'94 Toyota Pickup build

[Nate_gb]

That's a good deal, especially if you are fine without a locker for a few years. If you are running 4:10'gears right now these will make a huge difference with 33's. I say if you have the money, pick them up run them while you do a bunch of other stuff to your truck. When you know you want a locker in the rear start saving for a new rear diff and then resell the old one. And your front will already be regeared. In the meantime you will be able to run down the highway with some power.
The beauty with these is there is no gear set up needed, just pull out the ones that are in there and plop these in. Refill the oil and go drive. If you have tools and can drop a driveshaft or change a cv axle, you can pull your differentials. A floor jack defiantly helps with the front though. Get a shop manual and read through it. Google "92 Toyota pickup IFS 7.5 clamshell differential removal" or some variation of that.
I give myself a day for both. Since they have never been removed before and this is your first go round with it, I would say give it a full weekend if you are mechanically inclined.

I agree with this statement. Pretty much a bolt out, bolt in affair. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing the process. Just watch a couple of those and you will be set.

 

[Crenshaw]

I'll add to the 4.88 support- awesome gearing for 33's. Very straightforward swap. I did the 4.88s before the 3.4 and it was a game changer for the 3.0- stock gearing is absolutely terrible.

xlcaferacer is right about the diff drop with good axles, I have one in my truck only because I got a good deal on it but I don't think it's totally necessary. It doesn't hurt having it though, unless your u-joints are worn in the front DS in which case it will vibrate since the diff drop changes the pinion angle slightly.

I'll also add my support for the OME leaf springs- I have the medium rate in mine and it's great even with the wildernest, which is surprisingly heavy- and typically a metric ton of boating gear or beer cans stuffed in the back. I also added their shocks and some trail gear extended greasable shackles and am really happy with it.

 

[Arktikos]

Stick or auto? I'd forget the 33's and run with 31's, but to each his own.

 

[Nikkshepherd]

It is an auto. Wife wants to be able to drive it without any difficulty too since we plan on doing some long trips. Truck has 31" on it now and I want something a lilttle beefier. 35's just look a bit large to me. With it being auto should I still go the 4.88 route?

 

[Nikkshepherd]

Update

Started in on the valve cover gaskets last night and ran into a bit of a problem. Not quite sure what to do about it. It looks like the passenger side head is getting less oil than the driver. Here is the post from yotatech in case users from here have any input.

doing the valve cover gaskets on my 3vze and noticed that the passenger side cam appears to be getting less oil than the drivers side. The inside of the passenger valve cover looks almost completely dry, whereas the driver looks like what you'd expect a valve cover to look like, drenched in oil. all of the lobes look fine, so im stumped. truck has 210k miles.

Is this normal or common?

if not, what could be causing this? a failing oil pickup maybe or something clogged?

Any advice would be great.

finger pointing at passenger side

Passenger side

Drivers side

 

[Nate_gb]

No solid answer as to what could be causing it. Possibly some gummed up oil gallies. But the bearing caps on the less oily side appear to have more heat damage to them as well which would jive with the whole "lack of oil" theory. Toyotas a known for reliability but they aren't impervious to the effects of sludge from Dino oil, which I'm sure your engine has seen a lot of in it's life. If that side of the block is not getting sufficient oil, it probably doesn't have much time left. Depending on how urgent you think the situation is, you could fill the engine with ATF instead of oil and run it for several minutes to try to clean everything out before filling with oil again. I've never done it myself but the theory is that ATF has a lot of detergents and can clean out a motor and no damage should occur if you're only running it for a few minutes. Good luck with your repairs.

 

[Nikkshepherd]

Decided to chalk it up to a 23 year old pcv valve that wasn't letting anything escape from the head. Changed it out and hoping for the best. All of the oil holes looked clear and everything is oiled up. It just seems as if that head is getting hotter than the other.

If she dies she dies.

 

[Crenshaw]

I'm always skeptical of quick fixes but I've had great luck with seafoam to clean up the inside of the motor some. My old 3vze was consuming a ton of oil for a while and pretty much quit using any after running a can or two of seafoam through the intake. Must've loosened up some crap on a valve stem seal or something. I did spin a crank bearing a few thousand miles later but that was unrelated.

Anyway, for 8 bucks I think it's worth it to see if you open up a clogged up galley or something.

 

[Nikkshepherd]

crenshaw, I had split a bottle between the intake and fuel when I first got her. I think I'll do another can. I added some marvel mystery oil (same thing as seafoam) to the crank case to hopefully clean the oil pathway.

And of course it's idling rough now that's it's all together. Need to double check the vacuum diagram. Had a few beers.

 

[TheCascadeKid]

I hope you get it sorted, but...

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/d/toyota-4runner-5vzfe-v6/6305867819.html

 

[Crenshaw]

Oh my god I've had that plenum off so many times on my 3vzes it's ridiculous. I think I actually had the vacuum diagram committed to memory for a while. So easy to either forget a hose or connect it improperly and it runs like a turd. I would regularly replace that little o ring on the idle set screw on the throttle body too- seems like they would rot every couple years and cause a significant vacuum leak.

 

[Nikkshepherd]

HA! Most definitely considered it. I was tryin to find info on doing the swap with an auto trans too. Couldn't find anything. Wouldnthe trans be a direct bolt in too don't think?

Crenshaw, thanks for the heads up on the Oring. I'll check it tonight. Pretty sure I have a vacuum line or two switched. After snapping one of the valve cover bolts due to my faulty torque wrench, I was just ready to call it a night.

 

[xlcaferacer]

Good to see Crenshaw chiming in here as well, he has some knowledge on this era of Toyota trucks. Backyard guys like him that actually use there stuff and upgrade as they see fit are people that I always look for when I want to learn something.

 

[Nikkshepherd]

Update

I've got the vacuum lines according to the fsm. She still is running rough though so I don't think it's a vacuum leak. All I did was change the valve cover gaskets, pcv/grommet/hose, and replaced the plenum gasket. Kinda stumped. Ran perfectly fine prior to the work. Maybe I damaged the plenum gasket when reintroducing the intake?

Side note, bought a wildernest today. Photos to come soon.

 

[Simons]

To help find a potential vacuum leak, with the engine running use a can of intake cleaner and spray around the base of the intake/t-body/vac lines/etc... the idle will fluctuate when you spray the problem area.


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