I sold/traded my diesel to this guy and got this 87 4Runner plus some cash. It had a knock and needed some love.

The Bad:

So my buddy and I pulled the motor to see what the deal was. Along the way we found several things out of whack like: three bolts in the tranny cross member, wrong bolts in the front driveline, bell housing bolts finger tight, no battery tie down, loose lug nuts, loose vacuum fittings on the upper plenum, ORANGE RTV EVERYWHERE, tons of water in the tranny/transfer case, and a whole lot more. The guy told me it had a newer head and timing set, but failed to mention the improperly sized stud in place of the bolt for the lower intake manifold, that happened to crack the head. Or the broken bolt in the intake for the coolant line which was accompanied by a broken drill bit.

Any how, we pulled the engine and immediately located the knock. Turns out whoever did the clutch job "forgot" to tighten the flywheel bolts . This caused a bit of noise as you can imagine. Since we already had the head off and the block out, we decided to freshen it up.


The Good:

The guy put some dough into this rig while he had it, and didn't put too many miles on it while he owned it. It has new injectors, a new battery, good 33's, an ARB and 4.88's, a Downey header and Flowmaster, TG sliders and winch mount, new clutch, Hella H4's, and a stereo system. So it's not all bad.

We got the motor in a couple days ago and so far so good. No smoke, no leaks, and it seems to have some power for a 22re. I've got my Mile Marker winch installed, swapped the auto hubs out for Aisin manuals, moved the locker switches to a more sensible location than the one the PO chose, tightened about every bolt from the lug nuts to the u-bolts, fixed the power windows, and much more.



I put on some new tail lights, replaced the missing marker light, and cleaned it up a bit. I plan to re-mount the sliders at an angle outward the way they should be, build new front and rear bumpers, and paint it this summer.

Here's how it sits after two weeks.


Wish me luck...

 

Luck wished

Nice job on the rebuild. Its looking really good

What color are you going to paint it?

 

I'll be painting it black. I'm going to use some commercial paint I used on a trailer last year, it's sort of semi gloss and extremely durable.

 

Looks like a really good start. Take alot of pictures.

Robb

 

some guys just have all the luck! super clean cant wait to see it painted.

 

Thanks for the positive responses. Next on my to do list will have to be a replacement t-case, or rebuild mine. It's got some bearing noise, likely from all the water in the oil. Might be a good time to get some 4.7's.

Also I ordered a new hawse fairlead so I can ditch the rollers, woohoo.

More pics:


Need to replace this also.....

 

Damn nice runner my friend!!

 

Well as the PO I'm wondering how it go water in the trans. I can't even figure out how you do that. I know it sat for a while, but I can't imagine condensation causing alot of water. I'm glad your taking care of it and putting it back on the road. I miss it already. Keep up the good work.

The 350 is doing good. Its out for a new trans this week. Turns out the noise was the front bearing being completely shot pretty much ruining the trans. Not entirely unexpected for 240k miles but suprisingly expensive. Holy crap ZF-6 are expensive and not alot of people work on them. Any clue what is killing the battery every other day?

 

Sweet deal!

Any idea on what kind of taillights they are?

 

Right here, I bought these after I got the 4Runner http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyot...Q5fAccessories

gte718p--PM sent

 

looks good!

 

good turn around!

keep the progress pics coming

 

Well, I have made a few more improvements. I replaced the plugs with new NGK platinum and bought new factory wires, cap, and rotor. First oil change on the motor at 500 miles last week, and just passed the 1000 mark so I am taking it out on a snow run tomorrow...I'll post some pics. I have to order a new TPS next week since mine isn't working properly. I also replaced my drivers seat with one out of a parts rig I just got.... https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f109...rt-out-179913/

So far so good. Seems to run better every day.

Edit:Snow Pics....



Fun day! And I got to use my winch.

 

I started my front bumper ..... here's some pics.


Added top tube and supports...


Now I need to grind some of the welds and tacks, tweak a few things, weld end caps on the tubes, prime and paint it.

 

Sweet Ride!!

 

i like the double / triple tubing on the bumper

are you gonna add a stinger?

 

Thanks. I did the double tube to fill the gap from the body lift. I don't plan on adding a stinger.

 

I got the bumper painted and installed. Just a few finishing touches, and it's done. Next up....rear bumper.

 

Went camping this weekend, truck is still running great. I am going to get the lift blocks out of the rear today, should ride and drive a lot better, not to mention it only has about 1.5" of compression right now before it hits the bumpstops. I'm going to use the spring pack out of the parts truck, maybe add a leaf, see what that does, and possibly a ZUK mod later.
Pics....



Photo op..

My wife feeling small next to that tree..



Our campsite

The ladies setting up the fire pit..

We have a pismo trip coming up in two weeks, then we are going to hit some of the harder trails on the mountain in June. Can't wait to see how the 4Runner handles the tough stuff.

 

Hey I live in Merced Area My mom has property in boot jack. We should deff go wheeling sometime