treymann23

Just wondering if the 1st gen 4runners were as capable or more so then lets say a jeep cherokee or any generation YJ jeep. Given the same amount of money put into them. What I am trying to say is that I have some competition among some friends and wanted to know if I stand a chance, one of them being a Jeep Rubicon.

jimbo74

in bone stock form, none of the cherokees or the 4runner can hang with a rubicon... you must realize the con is setup from the factory as a wheeler....

deathrunner

The rubicon has lockers front and rear.....major advantage. It has coils on all 4 corners for super nice flex and I believe it has a really low crawl ratio.

For the best crawler performance you would want an 85 and then an 84.

These are the solid Axle years, with 85 having the Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI)

If you get lockers front and rear, new gears, 33's, and some new lift springs.....you's be alot closer to the rubicon and well equipped with any cherokee.

Cherokees are pretty sweet as well but in stokc form against a 4runner there are some advantages:

4Runner Advantages:
More Ground Clearance
Better Reliability
4runner Disadvantage:
Long wheelbase
Shallow departure angle
Possibly underpowered

Cherokee Advantages:
Coils up front
6cyl power
Disadvantages:
Unibody(creaks and twists when flexing)
axles are pretty weak Dana 35 and 30
Super low ground clearance

86-89 Runners are IFS and as far as crawling will not compare to either jeep unless you SAS it or highly modify the IFS

Hope that helps

leebee

id like to chime in here, i run my 93 runner with mostly jeeps and i am completely stock. having said that, i can go pretty much any place the lifted, locked and tired jeeps can. there are some places i dont/wont go, ie deep mud pits or some hills as i just dont have the clearance or traction. your stock runner will surprise and amaze you with what it CAN

leebee

oops, sorry about that! con't: do in stock form. if you wheel with any other type of rig, they will make fun of your rig. dont let it bother you, just do your best, pick the proper line, take it easy and if in doubt pass. no sense in damaging things just to prove a point.

lee

ayoung101

cherokee? no problem. you'll probably outwheel the cherokee. cherokees suck. they're soccer-mom-mobiles. sure, they might have 4wd, but they're still made for soccer moms who don't know how to drive in snow without 4wd. a rubicon? not a chance. not without plenty of mods anyways. now a normal wrangler? i'm not sure. it'd be a good fight. unfortunately the base model wrangers have the opportunity to have a much more powerful engine. but other than that, the 4runner can hold it's own. i roll with a bunch of chevy's, the smallest one being a zr2 blazer. i go wherever they go and have rescued them multiple times. i've pulled the blazer out twice now, and have given rides to the 350 AND the 454 when they broke down. (no sense in smoking my engine trying to tow them.) don't put any money on whether or not you can keep up. just be silent, and let your trucks capabilities do the bragging. they'll be surprised that with what your truck is, that it can handle it's own. but be prepared for the rubicon to run circles around you (sad to admit, but it's true).

Ilovemountains

I used to wheel with a guy years back who’s idea of 4 wheeling was more Baja, he would go as fast as he could through rock pits and streams and really what ever came in front of him. He beat his 4runner to death, literally killed it. Then bought a Cherokee, he thought since it had a solid axle up front it could take it, wrong beat it to death also and now he has some jacked up POS wrangler, all the while making fun of me for crawling along and taking my time, its not a race!! The difference is I still have my Toyota, and it still looks decent and drives like a new truck, he has shelled out thousands in repairs and for different trucks! Another friend did the same thing ONCE. He bought a 96 explorer and wanted to go wheeling, there was a very long flooded section of trail, I crawled through it, I personally don’t like cleaning mud and crap out of my suspension and engine bay, he ripped through it like a moron, 3/4 WHAM he sucked cold spring water into his intake and locked up his engine! I had to tow his dumb ass back out to the road so he could have it towed $4400 lesson, and once again my old 88 is still moving! If something looks to difficult, to deep, to steep don’t try it unless your comfortable, or get out and walk it first, why not I would rather take my time on the trail and make it home, than beat my rig and walk home, or worse get towed out by a Heep!!

