Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I dont know if this is true or not, but I was looking at my 85 yesterday and it doesnt have rock guards on it. I know my truck has been repainted in the past, so that got me to wondering if they had filled in the holes that mount the rock guards from the back side of the wheel wells. I cant see any evidence of it ever having any rock guards so wondering if 85 and older it they had them or if it was an option.

85 with no rock guards.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Doesnt really show in the picture, but this is the infamous hood dent that you will find on alot of these trucks. Not sure what causes them, but this one is deep.


Here I was able to tap it out from the back side.


Since this was on a curve a crease, I had to hit it had enough that it left some dimples on the oppisite side. Curves and creases strengthen up metal alot. What I am trying to show here is with the sharp tip on the dimple and using my flat tip pecking hammer, I was able to tap the dimple back down. I will still had some filler to smooth it out , but got the dent nearly level and think this is the worse and maybe only part of the hood. Havent really looked at it closely just yet.

Doing the hood and cab top is the toughest as the metal will flex alot and you cant use as much pressure on it as you can on the rest of the body. I plan on showing at a later time of wet sanding and there you can use alot of pressure to level out the body filler and primer. Wet sanding is what really makes the big difference on the leveling. At this stage of sanding, the primer is itself a leveling material. You are working with less then the thickness of a piece of paper and that thickness or less wll stand out bad.

Controled use of tapping dents, not the best picture with only two hands, but hope to get the idea across.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

On my 88 Runner thread, I notice that the page numbers dont match the post of how I have done some fixes in the past on the first page. I corrected some of the page numbers and think I got most of them. The page number may not be correct, but the fix is on the Post number and it is correct. I am slowly getting that corrected. Just go by Post number if unsure.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Photobucket quit responding last nite so here is some of what else I got done. I did have a tough tiem getting the fuel filler neck loose and still need to remove a few more pieces of trim. Hoping today goes well. Still have a ways to go before paint, but it is getting closer.

Still have hood to do,roof top, doors still have some dings but they are getting fewer.


Showing both sides. This truck may look like it has alot of repair but is actually in great condition. Mostly just door dings and 20 plus years of being on the road. I have seen new cars with this much damage. Wife and kids dont like it when I park out in town. I park out in the far corner of the parking lots, next to curbs as close as I can to protect at least one side and anything else I can do to prevent dings. No front row parking for me.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I am working on some roof dents. When I cant get behind a dent, I try everything I can to get the dent out as best as possible. I dont have a stud welder so I have to do the old fashion way of drilling a whole and using a slide hammer to pull the dent out with a screw.

There are several different sizes of the suction cup dent pullers. They work well on a large dish dent. There is also the Pop a Dent. These tools do help pull out several dents but usually will not pull a dent to where it is absolutley perfect that it may seem in advertisements. But they will do alot and sometimes a few other tricks, they will do a good job.

Works on larger dents but comes in smaller sizes.


Here is the Pop a Dent. It worked well on one dent that was the largest. I glued the tabs and let them set over nite. Instructions says to wait about 8 minutes. I will be repainting so I wanted them to stick on really well. The Pop a dent can cause dents where the pads set so it isnt exactly as advertised. Just dont want to crank it so hard that you cause two dents where the pads were at.


A bigger dent then what is showing, but a trick I use is to tap the perimeter of the dent to help pop it up.


Getting some of the old glue off can be a pain. I use a razor blade to get most of it off. What doesnt come off I use an old piece of sandpaper to get the rest off as it will clog the paper. Razors can scrape paint but I will be doing body filler on a lot of small spots and since this is such a large area on the cab, it is real flexible and you cant use much pressure on the cab or hood. For the cost of a glue gun, you can get a Pop a Dent for a few more dollars.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Here is the roof with all of the dents worked out. The before picture didnt turn out as well and this may not show the dents in it as well either but the dents are shallow. The above tools worked great but did not bring back to perfect. I am guessing there is about 15 dings in it. None real deep at all. I will finish the rest of the truck up before starting on the roof. Just wanted to change a few things up.

