JT's 88 4 Runner Build (1 Viewer)

[jtaco1]

Thank you very much. All told there are probably a little of $15k in parts, but through wheeling and dealing I have around $5k into it not including time The shop is in the background of the last picture - a simple two story 20' x 30' block building with a 14' x 30' pole bar addition to the front. Nothing crazy for equipment - Century 130 110 volt welder running flux core, harbor freight pipe bender, Hobart 250ci plasma cutter, and some hand tools. Nothing too crazy as the day job and two kids keep me from buying the bigger tools I want

SAS not even started since I have not destroyed the IFS yet. Once I do, then I will do the swap. I have all of the parts to do a leaf spring swap up front, but am now thinking about skipping that and doing a 3-link with coilovers or air shocks.

Haven't done anything to it since I put the roof on since I have been working on the 89 standard cab.

 

[jtaco1]

Timing chain stuff has all be swapped out for new along with tensioner, water pump, oil pump, belts and hoses. The divers side guide had snapped and the chain was loose as hell - hence the noise. The valves were also quite loose.

Had it out on the road to see what it could do with the 37's and 4.10 gears for the hell of it. 5 th gear was non-existant, but it drove pretty well for having unbalanced PB Rockers. Worst part was not having the windshield, it was so much air and noise, I couldn't hear the tires or motor. Had my mom follow me just to be safe and I was reading about 40-45 mph, but she said I was up around 55. It didn't do too bad with the 4.10 gears - may be worth trying to race with it one day.

 

[jtaco1]

Few updates with this rig. Blew the rear shock out one of the last times I was out, so I am going to be mounting a set of 12" Bilsteins vertically along with adding at least 2 leaves to the rear spring pack to get the height back.

Also decided I am not going with leaf springs in the front when I do the SAS, going to be going with a 3 link using brackets from Barnes 4wd and 6 TeraFlex large flex joints that are fully rebuildable that I won at a recent raffle.

Will be on the look out for some air shocks as well.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Also decided I am not going with leaf springs in the front when I do the SAS, going to be going with a 3 link using brackets from Barnes 4wd and 6 TeraFlex large flex joints that are fully rebuildable that I won at a recent raffle.

Will be on the look out for some air shocks as well.

Booyah! Looking forward to this

 

[jtaco1]

Joints came in, 3 left and 3 right with jam nuts.

 

[jynx]

Jeezzzz, those things are HUGE!!

 

[jtaco1]

Booyah! Looking forward to this

Me too, just need to finish up the FJ40 swap I am working on right now.

Jeezzzz, those things are HUGE!!

Yeah, there are a little bigger than I had imagined and looking at them on teh website. I have a feeling they will hold up just fine to the abuse I plan on putting them through.

They are setup for 9/16" hardware, but I may drill them out to 5/8" to match the other hardware I plan on using.

 

[trribleuno]

Very cool. Are you doing the 4Runner Jamboree at Rausch the weekend of June 25? Hope to see your rig there ... Now to get my POS mini running halfway right so I can drive rather than shotgun! Here's a couple pics of a rig my buddy is building. Those are just 31s, rear is bobbed since it was hit in the rear, it'll have a 4.7 TC, locked in the rear.

Your buddies rig looks great! I love the shortened bed. How difficult is it to do? Has he posted about it anywhere?

 

[jtaco1]

Two pictures from the last time out. Didn't get any pictures myself as I had my daughter with. Still working great and nothing broke.

 

[jynx]

It's like the IFS knows it's days are numbered and refuses to give up.

Looks like a good day in the woods.

Still looking forward to the SAS.

 

[dtrailtaco]

Always like the build man, over on TTORA and MATC.

I wish I had gone with the fj front on my pickup so I could ditch the spacers.

My brother recently bought a runner, trying to talk him into squeezing 35's on there.

You going to the Fall Crawl?

 

[jtaco1]

It's like the IFS knows it's days are numbered and refuses to give up.

Looks like a good day in the woods.

Still looking forward to the SAS.

Thnaks, the IFS keeps on kicking. SAS may happen this winter/spring depending on my schedule.

Always like the build man, over on TTORA and MATC.

I wish I had gone with the fj front on my pickup so I could ditch the spacers.

My brother recently bought a runner, trying to talk him into squeezing 35's on there.

You going to the Fall Crawl?

Thanks, definitely try to fit the 35's, doesn't take too much to get them to fit if you aren't afraid to move some sheet metal around.

Unfortunately, I am not able to make it to Fall Crawl. 4 Runner has been sitting in the back of the shop since the summer as I have been doing a drivetrain and power steering swap in our 72 FJ40 and I need to redo the rear shock setup on the 4 Runner.

I did however order my link and panhard material for the front 3 link swap. All that remains is brackets and coilovers, which will be ordered soon.

 

[dtrailtaco]

yeah we have already trimmed some to remove some the rust and welded up the rear inner fender well. So we may just have to do that again.

I hear you on being busy though, my rig has sat since the spring, fall crawl at gore will be the first time out in a while.

 

[jtaco1]

Have fun at Gore, should be a blast if the weather holds out

 

[jtaco1]

Minor update - link and panhard material came in yesterday during the hurricane. All that remains is the brackets, which I plan to order from Barnes 4wd or RuffStuff in the next month or two.

 

[jynx]

Just curious, and I may have missed it, but where did the joints come from? After bending a LCA on my 80 last weekend I am thinking of cutting the extra pair I have up and putting a joint on the upper end and those look plenty beefy for that job.

Also, Any updates on the rig.

Edit: TeraFlex Large Flex Joints? If I could just learn to read my life would be much easier...

 

[jtaco1]

You can't beat the TeraFlex Large Flex Joints for the price - I got the ones that they are clearing out, which are a great value.

No updates other than getting the link material in and saving for the brackets and coilovers. Been working on our FJ40 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/pa-appalachian-land-cruiser-association/195008-dads-1971-fj40-swap.html

 

[jynx]

Cool. Also, you had mentioned drilling them out to accept 5/8" hardware, how much material is there in the thru bolt that could be removed. I know the upper mount for the 80 LCA is 18 mm which is between 11/16" and 3/4". Do you think they could be cut that much or would I be better off to just bush them and step down to the hardware?

 

[jtaco1]

I took a closer look at the joints and am just going to leave them at 9/16" bore for simplicity, I figured if I bored them, I would likely get a few of the holes crooked and screwed them up. You could look into stepping down to 9/16" hardware by using weld washers that will keep the hole in the mounts from whollowing out.

 

[jtaco1]

Picked up my spare power steering box from my buddy who tapped it, so that is ready to go, just need to get lines made up and get a cylinder.