4RUNNY 10 Year Upgrades Build Thread

[4RUNNY]

I have been the proud owner and daily driver of a 1989 4RUNNER since September 2003. It has taken me from highschool through college in Missouri, then to the Sierras in California in 2007, and finally the big move to Alaska in 2009. As it has been a few years since any major maintenance or modification, its due for some love - I've gotten the itch again, bad. I guess this has been a long time coming... Time to bring the old girl back to life and more!

4RUNNY circa 2008 below:

Although I've frequented mud for many years now, I've never really put much out there as far as my own truck and its evolution. in 2003, i purchased the 4RUNNER stock from the original owner. As of 2012, the 4runner had the following setup:

DRIVETRAIN
3.SLOW V6 Motor with 200,000 on the clock
Stock 5 spd trannie
Stock 4:11 gears, open diffs

FRONT SUSPENSION
1.5" Ball Joint Spacers
Doetsch Tech Shocks
Stock Torsion Bars
1 inch lowered front differential and sway bar

REAR SUSPENSION
63" Heavy Chevy Spring pack
sketchy double shackle setup
Ubolt flip kit
12" travel Bilstein shocks and new mounts

33X12.5 Dayton AT tires on 15x8 Wagon Wheels

ARMOR
Marlin Rear tube Bumper
Sh*ttybuilt Front Bumper

------------------BUILD PLANS-----------------------------------------

-Rebuilt diffs with 4:88 gears, Detroit Locker in Rearend ---DONE
-New Ball Joints --- Old ball joints inspected and in working order
-Kevlar Clutch ---DONE
-Refinished full manual doors off an 85 4runner, with vent windows! ---DONE
-Modified quick removable door hinges ---DONE
-Half Door build using my old existing doors, with super heavy duty cup holders of course ---DONE!!!
-Tall Skinny tires and 15x7 steel rims ---DONE
-Hub rebuild
-Extended rear Brake Line
-Crank up torsion bars 1/2 to 1 inch
-Install slim front bumpstops
-Heavy Idler Arm with brass bushings
-Remove double rear shackle setup and install proper mounts
-Sway bar in garbage ---DONE
-New shifter boot
-Reupholstered Front seats! ---DONE, this one is my favorite yet
-Clean and paint undercarriage, touch up body --- Half way there...
-Repaint Hardtop
-Pull off fender flares and control rust -Putting off....

Bald Mountain, Sierra Nevadas -California, June 2007

Copper River Delta -Alaska, September 2010

Million Dollar Bridge -Alaska, September 2010

Powder Hounds -Alaska, January 2012

I'll post information as the build progresses and, of course, pictures.

 

[KLF]

Nice. Pictures please.

You need to also make plans to torch off that IFS stuff and install a real front axle.

 

[4RUNNY]

Sorry KLF, no plans for a solid axle, especially because the new front diff is already installed.... mostly. Would hate to have wasted all that time and energy just to hack it off . No going back now. I just tell myself I like the way it rides with the IFS... it makes me feel alot better.

Besides, check out the massive flex, haha

 

[4RUNNY]

New wheels

In the Past few years, the old white wagon wheels have become quite rusted, due to my lack of routine scrubbing. Seems cheap steel wheels require constant rust management after a few years. On the other hand, the 33X12.5 Dayton AT tires have worn extremely well over 50,000 miles, in fact they still have some life in 'em. While I LOVE the way these 12 inch wide tires perform on long sand beach cruises and in deep snow, I HATE the way they performed on ICY roads. After multiple 180's on the highway, I no longer drove them in 2WD in the winter, or fall and spring for that matterr. SO... i decided it was time for new wheels:

Checking spacing on the 15X7 steel wheels I found. ~1" outward over stock, perfect.

I scraped the old shiny metallic paint off of the old steel wheels and refinished them using high temp dull metal gray paint and topcoat. Hopefully it lasts for a while...

After much thought, I decided to go with tall skinny all terrain tires for good all around performance. 33X10.5 R15 BFG AT

New refinished wheels and 33X10.5 BFG All Terrain Tires.

I installed the wheels back in March. So far, these new 33X10.5 tires have performed well! BIG IMPROVEMENT over the old 12.5's. Now I can drive in 2WD on icy roads and keep the back tires behind the front !

