voiddweller

Greetings all. Well I have finally decided to make my first build thread. More or less this is a decent way for me to share my first 4runner build with everyone and keep track of my repairs at the same time, mind you, the most i’ve done on a vehicle up to this point in my life before this one is a radiator, water pump and a thermostat, so I’m kind of a newb and learning as I go.. Thankfully I got the FSM and a haynes, plus Youtube and most of all Yotatech.

I purchased this rig (if you can call it that) off craigslist and needless to say it’s had a fair share of ‘previous owner’ issues sprout up. From the start it was needing a head gasket job that I overlooked when I bought it. I got a pretty good deal on it in the first place so paying to have the HG job done wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m a work at home, stay at home dad with a 16 month old little guy here with me most of the time so getting outside to actually work on my rig is rare, however summer is here and the wife (teacher) is off work and able to help me out, allowing me some free time to get things done in the garage!

Things I've done so far:

Cv joints (Popped during 4wd, replaced new)
Clutch kit (replaced original factory clutch 20 yrs old)
Idler arm (was loose steering)
Pitman arm (was loose steering)
Rear Window Switch (replaced connectors, poor soldering prev owner)
Spark plugs (why not)
Spark plug wires (why not)
Distributor cap & rotor (why not)
Broken distributor bolts (discovered during replacement, tapped, replaced)
Parking Brake Cable (forward section to split, old broken behind handle in cab)
Starter (was clicking, salvage replacement from BM)
Starter positive wire connector (old wouldn’t come off during install, cut and replaced)
Head gaskets, kit (Head and all gaskets above, plenum, etc)
Knock sensor harness (old was bare wire)
Timing belt (worn, nicked and chipped in one spot)
Timing pulley (made noise, was slightly bent off-track)
Water pump (why not, during head gasket job)
Differential Pinion Seal (was leaking gear oil all over the underside of the truck)
Upper radiator hose (blew a leak)
Lower radiator hose (had the coolant drained during upper, why not)
Water bypass hose (sprung leak after head gasket job U-Shaped)
Spare tire winch (was broken, ordered rust free off ebay)
Master clutch cylinder (broke by pedal on push rod part was buckling wouldn’t engage clutch)
Slave clutch cylinder (since I replaced master, why not)
Tailgate key cylinder (didn’t have key, ebay purchased new)
Skid plate (missing, BM salvage purchase, bedliner painted)
3 broken skid plate bolts (drilled out, tapped, installed new)
Shifter seat, Marlin Crawler (popped out of 1st gear and loose shifting)
Shifter socket, Marlin Crawler (popped out of 1st gear and loose shifting)
Tailgate Torsion Bar (insulated rubber grommets fixed bad rattle)
Removed Forward Stabilizer Bar (Broken bolts, connecting rods bad, will drill out and replace later)
AC Blower Motor / Fan (Replaced BM Salvage 94 4Runner, was clicking and fluctuating)
Stock Stereo Cassette Deck Replaced (Pyle Digital Media Head Unit)
Stock Speakers replaced (Pyle 4” and 5 ¼”)
Installed Moog springs in the rear for sag fix

Pulled Transmission, while sitting in garage did the following:
Replaced rear engine block freeze plug (driver side rusted out) (PO replaced one not both?)
Replaced crankshaft rear oil seal and gasket (leaking from seal)
Drilled out broken slave cylinder mounting bolt (only one was there from PO)


To do/fix:
Install Differential Breather Valve
Drill out broken sway bar bolts
Front Oil Seal
Power Steering Leak
OME Suspension Lift
OME Steering Stabilizer
Onboard Shower (for beach trips and camping)
Some sort of new paint job (rattle can??)

I’ve got some pics I’ve been taking along the way which I’ll post as well as keeping updates going as I chug along at this project..

voiddweller

Here she is the first day I brought her home..







First order of business the pinion seal spraying gear oil all over the place..

voiddweller

cracked housing on the clutch master cylinder was causing some 'to the floor' shifting issues, picked up a new slave cylinder also




Picked up for 30 bucks a skid plate at the junk yard and hit it with some spray on bed liner.. Score!





broken spare tire winch... ebay 20 bucks rust free replacement!

voiddweller

While messing about with the truck, my boy helping..




These showed up at my front door (budget tires made by cooper) 265x75x16 to replace the 225's that were 20 years old so says the date code on the old tires..




Not THAT much bigger but an inch or two helps out.. I still managed to sell the old tires for 75 bucks on craigslist...