RAD4Runner

Hi Terry and folks,

I see many other trucks without rockguards that ours have. I suspect that designers put them there for looks or based on theoretical path of rocks when wheels spin. Actual path of rocks may be different.

I'm considering removing mine because they would only catch and retain debris and water (worst if saltwater dripping from kayak) and hasten rusting. If you guys do not have rock guards, based on your first-hand experience do you think our trucks really need them?

If really necessary, I'd just reinforce area with bedliner/undercoating.

TIA,
Ray

Cyberhorn The Dragon

rad@

from the repairs im going to be doing if i reinstall them im likely to use a thin rubber washer or a disk of press an seal on the mounts to hold them off the body a bit in my case they used the guards to hide the spray foam they put in there an helped the rot

more than likely ill paint spray undercoat/rock guard nicely an repaint body color to hide the undercoat/rockguard which will due to its rubbery component protect against rock hits the paint protecting it from UV an Ozone

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Hello Rad..This is something that has slipped by me. I havent really notice some having them and some not. My 88 Runners rockguards were painted white from the factory and I just assumed maybe the ones I havent noticed where the same body color and never caught my attention. It is something I am going to start looking for and see if maybe if it was some option.

I will leave them off of my 85 when I get it running and see if rocks do cause any damage. If I do start getting damage, the 4Runners are the same stytle just mount up a little different. I will install a set of 4runner rockguards so that I dont have to put so many holes into the body to mount them.

Hello Cyberhorn.. Did the pics of the A pillar trims help and did you get a better understanding of them? Just start at the top and work down and they pop out quite easily. Lifting up after getting the top two out is the trick to it.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

junk4u..Here are the differences between the dashpads. I am not sure which year is which, but they are interchangeable. The one in my 86 is bad and eventually I will get mine swapped out with one that has the longer indentation.

Long indentation that is going into my 86 eventually.


Short indentation. It was in bad condition, but I used what I had until one came along. Just have to be patient and the parts will come.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Woooooot! More Free info to pillage! Haha

Cyberhorn The Dragon

yep ive got it in mind when i go to do it i spotted a modification im going to do to the maplight first before installing it

you know terry i wonder if the long dash pads were meant to be the ones with the inclometer/tilt meeter the shorts always without

RAD4Runner

Thanks, Terry and Cyberhorn (William?)
Re: dash mine has a crack but truck came with dash mat to cover it so I'm leaving it alone. BTW, had great fun with officemates in Anza-Borrego Desert last weekend. Here's Ruby Tuesday in her element...
And her sister she met in Borrego Springs.

dakotawho

iTrader: (1)

I've seen a few with the short indention and an inclinometer, of course someone could have put it there...

@RAD
Nice pics, wish I could find a twin for my truck here in VA haha!

Cyberhorn The Dragon

cyber , dragon, bill... friends an family call me dragon a lot

KameleonKelley

terry, i couldn't bring myself to read through all 57 pages on this thread, but i read through some and i'm enthralled. i'm slowly reviving my 85/86 (there's a discrepancy between the dmv and the vin), and i've got a couple questions... for now: I'm having a hard time finding a lot of interior parts, especially door panels, do you have any advice?/What do you do with anything you end up with duplicates of? (i'm keeping a close eye on craigslist and ebay, and i'm planning a big trip to a local pick n pull)

Cyberhorn The Dragon

@KameleonKelley

well first welcome to YOTATECH and WOOT santa cruz! i went to santa cruz high my 11th year in high school

terry comes across some good finds but Chefyota (mark) is always finding treasures down near LA he has a part thread if you send him a note with what you need he can likely find it for ya and shipping could be negated as your in calif
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f109...f-sale-262855/

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Hey William, thanks buddy! Lol. ..... Not swimming in panels and such ATM ...... but always checking!

Sure nuff, drop me a pm, sir! I might have some things right now.

Btw, you were in high school 11 years, Will??? Hehehe, jk. ...was right there, went for it! haha

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

PS: I am about to add a bunch of stuff to that thread.

KameleonKelley

hey! thanks a ton! mucho mucho appreciated!
and eff-yeah to Santa Cruz! i may need to get outta here for a while to fully appreciate it again, but i do know i'm spoiled here