 

[4RUNNY]

New (old) doors

My 89 4RUNNER came stock with the luxury doors (Power locks, Windows, Safety Light, Power mirrors, No Vent windows). While the power windows and locks are convienient, I have routinely had trouble with the drivers side window motor and window tracks, and the power locks have never fully functioned. For the last three years, I have been scared to roll down the window - this has gotten old. And to top it off, many of the clips on the door panels have since ripped off, so the panels are mostly just hanging off the door .

I have always loved vent windows (butterfly windows). Additionally, I have began to appreciate the simplicity of the 4RUNNER and truck doors with manual crank windows and locks. Last summer, I found my dream doors. Manual window cranks and locks with vent windows, in good condition, and to top it off matching (nearly) paint! $60 on craigslist for both doors .

I believe these doors came off an 85 4RUNNER, although I never saw the vehicle to confirm this. My research has indicated that the 84 and 85 4RUNNER and Truck door panels are the best indicator of door year? It seems the early (84-85) door panels are shorter, with the clips at the bottom of the door panel about 5 inches above the their location on later (86-89) doors. Additionally, the decretive seams on the panel appear to be different on the early doors, forming a triangle as they approach the front of the door, as opposed to a square or other configurations on the later doors. As for determining truck or 4runner door, the 4RUNNER doors panels have two handles on the passenger door and the truck doors only have one. My doors have sweet "4RUNNER" decals at the base of the door, which made model determination pretty easy.

Why is door year relevant? Toyota changed their RED paint color in 1986 (84-85 Red 391, 86-89 Red 3D7). So... these 1985 doors likely have a slightly different original red paint color than 1989 4RUNNY... oh well, they will NOT see any new paint.

My new doors came with goofy side molding pieces and huge decals covering the lower door. I'm pretty sure that these type of graphics and moldings were installed post factory. I have rarely seen this decal configuration on other 4RUNNERS, Anybody know about these? While the graphics and moldings were in good condition, they didn't match the rest of my 4RUNNER so they had to go. Don't worry, I couldn't bring myself to pull off the "4RUNNER" portion of the decal, so that portion has been retained.

Removing the decals from the new doors.

DECAL REMOVAL

Years ago, I removed the faded and cracked factory 1989 decals from the hood and sides of 4RUNNY. This was a St. Louis vehicle (Hot, Humid summers) and the decals were baked into the paint of the vehicle. From my memory, removal was challenging, even using a heat gun and power eraser tool. After many hours of hard work the decals were removed... mostly.

Conversely, the decals on these 85 4RUNNER doors came off very easily. Typically, I would just scrape a corner up on each decal using a metal edge or fingernail, carefully pull the decal at a sharp angle, apply heat from a hair dryer if it started to tear, and the entire decal would pull off in one piece. Less than 1 hr per door for a clean look! I'm guessing that these doors had spent their life in Alaska, and have rarely been exposed to intense sunlight temperatures above 80 degrees.

DOOR PANEL REFINISH

Although the new ('85) door panels were in good condition, they were faded brown and tan, which didn't match my grey interior. After i dissassembled the doors, I painted the panels and fixturings using a dark gray vinyl paint. The hardest part of removing the door panel is removing the "Jesus Clip" on the window crank. I was able to do this pretty easily using a knife. You basically just need to push in on the door panel at the crank, look in for the metal clip, and pop off the clip from the open side of the clip. Mine didn't shoot off, but apparently they will shoot across the garage or into your yard if you're not careful. To preseve all the door panel clips from the door, I used a straight edge to evenly apply pressure around each clip. Using this method i have never torn the door panel.

Before:

After:

With the door panels removed, it was a good time to pull out the door locks. I will be pulling the door locks from my existing ('89) doors and will install them in these ("85) doors. To accomplish this, I had to carfully pull back the plastic moisture barrier to access the interior of the door and remove the two clips holding each lock in place. One large C clip holds the lock onto the door and the other smaller C clip holds the locking mechanism lever to the lock cylinder. The large clip removes easily. The smaller clip is a big pain to pull off. I used plyers and carfully worked each small clip off.

