Conversion help -- Prerunner to 4x4

Hello all! Hope everyone is safe and doing well during this crazy ass time. I'm currently in the process of obtaining all the parts needed to go from prerunner to 4wd and was curious if anyone would be down (or know someone) that I could work out a deal with to please help me actually do the 2x4 to 4x4 conversion? Seeing that I unfortunately fall short in the fab/mechanical skillset required to take on such a project on my own, not to mention I do not even have the proper tools/equipment smh. If anyone can please help point me in the right direction it would be BEYOND greatly appreciated and I'll definitely take care of anyone that can step up. I'm not in a major hurry or anything so if this is something we could plan out for a future project it would be bad ass to say the least.

 

Good luck. I’ll be in the process next year. This year I’m doing a suspension and mechanical refresh. I want the truck at 100% before I start. That way if a gremlin shows its head, I’ll hopefully have an easier time finding it. Followed

 

Awesome good luck man! Look forward to seeing your progress as well. I too am going through and freshening up mechanical stuff as well before I dive into the heavy stuff later on.

 

@Texoma is your man for that

 

I’m still researching but I’m going to try to do it fully mechanical. I’m going to go with the manual front hubs to make that happen. Post lots of pics.

 

He's on vacation. @T4Rgurl is the contact for Texoma's Triple C Chop Shop. I heard he's taking April off, though.

 

Are these conversions even worth it? With the resale value of a taco would it not be better to trade and buy a 4x4.

 

It's worth it for someone that's keeping their truck and not wanting to trade in for another.

 

Each scenario is different. But for me it’s worth it. When I purchased my truck I hunted an area where I didn’t need 4wd. That has changed. I only drive my truck about 3-4000 miles a year. It would be foolish for me to buy a new truck just to fill the 4wd role. I have a truck that I know is reliable as I have maintained it. For roughly $2,500-$3,000 dollars, I have a reliable, paid off vehicle that fills its role perfectly. Now if my truck wasn’t paid off and I had to pay a shop to do all of the work, I don’t think it would be.

 

@Silverspool converted to 4x4
@spicytaco123tnt is in the process

 

yup, i bought a large part of the parts over time, then over the next two years i sold them and bought a 4x4 instead. Conversion completed.

most of the parts you can install your self without fab work, its the trans mount/cross member that needs fabbed then a hole cut out of the trans tunnel.

id recommend doing it in two phases in either order.

1. install all the front end parts, front diff, ADD with standalone switch, hubs, axle shafts.

2. trans, tcase, front and rear dshafts.

oh, i did find the speedo worm gear btw.

 

Hey man, how’s it going? By chance you don’t have any remaining parts sitting around from the 4wd conversion do ya? Sorry you bother but I hope you and your loved ones are safe.

- Foster

 

nah only have the new worm gear. My recommendation is use car-part.com to find used parts locally. LQK will negotiate, I picked up an FJ tcase for under 200 from them. I found a brand new trans from a highschool tech teacher on craigslist who got the trans from Toyota to use in his class but never opened it up. For the rear driveshaft, id just pay for a tom woods one piece to be made, buying a used dshaft costs almost as much and u get to eliminate carrier bearing issues as an added benefit.

Keep an eye out on craigslist and classifieds for parts and collect over time for best savings.

 

Bad ass thanks my man! Appreciate your time and help. So sorry to sound dumb but what is LQK? Lol

 

I’m in the middle of my conversion
I got lucky and found the inchworm spacer with rear tranny tail end and mount last year here on tw so I used my stock transmission that way and added the fj tcase about 3 weeks ago
I’ll finish buying the rest I need for the front once this pandemic is over

I’m doing it all myself and it is a bit of a pain but doable
I know a couple people would rather pay to get it done or just buy a 4x4 but I’ve spent too much money on this truck already



I’d suggest looking on eBay for a transfercase (got mine for $250 shipped to me)
Lower mileage too
Mines from a 2012 4runner SR5 (early model 5th gens 10-12 sr5s came with manual tcase) all 10-20 trd offroad or trail 4runners come with manual tcase so not just the fjs

 

sorry, its LKQ, used auto parts recycler

 

Vacation lol, he’s doing all the things around the house that’s been waiting for 4 yrs. We WERE going on a mini vaca until all this corona drama

 

It drives. Just need a front drive shaft. And to switch to a slip yoke eliminator and new rear driveshaft. But i drive it around right now

 

Crazy seeing all the 2nd gen 4WD conversion. A few years ago prices on parts were higher and there was a lot less info online.