Matthew's Jade Green 4x4 Conversion. (and other upgrades)

Bartmaster. thank you. do you recall how much ORS sold a pair for? Right now i am making two sets. One for me and one extra but if there is a market i would be willing to evaluate the possibility. What can you share?

 

Shubin. Yes, please send me pictures so i can share more about the differences.

 

Thanks DW85. Many talented folks here but i do appreciate the compliment.

 

When converting a 03 v6 Tacoma to 4x4, what transmission do I need to get? I got one from an 01 but turns out it does not fit? What’s the transmission part number I need? Thanks in advance

 

Part numbers when it comes to transmissions are iffy, as they never had set numbers on the transmission itself as I’ve seen besides the obvious 30-40LE (A340E) for example. However, this means nothing as the Toyota Supra and the Isuzu Delivery Truck both had the 30-40LE (A340E) transmission. AISIN’s A340 and R150 transmissions were used on a variety of vehicles.

2003-2004 Tacomas have the ETCS-I electronic throttle system with the electronic throttle body and lockdown cable. Therefore you can only use 2003/2004 Tacoma transmissions.

1995-2002 will not work.

 

To add to what Bartmaster said the A340 was also used on Jeeps of all things. Called the AW4 i think. I actually found more info rebuilding looking at that than at Toyota initially. More jeep guys i guess wrench and video tape it. Also i am of the opinion right now that a 03/04 4Runner tranny will not work nor will any 4Runner tranny for that matter. 03/04 is just so darn special.

Now to complicate things many dismantles do not distinguish 02/03/04 very well and lump 4Runner into Tacoma so be careful. Also from pictures i have yet to be able to tell a 03/04 unit and have been told more than once that i do not know what i am talking about when head down the ETCS-I line of questioning.

My position right now is that unless i get totally lucky on a 03/04 unit i will go through the shaft replacement procedure. Lucky meaning i find a used one that is too cheep to pass up. It sort of breaks down for me like this right now.

1. 03/04 unit with ~100K miles = $800-$1000 and i run it as is accepting the unknown condition.
Everything i have read seems to suggest that this tranny is reliable so this is probably safe.
Sell likely included ADD transfer case for $100. Sell old 2WD tranny for $100
~$600 - $800 total cost with some risk but no time crunch.

2. 03/04 unit with high mileage = $400 - $600. Rebuild kit is $300.
New tranny and i do not have to take mine down and be under the gun to get it back up fast since it is my daily driver.
Sell likely included ADD transfer case for $100. Sell old 2WD tranny for $100
~$500 - $700 total cost with less risk, new tranny and no time crunch.

3. Buy a donor 96-02 unit for the output shaft, nose cone and oil pan. $200 is my target and mileage does not matter as long as it still turns. Don't buy one with a blown planetary gear.
Use the unit to learn to take apart and put back together. $300 rebuild kit and a week and i have my 2WD unit converted and rebuilt.
Sell transfer case if it has one for $100. Sell left over tranny parts for $50
$~$350 - $450 total cost with less risk, new tranny and no time crunch.

4. Buy the parts second hand. $200 plus $300 rebuild kit.
~$500 total cost. Less risk, new tranny but time crunch and learning under the gun.

#3 is my focus right now.

So much to learn. Must stay focused on task at hand and projected 6 month time frame meaning i have ~3 months to figure this out.

 

Wow there’s actually so much to learn but I’m finally on the right track, I think I have a better understanding now. I will go and see if I can find an 03/04 transmission and just sell the one I had gotten. Thank you so much for all of your help!! Really appreciate it.

 

I will try and find one with the electronic throttle body. Thank you so much!! I keep learning throughout this whole process of my conversion. I thought I had everything but back to the hunt once again haha. Thanks again I really appreciate it

 

Here is the 97 push button T-case.

 

Shubin.

Thank you. That there is gold man, gold.

Pictures are worth so much. It looks like then that there is a hole in the side of the shaft and it is hollow meaning the wire for the button goes into the transfer case and then back out. The white or blue connection then must be the exit from the case for the switch and into that loom then back to both the actuator and computer.

Did i get that right?

So here is a though my buddies and i were thinking about.

What if you used a push button J shift unit from something like a late 90's 4 runner limited? (Which i think is what you show here.) What happens then if you do not connect the button to anything and ditch the actuator? Will that coupled with manual locking hubs work? Somehow i think not but i guess i can ask.

