I'm going to try and keep this more up to date from now on. I doubt I will be able to hold myself to it. But I've got the front bumper adapted. I haven't mounted it for good because I need to paint the bumper and the adapter some day when it is over 55 degrees.

But for starters I took a piece of 2x2 square tube and cut it a quarter inch shorter than the width of the bumper brackets.Then I held the bumper in place and marked where the bolt holes for the frames bumper mounts ended up.


I drilled holes for 10mm boles and bolted it to the frame. The passenger side extends further from the frame than the driver side. This wasn't by mistake. for some reason that's where the brackets ended on the bumper. I don't know the bumper is bent or if that's how it was on the 2wd.

Up next I put some wings on the square tube and I notched them to fit the body while still hitting the bolt holes.


Lastly I finished up the welds and drilled the holes where I marked them.


Here it is sitting with all 6 bolts in the holes. But I didn't tighten them down or finish lining the bumper up since I have to take it all apart again and paint it. The bumper is going to be flat black to match the grill and clearance/side lamps.


I might have to add some bracing to the wings if there is too much movement in it.

 

I took it out for its first test drive. Everything was pretty rough. I didn't have my shocks on yet when I drove it so that didn't help. Also the drive line shakes violently above 30mph. I have put in an order for a 3rd gen 4runner drive shaft. It appears to be the closest to the length I need at about 50 inches.

I took some pictures from different angles to give you an idea of how it all looks.



I ordered some shocks to put on it. It appears that this frame has lift springs on it. Maybe 2 or 3 inch lift? But it was enough to make standard length shocks a couple inches too short at full extend. I looked up the replacement for factory shocks from Monroe. I took that part number and found the specs in their shock catalog. It gave the end type, the lengths, and the travel. I used the end type to search another Monroe part number with the lengths I needed. I think the rear shocks ended up being stock shocks for a T100. The front shocks ended up being stock rear shocks for a Nissan Sentra. But they ended up being the correct mounting type and they were the right length, so I'm happy. Who knows how they will ride? Probably better than no shocks.




Disregard all the red transmission fluid on the floor. I missed a spring hose clamp on the steering return line so I all worked its way back out.

Next I wired in the side markers and I put in some plugs for the license plate lamps when they arrive from Taiwan some day.


I still need to clean up the wiring and attach it with wire retention clips.

I painted my bumper flat black. I think it goes well with the off white.

 

I have only gotten a couple things done in the last 3 or 4 weeks. I got a good working drive shaft, painted my tail gate, and bought a parts vehicle to get some upgrades off of it.

I painted the tailgate then taped off the letters. In hind sight I could have gotten a detail roller and rolled the letter and maybe had a better outcome. But I taped it, cut out the letters and sprayed it.




The blue ran a little bit under the tape. You can't see it from far away, but it looks messy up close. I get some new tailgate handles from Taiwan. I had to cut out the opening for the latch a little to make it fit. It was just a little bit off from the original ones. But they work well.


Next thing I did was my new drive shaft. I found out the drive shafts on 3rd gen 4runners were about the right length so I ordered one. It came in after about 2 weeks. I got all excited to put it on and found out the bolt pattern at the top was the Tacoma pattern. And the TG tripple drilled flange does not support the Tacoma pattern. So I had to order another flange from TG that bolts a Tacoma driveshaft to a gear driven transfer case. The pattern is 66x66mm with 11mm bolts. So after 4 weeks of waiting, I now have a functional drive shaft that doen't threaten to explode above 30mph.


I test drove it about 5 miles to the gas station today, Everything works fairly well. It seems like it needs some adjusting on the engine. Maybe timing? And if I filled the gas tank all the way, it is leaking somewhere. I'll have to track it down. Also the steering is vague and wanders quite a bit. I haven't started doing anything to alignment or tie rods.

I also stole the 265s off of my donor vehicle. They are almost big enough for my liking.


Lastly, I have been buying up upgrade parts and collecting parts off of my 2000 4runner donor.

I've got a V6 3rd member geared in 4.10 for my front axle, I've got the brake booster and master from the 4runner. It is double diaphragm and a 1" bore master. I've also got the calipers and rotors. I had to order an adapter from Front Range Off Road., It allows you to use bigger calipers like Tacome, new 4runner, or Tundra. I bought a IFS width rear axle to go in the back. I also bought a 4.10 E-locker from a junk yard. And I got IFS width front hubs.




