'94 4 Runner Build/newb thread

[Caoboy]

I'm pretty sure it isn't the problem either. But fixing it will confirm that isn't what is broken. I'm hoping the vacuum lines are the issue though. The transfer case is engaging the diff, so if it isn't the sleeve locking/unlocking then it's gotta be the hubs themselves. Unless the whole differential grenaded at some point...

One thing that I'm not sure on.

Is there any reason not to leave the differential switched to locked? Increased wear on parts/tires?

(leaving this part for a bookmark as i'm at work http://www.villagetoyotaparts.com/p...-GLX/FILTER--GAS--NO1/2442735/9091711027.html )

 

[BLKNBLU]

One thing that I'm not sure on.

Is there any reason not to leave the differential switched to locked? Increased wear on parts/tires?

Not sure what you mean by "switched to locked" Do you mean the fact that your axle parts are rotating all the time? Or are you talking about running around in 4hi all the time?

 

[Caoboy]

I mean leaving the ADD engaged. Running a vacuum line to the passenger side of the differential and capping everything else off. The only thing that leaves it out of 4WD then would be the transfer case itself.

 

[Caoboy]

SUCCESS!!! Sort of.

Yesterday I went to PnP again, with a buddy, as he was looking for some parts. They didn't have anything we needed. It's always a good 2 dollars spent to check that place, you never know what you'll find.

Then we decided to go to another junk yard that was over by his house. Last time he had ventured there, they had 1 4Runner, and nothing he needed. They pull the engines and put them in a section of the yard, to make it easier to dismantle the parts off the engines. I wanted to check if they had the EGR temp sensor and the vacuum port. Who knows when you'll score?

Well we get there and ask the guy if they have the 4Runner still, he says "yeah, the blue one in the back and there's the red one out front" My buddy freaks out, because they've had the red one for a while, and nobody said it was available for parts. We pop the hood, and boy are we excited. It's like Christmas morning. The whole truck is intact. Probably a blown headgasket or seized engine from the looks of the inside of the intake manifold. Lots of sludge in there. We go to town, I pull the parts I need, he grabs his relay. We go to the guy and ask him for the prices on the parts.
My buddy's convo goes like this:

"How much for the relay?"

"10 bucks."

"Oh I don't have enough cash I'll have to go to the bank real quick" (cash only)

"5 bucks no warranty, it's on you if it doesn't work"

"I have 4 in my wallet"

"F it, I'll take 4"


And mine?

"I just need this temp sensor and the vacuum port, and I don't have any cash, how much you want I need to go to the bank"

"Uh...10 bucks? Uh-"

"Ok 10 each, I'll go to the bank right now"

BAM! $20 dollars later...the vacuum port and EGR temp sensor are replaced and there is no more CEL! Given that the temp sensor is about $150 and the port about $30, I think I got a pretty good deal

I was thinking about going back and offering for the 5 speed conversion...probably would have been able to get it for no more than $200



Now for the weird part.

Once we replaced the vacuum port and sensor, reset the ecu (pulled the EFI fuse, better than removing the battery cables since you get to save all your radio stations and clock settings) we tried out the 4WD once again. Here's what happens. Put the truck in (N) shift into (H4) and the 4wd light blinks rapidly like it's trying to switch on and then nothing. It's a random number of switching, and it's not a code type blink, as you can hear a relay clicking back and forth.

This started happening after the port was replaced. This leads me to believe the vacuum lines are either clogged, or switched around.

I had traced the lines, (prior to replacing the port) I even found that these were the original lines with the brown/whitish spot on one line, and the blue spot on the other, indicating which VSV they were going to. I believe they were in the wrong spots before, so I had switched them. I believe it was brown to driver, blue to passenger? I have to look again. I'll switch them back again and see if that fixes it, if not, I'm going to replace the vacuum lines to rule that out.

 

[BLKNBLU]

Glad to hear you're making progress. Regarding your previous question about driving around always engaged, I guess I don't really know. I'll theorize that it would be no worse than driving around with manual hubs locked in but no t case engagement. Probably not the best for fuel efficiency but not necessarily damaging. I'll wait for others to chime in though.