 

I would just go for a Tacoma J-Shift to avoid difficulty. The 3rd gen 4Runner transmissions will be different in terms of where the VSS is.

 

More progress last night. I pulled one of the manual locking hubs apart to see what i am dealing with. Pleased to find the guts super clean and honestly i do not think it was used too much. Grease was clean and no corrosion inside. I got scared when the spring was two pieces but i later learned it is supposed to be that way.



The o-rings were shot so i bought a simple rebuild kit. I learned that the AISIN hub o-ring and gaskets are the same for most toyota's. That is how i was able to buy just the gaskets and not the standard total kit. All my other parts are fine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gasket-Kit...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

So here is my questions for today.

Is the center part of the hub painted or not? Mine is quite dirty and using simple green and purple power with a brush did not clean it up. I am afraid to chem-dip it and strip or erode it. Any guidance? I also have not decided if i will re-paint the black outer ring. The chrome boyd cleaned up great with steel wool.

 

No pictures but last night i dry assembled my first locking hub assy. No issues and none were expected. I did end up soaking the knob in Chem-Dip for an hour and then using a brass brush got it pretty clean. I do not think they were painted but more likely anodized. I have been tempted to paint them red for that "old school" look but decided against it. Also decided not to repaint the black outer ring.

I took the second lock apart and aside from what looks like some overheating between the Spacer and Inner Hub it looked good.


I finished up my replacement hub bronze bushings. In investigating the various dimensions i think i need to suggest this not be called a bushing because it is not. It is a thrust washer.

When you install it and stick the hub on the axle outside of the spindle bearing you can see that the face of the part where the grooves are runs up against the inside face of the CV axle. The ID of the part does not even come close to touching the axle which makes sense because the needle bearing inside the hub does that job. Therefor all this piece does is act as a thrust washer between the hub and the axle and the grooves are grease reservoirs for lubrication. If i am wrong please educate me.

I did not get my own picture but captured this image from google and edited it to show what i mean.


Anyways. Here is what a few hours of work gets you.





I will install one set this weekend. The other set is extra.

I understand there may be a need for these parts in the community. Anyone know what ORS used to sell them for? Now that i know the work involved i can evaluate if it is worth it to make a batch. How does that even work on this forum anyways... You make them and sell them or can you do a run or???

Maybe this weekend i will either install the bearings into the spindles OR take apart my front differential to start its rebuild.

 

Today was front differential day. I had reservations about this as i had read some stories about it being hard to remove the ADD tube. I am glad to say it was not that bad.


I drained the differential all night so i had minimal mess today. The day did start out lousy though when one of the ADD star bolts stripped. Vice grips did not work so i ended up hack sawing off the head and the grinding down to the bolt diameter. Bummer but it worked. (No images)

The ADD tube came off fine but the gear on the inside would not pry out from the outside. I had intended to open things up anyways so i attached the gear from that back side. I stuck down the center of the differential a 1/4" drill bit extension that was 12" long. It could just get the edge of the back side of the gear and a few taps and it started to move. I finished off from the side and out it came. Confirmed a gear ratio of 4.10. (10 teeth on pinion, 41 on ring) Gear oils was clean and no real surprises inside. Cleaned up all the old sealant, de-greased the surface and applied some new RTV.


Next was the Manual tube. No retainer ring on this so it slips right into the differential easily. Again cleaned it up, applied RTV and away it goes.


Replaced both axle seals. I fear i installed the tube side seal too deep. Is there a spec there?

I installed the mounts and wala. Just need to add oil and install it. From what i have read and watched it does not look like the diff is easy to install so we will see how that goes much later.


Last thing i did today was to install my new bronze bushing (thrust washer) into my spindle. A bit of a tight press but very nice if i do say so myself.


Next up is likely installing spindle bearings.

I think i located a J shift transfer case with ~150K miles on it. Any advice out there on mileage with these? Does it matter? Are they always spinning inside where you worry about things inside there?

I also have a line on a donor transmission. Not a 03/04 but a source for the parts i need and to take apart to see if can tackle the tranny job myself. Will keep you posted on if i get these.

 

I had parts and transmission in hand. Paid a shop $200 to swap the parts. I probably could have figured out how to do it. But for $200 if didn’t seem worth taking the risk of me f*ing it up.

