85 forerunner auto trans (1 Viewer)

[lISAGETTER]

looking at 85 runner with a auto trans. wondering what opinions are of the auto in that truck. truck has low mileage 139k and all rust has been repaired. the guy wants 8k for it. Im thinking its probably a dog on power. how hard to convert to manual?or is the auto ok? would that mean new shafts,crossmembers,prob. center console. truck has mild lift with decent 31 inch tires.what attracts me to it is it has a decent body.

 

[bkg]

Should be the a340h, the believe. Not overly desirable. “Integrated” transfer case makes it difficult to upgrade.

5 speed swaps are/were quite common.

And yes, it’ll be a dog. Had one for a number of years and it was reliable enough, but ultimately flipped to a 5-speed truck.

 

[aztoyman]

Yep my wife had an 86 4Runner with 22RE and auto. Gutless but had 450K miles on it when our son totaled it. All I ever did to the trans was an oil change every 100 K miles. It never gave us a problem. It was S L O W but reliable.

 

[lISAGETTER]

Yep my wife had an 86 4Runner with 22RE and auto. Gutless but had 450K miles on it when our son totaled it. All I ever did to the trans was an oil change every 100 K miles. It never gave us a problem. It was S L O W but reliable.

Should be the a340h, the believe. Not overly desirable. “Integrated” transfer case makes it difficult to upgrade.

5 speed swaps are/were quite common.

And yes, it’ll be a dog. Had one for a number of years and it was reliable enough, but ultimately flipped to a 5-speed truck.

does that mean I would have to find a trans and a transfer case? or possibly motor swap to 3rz down the road and keep the auto?

 

[aztoyman]

If it still has the stock gear ratio, it's going to be even more of a slug with 31's.

The auto trans has a different T-case than the manual. No upgrades available for the auto case that I'm aware of anyway. No adapter I know of to put the manual RF1A T-case on it either.

I don't know if a 3RZ will mate up to the auto trans you have. You'll need to research that.

If you want to drive it as is, the easiest option is probably a gear swap to compensate for the larger tires if it hasn't been done already. Or pull the lift and go back to stock tires.
My wife loved that truck and wouldn't drive stick so she overlooked the lack of power.

A manual trans swap is do-able, just depends on your skill level and budget. I personally think a complete donor vehicle is best.

 

[gnob]

its 4runner, as in FOUR runner

 

[bkg]

You’d need transmission, tcase, associated pedals, etc… console. Possible driveshafts and crossmember.

I wouldn’t put a 3RZ in front of this one. Maybe in front of a 340f (iirc, that’s what was behind the 3RZ)

 

[bkg]

If it still has the stock gear ratio, it's going to be even more of a slug with 31's.

The auto trans has a different T-case than the manual. No upgrades available for the auto case that I'm aware of anyway. No adapter I know of to put the manual RF1A T-case on it either.

I don't know if a 3RZ will mate up to the auto trans you have. You'll need to research that.

If you want to drive it as is, the easiest option is probably a gear swap to compensate for the larger tires if it hasn't been done already. Or pull the lift and go back to stock tires.
My wife loved that truck and wouldn't drive stick so she overlooked the lack of power.

A manual trans swap is do-able, just depends on your skill level and budget. I personally think a complete donor vehicle is best.

To add one thing to this…. Go with a lower gear set than what is normally used with the manuals. Ie - instead of 456 for 31’s, go 4.88. Instead of 4.88 for 33’s, go 5.29….

 

[gnob]

3rz autos are dogs too.
manual swap is pretty easy if you can find one.
hard to find 4wd trans or cases anymore

 

[lISAGETTER]

its 4runner, as in FOUR runner

ok

 

[lISAGETTER]

ok thanks for all the input.. much appreciated