Topic: Scott Wilson's 1988 4Runner Build, Version 2.0

[CB.TypeG]

Great pics man, looks like some serious time and money invested in this rig (and its beautiful hauler ) Very nice work!

[Bananaclip]

This build is some next level stuff. What a build! 


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[84 yota dude]

Awesome pics from that rubicon trip. Really nice rigs. That white 4Runner is an absolute unit! An LS swap too, nice. Those are some big tires...
Was he able to get that smog legal?

[swilson [OP]]

If my memory is working, I believe Mike Smith owns the white one.  I think he lives in a CA county that doesn't require smog.

He built a beast of a 4Runner!

[84 yota dude]

That was my guess with the smog..
Looks like a beast!

[swilson [OP]]

Anyone else had issues with ring gear bolts backing out? 

Last year this happened to me.  Half had completely back out and the other half were loose.  Initially we thought the installer (he who won't be named in this post) forgot to Loctite the bolts.

Same installer did the 3rd member repair.  New ring gear bolts. New ARB housing. Same gears & bearings.  No doubt Loctite was used in the rebuild.

18 months later, maybe 1000 miles, 2-3 Rubicon trips, history has repeated itself.  This time it took a gear tooth off the ring gear and the bearings are done too.

Any ideas why the bolts keep coming loose?  Bad Loctite? Not allowed to cure?  Torque wrench not calibrated? Crappy bolts that stretched?  I'm pretty frustrated to be dealing with this again.

The Diamond housing took a beating, but it's ROBUST.  Only 2 small bumps visible from the exterior

[Pat]

Did you email Zuk?

Gearinstalls.com

Something that comes  to mind for me. Possible debris between ring gear and carrier possible.

[emsvitil]

The recess for the bolt heads makes things tricky.

You can't use the stock bolt tab plates.

Can anybody think of a way to use safety wire with the hole recess?

[emsvitil]

What if the bolts are bottoming out in the hole.

They meet torque spec, but not the clamping load needed.

[swilson [OP]]

Did you email Zuk?

Gearinstalls.com

Something that comes  to mind for me. Possible debris between ring gear and carrier possible.

I reached out to him after you suggested it.  Here is his reply

I think it was dirty threads and old red loctite.  Also, I don't care for the underside surface on the stock factory bolts.  It has a "stepped surface" and that does not help with clamping forces.    Get new, fresh #263 red loctite  and 10 of these higher quality flange style bolts. Toyota p/n 90901-05002  These get torqued to a higher value.....use 85 ft/lb.   These are the bolts used in the front clamshells of 3rd gen Tacomas......and the factory torques them to 85 per FSM.   Clean the threads with a good cleaner....I like starting fluid.  Clean the threads of the new ring gear also.  Should never come loose then.

[swilson [OP]]

I damaged the delrin stop for my swing outs awhile back and finally got around to repairing it.  This time out of steel.  Shouldn't be able to damage this one.

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[swilson [OP]]

The plastic valve on my Pioneer Plastics jerry can has been getting stiffer and stiffer.  Last trip I wouldn't have been surprised if it snapped off when trying to turn it.

I cut off the plastic valve and tapped 1/2" pipe threads through it's remnants.  Then threaded on a 1/4 turn stainless valve.  I should have done this mod from the get go.  Big improvement

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[SolidAxle]

I heard about this truck on the snailtrail4x4 podcast and found the build. Just read through the whole thing. Love to see a good build thread on the forums with good tech again!

Oddly enough the 4runner I thought it was in my head was actually your old 4runner.

How are the split rear line locks working out for a turning/mobility perspective? Any advantage over having a handle to modulate?

[swilson [OP]]

Separating out the line locks, left and right, probably wasn't worth the extra effort. On the trail I never even think to try them. I just do a three-point turn... Or 103 point 🤣

Overall I love line locks to make sure the truck isn't moving while I'm parked on the trail.

This truck is severely neglected right now and need some repairs from last season. I'm spending all my time building a restomod 1983 toy 4x4 SR5 pickup with my daughter.  So far I've only shared some photos on Instagram. I'll probably do a build thread later on.  Hopefully we've got the engine swap running in the next 1 to 2 weeks

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmz-fVevCYh/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[SolidAxle]

Thanks for the update!

 I’m hoping to try cutting brakes on my build and the line lock idea would cut down on having 6 different levers between the seats haha.

[Gnarly4X]

On the trail the guys with more than 2 sticks would spend more time fondling their little stick to find which one of the 256 gears was going to feel the best than getting over the obstacle!!

Cutting brakes on a crawler is like putting a 8-ball on shifter stick.... !! 

Line locks?... if you need a line lock to keep your truck from rolling you probably should not be on a rock crawling trail! 

What a waste of good trail time!! 

Gnarls.

[swilson [OP]]

They're not for driving Gnarls, they're for parking.

 Vehicles pop out of gear while parked on the trail far too often.

