I did some color sanding and did a little burn thru. The buffer got me in trouble. Not the first time I have burned thru with a buffer. Much safer using wet sand paper, takes a little longer but less risk of burning thru as long as you stay off of edges. I was able to get it spot painted and cant even tell where it was, not going to risk that again. Sure is nice when the clear lays down smooth.

Use fine grit paper to avoid having to spot paint. There is actually quite a bit in having to mask off and get the spraying just right. Was a lot better then having to mask off the whole truck.

 

I got a hundred small things done. Misty was out helping me a later on the brats came out to help. It got to where I was showing them what to install and where things went and it was getting to where it was pretty hard trying to stay ahead of them. Some of the things that got done that I can think of right off was getting the gas door on, roll bar in, front doors mostly finished, top installed with all correct bolts (had hardware bolts in before) rear washer bottle, inner splash guards, tail lights in, front mud flaps swapped out, passenger exterior mirror, most rear bumper bolts installed, and I know there is more just cant think of it.

Cleaning the parts, nuts and bolts took quite a bit of time and I always run each nut or bolt under the wire bench brush just to make sure they are cleaned to avoid cross threading. Misty did a few and kept bumping her finger into the wire brush and not to thrilled about cleaning them after that.

Wife and kids helping out getting things done. I was not able to keep up with pictures but will try and post some later. It is the small things that really slow things down and they helped get a lot of it done.

 

I got an SR5 gauge out of storage to swap into the dash. I was hoping the runner was the 110 mph gauge and it was as I dont have an 85 mph gauge. When I tried swapping an 85 for a 110 on my extra cab, the mileage was 15 miles per hour off.

I am going to have to use the non SR5 gauge plastic face on this one as it is cracked and will post it later tonight in how I go about it.


There is a spider in it and is alive and doing well. He will be getting an eviction notice when I swap covers, clean it up, and tighten the screws on the backside to help with getting the gauge a little more accurate on some of the gauges. It seems to help.

 

I have been helping a friend get his project finished and he helped me with this runner. We started at 6 this morning and at 8:30 the heat ran us out. It is hot and humid here. I have a window ac unit in the shop but it is just to much for it to keep the shop cool at this time of year. As bad as I dislike winter, I actually like winter when I am in the shop. I can get the stove going and the weather outside does not bother me. That is the only time I like winter is when in the shop. This heat is miserable today.

My friend got the grill, bumper and valance on. I went to swap out the tailgate piece with the tag lights and that was a bust. The replacement one looks good on the out side but a previous owner has cut the wires and broken a mounting tab of one of the lights. I should of checked it to see if both lights were in it before starting. Once I got it out is when I seen they butchered up the light harness. Urgh!!! Another warning sign is when they used a extension cord from the back glass motor to move the back glass up and down and they did a bang up job on that as well. I might see if I can get a picture of that later on.


The passenger wing glass needs replaced. Some one in the past had plexi glass. This took a lot longer then expected and was a real pain in the rear job. First we tried to just remove the glass and not the whole assembly. After way to much time, we finally removed the whole wing glass assembly and getting the assembly out of the door has to be manipulated just right to get the assembly in and out. I also got the trim on the front fender on. Still need to get the drivers front and rear trim on.


My friend and me are going to the bone yard to pick up a few parts he needs and I need to get a wing glass for this one. If I can find some better trim on then what I have, I will grab that as well.

 

Where my thumb is there are two screws that hold the top of wing glass in. I used a funnel to help widen the gap to get the replacement part in. It takes a little maneuvering to get to where it needs to be. There is a black tab down on the shaft of the wing glass assembly that gets stuck against the inside panel and widening the gap helps with getting it to where it needs to be. My pointer finger shows where a single screw goes to.


A blurry picture but shows the plexiglass that was in before. Also it did help removing the window crank bolts to get some more room to install the wing glass assembly. I would suggest just changing the whole assembly instead of just the glass. There is a spring with a nut on the bottom of the glass and it is a total pain to get loose when it is in the door. I did get the nut off but a washer that you will not be able to get to is most likely rusted on the shaft and can only be gotten to after you have the wing glass assembly out.