I'd still encourage you to look for someone that is doing a swap and get the whole front end sans ADD stuff. Then you have no electric or vaccum to worry about. That is what I was going to do and even still have the stuff laying in the side yard. To bad we aren't closer to each other. Seems like I've got a bunch of stuff you could use. Ah well... :Mechanic:

 

[Rockpig]

Caoboy, congrats on the acquisition. I am actually trying to sell my 94 4Runner here in NJ, the head gasket blew a few miles from home and it's been parked there ever since.
One thing to do is bring the VIN number to your local dealer and ask them if the head gasket recall was ever performed. Mine was done shortly after I bought mine, I called to see if they would do it again after it blew and they told me it was out of the recall's timespan, if it was never done, maybe you can still get it done.
These engines are somewhat sluggish, especially with the auto.
As an FYI, whatever your looking for off a 94 let me know, here's a link to my sale on ih8mud:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-trailers-sale-wanted/553218-94-4runner-sr5.html
I can pull anything you want off it including the sliders and I have the original stock alloy rims too.

 

[Caoboy]

Thanks for the offer rockpig! I'll take a look in a bit!

So I switched the vacuum lines on the diff again and the 4WD indicator is coming on like it should! Success!? Only one way to find out, time to find a muddy area close by!

 

[BLKNBLU]

Any updates?

 

[Caoboy]

Been busy...nothing but more cleaning.

Dirty:

Clean:

4WD is working just fine now, that vacuum port was all that was needed to be changed. Lines were properly routed, and it's working great!

I performed the first oil change..oil all over the front end with the removal of the oil filter was fun cleaning up. The Oil pressure gauge seemed to be off...uh oh. Started checking things, and I realized I was 1/3 qt low. I read 4.5 quarts was the amount to fill, when it is supposed to be 4.8. Added oil, oil pressure gauge seems to be working and the dip stick is showing the proper amount. I have some pictures of the inside of the head, from the fill cap..it is very dirty. I'll be switching to a full synthetic after a few oil changes of part synthetic to see if any seals will loosen and need replacing.

I DO need to replace the rear main seal, as there is a very slight seepage. Not enough to drip onto the ground, but just enough to show that there is a very slight leak. I'm debating on either having a shop do this, or purchasing a 5 speed conversion and swapping out the seal with the trans conversion.

I also want to just jump into a 3RZ swap, so why waste the money/time on the seal?

There have been a couple of family issues which have been occupying us, so the vehicle is on the back burner.

I also am thinking about swapping the headlights/grille to the older style sealed beam headlights, and retrofitting some bi-xenon HID projectors to get some better lighting. From what it looks like, it should just be the headlights/grille and lamp housing that would need to be purchased. I tried finding some non fluted housings for the 92-95 style front end, but can't find anything.

I have a bunch of pictures, but haven't had time to down/upload them to post.

 

[BLKNBLU]

Good to hear. I was mainly wondering about the 4WD issue. The other stuff, you can just keep plugging away at. I know how it is, I have a new project now and really little to no time to commit to it. It'll get there.:sombrero:

 

[Grim Reaper]

Check your door plate and see what tires it lists. If it lists 31's as the stock size then it should have the big front brakes and 4.88 gears. You can also search "Toyota Gear ratio codes" and it will tell you how to decipher the sticker and see if you have a limited slip or not.

DONT lift it unless you plan to do a solid axle swap in the future or you do long travel IFS from Total Chaos or JD FAB to get the lift. Here is a truck with that suspension set up. http://www.yotatech.com/f77/deathrunner-84809/ Replace the rear springs with a little stiffer rate and call it good if you want to do this on a budget. Front suspension is the same as my 86 and that truck in the pictures. I put 33x 12.5's on mine with a little hammer work on the seam on the floor at the back and the lower lip of the fender. 32's on stock width and offset wheels should fit with minimal work.

