I guess I should have followed your lead with how you mounted yours. I tried on top of the core support, but that puts the pin and bushing at different angles. And that wont work. I may have to buy another hood one day and mount it like you did lol.

 

I know, I need to get her up and running, hopefully I'll have some time to work on it in the next couple weeks. Sounds like nvwiggins really likes them, I know Mark (Chefyota4x4) got a set and gave them good reviews.

That's good to hear! I look forward to putting some miles on them pretty soon!

I wonder if they come in 37's?

 

Sorry to hear that, I just got lucky, I didn't really give it alot of thought as far as the hood being at a different angle than the core support, I was just trying to avoid having to cut a big hole through the hood supports to mount the bushings, lol, I still ended up cutting part of the support out to make clearance for my radiator cap...I think I forgot to post pics of that.

 

Looks like you are about to get it wrapped up. Great score on the tires. What is your secret for getting such clear side glass in your truck?

 

Hi Terry. I finally had time to work on my 4runner this past Monday and Tuesday (my days off work) and got the timing chain installed. The timing chain install itself went smooth, it was all the other unexpected things that really threw me for a loop. About the side window glass, I didn't really do anything specially to get it clean...can't actually remember the last time I cleaned the inside of the glass, lol!

After installing the timing chain I couldnt get it to start. I had already replace the spark plugs and wires, the cap and rotor didn't look the greatest, so I went ahead replaced those along with the coil. I still wasn't getting any spark to the spark plugs. I remove the cap and ried turn the rotor by hand, it spun freely, it ended up that the pin that holds the gear on the end of the distributor had sheared off, so the gear was spinning freely on the shaft. So I pulled the distributor and replaced the pin. But when I pulled out the distributor the oil pump shaft came out with it and then fell into my oil pan! I had to drain the new oil, (I had just changed the oil and filter) , and went to remove the oil pan but couldn't because it was hitting the drag link on my steering! So I was barely able to fit my hands in there and was able to unbolt the oil pump, then I was able to drop the pan. I replaced the gaskets reinstalled the oil pump shaft into the oil pump, reinstalled the oil pump and the oil pan. I had a heck of a time putting in the distributor, couldn't get the distributor to engage with the oil pump shaft, but finally got it in. I reinstalled my radiator (for the second time). I went to put in my new oil, that I had drained, and I could smell gasoline really bad. When I had been trying to start the engine when the distributor gear was spinning freely and it not starting, all that gas had leaked down and mixed with the oil! So I got 5 more quarts of new oil put that in, and tried to start it and it still wouldn't start.

This is day 2, & at this point I'm ready to pull my hair out, lol. The only thing I can think of is that the distributor is 180° out. There was no way I was going to pull the distributor out again to rotate the rotor 180° after what I had just went through, so I made sure the motor was top dead center then I pulled the cap to see where the rotor was pointing, it was in the 5 o'clock position 180° from where it should have been pointing. So I made the post on the cap that the rotor was pointing at the #1 cylinder, and put the rest of the plug wires in the corresponding firing order. Then I tried starting it and she fired right up. So after getting the timing set (by ear) where it seemed to run and idle the best, I took it for a test drive. It drove good, had good power, no hesitation or misses. I got about 2 miles from the house, I noticed the gas pedal seemed stiff and harder to push than normal. I pushed it alittle harder, and the throttle cable broke! I was in such a hurry, I hadn't grab any tools. Luckily the engine was idling a little fast, I was able to put the tcase in low range and 3rd gear and creep home... took me about 20 min, lol.

In the morning I'm going to check for leaks, Check all the fluids, adjust the idle, and give it a bath! Might take off the top if I have time, need to get license tabs... hopefully I can drive it to work.

 

Sounds like your runner is giving you a tough time lately. On the gas leak. I know you have the 302 in your runner but the fuel system is basically the same as my 85. My 85 is leaking fuel bad. What is happening is the heat is causing the gas to expand in the tank and pushing it to the front of the truck on mine. I wonder if you are expeiencing the same thing I am.

Are these trucks supposed to have vented gas caps? You have three lines in your fuel system. The Supply line which can only go one way. The Vent line which should run to your charcoal canister ( I think???) and the Return line that should come off of the Fuel Rail and goes to the "J" line on the fuel pump assembly. I may possibly have my lines crossed and am going to check and see on mine.

I can loosen the gas cap and relieve the pressure and that stops it from pushing fuel to the front end. I am wondering if that is your fuel leak with yours. I understand that your part of the country is experiencing higher then normal temps. I would think the excess pressure would bleed off thru the vent line and thru your charcoal canister. I cleaned the lines on my truck so may have them crossed at the tank or at the firewall. Fuel lines get clogged bad on these trucks and could possibly be an issue with yours on the fuel leak is my way of thinking.

Otherwise I am not really seeing how you could get that much gas in the oil. I feel your frustrations. My truck has been giving me a heck of a time and I have been looking at your thread on the sbf swap. My rebuilt 22re is being a pain in the rear and if it doesnt straighten out soon, is something I will consider.

 

I'm not sure what the issue was with the fuel leaking into the oil, I figured it must be from trying to start it (when the distributor gear roll pin was broke and the gear was spinning free) and not having any spark. Now that I have the spark issue resolved, it fires right up, it doesn't seem like there is any issue with a leak.