I had a break on a trail and had to rebuild my rear axle on steep terrain.  Gave me great confidence working under my rig, knowing the front brakes were holding firm. 

LOVE my line locks.

[liveoak]

On the trail the guys with more than 2 sticks would spend more time fondling their little stick to find which one of the 256 gears was going to feel the best than getting over the obstacle!!

Cutting brakes on a crawler is like putting a 8-ball on shifter stick.... !! 

Line locks?... if you need a line lock to keep your truck from rolling you probably should not be on a rock crawling trail! 

What a waste of good trail time!! 

Gnarls.

Man, what a jerk this guy is.

Can't wait for the build thread on the 2tr swap.

[swilson [OP]]

Gnarls is ok... I think he's posting before having coffee this morning 🤣

[Gnarly4X]

They're not for driving Gnarls, they're for parking.

 Vehicles pop out of gear while parked on the trail far too often.

I had a break on a trail and had to rebuild my rear axle on steep terrain.  Gave me great confidence working under my rig, knowing the front brakes were holding firm. 

LOVE my line locks.

Hey Scott...

My comment was deliberate sarcastic humor to stir up some discussion and some posts... It's been a little slow and boring here in the tech stuff.

Actually, I believe the line locks or brake locks should be highly considered as an almost mandatory feature.

I was on a trail up in Tonopah, AZ on a side of a mountain.  There were about 15 vehicles.  I may be able to find some photos.

One of the guys driving an open top CJ-7, was parked slightly off the trail road (a semi-maintained power line road), on a slight incline down hill.

We had all stopped.  He jumped into the Jeep to get something out of the back.  When he did, the movement was just enough to shift the stick tranny out of gear to neutral.

His Jeep started to roll backwards down the incline to a very steep drop-off.  There were several of us watching him.  When the jeep started to roll, he attempted to get to gear shift, but he was quick enough to realize he did not have time to stop the vehicle, and as I remember several guys yelled at him to jump off!  He jumped off just as it went over backwards and end over end for about 50 feet.  There was serious damage.  We spent time getting it winched back onto the road and checking out everything.  As I remember he was able to drive it off the mountain.

So... yes.... Line Locks are a good thing.

Steering brake or cutting brakes.... I don't remember any of the guys I ran with having those, so I don't know how they will work on the common trails I ran.

In my sand railing days, some guys had dual cutting brakes on their sand rails, I never did.

I used to tease the guys with the multiple gear shift sticks when rockcrawling and they'd be stopped at an obstacle and be fiddling and fondling their sticks to figure out which gear they thought would work best.  I yelled at them "Quit playing with your little sticks and drive over the flipp'n rock!!".. We're burn'n daylight!!

Of course they'd yell back "You're just jealous Gnarls 'cause you only have 5 gears and I've got 256!!"

In the Mesa 4-Wheelers 4x4 Club if you were overly sensitive about getting teased, you'd be butt-hurt on every trail run!!

The teasing and heckling was all done in good sport, but it was really funny.  And, on any given run, no one was safe from getting teased.

Gnarls.

[Gnarly4X]

Man, what a jerk this guy is.

Can't wait for the build thread on the 2tr swap.

I think you just clearly demonstrated what a REAL jerk reads like.

Gnarls.

[SolidAxle]

How effective would a line lock be at isolating a failed brake line from the rear of the brake system? Say you blow a left rear flex line. Can you engage the line lock and carry on without much issue?

[swilson [OP]]

Someone would have to test it to see if when activated it's functioning as a closed valve, rather than a one-way valve.

Based on how my pedal feels when it's activated, I think it probably works like a closed valve and would work for what you're describing

[blackdiamond]

I think you just clearly demonstrated what a REAL jerk reads like.

Gnarls.

liveoak is a real stand up jerk that I enjoyed wheeling with.

[Gnarly4X]

liveoak is a real stand up jerk that I enjoyed wheeling with.

Yep...it takes one to wheel with one.

Gnarls.

[swilson [OP]]

I've been wholly ignoring my 4Runner for the last year while my daughter and I built a restomod 83 pickup with a 2TR-FE swap.

I'm finally freshening up the front axle on the 4Runner in time for the Marlin Roundup.  Doing the knuckle bearing upgrade and new tie rod ends while I'm there.

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[toyodaaddict]

 Nice job on the first gen

[swilson [OP]]

Thanks

The details of that build are here
https://instagram.com/swilson.143?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg==

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[helipilot77]

My 2 year old loves blue first gens. I might need to start looking for one before they are all gone. That one you have a real gem. Amazing project.

[swilson [OP]]

Started hearing some nasty noises while on the Rubicon for Marlin's Roundup.  Had it narrowed down to a body mount by the end of the trip

Today I found the body was barely still together above that body mount. The body lift puck was smaller diameter than the factory design. 

After welding it up I created a larger washer to spread the load.  In the future I'll do this for all the body lift pucks.

I also finally cut some holes to get more air to the radiator.  I've had an occasional need to stop and let the temps come down.  Hopefully this helps.

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