 

Today was the day to go for it and see if i was going to be buying a bunch of new parts. Spindle bearing and hub assembly. Lets just say the pucker factor was high. Did i get my hubs repaired right? Would my press spacers system work and not damage the bearing? Would my press have enough umph. Would i mess this up...

With everything clean and lubed up and with the black ring side of the bearing down lets press. First one was easy. Second one tilted on me and got a bit wedged. Shifted the press to the high side and pop. That scared the heck out of me though as everything shifted but the bearing went in. Both bearings. clips and seals installed. (Using the old bearing race made life easy)


Then the hub side. Found good support for the bearing inner race and lets press away. The thing I had to work with and learned here was that the hub starts out wanting to go crooked since the inner bearing races are not seating on anything super square. After a second they square up and start going in. Both of mine basically popped into place. Meaning they would start then stop and pop agian and go some more until they were seated. (Don't forget the seal and back plate first.)



Next the combining of manual hubs and ABS. From a few videos i watched on this (linked on page 1) I expected a short spacer to be in the hub that would be replaced by the ABS tone ring but the spacer I had was super tall. Basically the same thickness as the ABS tone ring. I was puzzled. I am combining 1997 manual Tacoma hubs (no ABS) with 1999 4Runner Limited 4x4 spindles. (With ABS) I did not take any pictures of the 4Runner parts when i took them apart. So.... Knowing that i was supposed to remove a short spacer with the ABS tone right i just went for it and put the tone ring in (open side up) and run the lock nut down. Looks right. Tone ring is slightly offset but the lock nut is where it should be. In the image below you can see the tone ring and the spacer. The spacer is up on end showing how thick it is.

Does anyone know if this is right?


I also replaced both upper and lower ball joints while i was at it. Glad i did because while my old ones were not super loose the new ones are super tight. The various bolts are not yet tight but getting close to phase 1 which is spindle installation.


On to axles. I was never able to get the axle shaft out of the outer CV. No amount of banging on a pipe would release it. Since the boots were intact and neither was contaminated i cleaned out most of the grease and put in new grease. No way i was getting both packets of grease in there though.


Next step is to try and remember how the inner side goes together as i took lousy notes...

 

OK. found some good reference pictures. Both axles are together and i am pretty pleased. For sure cost me more than just buying new aftermarket ones but hey, i like restoring things.





On the outboard CV i am not sure what goes in the small groove. I think it will be a small partial C clip to hold the stub in the hub but i did not get anything there.
I also have to get new inner CV dust shield as both are damaged as well as outer CV seals. Camelback seems to have the best prices there.

I am getting to the point where i have nothing to work on until i find a transfer case and/or my tranny plans starts to really develop. I did find a few transfer cases on ebay with ~150K miles on them for $125 shipped. Again though i am not sure how much mileage matters on these.

I also located a donor 4x4 tranny in Truckee but i am not sure i can get it south. There are also a few 03/04 trannies out there but they are too much for my blood right now.

I am also re-thinking part of my install plan I was going to do spindles, then differential then axles. But i could also do the Differential first as it can just hang out there by itself. Then when i do the spindles i can install the axle shafts at the same time.

I know i will need an alignment when i put the new spindles on but can you pop them off after the alignment to install the axles and not have to do another alignment?

Anyways...

 

Transfer case located. 150K miles on it. From a 98 Tacoma that rolled. Won't arrive for a few weeks though.

Can anyone confirm this rear drive shaft rumor? I just need to change out front half from the carrier bearing to the transfer case. A unit from any 4x4 double cab or any 4x4 extra cab will work. Is this true?

Thanks

 

Yes, you’d need a different front half because the transfer case makes the transmission 31cm longer

 

Started to clean up the front propeller shaft. Universal joints seem fine. Are there more than one length of these? When i bought this there were two. One slightly longer than the other. I got the longer one.




Exposed the underside of the belly to visually get a look at the next step in this project which is installing parts up front. For sure i am doing the spindles first and the differential + axles last.


Last was more a what have done for your Taco today but i finally tackled the valve cover gaskets. Replaced rear cam seal, re-sealed all four cam half moons and replaced spark plugs while i was in there. Things looked to be in good shape to me. Took about 6 hours. Timmy the toolman's tutorial was a great help although i found the Tacoma alot easier to extract the drivers side valve cover than his 4Runner. anyways....