rustED71's 1991' Ex-cab Build (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Oct 3, 2016
Threads
9
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222
Location
Washington
I thought I would start a thread, I'm still not sure if this will eventually turn into a "build" thread, or if it will be more of documentation for me to look back on to help me remember things that I've have done. Either way I'm going to be asking questions, and needing some advice from some of the experts out there on this truck. I have owned alot of toyota minis in the past (3) 1983 pickups, (1) 1985, an 86' 4runner, (currently have an 87' 4runner, and a 71' FJ40, plus a parts fj40 and now the 91' ext cab.
A little back history on this truck. I bought it in August 2018. It was a one owner with a 22RE/ 5spd, AC blows cold and it has cruise control. At the time of purchase it had 101,660 original miles. The owner drove it 2 miles a day to and from work and had alot of the documentation and service records. He had an add on CL and was originally asking $7500, then dropped to $6500. After some texting back and forth I set up a time to meet. After looking the truck over I struck a deal for $6000 and drove it 3 hrs back home. It's not in prestine condition, but a very good original truck that was adult owned and not beat on. The driver seat has alot of wear and tear from the older gentleman climbing in and out, and the clearcoat is peeling on the hood, tops of the fender and roof from sitting in his driveway in the same spot for 27 yrs. It had a canopy on it its entire life, I think I was the first one to break the seal when I took it off right after getting the truck home. The inside of the bed has a few dents in the wheel wells, but the paint is still nice shape from having the canopy on all those yrs. Here's a few pics from when I first got it.
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And here's a couple more of the service records, window sticker and even the temporary 30 day license it had when he drove it out of the dealership back in 1991!
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So the tires were getting worn, and looked a little weather checked. I found a receipt for the BFG's in with the sevice records. The PO had purchased them in 2001 and 17yrs later they barely had 40,000 miles on them! So I borrowed the 31x10.50 BFG KO2's and factory alloys off my 87 4runner, they look right at home on the truck.
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Beautiful truck! Lucky bastards outside the salt belt.
Thanks! Looked for quite awhile and missed out on a couple trucks before finding this one.

I was living in Republic, Wa and they do treat the roads with some kind of de-icer. My factory steel rims started rusting bad the first winter I drove it. I would run my truck through the car wash and spray it off and underneath and the wheel wells at least once a week. I've recently moved back to Eastern Washington, the climate is much dryer and winter's are alot less severe, so hopefully I will have an easier time maintaining the trucks rust free appearance lol.
 
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The truck still had it's original no frills AM/FM stereo, so I decided to up grade it along with the blown factory speakers. I used a plug & play adapter wiring harness so I didn't have to cut or splice the factory harness and could always go back and reinstall it back to stock if I ever wanted to. For the speakers I made a custom mounting plate out of 18 gauge steel and used my bead roller to make a raised ridge around it to help stiffen it up. I used the factory holes to mount the speaker backing plate and it worked perfect to fit a 6x9 Kicker in the space.
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for the passenger side the storage opening in the floor was smaller and stowed the jack and tool pouch. So I used the storage cubby and cut out a piece of black 1/4" thick HDPE and mounted a 6.5" Kicker in it.
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Should have done this on both sides
Yeah I will probably do the driver side and mount the other Kicker 6.5" just haven't gotten around to it...it sounds pretty good the way it is, I just fade it a little more to the 6x9 as it's rated more Watts and has a little better bass.
 
So I ran the 31×10.50's off my 4runner for awhile. I ended up buying some 235/85/16 Yokohama Geolander MTs and some steel smoothie wheels for my 71 FJ40, but then decided to go a different direction, so I put them on the pickup. Kinda like the tall skinny look
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And a poser pic of the 3 yota's
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The truck still had it's original no frills AM/FM stereo, so I decided to up grade it along with the blown factory speakers. I used a plug & play adapter wiring harness so I didn't have to cut or splice the factory harness and could always go back and reinstall it back to stock if I ever wanted to. For the speakers I made a custom mounting plate out of 18 gauge steel and used my bead roller to make a raised ridge around it to help stiffen it up. I used the factory holes to mount the speaker backing plate and it worked perfect to fit a 6x9 Kicker in the space.View attachment 2204046
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for the passenger side the storage opening in the floor was smaller and stowed the jack and tool pouch. So I used the storage cubby and cut out a piece of black 1/4" thick HDPE and mounted a 6.5" Kicker in it.
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Nice work! I think you should start making those panels and selling them. Stereo upgrades on these trucks are always one of the first things people do!
 
