Topic: 84 4Runner Buildup - Last minute summer mods

[Volcom]

Im thinking that handle could be a sick cup holder!! haha! Nice work!

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!

Nice cage volcom.     It looks like it should be plenty sturdy.  Is there enough clearance for the window cranks? 

I think I'll tie into the support cross bar under the dash when I do a cage.  It should give me more clearance than I really need.  Speeking of cages, I have one in my garage I need to get rid of.

Yup, windows can crank up and down with the door closed

[Volcom [OP]]

Stock front cross member.  3 mounts on each side, super thin boxed tubing and some lightly tacked captured nuts from the factory 25 years ago.


I added 2 more supports on each side.  I cut 45 degree cuts on a piece of 2"x2"x3/16" square tubing.  Drilled a 1.2" hole and welded a nut to the back.  I then welded them to the factory crossmember.


There was a dent in the frame on this side.  Somebody filled the dent in the tubing with Bondo 


The 4 extra supports.


1/4" plate that fits in front of the factory crossmember. 


Welded in place.


It's not coming off anytime soon.


Addicted Off Road front bumper now bolts to the orginal 6 holes and my extra 4.


Still need to replace that headlight   






Nice aproach angle!

[86turboyota]

added extra bolt holes and that frame reinforcement looks like a good idea, i might have to borrow your idea

[LilChief87]

i like it looks good

[Yotafoot]

keep going it looks great!

I'm inspired to start my 85 runner build soon!

[Volcom [OP]]

First major trip of the summer, Mt. Blanca (14,000 ft mountain near the Sand Dunes National Park).  It was by far the worst wheeling trip I've ever taken.  Everything that could possibly go wrong, did  

Let's start with the horrible rear end sound when I was leaving Pueblo.  I was fully loaded with camping gear and I was getting terrible sounds out of the "rear diff" while acclerating in 1st & 2nd gear.  I get talked into headed up anyways  

We get to Medano Pass and while headed uphill, the noise is killer.  I end up getting towed over the pass and to the campsite.





I decided to tear the rear end apart to inspect the rear diff.





I find some marks on the carrier from the pinion.





I then decide to swap 3rd members to put the "damaged" 3rd in the front and put the "good" 3rd in the rear.  I then start to tear apart the front axle.



I start on the front @ midnight and finally button up the front & rear axles @ 5:45am.  Best part, the front "good" 3rd has the same pinion to carrier damage

I get 45 minutes of sleep, take it for a test drive and no change, same nasty noise.  Guess I'll wheel it until it breaks.

We head up Mt. Blanca




Jaws 1


Jaws 2



Jaws 2.5


Jaws 3



What the majority of the trail looks like!


CUbuff4Runner then proceeds to shear the 3 9/16's studs that hold his passenger side high steer arm to his knuckle near the top of the trail (12,500 ft)


We work on his rig for several hours and decide to leave it up there.  We plan on driving my 4Runner back up on Sunday to fix his rig with my brother's D44 parts off of his Jeep back in Denver


Waiting for my brother and dad to bring the parts to head back up the mtn.

My brother drove up Blanca since I was tired of driving.  The "rear diff" noise is horrible and I didn't think we were going to make it back up the mtn with 4 people in the rig and 300lbs of parts and tools in the back.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obioFSHT-BQ

The steering in my 4Runner is very very loose and I get to inspect.  All 8 of my knuckle studs are loose and one is stripped in the knuckle.  I tighten all of them and we're back up the mtn.

CUbuff figures out what the noise is, it's my CV on the rear driveshaft rubbing the horseshoe crossmember :bang:  Scotty from Addicted Off Road told me that it was close to rubbing when we were installing the cage 2 months before the trip.  Man, I'm a bonehead and realize I swapped diffs and worked on it for 8 hours was a complete waste of time.

We make it to CUbuff's rig and get it fixed.  He then proceeds to roll his 4Runner down Jaws 2.5





Down Jaws 1 in the dark
After many more issues on the trail, we finally get off of the trail and home @ midnight, 48 hours after our trip started.

