JBeezy

So I have a second gen '92 4Runner, that is a 2wd currently. I dont plan on ever selling it. But i really want to have it as a 4wd. What do i have to do, what could I do that may be time and or cost conscious. And is it even possible. Any tips and feedback much appreciated. Looking through this forum has the wheels turning!!

donomite49

start saving money and gathering parts.

get to the pick a part quick cause yota parts do not stay long.

i do know the frame has tabs for the front diff.
i remember reading a thread that someone did the 4wd conversion, searched yet?

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

welcome to YT! pretty much any mod is possible if you have the money to do it.

ok, serious thinking here...how much really is the "sentimental value" of your rig worth? Unless you're planning to go all-out on your conversion and make a crawler, I don't think it's worth all the trouble to swap a 2wd to stock 4wd system. Would be cheapest and easiest to just sell your 4runner and buy another one that's 4wd since there are sooo many 2nd gen 4runners that sell for cheap these days.

Many people DO do this conversion, but usually it's on something like a 4-door prerunner Tacoma since they can be bought considerably cheaper than the 4wd version, making it perfect for someone going all out on their rig since they wouldn't be putting in a stock 4wd setup.

I dunno the exact parts involved, but my guess is you'll need:
transmission/tcase adapter
tcase
front driveline and shortened rear driveline
tcase crossmember
front diff
front crossmembers
CV axles
4wd steering knuckles and hub assemblies, etc
perhaps instrument cluster if you want 4wd indicator
i'm sure lots more i'm missing!

good luck!

combatcarl

Look into a SAS on it. Being a frame that was also 4 wheel drive, your truck has everything but 4wd running gear. So everything that your truck doesn't have, steal from a 4wd and put in. But, it would probably be more cost effective to put a solid axle under it.

JBeezy

thanks for tips guys!! I really like the idea of the solid frt axle. in regards to the tabs on the frame... will the frame accomodate the solid axle easily, or are the tab knockouts for cv axle setup? And as far as finding a Runner at a pick a part around where i live... Ive had my Runner for almost 4 years... never seen one on any of the 4 lots lol! I plan to replace the 3.slow with a modified 22re, make it 4WD if not to costly, or too time consuming.

Donomite49: still got alot of searching and forum posts to scour for sure! I definately need all the help and advice I can get

highonpottery: I have always wanted a 4Runner and couldn't pass the deal for this one! It was so clean, and ran so well (well... it did till a tree smashed it). So I want this to be a project that me and my boys can work on and share as they grow up. Lol... but... maybe I just should have waited to find 4x4 in the first place right!?

v_man

x2 just going solid front axle . You'd be pissin' in a mine shaft to set it up as IFS , if 4wd is your goal .

And I did the same when I built my crawler , I ditched the 3vze for a 22re , plus the SAS , and have never regretted it ...

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

i'd go 3.4L swap over a 22re swap. these days the 3slow --> 3.4L swap is almost a direct bolt-in that requires little custom fab work. will be a significant upgrade over the 22re.

like i said already and others have repeated - it would be easier to SAS your rig and do the 4wd conversion on this current rig if you're going to tear into it. if you just want basic IFS 4wd it will be easier to either swap frames or simply swap vehicles.

RBX

Uhhh, it will be WAAAAAAYYYYY cheaper and easier for the OP to switch that truck to IFS. You can buy cheap IFS diffs and parts for real cheap, why, because everyone cuts it off their rig and tries to sell those parts no one wants.

You may have an issue mating a transfer case to the output of the transmission, it may be easier for you to either get an adapter plate from Marlin Crawler, Inchworm or Trail Gear to bolt a RF1A gear drive transcase on. The RF1A will probably be the hardest most expensive past you find/buy.

With that said, most everything involved with the 2wd 4Runner frame with the conversion will be bolt on due to the fact that the 2WD frames for 4Runners(only) are Identical to the 4WD 4Runner frames. A friend of mine is considering the same conversion in the next year, since he will get all of my IFS stuff i took out to do my recent SAS since I can't sell it.

If the OP is trying to go with a stout capable trail rig, then yes, put SAS that thing, but if you simply want a driver with 4wd and some mild trail use for my time and money I'd just bolt all the IFS stuff on.

Also, you could bolt on the IFS stuff as you acquired it, without having to take your 4Runner off the road for any length of time. An SAS is going to take some time, AND will drastically change the way your 4Runner drives/handles. Consider also that you will need to raise the suspension in the rear when you SAS the truck because the SAS requires quite a few inches of lift on an IFS frame.