More updates to come, time for the kids dinner..

shadowbirdie

I should start one also, just to place all the pictures. I'm doing a lot of the same, newest discovery a bad Clutch Master, I found my skidplate off a 94 4Runner just last Friday at pick a part, wasn't looking for one, but there it was for $16, so why not? A couple small "imperfections" to bang out and a bright yellow Walmart paintjob and call it good. Didn't bother to repair the leaky steering gear, scooped at pick a part $45 out of a 95 4Runner

voiddweller

Picked up on the cheap a Pyle SD/USB in dash head unit along with some even cheaper new 4" and 5 1/4" speakers by Pyle from Amazon.. total price 68.00 for the entire system.. Ripped out the 20 year old stuff and replaced with new.. Only one of the old speakers actually worked, after I pulled the old cassette deck out and saw the previous owners wiring job, I now know why..

shadowbirdie

My very first post right after I got this truck(it's still in the newbie welcome section)as I was pulling it apart I mentioned and posted a pic similar to this one.."Don't hook your stereo up to your ignition mains" all kinds of goober stuff found in these thar Yotas. I have a straight 12 volt 60 watt Pyle stereo Amp I'm going to just hook 1/8 phono plugs so I can hook up whatever comes down the pike technologywise in the future, always going to have 1/8 plugs and jacks

voiddweller

My Springs arrived, I'm broke so I'm trying to piece things together part by part for right now, the springs should help fix the a$$-sag she's got going on in the rear end..

Install pics

voiddweller

SO when I removed the old springs and took the shocks off, I tried to pull the old rear sway bar off to make things easier, I broke a single bolt on each side that holds the sway bar to the rear end.. I was considering just yanking the rear the same as I did the front, however I DD this thing and tote a couple kids around in it. I want it to be safe for now and not worry about roll-overs.. Is it THAT much more of a risk for just normal driving to not have them on? I'm in Florida not driving around mountain roads and hair-pin curves..

I hope to find some time to drill out the broken bolts and replace them this summer with new bushings, brackets, rods, etc..

shadowbirdie

Is that what Florida does to vehicles? New England used to eat them alive.
I still remember landing in Phoenix from Boston in 85 and seeing a 69 Nova in showroom condition with absolutely no Bondo, shocking, unheard of in Massachusetts along the coast...
Should take some time and scrap and paint some of that over to at least slow it's demise.. In the Navy paint isn't just a color scheme, it's a preservative.
Try taking a little time and using penetrating oil on those bolts for a few days or a week and whacking occasionally with a hammer (without damaging the heads) instead of snapping them off, most will let go with a little patience and persuasion. I love working on my 25 year old San Diego County rig...
One step at a time

voiddweller

So I took the wife and kid down to Fort Lauderdale Beach for the weekend, had some A/C issues.. About 1 1/2 hours into the drive my air started blowing hot, normally ice cold. Pulled over, hooked a gauge up to it from a Walmart r134a can I bought while off the interstate. The refrigerant was full. Looked under the truck and a TON of water was coming out of the AC drain. After all the water came off and started slow dripping (about 15 minutes) the air ran ice cold again for the remainder of the trip. It happened on the way home the same way. I suppose there is some moisture in the system? Not 100% sure. Thinking about purging the system and replacing the drier, then recharging it.

Anyone have any other ideas of what that might be? Ac is foreign to me..

millball

Sounds like the AC evaporator froze up in the high humidity Florida conditions.

Not uncommon in an AC sysyem that is working very strongly.

When the ice cleared, air was again able to flow thru the evaporator, and presto, cold air again!!

There is nothing wrong with your AC that would require service, or parts.

The troublesome moisture is in the Florida air, not inside the AC mechanism.

Try running the AC at the higher/highest fan speeds, this can sometimes keep the evaporator a few degrees warmer , from the additional air flow, so that it does'nt ice up.

I wish mine would run cold enough to freeze here in AZ.

voiddweller

Hmm I thought that would only happen if the system was already containing moisture.

On a different note another strange thing started happening. My rig will idle at 1500 somtimes well after warmup, turn the truck off/on in traffic and sometimes it'll drop down to 800 where it needs to be, turn the truck off/on again and it'll idle back up at 1500.

I thought it was the throttle body and I was going to take it off and give it a good chem cleaning however I am not certain that is it since a quick off/on changes the entire idle RPM.

shadowbirdie

Idaho like Arizona stays very dry, but it's too inconvenient to put a swamp cooler on the roof.
The only advantage to high humidity is how it makes the theory of A/C function in the rig.
I miss the cold A/C and huge puddles under the car in July in Massachusetts.

voiddweller

I think I found the vacuum leak that is causing my erratic idle and power steering fluid magically disappearing in one discovery.

I behold, the broken power steering air vacuum control valve ( I think )

Would this be causing idle issues AND a power steering fluid leak? looks awful wet down there..




I found a replacement online on RockAuto, 60 bucks is a bit expensive for such a small part.. Guess I'm going to compile a new junkyard parts list.

shadowbirdie

A diaphragm rupture would cause both a vacuum leak and fluid being sucked into the area or into the TB, not sure what the part does, what happens if you switch the hose connections etc.? Fortunately the hoses are clearly different lengths and the pipes are different..what would happen if you just put a plug in it? Is it an emissions issue?

87hoerunner

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coopster

Hey, so how's the 4runner coming along?
What'd you think about those moog springs? Original weight and rate? Did they restore the height?

weichelh

Can you post a pic with those new tires on?

zachg

awesome runner!