1st Gen 4Runners...thoughts?

[DaveInDenver]

Duh, BL = body lift. I read that as 'B'all joint 'L'ift. Such a dork. Don't have a body lift, thus why my fender-met-a-BFH.

Drop the diff. No more blown CVs. Angle it a bit and you still have a smooth front driveline too.

Diff drops don't seem like they'd be very easy on our generation IFS because of the front cross member. It pivots the pinion down if you lower the rear two mounts because of the front mount being pretty inflexible. Plus with a diff drop it makes the rear IFS truss harder to fit (just need a custom one, off the shelf units assume none).

View attachment 10192

BTW, Steve Schaefer's shop truck is a pretty good example of a capable, budget build.

http://www.yotatech.com/f86/sonoran...4wd-mini-pickup-featuring-mighty-28-s-104077/

 

[cbmontgo]

Duh, BL = body lift. I read that as 'B'all joint 'L'ift. Such a dork. Don't have a body lift, thus why my fender-met-a-BFH.

Diff drops don't seem like they'd be very easy on our generation IFS because of the front cross member. It pivots the pinion down if you lower the rear two mounts because of the front mount being pretty inflexible. Plus with a diff drop it makes the rear IFS truss harder to fit (just need a custom one, off the shelf units assume none).

View attachment 10192

BTW, Steve Schaefer's shop truck is a pretty good example of a capable, budget build.


http://www.yotatech.com/f86/sonoran...4wd-mini-pickup-featuring-mighty-28-s-104077/

Cool.

These rigs with the 3.0 V6 that came later...how hard is it to change out the timing belt and head gaskets that you always hear about? Those early 90s 4Runners are dirt cheap these days too...

What do you guys think about those? No top off, but I always liked the body style.

 

[Red_Chili]

Royal pain in the butt. Not an easy motor to work on. Lousy mileage too - although with only 31s and in prime tune I did get 21mpg out of my '89 XtraCab 3.0 on the highway. Before the HGs failed.

I never got better than 15mpg in my '90 4Runner 3.0, however. Before and after its HGs failed and we had to put in a new shortblock (wife drove it at that time ).

It IS, however, a great platform for a 3.4L swap! The most painless one in fact. That would be the only reason I would buy one.

 

[cbmontgo]

Royal pain in the butt. Not an easy motor to work on. Lousy mileage too - although with only 31s and in prime tune I did get 21mpg out of my '89 XtraCab 3.0 on the highway. Before the HGs failed.

I never got better than 15mpg in my '90 4Runner 3.0, however. Before and after its HGs failed and we had to put in a new shortblock (wife drove it at that time ).

It IS, however, a great platform for a 3.4L swap! The most painless one in fact. That would be the only reason I would buy one.

With a new head gasket and timing belt, would the 3.0 be a pretty reliable engine?

 

[AxleIke]

With regard to the 3.0.

I have a buddy with a 3.4 swapped truck, 95 4runner.

With the 3.4L motor, he has more power, better gas mileage, AND he gained TONS of room in the engine bay.

I cannot think of a toyota motor that is worse to work on than the 3.0.

IMO, don't bother.

 

[DaveInDenver]

With a new head gasket and timing belt, would the 3.0 be a pretty reliable engine?

For all of the bad rumors, the 3VZ is really an OK motor. It does not make much more power than a 22R-E and so the risk/reward isn't high, but with good headgaskets they do last alright. Can do 200K when they don't blow HGs and get regular maintenance. Like Isaac says, the 3.4L is a better motor, but is it worth the time and effort to swap? Hard to say, if you have a 3.0L that's running OK it would be hard to justify for me to spend the money and weekends swapping it out just 'cause. I would not rebuild a 3.0L, though.

 

[AxleIke]

That is a cool truck right there

Okay, shameless plug for my truck, I'll admit

 

[Red_Chili]

With a new head gasket and timing belt, would the 3.0 be a pretty reliable engine?

In my opinion, based on experience, having been 2 for 2 on premature HG failures, one costing a short block, on well maintained machines, I would have to say no. The head clamping arrangement is substandard, and the things cannot breathe.

Brian Cobain did his 3.4L swap into a pre-96 4Runner in a weekend. While he is a very good mechanic, this does let you know the swap is not unreasonable.

A 3.4L in a first generation 4Runner is just about ideal in terms of power, reliability, and mileage. Plus grin factor. Supercharge it, and you better get some teeth whitener cuz folks will get a lot of chances to inspect them.

 

[cbmontgo]

Hmmmm.

I just found a perfect condition 1990 2nd gen 2-door (rare) with a new head gasket, water pump, and timing belt replaced with 186,000 miles, no rust, and good maintenance history. Such a clean rig and runs great...but I am nervous about this motor from what I hear here. It is cool because it's so unusual, but...

 

[DaveInDenver]

Hmmmm.

I just found a perfect condition 1990 2nd gen 2-door (rare) with a new head gasket, water pump, and timing belt replaced with 186,000 miles, no rust, and good maintenance history. Such a clean rig and runs great...but I am nervous about this motor from what I hear here. It is cool because it's so unusual, but...

If it runs reasonably well and the price is fair, I wouldn't worry much. Having a 2-door 2nd gen 4Runner would be cool alone. So what if the engine goes, put in a 3.4L and have a super cool truck. If the engine is original with 186K and has had the HG recall done, it's probably good for a while more.

 

[Volcom]

I love my 1st gen 4Runner! Depends on what you like to do with your rig but for the $$$ invested, mine does pretty well on the toughest stuff CO has to offer.

It's streetable (just barely - 40's and a fresh 22RE swap barely keep up with traffic on a flat highway ) but I do end up towing it 95% of the time.

Like everyone else has said, parts are cheap, easy to work on, tons of vendors to choose from, etc....

 

[Red_Chili]

If it runs reasonably well and the price is fair, I wouldn't worry much. Having a 2-door 2nd gen 4Runner would be cool alone. So what if the engine goes, put in a 3.4L and have a super cool truck. If the engine is original with 186K and has had the HG recall done, it's probably good for a while more.

What he said. If that body style grabs you and you can get it for cheap. Likely good for a while.

 

[Red_Chili]

Note to self: Watch Volcom with great enjoyment.


Do not follow him under any circumstances.

 

[cbmontgo]

Note to self: Watch Volcom with great enjoyment.


Do not follow him under any circumstances.

Ha! That is funny.

I really do like the 2-door. I've only seen a few of them around, and this might be kinda cool. I'm going to talk to this guy and see if we can work a deal.

 

[RockRunner]

I say go for it, you ca always fix/swap the motor down the road. I had the V6 in my 91 and hammered the thing for 112K when I sold it, never a problem. The two is cool and rare to find, if it is clean and rust free it is a great rig to use as a platform for future mods. The sky is the limit as long as the budget is there.

The motor is weak and mileage stinks but if it is a weekend toy?????????then it does not matter. Open the air intake and some headers/exhaust and you gained some power.

Go buy it and post some pics already!!!

 

[ScaldedDog]

Hmmmm.

I just found a perfect condition 1990 2nd gen 2-door (rare) with a new head gasket, water pump, and timing belt replaced with 186,000 miles, no rust, and good maintenance history. Such a clean rig and runs great...but I am nervous about this motor from what I hear here. It is cool because it's so unusual, but...

BUY IT!!!! I've got 225K on my 3.0, with a rebuild 75K (and 10 years) ago. Just changed the timing belt and it's a bit of a pain, but not terrible. I wouldn't bother replacing the headgaskets if they go, though. As everyone else has said, that's what 3.4's are for.

Mark