1986 Toyota 4Runner Baja Budget Build
- Thread starter zelseman
- Start date
onemanarmy
Explorer
Did you remove any leafs from the pack?
Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
zelseman
Observer
No, just medium CS009 as it comes from OME. We are planning a roof top tent and a lot of gear in the back so I assume I will be fine with the current setup.
2manyprojects
Member
Are you planning to do anything to the front susp? Given the condition of everything else, you might consider new heavier front torsion bars to go with your new rear springs. They made a big handling difference on and off road on my '89 4Runner when carrying any load or passengers.
What ratio are your front and rear differential gears? You lose noticeable performance with the stock gearing, even with 31" tires, and economy suffers somewhat. Just be cautious about lugging the 22RE, especially when loaded. Please don't take this as criticism, just sharing my experiences and regret for driving way too long with bigger tires and not re-gearing.
What ratio are your front and rear differential gears? You lose noticeable performance with the stock gearing, even with 31" tires, and economy suffers somewhat. Just be cautious about lugging the 22RE, especially when loaded. Please don't take this as criticism, just sharing my experiences and regret for driving way too long with bigger tires and not re-gearing.
zelseman
Observer
We upgraded the front shocks with Bilstein 4600's and I would really like to upgrade the torsion bars, but we haven't really gotten to test it with the current setup. We are taking a shakedown trip to Overland Expo EAST next week and we will determine if we need to make changes up front. Do you have a recommended torsion bar that won't break the bank?
I believe we have 4.10 or 4.30 gearing as the truck was originally an automatic. I need to run the vin and confirm. The 31's will likely be as large as we run and we travel at a very mellow pace. I think that most tires over 31" look kinda silly on this old of a truck. One of the reasons we opted for this age and style of truck is the speed. Traveling in a slow vehicle makes you slow down and appreciate what's around you. If we ever motor swap, a gear change will be on the radar.
2manyprojects
Member
Here are the torsions I had the best luck with:
Sway-a-way torsion bars for Toyota
They're still listed for sale at least, and aren't too $$$. Stay away from the "dual-stage" ones as they are a pain to install and didn't make any difference in ride. Keep in mind your vehicle came stock with a 225/75/R15 tire which was about 27" tall. Going to even the 31x10.50 jumps up significantly in height and weight, so a stiffer spring helps keep the vehicle planted. If your truck was originally an automatic, you likely have the 4.30 gears, which is a good thing. Ideally, a switch to 4.56's would bring you back close to factory rpm's with the 31" tires. With the 5 speed you can compensate somewhat by how you select your shift points, but I found I had to switch out of 5th on any kind of uphill and then was running higher rpms than I liked in 4th on the highway.
I'm in complete agreement about the slow pace and enjoying things, as I seldom fly now and prefer driving. I would just add that inevitably you get those long highway rides and an efficient cruise mode at speed is nice. The 22RE / 5sp setup is legendary in the Toys. I really like the 33x10.50 BFG All-Terrains; great ground clearance, didn't upset the center of gravity, and don't look cartoonish (to me). I probably drove a combined 450K miles between my 4Runner and an '89 Pickup I used for commuting and I jumped to 4.88 gears on both with these tires. With the 4speed automatic in the 4Runner, it drove like a different (factory) truck. Interestingly, in the pickup (22RE/5spd man) with this combination I averaged 20 - 22 mpg year round, with and without a f/glass cap.
Sway-a-way torsion bars for Toyota
They're still listed for sale at least, and aren't too $$$. Stay away from the "dual-stage" ones as they are a pain to install and didn't make any difference in ride. Keep in mind your vehicle came stock with a 225/75/R15 tire which was about 27" tall. Going to even the 31x10.50 jumps up significantly in height and weight, so a stiffer spring helps keep the vehicle planted. If your truck was originally an automatic, you likely have the 4.30 gears, which is a good thing. Ideally, a switch to 4.56's would bring you back close to factory rpm's with the 31" tires. With the 5 speed you can compensate somewhat by how you select your shift points, but I found I had to switch out of 5th on any kind of uphill and then was running higher rpms than I liked in 4th on the highway.
