond repair as the fan clutch and fan were nearly part of the radiator ive got a new fan clutch fan and water pump i dont trust the water pump as the clutch fell to pieces once i removed it



where the washer bottle was the folded metal now open again and the core is coming off the inner tubs but thats ok



trying to get the wrinkles out of it. it'll never be perfect but it'll be good enough for me did find someone with the tubs an at a fair price shipping was outrageous 600 bucks yeah no


frame guy ripped the metal an the nut inside is off i have to find it put it back

 

You might want one of these front frame braces, only like $39

https://frontrangeoffroadfab.com/front-frame-brace/

 

i was oh sweet an yes its great idea BUT their shipping is stupid i might still but dang the shipping is almost the cost of the part! if not MORE

• UPS® (UPS® Ground)$34.55
• 
  UPS® (UPS 3-Day Select®)3 business days$54.78
• 
  UPS® (UPS 2nd Day Air®)2 business days$66.21
• 
  UPS® (UPS Next Day Air Saver®)1 business day$160.20
• 
  UPS® (UPS Next Day Air®)1 business day$167.64

 

some progress i got an air hammer with metal hammer heads and cutting chisels
smoothing out the wrinkles (i wish i could so the same to some of mine ) and started removing the core support back when my friend helped me weld in the core years ago when i was fixing the first damage it had (check back in my post here you'll see it i think if not iu can re-post it) he did TOO good a job an gah added metal to the thing an i had to cut and grind a lot off to get the core loose the wrinkles on the tubs are coming out bit by bit

i KNOW it;d be easier to buy a front clip ect ect yes well were not all made of money and they didnt give me enough to do all the things id WANT to do so we make do ok good? great thanks!


passenger side still needs more massaging

got a LOT of the wrinkles out i test fit my new fender an its NOT too bad

ahhhhh i cut her up panicked panting i can do this i can DO THIS

 

Props to you for brining this truck back! Keep up the killer work!