[axled89]

that sucks man.  sorry to hear about that.  so what happened to the rear diff anyways.  did the pinion nut back off or something.

[NorCalToy]

that trail looks fun. whats with the pinion rubbing on the carrier though?

anddd...any other pics of your new tail light setup besides the one or two that sorta show me?

[Volcom [OP]]

that sucks man.  sorry to hear about that.  so what happened to the rear diff anyways.  did the pinion nut back off or something.

CV on the rear driveshaft was rubbing the horseshoe crossmember.  Scotty at Addicted told me about it a couple of months before.  I added a 4xinnovations HD crossmember mount and it raised my t-cases up 1/2".  Adding the weight of the cage and the camping gear caused the body to drop and it was rubbing bad.  I should have known it was something like a driveshaft rubbing rather than 3rd member damage.  I had been driving the 4Runner around town with no issue at all.  It was a bonehead move on my part.

[Volcom [OP]]

that trail looks fun. whats with the pinion rubbing on the carrier though?

anddd...any other pics of your new tail light setup besides the one or two that sorta show me?

Big tires, ultra low gearing, small pinion head, and really close tolerances.  Front 3rd had the same damage.

I'll snap some pics of the rear taillights for you and get them posted!

[86turboyota]

that sounds like a hell of a trip

[twistedtoy92]

you runnin solid pinion spacers in those diffs???
Makes me wanna throw the 39.5 iroks on my runner.....

[Volcom [OP]]

you runnin solid pinion spacers in those diffs???
Makes me wanna throw the 39.5 iroks on my runner.....

Yup, solid pinion spacers from Marlin!  So far, I haven't regreted going straight to 39.5's on my 4Runner

[86bobbedtoy]

any after pics of the white runner?
I wanna see the carnage!!!

[Volcom [OP]]

any after pics of the white runner?
I wanna see the carnage!!!

[Volcom [OP]]

anddd...any other pics of your new tail light setup besides the one or two that sorta show me?

I added the small yellow LED for the turn signal rather than using a trailer taillight converter.  I found out the small yellow turn signal doesn't show up at all during the day and I really need to use the big red LED's as the turn signals as well.  I have the converter but didn't have the time to to wire it in before the trips this summer.


The metal inserts actually fit pretty good until the passenger side one took some damage.  But that's why they are on there.  Rather than breaking, they get bent up.  I can just push them back into shape.  They don't fit perfectly like a real taillight but it gets expensive at $15-$20-$30 a pop replacing broken taillights.

[lucky7]

mass work on that white runner clean though sweet pics

[bigarms23]

the damage doesn't look so bad on that white 4runner

[Volcom [OP]]

I needed a cheap project to work on since I don't have any money to start any big projects.  I've been gathering stuff for rock lights for years (like 6  ) and I figured this would be a great time to put it all together.

I also wanted a fuse block to be able to add electrical components like a CB & additional 12v power sources.

I decided to go with 2 6-port fuse blocks.  I also bought an ABS plastic project box from Radio Shack to hold all the fuse blocks and relays for the lights.  

For lights, I have a pair of 6" KC lights that I plan on putting on the front bumper.  I also have 2 sets of small 55w lights from Wal-mart that are designed to go on the front of a small car.  They fit perfect in the places I wanted them.  I want one set on the front bumper pointed down in front of the front tires and another set between the F&R tires along the frame.  I also have a rectangle set of lights to point behind the rear tires.

The 6" KC's will be on their own relay and switch.  The 4 small rock lights in front and middle of the 4Runner will be on their own relay and switch.  And the rear 2 lights get their own relay and switch.

Onto the pictures!

I plan on putting the project box with all the stuff in it on the left hand side.  It will mount on the passenger side fender and on top of the shock hoop.  I will have to relocate one thing.


Top view of the box with the fuse block mounted on the sides, relays in the middle and all the wires running out of the side.  Each fuse block has 8ga wire feeding it.  The left relay is a 40a that feeds the front KC lights.  The middle is a 40a that will run the 4 small rock lights and the right relay will run the back lights.  The power & ground wires for the relays are 12ga and the wire for the switch will be 18ga.



