new toy

HINO SG

Adventurer
Just picked up a well-used but drivable '85 4Runner. Havn't looked too far but can any body recommend some good tech./FAQ threads, either here or other sites?

Is there an alternative to the power rear window? mine's pretty unreliable in cold weather.

thanks.
 

fabjunkie

Observer
Depending on what you're wanting to do with it, check out pirate4x4.com too. They're more hardcore stuff, but have some neat tricks here and there.
 

HINO SG

Adventurer
Cackalak Han said:
Nice. Manual 4cyl?

Post some pics.

4cyl. 5sp., solid front axle.:wings:

not in the greatest shape but was thinking about using it as a testbed for a diesel conversion and/or camper topper.

my first real 4x4, too. I have an '80's 4ws Toyota van with a bad head gasket, arguably not a real off-road machine.

Wasn't someone around here building a a D.I.Y raised-roof camper on an early 4Runner chassis?
 

toyota_jon

Adventurer
Congrats on the 85. i sure love mine! Where are the pics?

the FAQ on pirate is very good, there is a lot of discussion there that isn't hardcore related. such as places to watch for rust that aren't easily seen, and how to fix that nagging little problem. I also really like 4Crawler.com.
 

Grim Reaper

Expedition Leader
Everything you could ever want to know about 4x4 mini's
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459180


Few of us here very well versed as well.

The 4x4 wire stuff is excellent as well.

22re is a tough little motor but its really cranky and slow if you don't re gear if you go up in tire size. The good news is parts are dirt cheap for them and they are very easy to work on. They are really easy to regear if you are an above average shade tree. www.gearinstall.com


If you didn't know...you just scored the "Holy Grail of Toyota's. A factory solid axle Fuel injected Toyota is a 1 year only truck in the US.

www.marlincrawler.com is hard to beat on parts like front axle seal kits and transmission parts. The w56 that truck proably came with will need a rebuild about 200k. The tattle tale sign is popping out of 4th gear. Again if you are a decent shade tree you can rebuild it for about $250 in parts and some creativity with a 12 ton harbor freight press and the big gear puller set. (about $150 on sale)

There is a factory PDF manual online. I will try and find a link. Its 80megs but well worth down loading.

This should be it.
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/index.html
 

4cruzer

Adventurer
yeah!

nice job. great truck, I waited for 'the one' to come along, and have no regrets. Like Jon, I feel that 4crawler.com is a super helpful resource. I've seen some stuff here from Grim and a few others that I have expanded on as well. I should have some little writeups soon. Pirate is helpful if you're willing to deal with a bit of BS, but yotatech and 4x4wire are, in my opinion, pretty damn helpful....again, nice purchase!!!
 
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4Rescue

Expedition Leader
NICE!!! That is about as good a bone stock 4x4 as you can buy anywhere. Add some lockers/gears and 33's and you've got a Rubi-killer... Can't wait to see the build...

Cheers

Dave
 

Rockrunner

Observer
One of the better ones is ih8MUD.com All Toyota and not as rude or hardcore as Pirate. I frequent them all and they all have great things to offer.

Nice to see another 85 on the board.
 

HINO SG

Adventurer
Grim Reaper said:
Everything you could ever want to know about 4x4 mini's
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459180

Few of us here very well versed as well.

The 4x4 wire stuff is excellent as well.

22re is a tough little motor but its really cranky and slow if you don't re gear if you go up in tire size. The good news is parts are dirt cheap for them and they are very easy to work on. They are really easy to regear if you are an above average shade tree. www.gearinstall.com


If you didn't know...you just scored the "Holy Grail of Toyota's. A factory solid axle Fuel injected Toyota is a 1 year only truck in the US.

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wow, thanks for all the positive feedback. Nice to have a few shortcuts to the good sites.

Truck's pretty rusty but maybe not beyond repair. i mean, it's useable but I don't know if you guys out west forget how devasting the the road salt up here is.
Reminds me of a trip to Baja back in the '90's; we stopped somewhere in Arizona to have a mechanic look at a mechanical problem on a rusty but trusty 4x4 Suburban- couldn't belive what he said it would be worth on the open market out there (about twice what we'd paid for it).

Anyway, truck's on 31"'s as it sits with about 30% tread life left so a tire purchase is going to happen sooner than later. I don't do a lot of highway driving so the gearing's more or less ok (5th gear is useful but only downhill with a tailwind). I'm on a limited budget and the truck's got to be a work truck for the forseeable future (some commuting, a fair amout of tool hauling). Previous owner did a head gasket & valve job but he says it needs rings and he's probably right (200K on the motor).

I'll try to get some pictures up (still living in the dark ages, camera wise).
 

4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Yotatech.com as stated before will be one of your better sources of info for Toyotas (Mud seems to be primarily oriented towards Cruisers) As well as Roger Browns 4Crawler.com...

Personaly I'd go full OME springs, re gear to 4.88's, re-fresh the 22re, run some 33x10/9.50's and call it good.


Cheers

Dave
 

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