Yea,I ” should” be ok.Just seems like every time I try to go around a speed bump I hit a brick wall.If I were you I would decide the final size tire you are going to run.Then measure the amount of up travel you use before they rub.If you can get to that point without bottoming your shocks, I would leave them exactly where they are and install bumpstops that will stop the axle uptravel at that point.I cant see any reason to make em higher, if you cant even use the extra travel.Also that way you get the extra droop you want anyway.

 

The other thing you could do is let me buy some 12' s and trade me;-)

 

I hear ya on the brickwall, it seems like everytime I do something that should be simple, it backfires on me, lol. I'm starting to re-think (or maybe overthink) my shock mount idea and leaning more towards my crossbar idea I described above (I don't know if you read it as I edited my post right before you made yours, lol) but by doing it that way I think I could have multiple shock mounting points, say in one inch increments, that way I could dial in my up and down travel, or change if if I ever go bigger on tires (probably wont go bigger than 35' s) I don't know. I may think about this one awhile, instead of rushing in like I usually do, lol.

 

That would probably be the easier thing to do, lol! Make sure you get the 5150's, lmao!!!

 

Ed,what is your valving on those/exact part #

 

Ed,I was just thinking I have alot of other places to dump money in this truck as of now.Sorry to waste your time, I just cant do it now.

 

Hey bud its all good, I thought we were just joking around anyways, lol, I kinda like a challenge, and am determined to work with the 14" travel shocks I got. Here's kinda what I'm thinking now:


^^^ a crossmember that bolts into the original shockhoop mounting location. It would look like this on both ends and go from one hoop through the engine compartment to the other hoop. It might have to go around the Carb, haven't thought that far ahead, could also be tied into the firewall and core support. With multipleshock mounting locations, you could fine tune or change your uptravel if needed, sorry about the crappy drawing, hopefully it conveys what I'm talking about, lol, you think it would work, or am I just way over thinking this, lol!!!

 

Hey im reading through your thread and i was wanting to clean up some of the axle or at least just the "driveline" (i think its called.) So Some cleaner like Terry suggested and also using a wire grinder would work on cleaning it all up?

I bought my axle off a guy from las vegas and im guessing there is mud and clay over there where they off road. I scraped most of the big stuff off already but there is some stubborn particles and still clay stuck on in in the nooks and crannys. Would using these items work for me? I'm sure my dad has a wire grinder i might be able to use.

Also What paint should i buy? i would like to get started with making this stuff look like new again.

 

Hey Richard...

I would rebuild/or at least restore that axle with a kit..... If you went with an IFS Eliminator Kit... All that would be included. Seals, bearings, etc.(many kits don't include that). You want this axle DONE, trouble free for years to come(within reason, depending on if you hop it off a cliff or something for fun, right? hehehe... JK).... But seriously... Putting in THIS MUCH work and THIS MUCH MONEY, even on the cheapest way possible-end.... Only to have to tear in there? Also, it's easy to do while you have it out, then paint it up, etc.

I would strip it as best as Possible with a heavy duty wire brush on a powerful drill... HIGH RPM...(Try it when wet, it really helps to break down that crap and send it flying. You could also always use some Stripper...THEN grind it down a bit and prime and paint it)> BUT I'D FIRST tear it down and reseal it, inpect the Axles, rebuild the calipers at least, have the rotors serviced/ground(I can give you a number to my machinist and he'll do you a solid, TRUST ME! Not free, but CHEAP!).... Tear down those manual locking hubs you have while at it, clean em up and make sure the ball and spring is there, no rust or debris, etc., ya know? MIGHT AS WELL NOW, while you have it all there, laying on the ground, right?

I would at least locate some decent bearing and seal kits and do that, Richard.... THEN strip and paint it(to prevent scaring it up while working on it, ya know?

Just IMHO.... I'm no SAS expert... but NO WAY I'd just clean it up and slap it in w/out really digging into it and doing at least an end to end moderate restore, ya know?

FWIW... Yeah?

 

Sounds good. thanks for the Advice. I'ma look online for the rebuild kits.

 

Hi Richard. Yeah the purple power that Terry mentioned is really good, I think I used something similiar, it was a degreaser used to clean concrete. The wire wheel worked out really well. I used both a benchtop grinder with a wire wheel and a hand grinder with a wire wheel. Their may be nooks and crannies on the axel that are hard to get at, I just used the cleaner and a wire brush. Made me wish I had a media blaster by the time I was through, lol. For paint I just used ordinary primer and spray paint, I figured it would be easy and cheap to touch up. I used the rustoleum "hammered" silver paint on the steering knuckles (the parts shown in your post) the hammered texture didnt really show up, just looks like ordinary silver, lol. The only thing I would have done differently is used some high temp paint on the brake calipers (they make a high temp brake caliper paint, but I think any high temp paint will work) I just used regular spray paint, and it might heat up and Peel off, we'll see, lol. Glad you'r finding my build thread somewhat useful, ha, ha. Be sure to post pics of you're progress, its kinda cool when you read back thru your own build thread and see all that you've accomplished, ya know, lol!

