zelseman
Observer
Thanks for the kind words!
The bottle doesn't sit like that often, only when the fridge is pulled out. It rests on the end of the tailgate when the fridge is "in".
1986 Toyota 4Runner Baja Budget Build
- Thread starter zelseman
- Start date
The bottle doesn't sit like that often, only when the fridge is pulled out. It rests on the end of the tailgate when the fridge is "in".
Overland Expo
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We love this old rig! Hopefully it makes it out to 2020 WEST!
zelseman
Observer
Sorry I have been MIA from this thread. We don't travel with the bottle plugged in and it hasn't caused any issues thus far just in camp.
zelseman
Observer
After taking the 4Runner down to Baja last winter, we parked it to travel around in our bus on the East coast. When we got back to her we realized we had some maintenance work to do and replaced all of the steering parts and decided to lift the front a bit more with the 4Crawler spacers and 5100 shocks. After getting back on the road the truck was still pulling and still a bit rougher than it should be with the cushy suspension and steering, so we replaced the tires.
The General Grabber ATX have been really impressive so far and after changing tires, this thing rides like a lifted Cadillac. Time will tell on the ATX and our next "upgrade" will be stock Toyota 15" wheels, maybe steelies. The aftermarket wheels have a wide offset and throw mud and rocks everywhere.
We also took some down time at work to replace the exhaust system as well. The stock header had been "repaired" several times and was still leaking plus the "custom" exhaust from the previous owner had a couple of broken welds that were leaking by the muffler. The exhaust was hung poorly anyways so we opted to replace the header with a LCE Performance header and the system with a 2.25" system to a muffler. The exhaust sounds 100x better and no more exhaust leaks or choking out passengers with the windows down.
We have also been losing coolant from our cheap AutoZone radiator that we replaced in San Felipe, MEX last Winter. No surprises there as it was $100. We ordered the CSF from LC Engineering and installed it at a Forest Service campsite outside of Santa Fe with wind chills in the teens. Whoops! After replacing the radiator and hoses, the 22re is still loosing coolant somewhere. It wasn't until I took some photos a couple of mornings ago that I realized it was smoking white smoke after warm. Had I not taken the photos I wouldn't have ever noticed as it's been super cold lately and I just assumed it was warm exhaust meeting cold air.
Did the highly scientific "condom test" on the radiator and we are definitely getting exhaust in the coolant or vise versa. This explains why it has driven like a dog lately. We thought we just needed a re-gear, but seems like a full rebuild/replacement might be in the cards. We could replace the head gasket and keep plugging, but the block has 200k miles on it and if I am going to replace the head, I'd rather replace the whole thing and be done. We are traveling all year and won't have a place to work on it until late fall so it might be going into storage in Flagstaff and getting a new 22RE Performance motor when we can get to it/afford it. Kinda a bummer as we are just getting it where we wanted it, but that's kinda how things go. We will be exploring in our skoolie this Summer so it's not a huge hit, just life.
The General Grabber ATX have been really impressive so far and after changing tires, this thing rides like a lifted Cadillac. Time will tell on the ATX and our next "upgrade" will be stock Toyota 15" wheels, maybe steelies. The aftermarket wheels have a wide offset and throw mud and rocks everywhere.
We also took some down time at work to replace the exhaust system as well. The stock header had been "repaired" several times and was still leaking plus the "custom" exhaust from the previous owner had a couple of broken welds that were leaking by the muffler. The exhaust was hung poorly anyways so we opted to replace the header with a LCE Performance header and the system with a 2.25" system to a muffler. The exhaust sounds 100x better and no more exhaust leaks or choking out passengers with the windows down.
We have also been losing coolant from our cheap AutoZone radiator that we replaced in San Felipe, MEX last Winter. No surprises there as it was $100. We ordered the CSF from LC Engineering and installed it at a Forest Service campsite outside of Santa Fe with wind chills in the teens. Whoops! After replacing the radiator and hoses, the 22re is still loosing coolant somewhere. It wasn't until I took some photos a couple of mornings ago that I realized it was smoking white smoke after warm. Had I not taken the photos I wouldn't have ever noticed as it's been super cold lately and I just assumed it was warm exhaust meeting cold air.
Did the highly scientific "condom test" on the radiator and we are definitely getting exhaust in the coolant or vise versa. This explains why it has driven like a dog lately. We thought we just needed a re-gear, but seems like a full rebuild/replacement might be in the cards. We could replace the head gasket and keep plugging, but the block has 200k miles on it and if I am going to replace the head, I'd rather replace the whole thing and be done. We are traveling all year and won't have a place to work on it until late fall so it might be going into storage in Flagstaff and getting a new 22RE Performance motor when we can get to it/afford it. Kinda a bummer as we are just getting it where we wanted it, but that's kinda how things go. We will be exploring in our skoolie this Summer so it's not a huge hit, just life.
Smileyshaun
Observer
When installing the ball joint spacers back the torsion bars off to the point you only end up with a 1/2” of lift , the ride will be way way smoother
zelseman
Observer
I’ve been really satisfied with how smooth it is at the current ride height with the spacers. Our rough ride was coming from rotted tires this last go around. I kinda like the desert runner look, similar to how they came from the factory.
Saint Nick
Active member
I bloody love this truck 
200k miles is nothing, and it doesn't take much to whip the head off and check the gasket. If it was me, and if it was just the head gasket, I'd replace it and then look again after another 200k miles
200k miles is nothing, and it doesn't take much to whip the head off and check the gasket. If it was me, and if it was just the head gasket, I'd replace it and then look again after another 200k miles