 

Here is what the old assembly looks like. The spring, nut and washer is inside the door and you can see some of the corrosion on it. You might could try sliding the glass out of the chrome holder and I did try but was worried something was going to break and the glass might not stay tight in the channel. I really suggest swapping the complete assembly. There is one bolt that is below the door latch that you need to remove as well.

 

Very clean build! It's great to see the 4Runner getting restored even beyond it's former glory!!

 

Thanks 96taco4x4...This was a nice truck when I got it but it does show the problems that come with these. I would say it was nicer then most found for sale today but it was loaded with some hack jobs, dirt, grime, and such that most may not know about. I cringe when I hear someone that says they found a nice truck and are just thinking it needs a tune up or minor repair. There is a ton of work that they probably are unaware of. Welcome to Yotatech.

 

I wound up putting the original black Toyota tail gate piece back on. Working on these tail gates really isn't bad as long as you know how to get the tailgate down. If a truck is in a boneyard or disabled, you need to run some wires from the motor to a battery to operate the back glass.


May look like a hack job but when you see a 2 inch wide streak running from the top to the bottom of the back glass, the plastic holder that holds the connector has broken and is letting the connector flop around and rub the glass. The plastic holder is so brittle that it eventually will break. Zip ties are a much better improvement. I did clip the tail off but is up for picture purpose and how I fix the broken clip issue,


Here I am showing part of the connector, glass is up to access the nuts to the trim.


Got most of the door panel back on from doing the wing glass project. I am showing here how much the original gray has faded from when it was new.


Here I am showing the door latch trim pieces. A cheap way to get a little fresher look on the interior is to swap the drivers side to the passengers side and vise versa. The top is usually in bad shape but the bottom is in perfect condition.

 

What I am showing here is the tail gate is back together but more importantly, this is the rubber seal that goes in the fiberglass shell. I marked it "Left Outside" a memo to me has to which direction it was to be re installed. In some of my threads, I show where I use a can of rattle can paint to mark how things get mounted up under the dash that you wont be able to see. When tearing a truck down, it is to easy to forget how it goes back together.

 

I am going to go look at a 79 Ford pick up later on today. Since getting rid of the 85 I have been itching for a new project and need a truck. Once I get this runner completed, I will roll the 87 runner in the shop and it will be a slow project and my long term goal is to get a 73-79 dent side truck ready so when I retire in 10 years to be pulling a travel trailer. It is going to take me a few years to get a Ford truck to where I want to have it and the 87 runner is just going to be taken back to original and no real plans of making it a daily driver but something to have that will probably be a rare truck in the near future.

We go some new hires where I work at and should start giving me some time to get back on projects. Not being out in the shop is starting to put a few pounds on me and I need some projects to keep me active. The heat has been terrible around here and even with ac in the shop it cant keep the shop cool enough. I don't care for winter but I am starting to like winter time when I am in the shop. It is easier to warm a shop then it is to cool one.

 

I love the detail of your builds, it helps others down the road.

Awesome your family jumps into help periodically.

 

I love the detail of your builds, it helps others down the road.

Awesome your family jumps into help periodically.

 

Thanks Robb...Just some things that the manuals just don't show and hope in some little way, I help keep some other truck on the road that I have not even seen. It does help when the family jumps in and gives a hand on things. They enjoy it at times.

 

I got the trim on the drivers side on. It was a tight fit between the wall and truck. Took longer then it should on the rear. I could not get the screws in that hold the trim in. Pulled the trim back off to see what was the problem and I had not removed the screws from when I disassembled the truck. Doh!!! I had some better trim with the screws taped to the replacement trim.


Bumper and front valence on. I installed the best bumper I have. Really needs another bumper as it had been bumped by the previous owner.

 

Been working on several loose ends. Shouldn't be muck longer before I can start taking it on its shake down runs and seeing if there are any bugs left in it that it would break down on the road. I have let them idle in the shop for an hour at a time and no problems, put one on the road and with in 5 miles, hoses have popped loose on me when they start getting put under pressure. I did not do much motor work to it and it made a 250 mile trip to my house so don't have any worries there. I am more worried about the transmission. The old transmission had a whine in it. I don't know anything about the transmission that I replaced it with. I have been able to test drive it around the block but that is only 1st and 2nd gear as I did not have lights and such in it.

