ok so here's the deal i just got asked to be my best friends best man and i was thinking i would make a wheeling trip out of the batchelor party. but here's the problem so far my 4runner has been a pretty die hard pavment pounder and i think if im going to keep up with his truck im going to have to do a lot of upgrades. But the budget is slim right now, Im actually throwing my Chevy (tow rig) on the backburner until i can get my runner up to par i was hoping i could get some help with choices on upgrades for my runner.

right now i have a 3inch revtec lift with a 3inch 4crawler body lift. 33 inch tires which will peobally be the last thing i worry about but im thinking about some maxxis bighorn 35's if that helps out at all.

i have no locker no gears and im going to be doing all the body armor myself.

please help i feel overwelmed right now a year and a half doesnt seem like enough time lol

 

big horns suck for mud to be honest a sas swap would be sweet find some buckshots or swamps or bogs stts oh and gears

 

Depends on what kind of wheeling you are doing. If your tires are fine as far as tread then dont even worry about them. Your first priority should be a locker, it will make a world of difference as far as cabability. You dont need gears with 33's on your truck, your fine as it is. Get a locker - or two. The stuff you'll be able to do may suprise you.

 

Don't worry about getting stuck a bunch, id rather get stuck 1000 times then break something. Makes for a "HELL" of a weekend. But getting stuck, little winchin, couple of high lifts, and some beers. U got it made with 33'' and some body armor. Would rather be the guy that had to get pulled out a bunch then the dip squat who had to have an off road recovery for thousands$$ Or linking 3 trucks together to pull a dead vehicle through a rough trail. Ive got $6,000 plus and 3 years of building into mine and love it. But in your case and budget "F" traction. Reliability and keeping the body nice, your goin to have way more fun that way.

Last edited by me "soouurry" Is that spelled right? No, ok good.
You get the point!

 

And carfull with that cold air intake and water.


Cold air intake = hydro lock magnet

 

man the wife is making this hard. right now im looking for a new rear axel with the e-locker cause the rear wheel bearing is going out on the driver side so if i can get a new axel and make the wife think its a better deal than just fixing the bearing im set! Also thinking about selling my '83 chevy for some more budget.

 

There out there, but they can be hard to find. And little bit of work if you don't already have the wiring in your vehicle for one. Think somebody makes a cable actuator for them. Might be worth looking into. Find one out of an automatic truck or 4runner, and it will have lower gears. 4.56's came with most auto's. I had a 95 4runner with the factory 4.88's. If you can get the front and rear it would save you a ton of $$. Front diff is actually pretty easy to remove, even in a junk yard.

 

would the 4.88 gears from a 2nd gen work for a 3rd gen?

 

In the rear yes. The rear housing is different only because of the E-Locker. If you don't have one of those than any V6 rear diff will fit. But the front went to a high pinion diff after 95. This is for your 97 then you would need to find a 95 1/2 and up tacoma or 4runner front diff.

 

Think I paid about $900 to regear my taco to 4.56's from "yukon gear & axle".
That was with me tearing the diffs out myself and giving them to a shop to have the gears installed. Nice part was it came with a rebuild kit for the front diff, seals & bearings.
Little spendy but worth it.

 

U got a V6?
Depends on how much highway driven you do, but 4.56 actually put mine back to stock with 33's. Even the speedometer is right on. 4.88's are a tad low for the V6. But would be fine if your mostly off road. Im getting 19-20MPG now, before with 4.11's and 33's it was a little less 17-19MPG. And I pull a 17' camping trailer thats around 3000lbs with no problems. I did the whole gear ratio calc thing to. Mine now is 2750rpms @ 71Mph and 3000rpms @ 77Mph. With 4.88's you'll be 2750rpms @ 66Mph and 3000rpms @ 72Mph.
Seems like cruising over 3000rpms is a big difference in MPG's from what I've heard. Especially at 75Mph, you would be 3130rpms. But all of this is irrelevant if your not driving it to work everyday, just depends on your use. The 4.88's would make a real nice 4lo. But Mine is pretty dang slow in 4lo.

 

yeah i have the 3.4L v6 im still trying to secide between 33's and 35's before i gear. im slowly working on the wife for a real budget but right now we're trying to buy s house so the budgets at a stand still lol. i also dont have a shope for the build yet thats waiting for me at the new house so im just been doing a lot of studying on which winches people are using. if i cant find a e-locker which locker would work best for what i use my runner for. it is a daily driver and we use it for long trips when we can afford the gas for it.

 

Ya any bigger then 33" definatly 4.88's

Im not sure about lockers. Have never really tried anything else.
Hopfully somone who has will chime in hear.
Best offroad luck to ya.