 

[KLF]

Too funny... I'm half way through an opposite conversion, going from hand-crank windows and vents, to no-vent doors and power windows. I never once opened the wing vents, really didn't like them (they whistled on the highway and they leaked), and mostly hated how much further back the side mirrors are. It's a darned shame too, my doors were 3D7 red, absolutely minty no rust condition. Shipping might have been kinda $$$ though...

Getting the window cranks off is super-easy with the correct tool:

Am I seeing this correct that you painted those door panels with them still installed? Why would you do that?

 

[4RUNNY]

KLF, I remember from previous threads that you were doing the exact oppposite build with your doors haha. Going your direction is much harder, all i have to do is chop wires . Just make sure you REALLY inspect and clean up those damn window tracks and motors before installing the doors and door panels!

Another reason I'm installing simple manual doors is for the lack of wires. I'm building half doors and have already modified the hinges for quick removal. I don't want to have wires to connect and disconnect and get in the way every time I switch doors.

Here is my plan for Halfdoor shape, I will be using the doors shown:

I'm installing the new doors this weekend and hope to get stated on the halfdoor build by next week!

 

[KLF]

Well, I'm also hoping to make my doors easy to pull, I have a set of tube doors already done. I need to figure out what to do about the wires for the windows and the speakers. My old hinges were worn, so I have a set of these now:

http://4xinnovations.com/p-HK01.html

 

[4RUNNY]

Homemade quick release door hinges

I have ALWAYS wanted easily removable doors on 4RUNNY for summer cruises. I nearly purchased a set of 4xinnovations quick release door hinges until I came across some poor reviews of the product and threads on modifying stock hinges for quick release. Probably the best demonstration on how to accomplish this is provided by WheeliePete here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc2q_WiN9z0

Important Note: In the video, Pete is modifying Gen1 truck hinges, which apparently have a slightly different hinge pin diameter than Gen2 truck and Gen 1 4runner hinges. For the 84 through 89 hinges, a 5/16" diameter replacement removable pin should provide a good tight fit if you manage to preserve the factory bushings. More on this below.

My new '85 doors came with door hinges installed and in fair condition. I removed and labled the hinges. I used an angle grinder to cut the hinge pin on each hinge. Then I used a wedge to break free one of the sides of the cut hinge pin. This takes a bit of force and you may slightly bend one side of the hinge in the process, don't worry it can probably be bent back to the right shape later. These pins were seated very tightly into the bushings and took a ton of finageling to remove from each side of the hinge frame. After trying and failing with multiple methods, I figured out a way to slowly apply pressure to each pin using a c clamp and deep socket, this method was very effective. By the time I was on the third hinge, I was much better at this. I managed to preserve all the factory bushings!

Various stages of hinge pin removal. The removable hinge pin (on left) is shown before required cutting to clear door bolts and body.

I found 4 x 5/16" diameter x 3 inch long pins with clips at Lowes for ~$12.

After all the stock hinge pins were removed, I reinstalled the door side hinge frame on each door and tried to fit in my new removable hinge pins. I quickly found that they would not fit. The pin bolt heads would hit the door bolts and they were too long, they would run into the door body. I grinded smooth 1/3 off each pin bolt head to clear the door bolts and shortened (chopped) the pins so they were only slightly longer than the hinge (see photo below). Additionally, I rounded off the end of each bolt for easier insertion into the hinge. With the factory bushings and 5/16" removable pins there is very little play!

Removable Hinge Pin with grinded bolt head to clear door bolt and shortened to clear door body on bottom.

I plan to install these hinges and doors this weekend and will provide more information on their workings later on. I'm not comepletely sure that these hinge clips (the c shaped thingys) will clear the door body, so they might be cut off and replaced with hitch clips.

 

[KLF]

Ya, I thought about the home-brew method, but the holes in my hinges were badly egg-shaped, despite lots of oiling (every time I change my oil). I needed new hinges anyway, and these were actually cheaper than OEM ones. Plus, they include another set of mounts for my tube doors. I did see a few negative comments, but they were from 2007 on the 1st edition, they've since been revised and improved.

 

[dorton]

Cool ride. Keep the updates coming. On mine, I swapped from power to manual also for the simplicity.

