A couple days ago I traded my 87 4runner to my buddy for his pickup. Its a 93 extra-cab 22re with a 5speed. He recently put in a new clutch and timing chain with metal guides, it just rolled over to 300,000 but runs awesome and drives like a dream......... well at least it will soon. Hopefully. It has a lot of play in the steering so i just ordered a pitman arm, idler arm, ball joints, and tie rod ends from rock auto. It also needs new shocks but they will come a little later down the road as I already just dropped a dime on it. It needs a little love here and there but nothing major. I will be upgrading here and there as the wallet allows haha. My buddy had 33's on it but we took those off and put my 31's on pro comp steelies on it. Well heres a couple pictures of it anyways.

 

Glad to see your next build. Those extended cabs ride niceee. I miss my 89 that I had.

 

Haha well thanks Terry, as of right now the ride quality is similar to that of a cinder block. It needs new shocks bad as well as other suspension components I have ordered.

 

Got to looking in the glovebox of the truck today and was surprised to find all of the original paper work from when it was first purchased from the dealership, even the sales sticker with all options listed! haha sorry but I was pretty stoked over it. But the really cool part is that the original owner lived in the same town that I live in. Its spent its whole life within 15 miles of me haha. Parts should be here soon hopefully. Trying to get it as reliable and nice to drive as possible before the fun stuff

 

Thats pretty rare to find that kind of paperwork after all that time and miles. Nice build.

 

Got home from work today and saw two big boxes on the front porch........hahaha.



Hopefully this weekend I can get my new suspension and steering components in (got new tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, idler arm, and pitman arm). Next up will be new shocks all around and bell crank rebuild kit to fix the siezed parking brake. Any reccomendations on the shocks though? I ran a set of Rancho rs5000's on my old Nissan before it bit the bullet and was pretty pleased with them but this being a different truck looking for opinions about what might suit it?

 

nice looking truck. shocks are like ice cream. there is a different flavor that everyone likes. some people will hate rancho, some will love them. good luck in your quest.

 

Thanks bone collector and you're very right about that, I've never had any bad experiences with Rancho so will probably go that route but we'll see. Havent been on here in a little while and really dont have anything to update on because I've been super busy lately as I just got a new job. I did try to replace the old steering and suspension stuff last weekend but lack of tools and time put an end to that, so hopefully soon I can get that knocked out.

 

Little bit of an update. I have noticed for a while now that my rear axle was leaking gear oil from the back of the diff cover but I just kept filling it up every so often. Well I finally got in there and started poking around and saw a couple pin hole rust through spots. So today I bought some degreaser and JB Weld and patched up the worst of it for now. Going to try to make and weld a cover over the whole rear diff, if I cant acomplish that just going to buy a new axle housing.



And after the temporary fix

 

Been awhile and don't have much of an update but I got my idler and pitman arm put in and what a HUGE improvement. Still need to order shocks but kinda debating on holding off because I've been looking at the suspension lift that Wab has. They seem to have the best prices so far that I've seen. Also looking at the diff armor they sell. It would serve a dual purpose for me; it would seal off the leaks in my diff, and provide protection. The only concern I have with it is that maybe the metal around the diff is too weak and welding would just burn through. Any input?

 

Not that I need one right now but I've been keeping my eye out for an engine. I'd love to buy a 22re with lower miles then what is on my truck (303000 miles) and rebuild it too keep as a spare , or swap it in and rebuild mine. What rebuild kits does everybody use when they rebuild them? There's a lot of options out there and if I find a decent engine I want to build it using a high quality gasket set.

87 4runner 22re 5speed *traded*
93 xtra-cab 22re 5speed

 

A while back I got a sheet of aluminum 3/16" thick and 13"x4' long that I planned to build a front skid plate out of since I torqued all the bolts off of my stock one. Finally got the chance to cut it up and get it bolted to truck with the help of a friend. We cut straight edges on it, took some measurements, heated with a torch and bent it, then painted it up. Pretty happy with how it turned out, its not the best protection but it'll definitely take a beating and its better than not having anything( or the flimsy stock shield)




















87 4runner 22re 5speed *traded*
93 xtra-cab 22re 5speed

 

Nice job on that skid plate!

 

Bought a new rear axle tonight to replace my rusted out and leaking one. Its all but in perfect condition and out of a turbo 4runner so it has 4.30 gears or whatever they are but im gonna give the 3rd back to my buddy I got it off of and swap my 3rd in. Gonna get some stuff after work tomorrow and spray it with rust inhibitor and spray on bed liner.

 

Got a little work done to the axle, just cleaning it up and prepping it for install. Started off by wire wheeling all the cruddy old paint off of it then got a nice thick coat of rust reformer primer on it. Going to finish painting it tomorrow after work. I still am amazed by him clean it is and still has the original paint on it! Anyways here's a couple pictures of it so far.












87 4runner 22re 5speed *traded*
93 xtra-cab 22re 5speed

 

I had to junk out an axle one time as it was rusted up to bad. As thick of a metal that they use on them, it is surprising at how bad they can rust.

I got my Starter kit from www.http://nationstarteralternator.com/

Seen you mentioning about looking and building a motor. Engine builder has great parts and kits. I just rebuilt one recently, but have to have mine bored as the cylinder was gouged. I had a good head, but still with all the machine work and parts, I still have around $900 into it.

I have bought 2 motors from http://unitedengine.com/index.php?pa...mart&Itemid=55 my brother and a friend have also bought a motor a from these guys and all 4 have been great little motors. They dont always require a core, had I done a complete head work, I am sure it would of been cheaper to buy another motor from them for less or about the same cost that I would of had into my rebuild. Check out there Specials.

 

Nice looking truck you have there. Makes me miss the one I had.

I love the skid plate!!

Where exactly are you located in PA. I grew up on the west side near pittsburgh

 

I know its crazy how eaten away mine is and just how thin the metal is in some places.

Thanks I will definitely have to check them out, I dont think my starter solenoid is engaging the whole way bc when its really cold it will grind a time or two before engaging.

Thanks man it only cost me $8 to make and that aluminum is actually some pretty heavy duty stuff, took alot of heat and a big sledge to put the bends in it. Im located in south central PA about an hour north of harrisburg.

 

Did a coolant flush yesterday after work just to be safe before its starts staying below 32 all day and not quite sure if it was just really dirty water that the PO put in but I'm glad its out of there now.




87 4runner 22re 5speed *traded*
93 xtra-cab 22re 5speed

 

wow, that is some nasty stuff. Some people should not own cars! and especially not be allowed to work on them!!