Next build step....need suggestions

[Owyhee H]

Firstly I have a 1985 4runner. It is mostly stock and I have been going trough and fixing updating everything to make it reliable and comfortable. I run 235/75/15 BFG AT and would maybe go to 31" but have had them in the past and have never needed the extra clearance.
My question is I have some money that I have budgeted to have fun with and have some modifications in mind for my truck. I already have an e-locker retrofitted and dont think that I need two lockers, so that's taken care of. I was thinking of protection, i.e. a budbuilt skid and sliders, or getting lower gearing in my t-case. I have the ever reliable but weak 22RE and it sometimes stalls out in when Im off road, but a little gas and mometum normally solves the problem.
So what do you suggest I blow my hard earned money on? Any other suggestions are welcome. I do mostly hunting/camping/longer range explorations in a lot of nowhere.:elkgrin:

THanks
Idaho85 :sombrero:

 

[barlowrs]

Do you have sliders? I think that should probably be your first protection you add, then you can get bumpers if you want better approach/departure...you were saying that you never needed the extra clearence from larger tires, so i am not sure if you will need skids for now. Bud built skids add a lot of weight too. Dont get me wrong they are GREAT and I am adding them to my tacoma, but if you dont need the clearance from the tires, it means you probably dont hit your undercarrige much either. Sliders are a good start as they are good protection and give you a good jack point as well.

You have good recovery gear? That is a good place to spend excess money..haha

 

[Owyhee H]

No i dont have sliders. I was going to combine the sliders with a bud built cross member for my t-case because that is very low on the early generation of truck. I wasn't planning on adding a skid, there really isnt many places to add a skid to an 85, but rather replace the cross member with a bud built cross-member for ~2" more belly clearance. If you look at the early 4runners and hilux you will see what I mean.

I do have good revovery gear, no winch, but a hi-lift, come-along, straps, chains, gas cans, shovels, etc. I built a rear bumper that has a much better departure angle and want to keep the front stock for looks, drag, and it really has a good approach angle stock.

Well it looks like im convincing myself that the sliders would be better. What are peoples experience as far as increased drag, noise, or weight of the sliders. Any suggestions on one maker over another. Most are around $150 for ones that I can cut and fit to my specifications. I think that Marlin has a lot of experience with these, but many others do as well.

 

[maxama10]

If you need more gearing, get a doubler or a marlin crawler box, you should be able to clock your factory t-case up out of the way, or at least I'd think. I'm not very familiar with these vehicles.

Lower gearing will give you more control on the trails.

 

[timmer2008]

So what do you suggest I blow my hard earned money on? Any other suggestions are welcome. I do mostly hunting/camping/longer range explorations in a lot of nowhere.:elkgrin:

THanks
Idaho85 :sombrero:

recovery gear.

 

[Overland Hadley]

So what do you suggest I blow my hard earned money on? Any other suggestions are welcome. I do mostly hunting/camping/longer range explorations in a lot of nowhere.:elkgrin:

THanks
Idaho85 :sombrero:

Extra gas, take a longer trip and explore more! :safari-rig:

 

[4Rescue]

Man an SFA 1st Gen 4Runner is one hell of a "jack-of-all-trades" rig. They can be amazing crawlers the hold alot of gear fro how compact they are... Really, my sugestion would be 31's, re-gear, a rear locker, sliders and a winch not sessiscarily in that order. I'm getting re-geared/locked and some sliders and I'm pretty sure my humble looking little 4Runner will go places that alot of folks thought impossible.

BUT, like someone else said, get some more Gas cans and go explore more...you're driving one of the best 4wd platforms ever offered in the US right out of the box. It's not like you need to do much more to make her exploration worthy eh

Cheers

Dave

 

[Owyhee H]

Yeah gas is a goooooooood suggestion. I really like this rig and have owned 3 toyotas in the past. I was looking for a clean 85 for a long time and got this a little over a year ago with 148k on the clock. Since then I have done a lot of work to get her up to snuff and now she is ready to go play. I do have a locker in the rear and am thinking of 31s but when i had 31's on my 22re pu's I really never felt that I was gaining much, but what am I loosing right?

If I do re-gear I will keep 4:10 in the diff and go with 4.7:1 case. I have an extra case so could do the gears fairly reasonably. Im just not sure if I want that low of gears. A crawl box is great but adds a ton of weight and then I need new drive lines ect...

Its just money right.....:26_7_2:

 

[Overland Hadley]

I was looking for a clean 85 for a long time and got this a little over a year ago with 148k on the clock. Since then I have done a lot of work to get her up to snuff and now she is ready to go play.