Pics of the side mounted fuse blocks.  Plently of room to expand if needed.


Close up of the relays and wires


Front 6" KC lights that I got for free 6 years ago from a friend.  They should work out fine on the front bumper.  When I get some time, I will paint them black rather than the worn out chrome.


I've got 2 sets of these small lights for the front and middle rock lights.


Rear lights


Overall shot of my tailgate work bench with all the wire, connectors, and other crap     The battery jump box has been nice, I've been able to test my wiring before I put it in the truck.  I tested all 3 relays and they all work as planned.

I'm done with the project box, I now need to get it installed under the hood. mount the 8 lights and get some power wires ran to each of them.  I hope to get it done this week before my wheeling trip next weekend.

[Volcom [OP]]

Worked on the Rock Light project with my dad tonight.  We also got to use his new plasma cutter for the first time as well!  It cuts good, I just need some work keeping my hands steady  :mrgreen:


Front lights are now mounted.  Just cut some 1/8" plate for some tabs on the bumper.


Small rock light pointed down in front of the passenger side tire.  We also cut and welded some small tabs on the bumper.


Pic of the tab without a light.


We also made a mount for the small lights off of the middle slider support to keep the light mounted high between the frame & the body.

[Russell_G]

Rock lights looks sweet! I need to get my cab and bed on and trailer my rig over to scotty for an adjustment on the front bumper. My side pieces stick out too far and i wanted them tighter then the normal bumpers he makes. Oh well details.....Hey if you want help on the paint im going to be moving in to a shop about 45minutes closer to you or i have the shop in Foco and a 4bdroom house with 2 empty rooms...get nate to do some bondo and we can knock it out in a weekend.


More Scotty tube pics for your thread(lmk if you want them removed)

I did a taller stinger on the normal bumper. BTW im ditching the GS400 turns if you want them. They have the same shape as the part of the bumper connecting to the winch plate.

[Volcom [OP]]

Rock lights looks sweet! I need to get my cab and bed on and trailer my rig over to scotty for an adjustment on the front bumper. My side pieces stick out too far and i wanted them tighter then the normal bumpers he makes. Oh well details.....Hey if you want help on the paint im going to be moving in to a shop about 45minutes closer to you or i have the shop in Foco and a 4bdroom house with 2 empty rooms...get nate to do some bondo and we can knock it out in a weekend.


More Scotty tube pics for your thread(lmk if you want them removed)

I did a taller stinger on the normal bumper. BTW im ditching the GS400 turns if you want them. They have the same shape as the part of the bumper connecting to the winch plate.

Thanks for the offer on the paint.  Honestly, it's not worth the time to bondo it anymore.  The body is far from being straight and you and Nate with your OCD'ness would have a hard time getting it perfect

I bought a cheap HPLV spray gun and am going to just give it a quick tractor painting to get it all one color.  It just needs to be all one color rather than the factory brown maroon, primer, black, and rust

I like the pointed stinger bumper that Scotty at Addicted makes!  He started offering that opinion after I bought mine.  I actually like both styles.

[John Doe]

I always liked your 4runner. Its nice to see some new pics. I will be heading to radio shack soon to see about a similar box. I have been stalling on my aux fuse block since I havnt had a dry place to put it. Keep it up.

[cbr929]

I added the small yellow LED for the turn signal rather than using a trailer taillight converter.  I found out the small yellow turn signal doesn't show up at all during the day and I really need to use the big red LED's as the turn signals as well.  I have the converter but didn't have the time to to wire it in before the trips this summer.


The metal inserts actually fit pretty good until the passenger side one took some damage.  But that's why they are on there.  Rather than breaking, they get bent up.  I can just push them back into shape.  They don't fit perfectly like a real taillight but it gets expensive at $15-$20-$30 a pop replacing broken taillights.

are you going to market them? i would like a set of them!!!

[Volcom [OP]]

I'll start by giving CUbuff4Runner a big thanks in helping me at his dad's sheetmetal shop.  There's no way I could have done the tailgate conversion by myself in my garage.

