I was looking at an 86 runner for sale tonight. It needs a new tranny and the suspension is sagging in the rear (surprise!!!!!!). What kind of work is involved in pulling the tranny out of these things as well as fixing up that sagging issue?

 

the sag on a first gen 4runner is no biggie. you can either get add-a-leafs or go with new spring packs(recommend). since it's leaf spring, replacement should be rather straightforward

not sure on what's involved in replacing a tranny, since i haven't had to do that one yet i'm sure some members will help you out though

 

Hey there, considering a first gen huh? Great ride!!! The rear end is pretty simple. I took my rear leafs off and had them re-arced, then added an extra spring for load. That completes the sag issue. Please tell me it's a manual tranny! If your considering a rebuild it's a pretty simple deal... not so simple with an automatic however. If your considering a swap, either one is pretty straight forward. Hopefully your mechanicly inclined and if not just get one of your buddies who is and supply the beer!

 

I've swapped out a 5spd (W56) out of my 86 4Runner. It's not too difficult of you have help. Get or rent a tranny jack and you should have no problem. The hardest part for us was that we didn't rent a tranny jack, instead used a few regular floor jacks and some 2x4's to get the tranny down. :pat:

 

yeah- it is a 5 speed. I am somewhat mechanically inclined- i can pull a tranny/ motor, but im not ready to crack open the tranny and rebuild it. the clutch is fine- done 2 years ago. The guy told me it needs a new tranny. What kind of compression should that have across the cylinders? it has a 280,000 km's on it, that is making me a little leary of the sale. What else should i be looknig for on this particular model year if i do consider to buy?

 

280k is a bit high, but it's a toyota. i'd say it's about the equivilant of 100k on a typical domestic car

the truck in my avatar has 303,000 miles on it, the only drivetrain part that's been replaced so far is the transmission

 

so a 4runner for sale with 175,000 miles (280k km's) could very well be a lemon i dont want to touch?

 

I think he misread your mileage quote. I know I did. If its got 280k KM, equivalent to 175,000 miles, you're still good. The consensus is that toyotas have a life expectancy of atleast 300,000 miles. What engine is in it, that'd help with any problems to look for in that department. By the way, whats the asking price?

 

its the fuel injected model whichever that may be- the guy was upfront with me in telling me that the bearings in the tranny were shot. It still drives and everything, tranny just makes some noise. the asking price was $2000 cdn or $1400 USD(approx). fairly new tires, new clutch some rust starting on rear fenders. if i were to look for a transmission, what years would swap in that runner? and how hard is that to lift a few inches?

 

heres a few problems i had with my 87 4 runer , when i had it , mind you it had only about 170,000 miles on it , but the previous owner did not take great care of it .
but the fuel injection had some problem that i never did find out what was wrong with it , but i had suspected the throttle body , the rear sag was fixed with adda leafs , i had my tranny rebuilt by a shop , after trying to do it myself , its not as easy as some people have suggested . dropping it yourslef and bringing it to someoen else to rebuild might save you some cash though. the rear end went out on mine , but like i said the prev. owner didnt not take ake of it at all, had it rebuilt , and at the same time had a lockrite locker put in. the rear window switch will probably go out on you soon . either buy a new one from the dealer or change out switches to a cheaper style . i am assuming that the 86 is ifs , and not solid axle . either way , the price seems resonable to me , as long as theres not much rust or body damage , these first generation 4 runners are becoming more and more hard to find . i personally want to get antoher one and trick it out , but have no space or time and money to do so yet .
if you dont plan on using it for a daily driver and have the time and money to get everything fixed up on it , then id say go for it , but if your looking for something to run great right out of the box , im afraid shes not what your looking for .

irrikk17

 

My '84 had the same thing-bearings in the tranny at 160,000 mi..I think the last time I checked the compression before I sold it at around 200,000 it was like 150-160 across all four. Good Luck!

 

is it the input shaft bearing, or throw out bearing? i have been driving on a bad input shaft bearing for a while now, i will replace it when the tranny drops. both are simple to replace, if you can drop the trans.

 

not a clue there joe

 

if in nuetral, you can hear a low sound coming from the trans, that is the inout shaft bearing. it sounds like a bad bearing, when you hear it. it is easier to tell if you are under it when someone is pressing/releasing the clutch.