maddmatt02

ok, I want to get an SUV but I read just now on a swap page where a guy had 35's and had the 3.0 V6 and said he couldnt even cruuise at freeway speeds and got horrible mileage. I drove one once on a test drive for a couple minutes and it didnt seem to be underpowered, but after hearing this I dont know about getting one if Im gonna add HEAVy stereo and big tires. do you think it wil be alright?

I am thinking of a cherokee with the 4.0 I6 cuz a freind has one with a somewhat heavy system and 35" tires and that thing is a true powerhouse, I think he just has custom intake and exhaust and that thing hauls A$$ for what it is, plent of power for pushing the weight of 35's.

what do you guys think? any of you out there with 33/35's on your runner powewred by the 3.0 V6. I am looking mainly into early 90'3 like 90-94 cuz I can get em for about 3-4k like the one i linked too, I can get them for about 3k stock and lift them, etc myself but I just am unsure of the power. cuz I can get a cherokee like this for around the same price (second and 3rd link)

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...or=&cardist=21

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...or=&cardist=61

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...or=&cardist=50

I am sure they arent built like the yota but that one has only 72k, Im sure it still has plenty of life, that one with 166k, probably tired but I could always rebuild it.

Mossback74

If you get a 2nd gen 4Runner, get a stick that is geared correctly for the tires it has. You will love it. Now, the 4.0 is bigger and has more power but c'mon, the Runner is just better. Design, looks, maintenance, and most important, the lady factor. Chicks dig the Toyotas. But I digress. The jeep is a great box on wheels.
Rememmber that autotrader always has high prices. Classified adds are a great tool too.
Before you buy anything, get carfax, mechanic check up, and maintenance history.
Be patient and weary, especially if shopping at a dealer. Dont feel rushed, there are many trucks out there so be as picky as you want. Good luck!!



Dont buy a Jeep

maddmatt02

oh screw dealers, I always go to a dealer and they tell em its as low as they can go, its weird, theyd rather have me walk out and nopt buy it than let me have it for what they were asking a couple days ago. saw a 97 nissan a while back for 7999, then I go to buy it a few weeks later and the paper comes in 10995 on sale to 8995, I tell them 6 to see what they come back with and they say "this is a sale proice we just cant go lower and I tell them I wont pay that and they let me walk. :wtf: and then I go to autotrader and find it for like 5k, I even told them I found the same thing at a dealership down the raod but a year older wiht 10k more for 1k less(than the 7995) and they said that they service the vehicles and the other place doesnt and I just said I can do that myself, filters and fluids dont cost thousands of bucks! also I now know of the headgasket problem with the 3.0 and when I was looking at a 92 once, I drove it and was about to buy it and my dads old truck had blown the head gasket once and I knew the symptoms of it, opened the oil cap and looked like someone had filled the crakncase with cappucino or something, and i told him bo thanks cuz of that and he tried telling me all cars over 100k do that. sure..


I cant afford the 96's, just looked, how much would it be to change to, say, 5.71's just read of someone going to those, do soem runers come with em stock, cuz I will have the 5 speed(for sure now that I know its nicknamed the 3.sl0w) and wanna run at least 33's would the 5.71's be too low, would some 4.88's be better?

and in the event I get sick of the lack of power just how hard is the 7GME (I think thats the code) or... .. do they sell custom bell housings to bolt like a small 283 V8 to the stock yota 5 speed? and if so could the tranny handle the power of a small 8? or how hard is it to drop in a 350/TH350 swap?

thanks for all the info, and I do like the runners looks way more. this is the one im looking at as well right now

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...or=&cardist=38

maddmatt02

oh, about the gears too, If i got the clearance I will most likely go 35's, about 95% sure of it unlkess someone has good reason to stay with 35's. I know I will be able to afford one cuz I have a 94 civic HB and integra that are both modded to sell. I am waiting til I finihs moving to sell them, should be a couple of weeks though.

mt_goat

I would say the gearing for the 3.0 V6 with 35" tires should be 5.29:1 for the 5 speed or 5.71:1 for the automatic transmission. You can expect less gear life from 5.71 gears though. The 5 speed would be the best for 35's IMHO, especially if you are concerned about power.