Now I should have some entertainment for the 10 or 15 days that the plant is shut down for Christmas break.

 

Some of my parts have not come in yet. So I haven't been able to get my axles done yet. But I've done a few things in the mean time. My license plate lamps came in from Taiwan. They fit great, only thing is they aren't sealed. It was just plastic on plastic so I put some silicone in between.


Also, I wasn't sure what to do with the torque rod on the front axle. My frame didn't come with one and I haven't come across a shock that would fit it. But I did find something that would fit in the gap. A tractor class 0 top link. I'm not sure how strong it is, but it seems stout.


I got enough parts in to rebuild the axle shafts and rear brakes. I believe I like the 86 to 95 brakes better than the solid axle brakes. There are less springs involved and it seems like fewer parts all together.



One problem I ran into was that most of the little cables inside the brakes were either missing or destroyed. I ordered the longer bottom one from Toyota, but didn't get the little ones while I was at it. They fell apart when disassembling the brakes. I noticed that the new ones from Toyota are a bar instead of a cable so I decided I could make my own out of 3/16th plate. I cut it to length, drilled a hole just big enough to slip on the hooks, then bent it to a 90 degree angle. They seem to work well and don't slip off the hooks.


I had to replace everything on these brakes, they were pretty bad. I had to get shoes, springs, cylinder, adjusters, and e-brake lever. I also put in new wheel bearings while I was at it.


Now I'm at a stand still until the postal service finds either my E-locker gaskets and studs, or my front axle seal kit. It's been a whole month so I will probably have to re-order them.

 

That looks like it was probably a lot of brake cleaner. Nice work, a lot of people are scared of tearing into drums.


For the license lights, what year are they supposed to be for? They look like theyre missing the lens or part of a housing.

 

I didn't really have to clean anything on the brakes. They had been sitting out so long that the rain had washed away all the brake grime and made everything rotten. All I could use was the backing plate and one of the 4 internal cables. I did have to knock all the crust off with wire brushes.

I don't like working in drum brakes but my last disk swap didn't turn out good. The front calipers don't preform well with a semi floating axle bearing. They get sloppy because the hub is allowed to have play in it. So my brakes constantly needed pumped up to grab in the back. And a full floating conversion is not in my price range right now.

The license plate lamps say they are for the generation from 79 to 83. They physically fit, but I feel like they are missing gaskets or grommets or something.

 

I got the front axle rebuilt, it went without a hitch. I haven't got to try it out yet because I still need to set the toe in and I am going to replace my brake booster and master cylinder with the new one. There's no use bleeding the brakes yet until I get the new master cylinder in.



I've never had a 4cyl and a V6 3rd member side by side. The V6 is noticeably more stout.


Nothing feels better than squeaky clean birfs. Ready for some new Lucas grease.


The 3rd gen 4runner brakes look massive on the solid axle. The Front Range brackets bolted up with no problem at all. I wasn't sure what to do with the brake lines so i bought a male to male soft brake line and connected it to the soft brake line I already had. It screwed into the caliper and reached the brake line mount on the frame.


The driver side had a little bit of a snag. I broke the inner spring clip on the axle shaft. I didn't have another one. But I read that the only purpose that it serves is to keep the axle from sliding too far into the 3rd member. There is a mod called the marlin tack where you put a tack weld on the splines and it keeps the shaft from sliding into the 3rd member. Plus if you ever have to take the birf apart again you don't have to pound the center of the birf over a spring clip. so I put a few tacks on the splines at the prescribed depth, and I had to grind them down to height of the spline outer diameter. It seems like it worked because the shaft wouldn't fall into the diff when I tried it out.

 

Nice work. Trucks coming out great!

 

After I got the front axle finished, I started with the e locker in the back.

Here's the housing after I marked it up using the gasket as a template.


Here it is after all of the grinding and welding.


welds ground flat.


Then I slid the Diff back on and drilled and tapped the holes for the new studs. With the diff on, it was easy to get the holes in the right spot.


I mocked up the wiring for the e locker. It worked just like i planned. I hooked it up to a car battery to test it. You push the button and the locker slides in. When it is locked, the light in the button comes on. When you push it again the locker slides out and the light turns off.

Everything looks better with some spray paint.



All sealed up and bolted down to the housing.


Here it is under the truck. It isn't completely finished yet. I had to order a longer e-brake cable since the narrow axle cable is 3 or 4 inches too short.