I am getting the SR5 speedometer ready to install. The cover was cloudy so I used the head light restorer on it. It works great. Just follow the instructions on it. You are basically sanding the cover on it and it will look bad and you may think you are ruining it. It will be clear when you put the final sealer on it. I have corrected the mileage on gauges before but I have had problems doing it in the past. I have some junk speedometers that I use as parts. I have about use all the junk ones up to repair the gauge. If you are going to do the SR5 upgrade and you only have one gauge, I would really suggest you just leave the mileage alone. Especially if you have the hash tag cluster as the spindle is splined the usually the needle will break on the splines. I have it listed on my other builds for more information showing the splines.

Head light Restorer for scratched and cloudy lense covers.


On the earlier post where I showed the zip tie holding the connector to the tail gate. The original blue factory clip had broken and let the connector flop around and rub the glass. It may be hard to see in this picture, but the two inch wide blur is where the connector rubbed the glass. No way of getting rid of the scuff but the zip tie will prevent it from getting worse. These back glasses are getting harder to find. If you go to my 88 Runner build, you will see that truck has the 2 inch wide blur bad.



If doing the SR5 gauge upgrade, do NOT use the small oil pressure sending unit. Anytime I do the upgrade, I disconnect the wire from the sending unit. Another thing to watch out for when swapping sending units it to make sure the threads are turning with the sending unit. One time I thought the sending unit was turning with the threads and the threads snapped off into the block. If that happens, do NOT use the spiral Easy Out to remove the broken threads. Those spiral Easy Outs are brittle and will snap which makes a problem worse. I will admit I am a little bit worried about swapping out the sending unit on this truck or any other truck since I went thru that disaster.


Use the larger sending unit with the SR5 cluster. 14mm wrench to install it in the block.


Installed, still got to swap sending units. If using a V6 cluster you will need to adjust the tachometer. I started the truck and it is idling at about 950 which is about where it needs to be.

 

It is hot here in Missouri. I am lucky to be able to stay in the shop until about 10 am. It might be 94 degrees in there but with the humidity it feels hotter then what it is and I am just soaked. Shirt and pants are just dripping wet. Have been getting some small things done. Got the antenna installed and some other odds and ends that I just cant recall right off. I even let the AC run all night in the shop so as it would be cool in there. Not sure if it made a big difference.

I tried to install an AC conversion kit for the compressor. The runner is still R-12 and will need to be converted to 134. I have not looked into what is needed to convert the compressor. I thought you just needed the adapter but I cant seem to find the right one. If any one knows what kit I need, I would appreciate a link to it.

 

The build is coming along nicely, looks great. I have been working on Toyota's for twenty plus years in a Toyota Dealer collision shop and have never even thought about switching the interior handle trim covers from side to side to hide the faded top edge! The simplest thing ever...Genius! I have been a member on YotaTech for years and have followed your builds and advice on several other builds as well. I (as well as others I'm sure) appreciate all your help and input. I look forward to the finished project and the next one as well.

 

Thanks Dentmstr...That is a compliment from you with your time on Toyotas. I appreciate it. That is one fix you will notice several times after you have done it. I fixed an antenna fairly recently for a guy and I just cut the head off of a bolt and threaded it into the pvc pipe that Toyota uses but is a better fix over new in my opinion. Sometimes the cheap fixes are just as rewarding as the more expensive repairs.

 

With the heat I have been steadily getting small things done. Around 10 or so I am ready to get out of the shop as I am drenched with sweat. I did get the Oil Pressure Sensor in the block. I was concerned with pulling the smaller sensor for the oil light out. The SR5 has the oil gauge and needs the larger unit. If you don't swap units you will ruin the oil gauge.

When connecting your wire to the new sensor for the SR5 gauge, connect to the round connector. I do not have another sensor to show a picture of it, but some of sensors have a flat connector attached to the Oil Pressure Sensor, do NOT use the flat connector as it will ruin the gauge as well. In the past I have shown where I will break off or cut off the flat tab if the sensor has it.

Here is the proper place to connect the sensor to.