maddmatt02

what you got in your sig is about what I wanna do to my 4 runner, except 35's, looking at your truck do you think you could fit 35's under there no prob? and did you have to do anything about driveline angles or anything when you lifetd 4 inches? would it be about the same work lifting a 94 4runner? and is it stock toyota gears or a aftermarket company parts for the 5.29's? how much hsorter of a life would it be wiht the 5.71's? and I am sure that in 4 low 1st gear will climb anything with even higher than the 5.29's, but sway I am in th gear on the freway, which woiuld get better mileage, 5.29's low RPM's but enough throttle to keep cruising at 70-75, or 5.71's hgher RPMS bt les throttle since it isnt down low in the powercurve(as weak as it is)

mt_goat

Wow lots of questions, Ok:
#1) I bearly clear 33x12.50s, I rub slightly when going down a steep trail and turning. I have been told that the back spacing of my wheels and the 12.50 width is the problem though not the height.

#2) No I didn't have to do anything about driveline angles.

#3) The front should be the same for a 94 runner, I don't know anything about the back of a 4 runner, sorry.

#4) After market gears. Toyota made a 4.88 gear but that's the biggest that I know of. I am running "US Gear" brand gears.

#5) I got about 40,000 miles out of a set of 5.71 gears before the pinion gear got pitted out and started making a lot of noise. They were Genuine (crap) gears though.

#6) Wow, this seems to be about 3 questions in one but before I even try to answer it I need to know what tranny you are talking about, 5 speed or automatic?

maddmatt02

I mean something like this. right now if I am in my integra, I am drivign up the hill towards my house, I can do it in 5th but the pedal has to be pressed down a good deal, if I do it in 4th though, I barely have to give it any gas, so each time the injector opens, it is delivering less fuel so it compensates with the less air coming in, but it also has to do it about 4000 times more every minute so I am guessing that the 4th gear situation might still use more fuel even though I am giving it less throttle. so If I had giant tires and cruising on the freeway I couldnt get into 5th gear cuz the 3.0 didnt have the balls to do so, in 4th I would probably get less mileage cuz of what I just explained about my integra. BUT, my question is (in your oppinion obviously, I doubt youve tried both) would I get better mileage cruising in 5th gear with 5.71's on 35's or cruising in 4th gear on 35's but wiht the 5.29's. and how much is a set of 5.71's from a good manufacturer. Ill see if i could justify the cost per mile of the set. and on the truck I for sure wont leave it stock. for sure I will free up the exhaust, probably dual 2.25 maybe with a couple of high flow, maybe non existant cats cuz no smog where I live and some flowmaster dual chambers. some sort of intake system, I am guessing you can get headers for the 3.0. and I heard about some deck mod or something? sounded like it was intake related but im not sure, and something about ditching the AFM but it doesnt sound like that would be easy at all

Cebby

As mentioned previously, 5.71's won't last. As far as engine mods, search. Its all been covered.

elripster

If you regear you WILL use 5th. (If you don't regear that's another story) I have 33's and 4.88's, hills on the freeway are no problem. 35's and 5.29's/71's will give you similar gearing to myself. As it is I'm 6% undergeared so rpms are a little higher now.

Frank.

maddmatt02

about the search, OIve read alot about the deckplate mod or whatewver but I always just end up someone asking like if it will decrease fuel economy or stuff like that and not really a post explaining what it is. I am gonna get a 5 speed for sure now, wanted auto for a suv but 5 speed isnt a big problem, plus even if I was crawling, in 4 low in 1st I wouldnt have to use the clutch too much. I will never own another auto car but I liked my truck with the auto. I am going to go 5.29's and 33" radial TXR's just some cheap 33's and then when I get em on I will drive til they are bald and by then I will know if the 35's will give me anny problems.

how much would it be to get lockers F&R. I dont think I would need it but my uncle has had a few of the newer landcruisers, stock and he climbs the levee in front of his house to the street instead of using the driveway and brags about landdruisers are better than 4 runners(which I think so too, but I think he does it cuz he knows I cant afford a landcruiser and that I want a 4 runner) so I am gonna go visit him with my runner and climb his levee. I just want the basic locked or unlocked, not the one that does it automatically. I also got a question about the transfer case, it isnt anything like a diff is it, the front and rear drivelines are locked or is there such thing as a transfer case locker?

