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wally's '87 4runners continuation thread from t4r.org
t4r.org is pretty quiet these days. rather than continuing to update my maintenance thread over there, i figured i'd "continue" it here, without too much overlap. for anyone interested, the thread is found at this link wallys 87 4runner upkeep thread
as some of you know, i've currently got three 1st gen 4runners. two '87s and an '88. the '88 is a parts donor, although it still runs (not much longer as i steal parts from it, though).
i think this is my only picture with all three in it...
i use the '87s for daily driving and for work. wheel them a bit, but not as often now that i've got my '75 cj5 back on the road after 9 years awaiting completion of the new frame installation...(i've got a thread here on it in the "other makes" part of the forum) '75 cj5 rebuild after 9 years
some recent work related wheeling (my favorite kind)
Nice! Yotatech has more active classics owners anyway.
Love your "Antique" license plate. In Commiefornia, we're still required to smog the old ones, even though the 4Runners with 36 years of technological advancements have lower MPG (17 if they're lucky) than our classics.
BTW, the Wrangler's geometry surely makes it superior to the 4Runner when it comes to crawling.
Last edited by RAD4Runner; 09-29-2022 at 02:40 PM.
i do enjoy wheeling the 4runners; they are far more comfortable to drive/ride in than the cj5. but my cj5 is far more capable on trail than either of the '87s. it is admittedly built a bit from stock; but the wheelbase really lends itself to the normal 4wd opportunities in central/northern new england. i can put the cj5 places where my 4runners just can't go or can't get over/through. i like them all; otherwise i wouldn't be driving them.
all 8 of my vehicles (9 if i include the parts '88) could be registered as antiques here; only 3 are at present. my red '87 just returned two tanks of gas at just above 20 mpg, which is pretty good. the white '87 consistently returns 22 to 24 mpg. and the cj5 returns 8 to 12 mpg (lol).
'87 #1 has had an intermittent no-start, manifested by no CEL with the key turned to the "on" position. with the CEL not on, the fuel pump won't run, even with the jumper installed between B+ and Fp. the starter worked just fine, and the engine turned over no problem, but without the CEL lit (and thus no fuel being pumped), it wouldn't start. this has been going on infrequently over the last 5 or 6 years. usually, turning the key to "off", then back to "on" would bring the CEL back on, and then the 4runner would start. sometimes the key needed to be cycled a few times, but the CEL would eventually come on.
yesterday, the CEL would not come on, even with repeated cycling. thanks to @scope103 , i traced the problem to the efi main relay. this is located in the driver side kick panel, behind the plastic trim piece. having 2 '87 4runners allowed me to swap in a known good efi relay into 4runner #1, and the CEL came back on. also, putting that faulty relay into 4runner #2 resulted in the same "no-CEL", so the relay is the problem. a minor upper left corner windshield leak is the likely cause of the failure (which was repaired earlier this year). the relay had some exterior corrosion, and the electrical contacts were also corroded. fortunately, my '88 parts 4runner has the same efi main relay, even though it is a 3.0 vs the 22re. so, both '87s are good to go.
efi main relay, located in junction block #1, lower left, below the flasher relay. the other round relay is the
tail light/panel relay. it has a different part group and part number printed on it.
same location, but in '87 #2, which has cruise control. the cruise computer is the large box visible below
the junction block (the mounting location is clear when looking at #1's kick panel, which doesn't have it).
a different view of the junction block and the relay layout.
first real obstacle on the road - a short ledge step. took a few tries at this angle, but the roots at the lower right were slippery and i couldn't get up on the step.
so, i set over a bit to the left, and approached at a slightly different angle, and drove up over the step..
the cj a few days earlier - walked right up. it was dry, with fewer leaves. plus, 34s and a locker.
so, i took a line to the far left with the 4runner, and although it was still slick and difficult, i was able to get up over the ledge/steps and continue on the road. fwiw, the cj was in 2wd at the point in the two photos, and i couldn't go further. once i engaged the front driveshaft, up and over i went.
took a slightly unplanned trip back to MI at the end of october (just there in august). this time, planned to do some wheeling in the northern part of the state after visiting/helping my in-laws in southern MI. took the older '87 this time, and it had been perhaps 6 years since i'd driven it out there (lots of vehicle choices in my fleet). didn't want to put so many miles on my 32x11.5x15 mud terrains, so i swapped out the mounted set for a different mounted set of tires that i had "retired" a year ago, some 31x10.5x15 ATs with a lot of miles on them (which made the cross-country trip from coast to coast to coast in 2016).
rear seat area is loaded, too
rest area in VT, early on the 1st day..note the road tires and american racing aluminums
09-21-2022 | 02:32 PM