Now I'm having a heating issue with my new radiator. I drove it to work the next day, and the temp gauge was running between 200 to 220° with the electric fan on and when I shut it off at work it heated up to 240°. It never boiled over, I left my electric fan running for about 30 min to cool it down. Like you mentioned, we'very been having some really hot weather the last few weeks. On the way home that night (11pm) it had cooled down outside a good 30° and my temp gauge stayed closer to 180° with the fan on. When I had my old toyota 3.0 V6 radiator in, the temp stayed around 190° at normal driving speeds without the electric fans on. I'm wondering g if maybe I have a air pocket trapped in the cooling system...?

The other problem I had was the throttle cable that I rigged up to replace the broken one. I just used a small gauge cable and some clamps I had laying around and replaced the old cable. I noticed right off that the throttle had a spongy feeling to it when pressed down, and it didn't feel like I had full use of the pedal. When I went to leave work, I only had about a 1/4 use of the throttle pedal. I checked the cable (the cable had a plastic clear coating over it) and the clamp was just slipping and stripping off the clear coating. I as able to pull out the slack and tighten it up again and made it home ok, but definately had to fix the issue. I ended up taking the throttle linkage off my old 76' Ford parts truck. It had the exact same carb as my 4runner. I just had to lengthen it about 6". Now the throttle response and feel of the pedal is 100% improved. I routed the throttle linkage through the same hole that the cable went through, just had to drill out a bigger hole in that bushing/cable grommet thing that bolts to the firewall with the 2 bolts in it. On the end of the linkage that goes to the pedal I just welded a 1/4 20 threaded bolt to the end, it goes through the hole in the gas pedal linkage where the cable used to attach, I put 2 nuts on there and I was done, works awesome. Here's a pic of the ford throttle linkage from the carb to the firewall, I didn't get a pic of the other end attaching the the gas pedal. I left the silver bracket there for the return spring for the carb. The upper part of the bracket used to be the cable stop for the throttle cable.



Had to take the top off!

 

Did you ever get your BFG tires sorted out?

 

Yeah, I got them awhile back, I will get them mounted up sometime this month, just need to get some 17" wheels...that will probably be my next update, lol.

How's your 4runner been treating you?

 

It acted up earlier this month. The hydro throw out bearing took a dump again so I called up and got another rebuild kit and rebuilt it. this time it appears that it may have been my fault that it prematurely malfunctioned. I had a spacer in-between the transmission and the bearing and it was slightly crooked causing the throw out bearing to engage unequally and tearing one of the seals which left me with no clutch. Luckily I was close to home and not out wheeling. Tonight I installed some new plugs, wires,a rotor, and a cap and it runs much better. I was experiencing a stutter when the engine was lugging like when I was pulling a hill or under heavy acceleration. After switching all of that out the problem went away, which made me really happy. Now that I'm not doing seasonal fire anymore and working for the local Fire Department here in Elko I hope to make a lot more progress on my build and get out and use the thing. I have a ton of parts, pieces, and ideas for it, its just been time holding me back.

 

Hey Ed! Hope all is well. I have not been around in awhile.

Your runner looks great with the top off in that Pic!

 

Glad you were able to get the clutch fixed, and got your runner tuned up and running good! Now that you have some free time, I look forward to seeing what you do on it next!

 

Hey Mark, things are going pretty good, thanks for the compliment!
I took the doors off yesterday, trying to make some tube doors, I wish I had access to a tube bender like the one you ordered for your class, that would be sweet to be able to bend up some bumpers, sliders, roll cage etc! Look forward to see what you guys fab up in class this year!

 

Glad things are good! Seeing your truck really makes me realize how much I need High steer and new front springs! I really need to get on that.


I am also excited about the bender. I really want to teach more fabrication this year in my one class. How cool would it be for a high school student to design his own roll cage or bumper for his car/truck, and actually build it!!

 

So that is what they look like with the tops off,lol. Wish I could take the top off of mine but we keep getting rain. Your picture is making me wish the weather would clear up here. Looks great.

 

That would be sweet, I wish I had the use of that kind of equipment when I was in high school!....actually I wish I had access to that kind of equipment now! lol.

 

Ha, ha. The weather here has cooled down quite a bit too, it's been a little chilly driving home from work at night with the top off, but it's supposed to get hot again next week. I wish we would get some rain, we need it badly, it's really dry here, had alot of fires in the area this summer.

 

Wooo! Nice no doors bro. Hey i figured id answer your question from a few months ago on here. The large Yotatech sticker that Chef, Johnny and I all have on our rear windows were given to us by the sponsor "Internet Brands" for that sponsored BF Goodrich trip that we did last year from Barstow CA to Las Vegas NV. We didnt buy them. They had them made for every person on the trip. They had some JK forum and ford stickers made for their forums too. Sorry but it seems like the only way you'll manage to get one is going to be if you go to a custom sticker shop.

 

Well I've sold my 4runner. I will miss it, but I'm ready to move on to something else. I did get a 87' SR5 4Runner, 22re/5speed as part trade, I'm not sure what's in store for it down the road, but for now I will just be cleaning it up, and fixing a few issues that it has and keeping it stock for now. I'll post up some pics of my 87' later today, it's not pretty, lol, has some rust issues, the interior needs some TLC, but could be worse, lol.

 

I really liked your runner but sometimes a new project is nice for a change. Will be looking forward to what you come up with next. Once I get my projects completed I have really been considering a small block Ford motor again. Really enjoyed those motors and one reason I liked yours so well. You made me miss those days.