Topic: JT's 88 4 Runner Build

[jtaco1]

Here is the brief build of my 88 4 Runner thus far, been building it the last year to replace the Tacoma.  I am building it around 35's with no lift other than a rear shackle to level it out and a 1" body lift so I can lift the drivetrain a little.

Here is what we started with

Pulled the truck into the garage and pulled the old engine that had 280K on it


Next we prepped the new engine to go in

We pulled the old tranny and transfer case and pushed the truck out into the yard.  We then began to tear the tranny and t-cases apart


used the original case as the crawl box since it was in worse shape than the other t-case I had for the swap.  Tore the donor case apart


Installed new tranny output seal in tranny

Assembled dual transfer case and tranny, yes it is oily, haven't pressure washed anythign yet.

After the tranny and t-cases were assembled, we rolled the truck back into the shop and put the engine back in

Then installed the tranny and transfer cases.
Completed Engine compartment

Dual cases and shifters

Interior stripped and ready for bedliner coating, which will happen when it warms up

I then cut the firewall and rear fenders back, approx 2-2.5" in the rear to fit 35's with no lift.
Then put 35's on the front


And then the rear after I got the 5" shackle installed and rear u-bolt flip



Well we went to Rausch the other weekend for EC4RJ and had a blast.  Truck wheeled great and having a trailer is so nice.  Here are some pictures from the weekend.








Who knew stock springs could droop that much

Well I finally have the 4 Runner ready to go again from when I blew the rear brake hard line.  Whne I blew the line I also blew the master cylinder and booster.  So I replaced both with units out of a V6 4 Runner.

I also beat the hell out of the stock skid plate on Trail 20, so I built a new one from a skid plate that Skid Row makes for a Nissan Xterra.  I modified it a good bit, but it is good to go now and is made from 3/16" steel.



While I was at it I also pulled the rear t-case and had 4.7 gears put in it by Kajo Built.  He did a great job and got it done fast.  i also installed a set of Trail Gear Twin Sticks.  It is great idleing along at 175:1

Finally here are what my Corbeau Baja SS suspension seats look like mounted to the stock sliders with a piece of angle.



I have sold the 35" Goodyear MT/Rs and am now putting 37" PitBull Rockers on.

[bigarms23]

nice work on the 4runner

[axled89]

that ride will work.   

[jtaco1 [OP]]

Well I finally got the 37" PitBull Rockers installed on the 4 Runner.  They have about 20-25psi in them right now and I will need to trim a bit in the front to get full steering, but they measure out to around 36" and dig through the snow great.

[germ85]

Nice runner. How do you like the pitbull tires??

[axled89]

i wonder how they do in rocks and mud

[jtaco1 [OP]]

So far I have only had them in the snow, and they seem to do pretty good.  I will be getting out on some rocks this spring, we just got 2 feet of snow with another foot coming mid-week.  Looks like I will get to do some decent snow wheelin gthis year.

[cali4runner]

how big are those shackles?

[jtaco1 [OP]]

The rear shackle is a 5.5" one from Trail Gear, it is about 1-1.5" longer than stock.

[cali4runner]

thanks, i think i am going to do that to mine...

[jtaco1 [OP]]

We went out on Saturday and did a very little bit of wheeling.  First I hit up the Gauntlet, which is a trench lined with large boulders.  The 4 Runner walked right through it, which was awesome. 



Then we went to try a small hill climb.  About 2/3rds of the way up I stalled and coasted down the hill and hit a tree at about 25 mph, which kicked the 4 Runner up and on to my lid.  No one was hurt, but the 4 Runner will need extensive body work.

We rolled it back over and let it sit.  Fired it up and took it back up to the trailer.  I would have kept wheeling, but when I hit the tree, I bent the drivers side spring pack to hell and lost a good bit of head room, but we were able to bend that back out with the HI Lift.



Plans right now are to cut the top off, but leave the windshield frame, bend it back into shape, and put a full DOM cage in it, along with replaceing the rear spring.  Sucked that it happend as the 4 Runner was working great.

[2slow4you]

Damn, no good a cage is definitely in order. Glad to heard everyone is ok.

[jtaco1 [OP]]

Here is what I am shooting for when fixed.

[fade]

hows it do with ifs and 35s? sucks about the roll glad every one was safe. That cage Idea looks good. maybe extend it all the way back though?

[2slow4you]

A true convertible... haha

IMO 4xinnovations full length cages for our rigs would look pretty cool.

[greg_k113]

how does the IFS hold up to the dual cases and 4.7's?

[2slow4you]

From what he's told me, no problems of yet. Much the reason why I too am holding off on SASing until something horrible breaks.

[jtaco1 [OP]]

The IFS has surprisingly held up great for what I have done with the 4 Runner.  I think being open in the front helps.  It defiantley does not flex much and will pull a front tire when things get twisty, such as in those pictures above in the Gauntlet. 