I'm in complete agreement about the slow pace and enjoying things, as I seldom fly now and prefer driving. I would just add that inevitably you get those long highway rides and an efficient cruise mode at speed is nice. The 22RE / 5sp setup is legendary in the Toys. I really like the 33x10.50 BFG All-Terrains; great ground clearance, didn't upset the center of gravity, and don't look cartoonish (to me). I probably drove a combined 450K miles between my 4Runner and an '89 Pickup I used for commuting and I jumped to 4.88 gears on both with these tires. With the 4speed automatic in the 4Runner, it drove like a different (factory) truck. Interestingly, in the pickup (22RE/5spd man) with this combination I averaged 20 - 22 mpg year round, with and without a f/glass cap.
Smileyshaun
Observer
if you find someone parting out a 3.0 auto Toyota it will have 4.88 gears . works really well paired with a 33x10.50s but also works great on a loaded down 4 runner on 31s
warrpath4x4
Adventurer
if you want a brand new set of yukon 4.56 gears with master install kits i can make you a good deal, i have had them sitting on my shelf in the boxes for a while
zelseman
Observer
Thanks for the info on torsion bars. We are going to drive it as it sits right now and will look at them in the future along with re-gearing. We simply don't have the funds right now.
Good to know! I don't think we need 33's. I really like the 31x10.5x15 size for ease of changing tires and being a good middle-of-the-road tire. I'll be keeping a look out for someone parting old yotas.
Vin confirmed at least, it does have 4.30's.
Thanks for the offer, but we are going to hold tight for a while. I have a hard time fixing something that's not broken. If we have issues, we might look you up.
zelseman
Observer
We have been working on a solution that would allow us to run a roof top tent with two adults in it on the 4Runner without worrying about the fiberglass cracking or having issues. I've seen a lot of rigs running simple baskets that are drilled into the fiberglass and more guys that have run gutter mounts with standard bars, but then the weakness becomes the fiberglass gutters. The truck came installed with a NWOR (Northwest Off-Road) rack and part of that rack will survive in our new creation.
We decided to design the rack to rest on the bedsides of the truck instead of the topper. My father-in-law got busy drawing up plans and tacked some welds together. This is what we ended up with.
My father in law is an engineer by trade and an all around handyman , so a lot of the welding is mostly self taught. I am really happy with how it turned out and was even more excited to get it on and see how it works. We added some camper tape to the underside and set it on the truck.
The rack wasn't on for a couple of minutes before we threw our roof top tent up top. We neglected to remember the concrete slab that the truck has been parked on and needed a cinder block to gain access to the RTT.
We kept the original roof tubing from the NWOR rack and tied it into the new stuff to make a really sturdy and solid rack. Still hoping the rear springs settle a bit so we don't have to climb so high at night.
I got wheels swapped today on the front so everything matches now. Will post photos tomorrow if I get time.
We decided to design the rack to rest on the bedsides of the truck instead of the topper. My father-in-law got busy drawing up plans and tacked some welds together. This is what we ended up with.
My father in law is an engineer by trade and an all around handyman , so a lot of the welding is mostly self taught. I am really happy with how it turned out and was even more excited to get it on and see how it works. We added some camper tape to the underside and set it on the truck.
The rack wasn't on for a couple of minutes before we threw our roof top tent up top. We neglected to remember the concrete slab that the truck has been parked on and needed a cinder block to gain access to the RTT.
We kept the original roof tubing from the NWOR rack and tied it into the new stuff to make a really sturdy and solid rack. Still hoping the rear springs settle a bit so we don't have to climb so high at night.
I got wheels swapped today on the front so everything matches now. Will post photos tomorrow if I get time.
2manyprojects
Member
Nice job on the roof rack! That's a great way to avoid the f'glass top issues of mounting. Long ago, I made custom SS machined gutter sections which I reinforced on the inside and gave me a place right between the 2 side windows to mount a rear Yakima cross bar. Put all sorts of stuff up there over the years without issue, but wouldn't dream of my RTT. You've got an elegant solution...
2manyprojects
Member
Nice job on the roof rack! That's a great way to avoid the f'glass top issues of mounting. Long ago, I made custom SS machined gutter sections which I reinforced on the inside and gave me a place right between the 2 side windows to mount a rear Yakima cross bar. Put all sorts of stuff up there over the years without issue, but wouldn't dream of my RTT. You've got an elegant solution...
zelseman
Observer
I can't take most of the credit, my father in law is super creative and very mechanically inclined. Not that I wouldn't have figured it out, but it would have taken me a little longer to figure it out. We might have to put foam between the uprights and the cab to avoid contact with the shell, but we will figure it out.
Nikkshepherd
Observer
That rack is so rad! Ive been looking to make something exactly like it for my pickup! Excited to watch this build unfold.