 

[4RUNNY]

New Doors Installed

I pulled the old doors off on friday night. I discovered it was quite challeging to access and remove the inner door hinge bolts without removing the fenders, but i was able to pull the doors and hinges with the fenders in place. I chopped the 4 door hinge pins while they were installed, easier then clamping them in my shop. Not sure if it was legal, but it was a blast driving around downtown Anchorage without doors!

First time doorless!

After installing the modified hinges frames, I discovered it was challenging to install the new doors with my modified hinge pin setup. I decided to farther modify the hinge pins - I cut off the C clips on all the pins since they were getting in my way, increased the taper on the pins to help guide and allign the pins into the hinge frame holes and copped of most of the bolt head so it wouldnt catch on the door bolts. This made door installation much easier, however, it still didn't work as well as I hoped. Pin instasllation required light taps with a hammer to guide the pins into the hinges (and to remove ), and both doors are now hitting the fenders when opened. Looks like I need to adjust the body side hinges to clear the doors - this door stuff is getting old now haha. All in all - I may end up buying a set of 4Xinnovations hinges. I like their clean simple design. KLF, you win .

New doors installed. The Paint matches way better than I was expecting!

There are a few new weird quirks with the new doors:

-Now my quartz clock and Map lights dont function. So many cut wires!

-The doors will unlock themselves when the door is shut, so I have to lock them again from the outside.

Anyone have solutions to these problems?

 

[4RUNNY]

4.88 gears and locker installed

I finished installing the new gears and locker this weekend. All in all, is was pretty easy, although I had a shop (Greentree Fab) help me with the front IFS differential.

Stock open 4.11 V6 third pulled

Stock open 4.11 Diff

I found a pair of clean, built 4.88 third members on craigslist and brought them home for $425. Upon inspection, the front diff was open and the rear diff had a full carrier replacement type automatic locker, probably a detroit softlocker but I didn't know how to confirm this (if anybody can confirm from the photo below please school me).

The new 4.88 with "Detroit" Locker

 

[liveoak]

"-The doors will unlock themselves when the door is shut, so I have to lock them again from the outside.

Anyone have solutions to these problems?"

sounds like they are the kind of doors where you have to hold the outside handle up while closing to keep them from unlocking

 

[4RUNNY]

Half door build

Well, I finished my half door build two months ago, but, just now posting. Too much time enjoying summer and my new doors! And yes, I live in Alaska and half doors aren't as practical in the far north, but I've always wanted some and I had an extra pair of doors lying around.... plus the Alaskan heat wave this summer already made it worth it!

After much consideration, this is the design I came up with:

As you can see above, my cut-out portion retains a ~4" rectangular portion of the upper door which was knoched and bent down to form the arm rest portion of the half door. An angle grinder made quick work of the thin toyota door sheet metal.

I cut out 22 guage sheet metal inserts to form the fill in potions on either end of the half door openings and add some regidity to the doors. On the rear cut outs, I cut out an opening for the door latch mechaninsms. I was able to reuse the existing door handles and latch mechanisms. The picture below shows the rear inserts with how the door handle will attach to the door stock latch system. These work flawlessly!

My friend Max and I welded the inserts and arm rest portions in to the doors, and used an angle grinder to smooth the welds and clean the lines:

The finished product after metal fabrication:

Since these were the origional doors, I decided to retain as much of the factory paint as possible. The photo below shows the doors after priming, and shows where I will install the cupholder inserts:

For the cupholders, I went to the local marine supply shop and picked up a couple boat interior cup holder inserts for a total of $4. These work great. Here is a shot of Max testing the new cup holders out, with his favorite beverage:

THE FINAL PRODUCT

 

[jynx]

Looks good. Seeing these 4Runner threads makes me want to get my 88 moving.

 

[4runnerrecovery]

hey 4runny, looks like u have a downey bikini top, so do i. except mine came with no center support beam. could u shoot me a pic of yours, the mounting ends and dimensions so i can make one? thanks a bunch buddy 818 660 three eight one one

 

[tonka az]

This is the only thread that I've found that even mentions window conversions! Has anyone been able to successfully convert manual to power doors and windows? If so, what parts did you use? My dad has an 83 SR5 that is getting completely renewed (paint, engine, suspension, THE WORKS). We want to "modernize" the truck, and this was something that came up in conversation. Anyone have advice?