Sounds like a nice rig. Can you post a picture of it?

 

[tanglefoot]

Hi Idaho! Alright--another '85!

I've found the rear locker to help a great deal. The thing I did next was to change the T-case low-range gears. The stock 2.28:1 low isn't terribly deep...I used to stall pretty often as well and use more clutch slippage than I wanted to. Marlin didn't have any 4.7 sets when I was ready to mod, so I went to Advanced Adapters and picked up their 4:1 gearset. It installed with just a little grinding to the inside of the case--one of the new gears was just barely tagging the case when things were re-assembled. The driving difference off-road is incredible. Now I don't need to use 1st gear very often in low--I usually use 2nd or 3rd. The slow-speed control and torque make trail finesse so much better.

I agree that you won't find many situations where 31's will pull you through when 235/75's won't. That change will barely net you an extra inch under the differentials. 31's do have some drawbacks. I don't have power steering so the extra tire width makes it harder to steer. They also don't track quite as nicely and wander side-to-side a bit more. I'm also pretty sure I lost a bit of turning radius.

I've never felt the need to add sliders, but I sure do like my Old Man Emu springs. The original front leaf packs on mine did not have much bump-soaking ability and had sagged so that the frame was hovering just off the bump stops. I read a review about the OME springs and decided to try them. They really improve the ride and articulation. I used to slow way down for everything but with the OME's, you can keep your momentum and the bumps just get soaked up! The tires really stay on the ground nicely too.

Enjoy the '85. I've had mine for 12 years and have no plans to replace it. There's a pop-up truck camper in the back now (even though the manual says not to). :ylsmoke:

Eric

 

[Owyhee H]

Thanks for the input everyone...here are some pics...not the most recent but the outside hasn't changed too much...did get rid of that HUGE bumper though. If you look in the first pic close you can see the transfer case cross member sticking down.

 

[spruce]

Eric - you say you have a pop-up topper on your 4Runner??? Care to post pics? What kind is it and how well does it work? Not worried about breaking it wheeling?

I cannont decide what I want to due to the back of my runner - I camp/live out of it a LOT, and more room would be awesome,,, but I'm not sure what configuration I want to go with. Any suggestions?

Spruce

 

[tanglefoot]

Hi Spruce,

I was going back and forth about it for quite a while. I was originally going to build a sleeping platform but realized there wasn't quite enough length for me to get comfortable back there.

The pop-up's an old, wood-construction from Four-Seasons built here in Ft. Lupton, CO. The date tag has an 8 on it, so my guess would be 1988.

Here's a bit of a thread about it.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35268

Here's a picture...sorry, don't know how to just make the picture show up.
View attachment 39190

I haven't actually been on the trail with it yet but I did a little testing on a rutted section of lake access road near here and it was much more stable than I imagined. The extra weight really helped soften the ride in the back. I have OME springs in the front, and add-a-leaves and helpers in the back.

I'm still working out a few things but it's worked out pretty well so far. I anchor it with a thick cargo strap (I think it's a 3") that goes through the front bottom corners of the camper floor by the water tank and hooks into the seat belt anchors. I'm trying to seal the gap between the cab and camper with foam pipe insulation but I'm still trying that out. The seam around the tailgate needed a little trimming and the camper's a really tight fit...not something you want to take in and out very often. I had to remove the tailgate strikers as well. All that said though, it is very great to have a camper with you. Just pop the top and you have a cool little cabin to stretch out in. Even with the top down it's great for napping.

I'm going to take my 4-wheeling challenge level down a notch or two...I'll definitely be avoiding the sidehills and steep climbs. There are plenty of great camping destinations around without too extreme of trails on the way though---I can't wait 'till summer!

Eric

 

[MtnToys]

I have dual cases with 4.7s in the rear case in my 85 4runner. My dads 85 pickup has a single 4.7 case. I'd highly recommend going with duals instead of a single 4.7 case. With the single 4.7 case, I always end up in 5th on the not so technical sections of the trail and find myself missing stock low in reverse. The marlin cast dual adapter weighs 12lbs. A complete (input to drive flange) Toyota gear driven RF1A tcase weighs 68lbs. You're only using half of the case to make a crawl box so the added weight to the truck is negligible. A crossmember and skid will probably weigh about the same as a crawl box. The drive shaft mods relatively easy if you have a welder. Don't get a new crossmember until you're set on a single case. You can't go wrong with sliders.

 

[01tundra]

Can't go wrong with some extra protection from Budbuilt and recovery equipment is always good insurance IMO