I can't comment on the engine swap, but I wouldn't go 3.0 to 22re. Either go bigger or maintain your 3.0, they get a bad rap for early headgasket issues. Maintain it, replace headgaskets with quality OEMs, and the engine will last a while. Mine however is getting ready to through a connecting rod since the monkey that owned it last thought he was mechanically able...he should have his hands broken.

good luck

combatcarl

RBX is right. It will be cheaper. And maybe easier, to put in the ifs goodies. I leaned to the SAS because given the same rig and scenario, I'd SAS, fewer moving parts and stronger system. Either way, you're pulling the trans, and I'd recommend swapping entire thing for one with transfer case on it. (Guessing you're auto) Now for my reason behind saying SAS. When you buy the ifs parts, you might get lucky and buy from someone like RBX, whose parts are in good shape. Easy. They'll last forever in a DD. Or, you could buy from me. I'll sell them to you, little cheaper than RBX would, they look ok, they do still work, and I'll have them all cleaned up. But, you'll be replacing a bunch of my parts after you first medium off roading trip. I'm SASing sooner than later anyway, as I don't want to rebuild my worn out IFS. So I have a definite bias.

Not pickin on RBX, just using as example of stand up guy. And I can be rather shady. (If you are)

RBX

^^^haha , nice. You have a good point... Either way you go you are best to freshen up whatever's system you go with. Hind sight ios 20/20, if I were to do an sas again I'd try to get a 2wd truck from the 86-94 vintage, then swap my body and engine Trans over. The reason, less frame cutting and lower stance= more up travel. The truck would also have been able to be driven till I was ready to swap everything over. But that's a conversation for another thread. And I'm speaking from the point of view of linking the front instead of leafs.

JBeezy

So i think I found me another Runner for $700!! But with the IFS, that i wanna use as a parts rig for time being!! So... 1.how hard is it to put the transfer case to my current auto tranny 2. how hard is the transfer case to bolt into my current 2WD frame 3. what are some problems that i could expect to run into??

I think if i do grab this 4WD, i will make it the Solid Axle rig... later on though. Just have to find me $700 first hahaha!!

JBeezy

hey... what do you mean by OP??

JBeezy

RBX... my 3.0 has 197,000 miles on it, and it runs pretty good. But my thinking is: arent the 3.0 expensive to either replace or rebuild vs a 22re. And if I build a 22re, could i not still come out ahead cost wise, even if i get it built with some performance goodies, to make it produce good horsepower? Just asking for knowledge... not trying buck the info you posted already lol!!

JBeezy

sooo... how did you build the 22re? Stock or performance?

RBX

The 3.0 makes more power then the 22re, not much but more then a tweaked 22re that still retains some reliability. You will then have to change the transmission or bellhouse for the 22re and relocate the engine mounts. The 3.0s are roughly the same price to rebuild/replace. There have also been issues with folks rebuilding 22r engines and have a ring seating issue. A 22re will not produce 'good horsepower', you can make it perfom better, but you will never reach 200hp, you will be lucky to break 150hp.

Transfer case, you are asking a very vague question....how hard is it? How difficult is it for you to drop a transmission? Rebuild an engine. I can say that the t-case is easy, but I have no idea if you know which end of a screw driver to hold....just saying.
Does the donor truck have the same trans as your current rig? Are the transfer case/transmission mount cross-members in the same location(you will need to measure this as there are 3 cross-members from Toyota for your specific year IIRC.
You may be able to add the t-case onto the end of the trans without removing the trans.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

"OP" is "original poster"

I still think you will be very unhappy with the 22re swap and should just stop looking this way as an option.

look at it this way...you could build up a 22re with pretty much everything available (head, bored over, cam, exhaust, etc) and maybe get up to around 150hp (as long as you put enough stickers on your rig). For the price just to upgrade everything on that 22re (not including the block and everything else you'll need), you're looking at roughly the same cost to do the 3.4L swap (which has shy of 200hp stock). If you do some searching, you'll find many people who spend a ton of $ trying to get performance out of their 22re only to be disappointed and wished they just put the money toward a 3.4L swap (or 2rz/3rz Tacoma 4cly swap) instead. Also, since the 3.4L is a direct bolt-in for replacing your 3slow, it has become the easiest and simplest swap on an older toyota than any other engine.

RBX

^^^ much better way of putting it.

Funny thing is I have a low end knock on my 3.0, and was/may be pulling the crank to inspect what i believe is a spun bearing. the problem is that my 3.0 has a new top end (love craigslist) so I would have a new engine with a crank replace....but then there is the 3.4 swap...effort to replace a crank, or 50more ponies effort....
Oh, the crank replacement is definitely cheaper...we know this.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

You can weld and Fabricate things as needed ??

You have a good level Floor to get things lined up.

A torch or plasma cutter for cutting things apart.

If you don`t have the $700.00 for a parts vehicle any real work is pretty far down the road.

Truth be told so much easier to just buy a 4X4 and be done both cheaper and so much faster.

RSR

Honestly, just buy a 4wd.

Different bodies, drivetrains, suspensions, etc. 2wd to 4wd is just not worth it. You'll spend 2x as much and waste a ton of time.

RSR

+1. Buy a 3vze 4wd w/ body and interior in good condition that's been junked b/c of a head gasket failure. Swap it from the start w/ a 5vzfe. Even if paying someone todo all the work, you're likely in the $5k range w/ manual and $7k with automatic tranny.

If I were to do it over, that's the way I'd go. Also, on trucks I'd highly recommend only looking at the Xtra cabs.