Doc279

AMEN brother - I'll wheel with you anytime. I've had my runner places that it should not have been and it got out without a problem - on it's own !!!
I wheel pretty regularly and ---- knock on wood --- my runner has never had a strap hooked to it because it was stuck - I have pulled out several jeeps and chevy's that were stuck. I have 237,000 miles on my runner and have no plans of replacing it anytime soon. The next vehicle will be a Toyota as well. I've done the Jeep thing - stay Toyota and drive smart
it will last forever !

JuttyShabango

I'll chime in here since I used to own 3 jeeps in a row for years. The cherokee blows. Not a fan of unibody vehicles. The YJ will amaze you stock. It's light, short wheelbase, great departure angles etc.

The Rubicon can't use it's front locker in 4hi. (I've heard this) so it can get frustrating for them if they have to clean tires in the mud.

I say, flat out, you're gonna have a great day and learn alot. I would rather wheel a 4runner/my trekker/ solid yota than any other vehicle made.

They are built to survive.

Jutty,

Poopshute

Junior... Lock your fronts and back and you'll have no problem hangin' with a Rubicon. Besides... most likely something will break on the Rubicon and then you'll be able to do circles around it!

"It's a quality thing... Jeepers wouldn't understand"

deathrunner

I agree that a stock runner can do great things. I'm still open diffed and have always been able to get out of situations under my own power.

If you want the best chance at hanging with a Rubicon...definitely lock it.

XJ's definitely have thier problems, but it is unfair to say they suck. Check out www.jeepspeed.com to see what a moderately built XJ can do. As for crawling with an XJ, check out the videos on my website. www.sethmetal.com/deathrunner.htm

On one of my ocotillo vids you can see me yanking my buddies XJ out of the sand (he couldn't engage 4wd)

And on our superstition run you can see a nicely built XJ crawling up a waterfall and compare it to the video of a similarly built 4Runner crawling for comparison.

It's unfair to say a certain vehicle sucks.....well, unless were talking about Fords, whole different story.

Poopshute

Ok... some jeeps are capable... I'll give them that much. But when I say suck... I say quality. No Jeep will ever be as reliable as any Toyota. I'd rather spend the extra money and lock up a straight axle 4Runner and match it up to a Jeep. That's my opinion. Seen WAY too many Jeeps hit the hills and come back broke and WAY too many Yota's hit the hills better and drive home perfect. But... you're right... Jeeps CAN be decent off road.

NathanBERG

I have owned both a 1995 Wrangler and a 1994 Cherokee, So I can say the 4Runner beats the Cherokee hands down! NOT EVEN CLOSE! Now the Wrangler is okay. Again it has great approach angels and a Solid axle. But that is about it.

It really depends on the trails you are going to run. But I will put my money on the Runner!!

If you want to Rockcrawl get a XJ.

kyle_22r

even an IFS 4runner has a stronger front end than any YJ, TJ(possibly the exception being the rubicon, but the front 44 is still a dana 30 in every way except the center section).

deathrunner

Kyle-

Do you think the yota 7.5" IFS as a whole is stronger than a dana 30 or a jeeps dana 44 (Which you say is mainly still a dana 30)?

If that is what you are saying....Sweet! More stuff to tease my XJ buddy about.

I knew they were problemantic and weak but I never would have guessed that they would be weaker than an IFS unit.

kyle_22r

i'd prefer it, that's one thing, especially over the dana 30. the rubicon 44 does have a locker, but the tubes, knuckles and axle shafts are pretty much the same as any other jeep dana 30.

deathrunner

I wonder why they didn't just put a full 44 in it. I imagine you wouldn't want your flagship vehichle to break out on the trail.

I wish companies would make all the vehichle with shortcuts for all the regulars, but then offer vehichle with stout equipment for a nominal feel to those who use them. But then it would take all the fun away from building em'

kyle_22r

to their credit, it IS stronger than their other dana 30s. but to me one thing comes to mind -- cost. it's obviously to cut corners, but it is a chrysler now after all.

sure, ALL short wheelbase jeeps came with a dana 30 since the mid 60s or early 70s, but at least back then they had real hubs.

ETN4runner

d30's suck. I have seen people run 35's and 36's on 7.5 ifs and wheel it hard and hardly ever break. I don't think you could do that to a d30. And as far as a d44 is concerned, i would say that an 8" toy is just as strong.