looking for facts about the prerunners

ok i dont mean to come off as a retard, but what exactly is a prerunner. i tried looking it up but all i got is that its a 4x2 not a 4x4, and there cheaper then a 4x4 brand new (base price). is that all there is thats different? i grew up way up north and never even heard of them till i lived in mississippi for a little. so im just looking for facts about the trucks and not opinions on what is better.

 

the prerunner is the same truck as the 4x4 but minus all the 4x4 stuff. literally the same everything besides the tranny, diff, driveshaft etc

 

prerunner is a 4x4 with the 4wd removed, it has the same suspension, compared to the 5 lug 2wd only, lifts etc if they fit on a 4x4 most likely they will fit pre runner.
also with a prerunner you get 4x4 height

EDIT: beat me to it

 

A fellow Montanan! Welcome to TW! Yeah, basically all a Prerunner is is a 2WD on a 4x4 chassis. They can come in all the TRD configurations just like the 4x4 along with the simple SR5 package.

 

It's the truck that does a "Pre-run" of the trail to make sure it's safe for the almighty 4x4

 

but the 5lug 2wd and the 6lug 2wd prerunner are completely different trucks.

 

ok so if i want to keep the towing and weight load and dont need the 4wd go with the prerunner, right? and better MPG? sorry to ask looks like i might be moving south and if i dont need to spend the money on the 4wd and i dont need it i might go with a prerunner.

 

yes, and they will get about 0-2 mpgs better

 

prerunners as super-duper awesome. FACT.

 

someone recently did a prerunner to 4wd conversion. differences you ask? Different spindles up front, obviously the t-case and a different bell housing on the rear of the transmission (exact same internals, however). Different driveshaft due to t-case and the transmission mount is mounted about 2 inches forward.

otherwise, they are the same truck.

 

Don't forget that little switch we have too

 

oh you mean the dash trim piece that has the defective hole cut in it on the 4wd? good thing they patched it properly in the prerunners.

 

Because of their lower weight, prerunners have a higher payload capacity than 4x4's. Slightly over 3/4 ton for the 4-cyl.

MPG will NOT differ, except slightly in CITY driving. The extra weight requires more energy to accelerate on a 4x4. On the highway, there is no difference. If EPA says any differently, they're LIARS (which they are, I guarantee it. 4x4 4cyl does an easy 6 mpg better than EPA claims).

 

Eh, what? There are no parts listed as "spindles". There are steering knuckles (same for prerunner and 4wd), and there are hubs (different for prerunner and 4wd).

 

no, the spindles are different. the hubs and the steering knuckles come in 1 unit, i believe.

i dont know the actual word for them, but everyone calls them spindles.

 

Spindles = 164 threads

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/search.php?searchid=7050870

Steering knuckle = 8 threads

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/search.php?searchid=7050892

Most people here call them a spindle

 

http://www.toyota.com/tacoma/specs.html

You can compare the #'s yourself. Towing capacity is the same. Payload is higher (135lbs) for the prerunner.

If you ever think you might need 4x4, get a 4x4. The option is <$2,000. You won't regret it.

 

spindle


these are obviously not stock.

 

This

If you lift them you don't need to be concerned as much up front as there are no 4WD components , and you can use LIFT SPINDLES

 

thank you very much, wish i found that on my own.

thanx everyone else i appreciate the info