The bonus for swapping tailgate is getting rid of the heavy 4Runner tailgate.  You loose all the glass, elec. motor, and all the other stuff in the window to make it go up & down.  You also gain 4" of clearance at the bottom of the gate.  It makes connecting a bumper to the frame much easier.  The negative, you loose the back window.  I've only run the hard top 5 months out of the year and don't get much during that time.  If it was a daily driver, I probably wouldn't suggest the conversion.

I took some heavy damage to the driver's side rear quarterpanel a couple of years ago running BV Carnage on 33's with no rear bumper.  Wasn't the smartest idea I've had    Here's the result of that trip.



Instead of fixing the damage, I just cut out the damage and left it for a couple of years.



The conversion was a good way to get rid of that low hanging quarterpanel and to make it eaiser to connect a bumper to the frame.  Here's the pics.


Last picture with the stock tailgate in place.  You can see my orange test spots to see what color orange I want to paint it somebody.  The passenger side rear quarterpanel has taken some damage over the years as well.


Here's the damaged area that I've covered with cardboard & duct tape to keep the CO fumes from getting inside while running it with the hard top.  Nice & ghetto.


Here's the pickup tailgate test fitted.  Notice how much trimming has be done on the bottom quarterpanels.


Jeff welding up the 1" by 1" sqaure tubing frame that we used to relocate the hinges.  The hidges sit between the 2 supports on each side.


Hinge supports tacked into place on the rear 2" by 3" crossmember I've put in between the rear framerails.


Hinge supports welded in.  This shows that rear crossmember better.


Pickup tailgate hung and quarterpanels trimmed.


We welded a bottom piece of sheetmetal to the quarterpanel.


Driver's side was worse since we had to weld in a filler piece of sheetmetal between where I had trimmed and the bottom cap.


Passenger side welded.  Just need some seam sealer on the inside and it's done.


Amazing how well the pickup tailgate fits in there.


Just need some paint and a rear bumper.


Driver's side was hard to work on.  The Toyota sheetmetal is sooooooo thin.  It's hard to weld without blowing holes in it left and right.  This side will need some grinding and some bondo to make it look OK (it's not a show car so I'm not worried about it  )


Another picture of th driver's side.  The exhaust pipe used to touch the bottom of the quarterpanel.  It's now 4" low.


The finsihed product.


Also picked up a 85 front axle housing, wheel hubs, steering knuckles, spindles, and hub bodies as spares from the pull-n-save.


I just reused the stock latches from the pickup.  Seemed easier than fab'ing up another solution.


Height difference between the pickup latch vs. the 4Runner latch.  I'll just leave the 4Runner latch as another tie down point for the rear.


We used sheetmetal over the 1"x1" frame and just tacked it to the tub in multiple spots.  It's plenty strong to stand on.


Close up of the pickup hinge location, sheetmetal, and the orginal hinge location for the 4Runner tailgate.


Just alittle gap that I'll close up.  Once I seam seal and heculine the rear, it will look somewhat stock.


Here's the space I gained in the cargo area.  It's not much but I'll take as much of it for camping gear as I can get.  I've always loved the way 4Runner's looked bob'ed but I use all the cargo room when I go camping so it wasn't feasible for me to bob the rear behind the seats.


Couldn't see the rear frame rails before the trim.  Now it's a straight shot.  It will make building a rear bumper easier & stronger.


Just sits in the garage 98% of the time.

Here's how DIRTCO said I should paint my 4Runner :lof: :lof:

[THK Matt]

looks hella good now man, nice n clean tailgate conv.

props man mad props.

[cbr929]

I thought you might like to see my buddy's jeep on jaws 2!!!

[COToy91]

scary thats all i can say

[Volcom [OP]]

I thought you might like to see my buddy's jeep on jaws 2!!!

If they wouldn't have added some width to the trail in that spot, he would have gone over the edge for sure.  Damn, that's scary .  Was he happy to be alive?

[Jud]

I see his problem... He was drinking Bud Light and not Coors, he had a headache. lol

That looks like a sketchy roll though