The dual cases with 4.7's make it really nice to wheel, plenty of gears to choose from, although I picked the wrong one on Saturday, which caused the roll.

The only problems I have had with this 4 Runner have been related to rust, such as my brake line and fuel line breaking.

[jtaco1 [OP]]

I got the roof mostly beat back tonight, along with stripping the interior, just need to strap and pull the drivers side A and B pillars back to the drivers side and I will be ready for a cage.  Got the drivers side door area back into shape and now the door opens and closes.

Also have my new rear spring about ready to swap in, had to stop though with that project since I wacked my thumb and it hurts like hell

Still need to pressure wash everything off since it has a nice coating of gear oil, at least the under side won't rust now :rolleyes:

[greg_k113]

So what is your opinion on the Trailgear dual case and 4.7:1 gears are they as bad as everyone makes them out to be?

[jtaco1 [OP]]

So what is your opinion on the Trailgear dual case and 4.7:1 gears are they as bad as everyone makes them out to be?

I have nothing but good things to say about them.  I have not had any trouble with the adapter or gears, or anything that I have from Trail Gear.  If I was building annother truck I would not hesitate to purchase again.  The adapter is about three years old and has not done anything, but work.  When I pulled the rear case to put the 4.7's in, everything looked just like the day we assembled it.  I have only had the 4.7's for this season and so far they have been great.  Same with the twin stick.  

If you are going to get a dual case setup, I would recomend the BudBuilt crossmember as he builds a great product and can customize it with a drivetrain lift.  Plus he is a great supporter of local events.  Nothing against the Trail Gear crossmember, but I have beaten the crap out of my BudBuilt and it just laughs.

Here is another picture after the roll that I got from a buddy.  This is after we hi lifted the roof up so I could drive it.


Slight change of plans with the cage, I will be going with a 4xInnovations cage and putting a new roof section on.

[2slow4you]

Good call jt,

Adam is a great guy, with great products.

[jtaco1 [OP]]

Here is what my 4 Runner looked like after I cut the top off from the roll.

So I took Friday off to get this cage mostly knocked out.  The cage kit is from 4xInnovations and is the passenger length DOM version.  The kit arrived in 3 packages and looked like this once unwrapped.

First thing you have to do is weld up the b-pillar since it is cut in half for shipping.  An 8" long DOM slug is included with the kit and slips into the connection.  I also drilled 4 plug weld holes in the b-pillar for added strength.  I had a slight issue getting the slug all the way in on one side, but I trimmed it down and it all went together.

I then went through and put the floor plates in and tacked the b-pillar into place.  I did have to use a ratchet strap to close since it was a little wide at the bottom from welding and the tweaked body.  I then tacked in the a-pillar tubes and front cross bar and center bar.


I decided not to install the rear portion of the kit like it is designed and retain the factory roll bar.  I have cut down the rear bars to tie right into rear bar at the main node.  I don't have pictures yet since I have three more tubes to install along with the gussets and dash bar and harness bar that I need to bend up yet.

Overall the kit is nice, but you definately need two people to do the install, I did it solo and it was a pain doing the a-pillar to b-pillar at times.  Also some of the notches seamed to be off slightly for all of the tubes to fit together up front.  To keep the notches tight at the b-pillar, I had to put heavy tacks at that joint and then use my hi-lift jack to spread the front part apart to get the cross bar in, but it is in and works.  The other thing that I'm not a huge fan of is the height of the cage, it seems like it is very low up front, but that could be because I don't have a roof and that my seats may be a bit high.  I will be building a sub-frame for the seats and lowering them at the same time so I have headroom.

Here are a couple more pictures of what I got done today, the dash bar and rear center bar.  I am thinking about somehow tying the three rear bars together, but haven't come up with it yet.  I also need to install the two down bars from teh top of the cage to the dash bar.

[bigarms23]

just ordered the same cage looks great

[jtaco1 [OP]]

Right on, you will like it.  Also consider getting his dash bar, it is a nice setup, you just have to notch it.

Got a little more done today in between the kids naps.  Bent up a harness bar and got two more gussets in for the back.  Not much, but it is getting there.


And here is a close up of the dash bar, I will be installing two tubes between the dash bar and top bar in the coming week.

[jtaco1 [OP]]

Gussets are done and the cage has the first coat of paint on it.  I still need to do the X behind the seats and lower the seats a little.  Colin likes it too and has plenty of head room.  Wheeling it this weekend, so I have a few more things to get done including tying the cage into the frame.

[LilChief87]

lookin good man 

[jtaco1 [OP]]

Other than needing to lower my seats, the cage worked great this weekend wheeling.  Very happy with how it turned out and the 4 Runner did awesome on the trails and comp course, too bad I didn't take any pictures, but a buddy did get this one at the end of the day.

[LilChief87]

this might have been answered and a dumb question what are the 2 short bars coming up on the rear bar behind the back seat?

[gtoyonrocks]

Looks good... When is the SAS going to happen?