Lift kits put extra strain on the lower control arm mounts and eventually they crack and since you can get 32's on it why lift it? Several company's sell a brace to tie the rear mounts together but you can make you own if you find somebody doing a solid axle swap. Some pictures of mine on the grimmys link in my sig.
If you want to do something then put a 2 inch body lift on it then a 2 inch engine lift. BudBuilt can make a new skid/Transfer case mount that will actually get you 4-5 inches more clearance at the lowest point (the transfercase) with stock suspension. It also makes putting rock sliders on easy. Mine I can move the fuel tank up 2 inches as well but I understand the coil rears suspension on yours makes that difficult. 4Crawler.com can hook you up with the engine and body lift stuff and has a couple good write ups that will also cover a good bit of your truck as well till you get into the rear suspension.
Honestly...Stock it has more ground clearance the a Stock Jeep unlimited.

You dont have locking hubs at all, not even auto. Its direct drive flange at the hub. The half shafts will always spin. When you shift out of 4wd the diver side axle disconnects and the the transfer case goes into neutral. The Passenger side is still spinning the diff and without the driver side or the transfer case it just freewheels the diff. Jack it up and you will see what I mean when you spin the front tires. I'd recommend you carry a half shaft or be familiar with what it takes to remove the drive flange at the wheel hub. Removing the Drive flanges will allow you to get it into 2wd and get home before making repairs if you break the front diff, half shafts or any of the rotating parts in the front drive. In that Grimmy link is a tip on how to make it easier to change a half shaft by flipping a couple of the bolts on the diff side. You can convert to manual hubs and you could easily swap the driver side tube with the disconnect with a one piece from a earlier truck. I actually run a 4.88 Diff assembly out of a 94 in mine and just ran a vacuum line to keep it locked. Some people say its weaker but I haven't managed to break it yet. I'd rather it fail then break the diff.

 

[Caoboy]

Thanks for the information Grim! I do keep interchanging 'locking' with disconnecting. I know I don't have a locked front differential. Wouldn't that be sweet though?

Thanks for the tips on the suspension build. I think best for me will be to just go with some stock sized replacement shocks. I'm not sure which yet. My buddy just threw in some Rancho shocks and new rear springs...cheap, and no worries of harsh rides or parts breaking. I might just be doing the same as a budget fix for now.


Yesterday I finished putting the interior back in. It's a lot quieter now! Still need to hook up the CB radio and also put the radio back in. Did I mention that the previous owner cut the stock harness to wire in the aftermarket stereo? I'm glad he saved a whole 10 dollars by not purchasing a harness...now it'll be a pain if I ever want to switch up the deck.

Also, I got rid of the rust on the hood (it was only surface, thank goodness!) and primed and painted it a semi-gloss tan color. Slowly the whole truck will become tan! My buddy picked up a paint gun, and offered to practice on my rig. I might just take him up on the offer once I find some rust free doors!

I'm also debating keeping the chrome wheels that were on it when I first purchased the vehicle. I think they are 15x10, but may be 15x9? I did a quick measurement but it wasn't definite. I like the look of the 17" wheels but I'm thinking I don't want to fit much taller of a tire. With the auto it feels so sluggish, the original steel wheels made the ride even worse! BUT if I can find a definite size on the wheels, I'll see if they are worth keeping and just purchasing different tires.

 

[Caoboy]

Ok I believe those are all the pictures so far.

 

[Caoboy]

Update...CEL is on again. Code 25, vehicle running to lean. From what I've read it's going to be a hunt. Anything from the O2 sensors, to the MAFS, TPS, a vacuum line? Dirty injectors, etc etc. All over the place. Time for a new motor!

 

[Caoboy]

Went to the local dealer to see how much a fuel filter was, given the autozone versions were $16 at most. Dealer said they'd have to order it, and it'd be $46 and change. SRSLY? Talk about jackin' the little guy. I'm going to order the fuel filter, and the O2 sensors (lovely CA emissions offering more money for double the sensors for what reason again?) off Rock Auto for $130ish.

If that doesn't fix my code 25 CEL, I've really got to hunt down what else could be the problem. From what I've researched so far, the only other things could be dirty injectors, vacuum lines, MAFS/VAFS? Airbox sensor....don't know what else after that.