Newbie to the forum Elyoda....

[elyoda]

What up guys and gal's.
Here to Learn and get ideas for my project a 90 4runner.

[toe]

 

[elyoda]

Goal's for the project

5"SAS
35"
Duals case's
Exo cage
Lockers frnt &rear
Sliders
Bumpers
Winch
I will be trying to do all work myself. To have a all around trail street legal rig. She a 1990 4runner 3.0 , 5spd with 181,800 miles and running strong.

[ryantowry_81]

welcome.

read up alot before deciding on your design criteria, it will help your final product be that much better.

[elyoda]

Yea been doing some research. I think I got what I want. But open  to advice and suggestions.

[a_cent11]

Welcome, good luck with the build!

[monyman]

  from Central CA.
Sounds like an ambitious project (said the desk jockey). It also sounds like it will be a very capable rig upon completion, if builds are ever complete that is.

[1985CRAWLER]

  from norcal

oh and ps. theres a nice dual case setup in the classifieds right now for a good deal, perfect for your build!

23spline. 3.0 adapter and 4.7 rear case.

[elyoda]

from norcal

oh and ps. theres a nice dual case setup in the classifieds right now for a good deal, perfect for your build!

23spline. 3.0 adapter and 4.7 rear case.

Thanks

[elyoda]

Will be posting a build thread pretty soon just need couple more parts and its on like Donkey Kong.

[BigMike]

to land

Sounds like a pretty cool project. Out of curiosity, what attracts you to ExoCages?

Looking forward to following your 4Runner grow up into a Rock Crawler! "Dual Cases" is the best item on your list.

Regards,
BigMike

[ryantowry_81]

Yea been doing some research. I think I got what I want. But open  to advice and suggestions.

my one piece of advice from your list would be ditch the 5" springs if you are going with 35's. try and keep your COG as low as possible and still have adequate up travel, with a 2nd gen runner with an exo it is going to feel top heavy inherently no reason to build any higher than you need to. I am also a fan of trimming and tubing the body though which some are not so that is a deciding factor. personally i think the suspension should be setup to function as optimally as possible and modify the body to fit.

but just my .02 cents

[elyoda]

to land

Sounds like a pretty cool project. Out of curiosity, what attracts you to ExoCages?

Looking forward to following your 4Runner grow up into a Rock Crawler! "Dual Cases" is the best item on your list.

Regards,
BigMike

Space inside the runner is not that great. Not going to go crazy on the cage something simple. Will take my kids on every trip I can.

[elyoda]

my one piece of advice from your list would be ditch the 5" springs if you are going with 35's. try and keep your COG as low as possible and still have adequate up travel, with a 2nd gen runner with an exo it is going to feel top heavy inherently no reason to build any higher than you need to. I am also a fan of trimming and tubing the body though which some are not so that is a deciding factor. personally i think the suspension should be setup to function as optimally as possible and modify the body to fit.

but just my .02 cents

Will keep that In mind I was thinking the same thing these 2gns are top heavy..Reason me using the 5" I have a complete set in my garage purchased 6yrs ago never been used .Maybe I will take off some leafs.......
                                              Thanks

[BigMike]

The 4Runner already has a rear roll bar and the A and B pillars of the Hilux platform are very strong. I'm not mocking the idea, I am just curious. I assume you feel more comfortable with a full cage. My strategy is to gear the truck low enough with a Marlin Crawler so that you are guaranteed never to roll over. The Marlin Crawler doesn't provide protection to some asshat running a redlight and broadsiding you into a roll over though...

I also agree with ryantowry_81. A lower center of gravity goes a very long way. Over the years I've lowered my truck about 2-inches and it made a big difference on sidehill stability.

One issue I see 4Runner owners having trouble with out here where we have a lot of trees is minding the back of the 4Runner body in tight offcamber squeezes. I've seen the rear 4Runner glass shatter and I've seen the top corners take dents. With my camper-shell-less pickup all I really worry about is clearing the cab and then I pretty much ignore whats going on back there since my bed rails are much lower. Also if I touch a bed rail against a tree I can slowly back out of it and only incur surface scratches. It seems with 4Runners once the top of the body tags something it takes a dent.

So in this sense exo is preferred for a 4Runner. But the weight and aerodynamic (fuel mileage) losses on the open road.....

Regards,
BigMike

ps. I'm already planning a 4Runner for my next rig so I'll be learning all this soon enough

[ryantowry_81]

Will keep that In mind I was thinking the same thing these 2gns are top heavy..Reason me using the 5" I have a complete set in my garage purchased 6yrs ago never been used .Maybe I will take off some leafs.......
                                              Thanks

you can make them work without some leafs it will just be very soft sprung which might lead to excessive body roll on the street so you might need some stiffer valved shocks to help reduce that.

IT is worth playing with. IMO i would shoot for about 3" of lift for 35's

[elyoda]

Hope to start on this project soon....

[elyoda]

Need to purchase my rear hangers

[Rocksurfer]

II

[elyoda]

Two week ago I competed in a amateur rock crawling event in Azusa canyon. Broke both CV axles so I think its time to start the SAS.

[elyoda]

Just waiting on the rear hanger.

[Dingman.]

I second ryan, i would pass on the 5" sas kit.  i went with a 4" kit and it was okay.  This time around i have essentially lowered my truck 2" and shoved in bigger tires, so it is the same height going from a 36 to a 39" tire.

One of the biggest things i can recommend is getting rid of the factory rear coils and swap to leaf springs, it helped my 4runner feel a lot more stable!

[elyoda]

Looking for Factory toyota 4:88 v6. And to trade my 5" front tg leaf for some 4" springs.