TW's active 4runner builders BS thread

I'm going to lone pine wed night and up to Death Valley Thursday. Hit me up when you are going through lone pine. Maybe we can get a burger and a beer.

 

It will be late at night unfortunately. Can't leave til 5pm from Santa Barbara.

 

Good luck on your finals!

 

You can never have enough suspension. Get the hydros!!!

 

Oh I'll already be soaking in the hot springs drinking some Jameson by then.

 

Nice! I'm thinking Hydros as well. Check this out. This 4runner has my exact suspension set up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yisWk37vUU

 

Ok. Are you getting the other bulbs like the dome lights and all that?

 

If the price is right, yes

 

Looks smooth. I think I could hang with that. I'd do it with my trailer when I get resis and air bumps on it.

Resis get bitches!!!

 

Does your friend still have that 4th gen? Or am I thinking of someone else?

 

My buddy has one

 

@kyle11863

I think is funny that 2nd Gens get a bad rap, they do have a lot in common with the 1st Gen in regards to the drive train. I think one of the major downfalls with the 2nd Gens is that they had a larger number made with the 3.0. Most people consider the head gasket issue a 2nd Gen thing, I think because a majority of 1st Gens came with the 22RE.

 

My buddy has a 4th gen but it's bone stock. Haha.

 

@Fenwick1993 @kyle11863 @ramonortiz55

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pts/5488929701.html

 

Someone needs to pick that up!

 

Yeah I think that might be the case, and then throw in the 2nd gens lack of a removable top and few other little toys like inclinometer and manual hubs and it became the poster child for abuse unfortunately. The thing is blown head gaskets aren't the most uncommon things on old cars. I have seen a decent few 22REs with blown head gaskets. It does happen

 

Ooo tempting

 

It is more prolific with the 3.Slow though. I have seen the 3.4L and 4.0L's with blown head gaskets as well. The 3.0 is pretty much known for it though. Some of the 1st Gens came with Auto locking hubs as well. I know my step-dads 88 3.0 had auto hubs, and my 87 4Runner had auto hubs but someone down the line changed them to manual locking hubs. The inclinometer was pretty badass though. The 2nd Gens did go to coils in the rear, and the 1st gens had leaves. Not sure if there is much of an advantage to either one of those set ups.

 

Didn't know about the auto locks on 1st gens. Good to know. And yeah the 3.0 is more known for it, but I think part of the issue is people just no knowing how to fix it properly. From what I've read these multilayer steel fix it pretty much permanently. Most people see a big repair like that and buy the cheapest head gaskets they can find to cut costs, which ultimately makes it worse. I'm going to be doing the opposite and just go overboard with preventative measures, like heat wrap headers, weep hole thermostat, and eventually a redone exhaust (the side pipe idea is really tempting me the more I think about it ) I'm also going to be much more proactive in taking care of the engine then I ever was not that I mistreated it, but I could've been better. One thing I know played a factor in my problems is that it was very mistreated before I got it. Oil changes weren't nearly as often as they should've been, no air filter, wrong coolant, all sorts of bad shit. I guess we will see if all my work pays off.

As far as leafs versus coils, I've read that the coils are a little more stable and less likely to allow a rollover, but that could be false. I've also read that they make the ride more comfortable, which does make some sense. Toyota was trying to make them more comfortable and ride more like passenger cars than trucks. That also played a factor in the axing of the removable top, as it apparently created a lot of wind noise. Unfortunately I've never been in one with the hard top on so I can't confirm or deny that one, but maybe you can being a previous owner

 

I have also heard in the early days of fixing the head gasket Toyota was re-using the head bolts. This was causing the head gasket to blow again, since the bolts were only intended to be a one time use type of bolt.

The coils tend to ride smoother on road, not sure if there is much of a difference off-road though. The hardtop on the 1st Gen's were bad at all, I have heard that the can start to leak eventually. I never experienced that at all though. I think the axing of the removable top more so had to do with the import tariffs for 2-door SUV's. Which is why the 2-door 2nd Gen only last 1(maybe 2) years.