Cebby

Can't do a deckplate on the 3.0 airbox, but you can drill out the bottom of it - or get a K&N FIPK (open element).

Lockers is really an open ended question. Detroits and the like are always on, ARB's or Toyota E-Locker (like the LC's). ARB is the only selectable locker available for the front diff. Costs vary widely. Look at Randy's Ring and Pinion, Inchworm gear, Marlin, West Coast Differentials, Reider Racing, National Drivetrain, Drivetrain Direct. I'm sure I missed some.

When you put the transfercase in 4WD, you are locking the front and rear driveshafts essentially.

elripster

5.29's are a good idea if you ever decide to do the 35's. With 33's, you'll be fairly undergeared, climbing hills will not be an issue but you probably won't be cruisin' at 80mph anymore.

You might see if someone on the board will take your for a ride in their truck assuming it has the set up into which you are interested. Then you can see first hand.

Frank.

mt_goat

If you are going with a 5-speed and 33's you may want to go with 4.88:1, especially if you are going to run them down to bald. The closer to bald you get the smaller the tire. The only time I felt like I was geared too low with those 5.71 gears was when the tires got worn down a lot. With 35's and the 5-speed go with 5.29:1

I don't know if there is a good company making 5.71 gears, but if you go with the 5-speed you don't want them anyway.

As far as the fuel economy, if you can ease off the gas pedal in a lower gear I think you are saving fuel, even if you are at higher RPMs. That's my theory on it anyway.

ARB lockers run about $700 each plus installation plus you need on board air to actuate them.

For the older 4 runners the transfer case is locked, the newer models (I don't know year maybe 2003 or 2004) have some kind of open transfer case, I think it is selectable locked/unlocked, I don't know much about it.

Your asking the right questions, keep researching. Good luck.

Highland Runner

Just remember the Jeep Cherokee is unibody, and the 4.0 leaks oil so bad you don't have to change it. Just refill. Thats just two of the 100's of problems/design flaws in the Cherokee.

maddmatt02

well, I am sure I wont run them to BALD, but if I had 35's and let them get close to bald, they still would be about 31's wouldnt they, I am pretty sure most of the tires I see, the knobs are not over 1" at all, some look ike maybe only 3/4-7/8" tread. I might not go with a front locker, because unles you are in some real slick mud or soft dirt/sand you can even really turn the wheels wihtout serious stress on the diff right? even having the rear locked on any surface with grip seems like it would be the same case but not nearly as bad. I will search for those names to look for some lockers/gear sets. and so far I am going 5 speeds, 5.29's with a rear locker, and 35's, 4 inch lift and a 3 inch body lift if I can find one. what is the average weight dfifference between 3's and 35's

maddmatt02

oh, I meant 33's should still be like 31's, 35's would still be about 33's I am thinking.

maddmatt02

first place i searched i actually ended up at drivetrainsuperstores.com and found front 5.29's for 144 bucks for oem gear, 163 bucks for motive gear, 202 bucks for precision gear. and for the rear 5.29's are 170/209 dollars for motive/precision gear.b a rear detroit ez locker is 218 bucks but it says its a automatic ratcheting one, that means you dont really choose if its locker or not right, I want one that I can flip the switch and lock it, that measn it has to eb an air locker right? does the auto ratcheting ones work just as well when climibing, cuz the ARB air locker was 675 and thatsa more than I want to spend, well right away at leats, maybe after a while. front detroit ez locker is 250.

what do you think of those prices, and of the manuf. I will keep looking also

elripster

Those lockers will all lock up the axle completely and will get you up the hill. It's the on road manners that make the ARB so nice as you can shut it off. Plus you get that compressor out of it. Why not try just the rear ARB and shine the front?

Also, you might stay away from the body lift. If you need to, do a little fender modding? Otherwise, you CG will be so high you won't be on trails where you need dual lockers or the likes. If you find yourself rubbing bad and you don't want to trim fenders, maybe a 1" BL might work out.

Another consideration, body damage. How much do you want? If you NEED two lockers, you are on trails that are going to bash up your truck. If you aren't going to run those trails, a rear locker is fine.

Frank.

mt_goat

The Precision Gears are good, so are US gears, I don't know about motive. I think I paid $180 each for my US gear sets.