 

I just got done posting, and then saw Marks post, lol, and I agree with his advice. You're better off rebuilding the front axel now and be done with it than have to tear into it again later. Also its a lot easier to clean some of the axel components when its disassembled. I found out that my trunion bearings were shot when I pulled off the steering arms to put on my new high steer arms. The bearings just fell apart. You can get the front axel rebuild kit for around $100, maybe cheaper, and like Mark said it comes with everything you need except maybe wheel bearings?... I'm pretty sure my kit didn't come with wheel bearings, but it had the seals (I got my rebuild kit in a trade for some fenders I had, it was new, but I didn't purchase it, lol) Also I upgraded the wiper seal with TG's wiper seal and its way better, eliminates having to run the " felts" and better than the wiper seal supplied in the rebuild kit. Also if you look in the 84-85' build thread section you will find a "sticky" by Toyospearo that shows how to tear down and rebuild the front axel,( helped me out alot!, thanks Toyo, lol) has good pics and I think he lists all the torque specs too. Anyway, sounds like your on the right path, doing research, and looking up parts, I think you'll be well prepared when the time comes for your SAS!

 

Oh sweet I'm going to look up that last part u said about the detailed SFA rebuild thread with pix. I'm sure thatll be really helpful for me.

And ill definitely take pix as I go. I try to take pix of everything i do. My landlords sons laugh at me cuz they see me taking pix of my progress lol but I net they wish they had something to look back on to see all they've been through.

Oh man I might have 2 projects for the weekend. I wanna install that BVSV valve once and for all. But in order to do that I need to take off the whole intake manifold. Ok well let's see how it goes. Thanks guys.

 

Hey guys, I decided to go ahead and mount my ( I think they're. 2nd Gen rear seats) into my 4 runner. The PO just kinda had them setting in there, and they had the seat bottom cushions on the wrong side, probably because the bolt holes actually line up that way, if you put them in the correct side the holes don't match up at all, lol. I originally wanted to track down a first Gen rear seat to put in, but money is the main factor, and I need to get some seats bolted in so my kids can ride back there. I remember seeing someone do this swap, but for the life of me can't find the thread after doing a search. My main thing I was trying to figure out is the latching mechanism on the fold down seat backs don't even come close to matching up with the post that sticks out of the side panel. If I have to eliminate the fold down feature that's fine. Anyway if anyone can help me out with a thread, or has done this swap your help would be much appreciated! Thanks, ...Ed

 

Well I was trying to figure out what to do with my rear seat. I tend to look at a project like this and get overwhelmed, trying to figure it all out in advance, so I decided to break it up and just concentrate on the seat bottoms, and worry about the seat backs later. Like I said earlier I believe these seats are out of a 2nd Gen 4 runner, and the PO had just set them in there with a couple bolts holding the seat backs in place, and they had the seat bottom cushions, (like ToyoTech559 had mentioned awhile back) they were on the wrong side, but, the bolt holes match up like that, here's how they looked before.


^you can see the V shape inbeteeen the bottom cushions, that ToyoTech pointed out earlier.


^ with the bottom seat cushions on the correct side, you can see how far off the bolt holes are on the hinge portion of the seat bracket.

So instead of drilling new holes and calling it a day, I decided to go ahead and modify the bottom brackets so the will line up with the factory holes.


^the bracket on the left is the unmodified, the one on the right I welded a 3/16" thick by 2" wide piece of flat bar stock to and drilled new mounting holes 2-3/4" over from the original holes


^the bracket on the right I did the same thing to, except the holes are 3-1/2" over from the original holes.


^here it is finished, with the cushion on the correct side and bolted in the factory holes. I only finished the one side, but have all the flat bar stock cut to length to do the driverside.

 

Dude! I just went through your entire build in one sitting! AMAZING, you accomplished so much! Keep up the good work man, looking forward to future changes!

 

Awesome work bro. I'm lucky mine are still in good condition. But if they were messed up id definitely take the same route you just did. Looks good man. Are u also gonna replace the top back support too?

Also what's the cushion feel like on those vs the 1st gen ones?

 

Wow, great improv, ED!

And, ....... regarding what I was saying to Richard... YEP, he could go that route as well... What I meant was it's sometimes best to just start with the WHOLE kit(less high steer), meaning, "IFS Eliminator Kit", which comes with full knuckle, hub and etc., rebuilt kit.. INCLUDING bearings, springs, etc., etc. .... Then maybe sell those springs he has, etc., etc,. hahaha... But s'all good... I think I need to see a list of all he has, anyway(next to what he needs, total, which is INDEED a big list).. Anyway, yeah, he could just get a kit for what he needs... And some kits DO have bearings. It sucks to order a kit without them and then find a couple are binding up/catching, etc., ya know? But it's RARE... Still, I think it's good maintenance for LONG time ahead without troubles... To grab new bearings and races.. just MHO.

 

Thanks for the compliments streetlancer! Man that's a lot of reading all at once, lol! Just from looking at your signature it looks like you've put in a lot of hard work into your build also! Ill have to check it out!

 

Thanks Richard! Yeah, I'm going to replace the seat backs also, I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to work with the latching mechanism that allows the seatback to fold down. Whatever I come up with will probable be modifying the seat and not anything on the 4 runner itself, that way if I ever go back to the original style seats everything will bolt right in. The cushion feels comfortable, but I can't give you a comparison between these seats and the first Gen seats, as these are the ones that were in my 4 runner when I bought it, I've never sat in the first Gen ones, lol.