JohnnyCanuck

nice work, looks great.

Ocell

Thanks, I'll follow your advice and see if I can get the drums turned before I buy new ones. And I'll pick up those spring kits too.

Ocell

I finally got a replacement fuel door.



I got it sanded down. Looks like it had factory primer, factory paint, second coat of primer, and cheap paint. Took a while to get through all of that.



It was too humid to paint, though, so I'll be getting to that soon.


I had time yesterday evening to swap out my rear shocks with the Skyjacker Hydros I just got. Here's the old shock next to the new. I think the old shock must be nitrogen charged. It takes a TON of force to compress, and then extends itself back out. I'm curious to see how much the ride changes.



I was going to do a test fit and then take them back off to paint the boots, but they were such a pain to get on, I think I'll live with the red for a while. Hopefully I can get some time this evening to swap the fronts.

I used Rain-X Glass Cleaner to help the rubber bushings slide in to the shocks, and then used some blue grease to help the shocks slide on to the shock mounts. Are shock mounts usually textured?

5runner

that is such an awesome 4runner!!! i have 2 a 2nd gen and a 3rd gen always wanted a 1st gen and you are only gonna want toyotas from here on out i tried the jeep thing i hated it! you also have the best engine and tranny combo!!!

daved5150

iTrader: (1)

You got good taste there kid. That's the way I feel about the 1st gen's too. They are just BAD looking...I love the body lines. But having a family definitely puts a damper on having a 2 door truck like that. I'm going to put some work into the 94 and give it to my son when he gets his license (he's thirteen now).

Once I get my full size crew diesel pickup in a few years, I think I may have to find a cleaner 1st gen as a play toy.

Good job on working on yours. I'm gonna watch you do what I've should have done...

And let us know how the new shocks feel, if it changes the ride at all...

Ocell

Thanks Dave. I can see the family issue. Your son is lucky to get such a great vehicle to start out in!



I went to install the front shocks yesterday, but I needed a 1/2" socket extension that I didn't own yet.

Instead I painted the fuel door black. I used Rustoleum. At first I didn't like the texture, but I put on a real heavy coat and things smoothed out, but it's still got a slight texture to it, and it has grown on me. I let it dry overnight, but it still picked up fingerprints this morning, so I'll probably scuff it up with some sandpaper and hit it with another coat of paint. Here it is bolted to the truck. (I haven't installed the lock barrel yet)



I want to put a "Flammable" graphic on the door, I think I'll do it in the bed liner paint so it will be tone-on-tone with a texture change. I did a Photoshop mock-up of a few different graphics, and I think this is the one I like the most.

Ocell

I finally did some Google work and figured out that my wheels are from a 2005 to 2011 Tacoma. I like them a lot, but it was bugging me that I wasn't sure where to get more, or what the offset was.

TURBOrunnerNM

4 brakes are overrated for sure. i'm pretty sure mine has been working off of 3 for...well forever. DIG the thread BTW.

Ocell

Thanks TURBOrunnerNM.

I got the front shocks installed yesterday evening, so now I've got them all replaced. I took it for a quick drive around town and I think the ride is much smoother... Impacts and rebounds feel more controlled. Things are still pretty stiff thanks to cranked torsion bars and firm Zuk mod coils... The shocks won't change anything there.

I'm hoping to do some light off roading today or tomorrow at a local park, Muleshoe Bend. I haven't been before, but it's supposed to have some nice lake front shoreline terrain.

Ocell

I was able to make it out to Muleshoe Bend Park with my girlfriend today. It's about 30 minutes West of Austin. It's really a campground, fishing, and mountain biking park, but they have a few paths for full size vehicles, and you can drive anywhere you want, pretty much. There were only a few spots where I needed 4 wheel drive, and only a couple where I needed 4 low. It was exactly the type of spot I was looking for though, since I'm new to 4x4 driving and the last thing I wanted was to be in a line of more capable vehicles and drivers while I'm learning the limits of my 4Runner.

Here's a video fo me taking on a pretty steep hill (it looks so flat in the video!) with deep diagonal ruts going across. I took the worst path first to see if I had the flex for it. You can see, I don't. At least not without a locker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeO2EeO2kZg&feature=plcp

Next I took a better path that kept more weight on all 4 wheels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Beq12rxyZTc&feature=plcp

Here's a video of the descent, you can see the flex of the IFS and rear Zuk modded leafs pretty well here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HekuQIXncU&feature=plcp

Any words of wisdom you guys have after watching these videos, I'm all ears.



And the obligatory glamour shot.

Ocell

So, now I've got lockers on my mind. I want this thing to function as a DD, so I'd love a selectable locker but I don't think I can justify the cash. I'm leaning toward a lunchbox locker, hoping that I could adjust my driving style to keep it from being a problem in day-to-day driving.

No rush though I guess... I've only taken this thing off of pavement once so far.

Luvmeye22re

I've only ever had 2 lockers in my time, one Detroit and one spool. I've never driven with a lunchbox locker (powertrax?) but when I had the Detroit the only time I really noticed it was off road and at it was SWEET. I couldn't believe what it could climb, it was almost absurd lol. Other than that the truck drove just like, a big lifted truck would be expected too.

The spool on the other hand, not fun on pavement, and definitely not DD material for a guy like me.

I will probably do a lockrite or similar in my truck but it's only going to be a weekend warrior/camping/snowboarding/dd animal. Full on rock crawler I'd go a different path even if it was still a DD.

ARB or Detroit would by my choice if I was super serious about keeping my rig for a loooong time.

bend

iTrader: (1)

Random question from a couple pages back, where did you mount the 6.5" woofers?

Ocell

They're in the bottom front corners of the front doors. A previous owner cut the corners out of the door panel and put in a wood mount for the speakers. I'll take some pictures when I get home today.

Ocell

Here you go bend:

Ocell

I had a few painting mishaps, so it came out a bit different than I planned, but here's the fuel door now. (I installed the lock barrel later after taking the photo.)

bend

iTrader: (1)

Looks good. Thanks.

KillerToytops

Nice Runner...welcome to the club.

Ocell

Thanks guys.

Now I'm starting to educate myself on regearing. The info plaque on the firewall lists it as a 8" diff with 4.1 gears. Considering how sluggish it is on hills, I'm pretty sure the gearing is still stock. I'll lift the rear wheels and check by turning the wheels and counting the driveshaft soon to verify.

I think I'd want to go with 4.88. My tires are 265/75/16 (31.6") right now, so 4.88 would work fine, and even let me go a bit taller later. (right?)

The procedure of swapping ring gears looks a bit involved for a driveway mechanic... do most people find a third member with the gearing they want pre-built?

Ocell

SR5 clusters are going as high as $200 for Buy It Now on ebay. It seems like they were all hovering at $100 just a month ago. What gives?

I made the mistake of window shopping at www.wabfab.org. Now I've got an itchy trigger finger on a bikini top, but of course I missed the Garrett 15% off sale by a day. Doh!

The prebuilt 4.88 diff with the Detroit locker is also going on my long term shopping list as an option, since I'm thinking of regearing and going lunchbox, it would kill both birds with one slightly less expensive stone: http://www.wabfab.org/Assembled-Unit...ypage.tpl.html. I just gotta figure out the front diff.


I'm heading out to Hidden Falls tomorrow morning. (http://hiddenfallsadventurepark.com/) with the intention of hitting a few of the mild trails and watching the advanced trails, taking notes the whole time.