Hello Everyone,

I am trying to make this into the ultimate vehicle to get me to and from the mountain. Being a BMW man, RWD does not cut it, and the XI is far too pretty to be going through snow =)

I would like an opinions on what you think I should do as far as interior (everything is stock) and on a roof rack. Also, any cheap performance upgrades? I have the 22RE, and it is in serious need of some power.

Thanks a lot,

Alex

 

first off welcome to yotatech!!!! as far as performance there isnt much out there its not a v8 its a little 4cyl they are great motors if you take care of them and by the way nice 4runner. and what all would you like to do for the interior?

 

Welcome to Yotatech.

Not much you can do on the cheap for power. Obvious things like header, cam, etc can be done and add about 10-20% more power, and most over-the-counter modifications can be done without seriously affecting engine longevity. Not a lot for an engine rated just over 100hp.
Gearing is another option and although it doesn't add engine power, it increases the torque available to the wheels. If you have 31" tires (or their metric equivalent), 4.56 or 4.88 are options and you'd definitely feel a good kick in the pants with 4.88's but mileage can start to suffer since the engine will be turning correspondingly higher rpm's at highway speeds with those ratios.

As for the interior (and gearing and performance mods as well), do some searching with Yotatech's search function or with Google using their "site:" function- for instance typing "4Runner interior site:www.yotatech.com" (without the quotation marks) into the Google search box will bring up search results of all posts including the words 4Runner and interior and limit the results to Yotatech's site.

 

As far as the interior goes I would really LOVE to get new seats/carpet ( a logger owned this prior to me, and the carpet is torn up and filthy on the driver side ). I also need a new center console (I attempted swapping in a console out of a 94 4runner. Looks nice, but the shifter just doesn't want to fit right. But yeah, I guess I want to keep it pretty much stock, just clean it up a bit.

Does anyone know of any good place to get OEM interior pieces?

Alex

 

Great tips, thanks a lot. I will be sure to do those searches. Are there any sites that offer parts to the 1st Gen 4Runners specifically?

Alex

 

Mountain rig huh? Sounds like a plan so let me see if I can offer some advice.

Interior.
Pull the carpet all out and line the inside with some sort of bed liner for pickup truck beds. You'll never have to worry about water or nasty carpet ever again.
Swap in some seats from a newer model 4runner. I just swapped in some SR5 buckets out of a 93 and only had to drill one hole. They have all the little adjustments and are a lot more comfortable than the DLX buckets that were in there.
Look for a Tuffy Console (rather pricey) or swap one in from a similar year SR5 Toyota.

Exterior.
As others have said the 22re isn't a power plant by any means. You can get a header for it, a cam, run a snorkle for cooler air, swap out the MAF to a larger one, bigger throttle body etc......
My advice is leave it alone for now but do a complete tune up. Plugs, cap, wires, rotor, adjust the timing, adjust the valves, new air filter, synthetic fluids in the engine, tranny and t-case.
Then decide what size tires you want and gear for those. I run 4.56's for my 31's and enjoy it.
If you decide to do some lift then there are tons of options. I like the ball joint spacers in the front and adding coils to the rear. The coils add a hell of a lot of carrying capaicty and the BJ spacers level everything out.

Oh and don't for get to look at a locker for the rear. I personally like the Aussie.

Roof racks are everywhere just pick one that you like and want to pay for.




Welcome to YT!!!

 

Junkers,

I like where your head is. However, I don't think the wifey would be too keen on taking ALL the carpet out. I was, however, considering Line-X'ing the back of it. And when I say I want it to get me to the mountain, I am talking about for snowboarding, camping, and maybe a little hunting. I should have added that in there. For some reason off-roading never got into my blood.


Do you happen to know anyone with said seats? Or have a picture of yours? I am very interested in that. After looking around a bit on-line today, I was almost ready to just buy some neoprene seat covers.

Thank you for the tip on the Tuffy. I will order one as soon as I get home. I am having trouble finding one for a 4Runner, however. I have been looking for a new one for about 5 years, and they are all just as torn up as my old one was.

As far as the engine goes, I follow you with most of the tune-up, but what is the "cap?" I am sure this is a stupid question, so my apologies in advance.

I am pretty sure I am going to keep my wheels and tires how they are for now atleast. They are more than enough for what I use my Runner for.

I am not really interested in lift. Driving a BMW as my daily, this 4Runner is plenty high for me. =) Also, I think the Aussie is a bit overkill for what I need.

Thank you for all of your input, Junkers.

Alex

 

Sweet thread. Now I know what I need to be doinf to my runner. Yum SR5 seats

 

If you're doing a lot of "wet" things then Line-X'ing the entire inside is a really good idea. You can pick up a set of Husky floor mats for the front to help trap all the snow and mud. Your wife will appreciate what you've done when she learns that the carpets in these things will mildew in a hurry. I started out wanting to be some crazy rock crawler but it didn't pan out. Right now I use the rig to go camping (sleep in the back on an inflatable "Truck Bedz" mattress), fishing, run up into the hills just to get away for a few hours and to take 3 and 4 hour trips to a remote lake or stream for the weekend so I understand where you're coming from.

Link to my thread on the seats, with pictures.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...amping-186887/


I too am having a hard time finding a console that will fit and not already be torn up. Keep your eyes on Craigslist. I sometimes see them on there. Just be sure to get one out of a 4runner or you'll have to cut holes for the switches. If you can figure out which tuffy fits well then please let me know. I haven't been able to decide on one yet.





The "cap" is the distributer cap.


As far as not needing a lift I understand. I do wonder though if the back end of your runner is sagging? Mine was and once I loaded up 500lbs of camping crap (when I don't take the wife it's only about 150lbs) the ride was really bad since the factory leaf springs were so tired that I was damn near on the bumpstops. Any little dip in the road and the rear end would bottom out.

The locker might be over kill for you if you never get into anything too serious. I really like mine but then I tend to go way off the beaten path every chance I get. I just wanted you to have an option.


Have fun!
Ricky.

 

hey junker, ive been searching all over this site looking for info but one of the things im having trouble finding it this "locker" thing. what the heck is it and what does it do?

 

I hope Scuba doesn't read that.

Link to Aussie. http://www.aussielocker.com/


It's a locking differential. I'm not going to go real deep into it since it's been covered several times on this site. basically to puts the power to the ground even if you've picked a tire off the traction surface. Saved my butt a couple of times.

 

wow thats pretty amazing. i can see the use of that in a racing situation but its hard for me to picture that in crawling application, but of course cause im a newb. sweet stuff man. thanks for the help. now to do searches on T-cases and finding a 4.8 from the junkyard? man im loosing my life to this site

 

Junkers,

Again, thanks a lot for your input. I guess I am going to have to hold out on the Tuffy until I can figure which one I need... Until then, I think I will just try to find a junk yard in the near future and pull on out.

I have never noticed any sag on my 4runner. I have pulled my wifes vespa (go ahead and laugh) on a trailer, and never noticed anything. I realize that's not the heaviest thing in the world, but it's my only real towing experience with the Runner.

Thanks a ton,

Alex