Nice work! I think you should start making those panels and selling them. Stereo upgrades on these trucks are always one of the first things people do!
Thanks man, I actually started making all the inside rear cargo area side panels and tailgate for my 4runner out of 1/4" hdpe.
 
So last winter I had an idle issue. The truck would rev up and down continuously really fast. Once it was warmed up it would still do it just not as fast, but it was really annoying. Also my heater quit blowing hot. As bad as the thermostat and coolant looked when I flushed the radiator I could only imagine how bad my heater core probably looked inside. I've flushed it several times now and the heater works intermittently sometimes blowing luke warm, sometimes blowing cold. I also remove the coolant line that feeds up to the IACV (Idle Air Control Valve) underneath the throttle body. That coolant line was plugged solid with gunk. I cleaned out the coolant line and replaced the IACV and that seems to have taken care of my idling problem. But I need to replace my heater core which I'm not looking forward to doing, looks like I will need to remove the entire dash.🙄🤯 I'm open to recommendations if anyone knows of a good place to get a quality replacement heater core.
 
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Thanks man, I actually started making all the inside rear cargo area side panels and tailgate for my 4runner out of 1/4" hdpe.

I saw that! It seems a couple people were interested in how you did it. Looked fantastic.
 
So I daily drove the truck for about a year and a half. I've put about 30,000 miles on it in that time. I was planning to move me and my kids to be closer to my fiance since we will be getting married in a few months. A week before my move the trucks headgasket started to go. Its blowing steam through the exhaust, but hasn't mixed coolant in with the oil so that's good. I didnt have any choice but to drive it that way and make the 5hr trip when I moved.

So this brings me up to it's current status. Even though I have owned many of these truck over the years I have never had to do a headgasket or timing chain, I guess I never held onto them long enough, lol. So I am planning to do this myself. The PO had the timing chain replaced around 75,000 miles, (it currently has 130,000 miles). I figure I will go ahead and do the timing chain and water pump while I'm doing the headgasket, that way I dont have to tear back into it in another 40,000 miles to do it. I have been gathering up the parts the last couple weeks and will probably start on it next week. I'm open to and would appreciate any tips, tricks or knowledge you guys have to offer. I've been reading up on it and watching YouTube videos trying to get myself prepared!

Brown Santa has been making deliveries:
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^New headgasket kit, head bolts, and timing chain and gear set from LCE Performance.
 
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^New water pump, cap, rotor, spark plugs and TEQ T-shirt from 22RE Performance. They are generous with the stickers!
 
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Has anybody used these billet aluminum halfmoon seals from 22RE performance? They were out of stock when I ordered my water pump. I just checked back on their website and they had them in stock again so I ordered a set last night, they say they'll outlast your truck. I hate oil leaks, so I'm hoping to get my engine all cleaned up and eliminate all the leaks while I'm in there...I figured for $30 I'd give them a shot, plus they look cool!
 
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I had a little time this afternoon to work on the pickup. I got the air intake, and radiator removed. I also removed the 3 V belts. They looked cracked, I guess I'll add those to the parts list. also need to replace the bottom radiator hose and pick up some degreaser to clean up the motor and some liquid wrench to soak the exhaust manifold bolts. Has anyone used silicone radiator hoses? Are they worth the extra money?

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I've had an oil leak for awhile, engine bay is definitely overdue for some cleaning!
 
Looking at this engine makes me appreciate the simplicity of the early 22re.
 
Looking at this engine makes me appreciate the simplicity of the early 22re.
I'll admit I'm a little apprehensive about doing the timing chain and headgasket myself, it's little bit outside my comfort zone. I know it's not rocket science, I guess I'm just a little afraid I'll mess something up. I'm hoping if I take my time and label everything and do my research it should turn out fine. It's time to teach this old dog some new tricks, lol.
 

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