PreRunner 4x4 Conversion Journey Thread

Thanks to everyone who has already answered many of my questions as I'm preparing to start this quest of converting my '03 3.4L Auto XtraCab PreRunner. I wanted to kick off a build thread/journal mainly as a way to get my thoughts in order for my own reference, but in case anything shared ends up being helpful to anyone.

Pretext: I moved to North Carolina last year, after living in San Francisco for nearly 10 years. While there, my partner at the time and I bought a 1998 RWD Ranger with 50,000 miles on it, it was the first truck I ever owned, and I loved it. When I decided to move back east, and we agreed it made sense for her to keep the truck (crazy long story short after I left, the truck got stolen, she received the insurance payout, then it was recovered weeks later, and is now up for auction as I write this ), so I was on the hunt for a new one.

I knew I wanted a first gen Tacoma, and since I was used to the 2WD life and was going to be living in the south, I didn't think I'd care about having 4WD. I found my PreRunner in SC, it had 102k on it, was clean as hell, not a speck of rust on the thing, and I was stoked to buy it. Fast forward to me finally living in a home with a garage and an onslaught of a year of tool purchases, I have been able to work on the truck a ton, and as a tinkerer, it's become a source of great joy and skill building to work on it.

A few months ago, I was laid off from my tech job, which has since left me with far too much free time, and a delusional sense of financial freedom via severance check, and I spend most of my days messing around with the rig. I just casually browsed a few of the popular 4x4 conversion threads on here, without any real plan to commit, but what ended up sparking the conviction to do this was finding a mint condition A340F and transfer case nearby. It has 98k on it and looks even cleaner than my current A340E. As I was driving there I was totally second guessing my decision and wondered if I'd have a 200lb transmission on a roller cart following me around forever.

Well, I bought the trans, and since then have continued to collect necessary parts to move forward, and the more I read into the process, the more confident I feel about making this a successful journey.

Seriously huge thanks again to anyone who has replied to me here, this would genuinely be impossible without the wealth of knowledge shared. My hope in the end is to make a video that I can share. If you've read this far, thanks for the support, and I'll post follow ups as I make progress.

 

Ok so an update with where I'm at. As noted I got the trans from a 2000 4Runner, which came with a mated MultiMode T-case. Which is super cool, however largely not useful to me as I'm not interested in embarking on the journey of adapting a multimode case, and I'm not even sure if it's possible starting from a PreRunner. I was able to source a junkyard '98 4Runner J-shift Tcase, as well as a 4Runner front driveshaft. I'm just going to sell the multimode eventually. Trans is in amazing condition, j shift and front driveshaft not so much as you can see from the pics, however the internals and fluid from the case seem great, it just needs to be cleaned up which is fine. I'm going to do a complete overhaul on all driveshafts, so I've already cleaned up this front (degreased, u-joints removed, surface rust removed with evaporust) and I'm going to paint it and replace all the u-joints that I can access. I also plan to get them balanced before installation. I'll probably be in cleaning and restoration mode for quite some time, I'm just going to replace/restore as much stuff as I can as I don't see why I wouldn't go the extra mile if I'm already committing to all of this.

 

Forgot to mention I secured this (now discontinued) new in box shifter bezel from another member here to match my charcoal interior. I'm a sucker for the details and it makes me so happy knowing I'll have a crispy interior set up as it would have come off the lot from a 4x4

 

Today's update, got the front driveshaft cleaned up and U-joints removed. Can't say I enjoyed that process.. new u-joint kits have arrive at the dealer. I also finally popped the multimode case off of the trans and put my j shift up there to make sure everything looked right. That multimode case is a behemoth compared to a normal j shift. Everything looks good, one thing I need to figure out is whether the guide pins at the trans/t case union should be in the trans or the t-case to start, I have a peg in the same hole on both pieces, so just need to figure out which one to pop off, although it probably doesn't matter. I also decided I'm going to do all of the input and output shaft seals on the trans and t case just because, but also I'm going to do my rear main seal as well. Seems like a crime not to do it when it'll just be a few bolts away behind the flex plate after removing my A340E. Having a hard time sourcing a front diff and rear drive shaft for some reason, the search continues.

 

Picked up a front diff and rear driveshaft! Which completes all of the junkyard parts that I will need for the build, the rest of the part collection will just be online ordering. I don't seem to have much luck sourcing any parts not caked in mud or grease lol, but oh well, the internals are good.

 

Don’t forget these, they pair well with that J-shift transfer case and alleviate any potential or future issues with that ADD system.

 

Do you mind expanding a bit? Looks like a non-A.D.D. Diff tube (I’m just planning to use the clamp lock method), CVs (anything special about these other than being for manual hubs?), and reinforced knuckles with manual hubs (any reason for the reinforcement?)

 

Sorry forgot the quote your message but see my reply “Do you mind expanding a bit? Looks like a non-A.D.D. Diff tube (I’m just planning to use the clamp lock method), CVs (anything special about these other than being for manual hubs?), and reinforced knuckles with manual hubs (any reason for the reinforcement?)”

 

1. The knuckle reinforcement is an additional option, pending upon your level of use or abuse as the neck on this design is weak. However, it isn’t for everybody for sure.

2. The manual knuckles are simply that and nothing more. Allow for the use the 2WD LO, non spinning CVs equal less boot wear, some claim MPG from parasitic loss, able to remove if broken without having to worry about the wheel bearing.

3. Manual diff tube just pairs with it all as an additional option as well if you are looking to go completely away from ADD. Again, I have a lot of customers that use the hose clamp technique but this is just an extra option as desired for the purist.

Other than what you pointed out already, all OEM seals, hubs and gaskets in the rebuild designed for use with or without ABS.

 

Sweet! I definitely won't be a great candidate for reinforced knuckles haha it's a bit of a pavement princess I just want to have 4x4 capability on. I'm planning to just swap the guts of my current prerunner knuckles with all the gear for manual hubs, but I'm definitely interested in the manual diff tube swap as ideally I don't love jerry rigged solutions. Do you sell these? Curious what you get for them if so. This is a 4.10 set up if that matters for the tube, not sure what internals are contained within this part of the diff or if that matters for gear ratio. Thanks for the details!

 

1. I rebuild these kits as manual conversions or just rebuild for folks that need new bearings.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/for-sale-4x4-manual-hubs-spindles-knuckles-and-cvs.709082/

2. The manual differential tube is universal for any front differential. You just pop off the ADD setup then apply fresh Toyota FIPG and bolt it up. I provide new OEM outer seals on them when they are shipped as well.

3. I will send you a PM with the full list of options that you can choose from including Upper Ball Joints for a full bolt in setup. You can either send me yours to convert or just send them in to me later once you swap for a core refund. Your choice. I ship these directly to your door via UPS. Although, I will be in Lenoir and Semora next month!!!

 

Thanks man! Yes def shoot me a PM I might definitely be interested in some stuff you’ve got. Also shoutout upstate I see you’re in halfmoon, I grew up just outside of Troy!

 

Picked up some junkyard manual hub CV axles today for $35. I swear I haven't sourced a single clean part this whole journey lol. 85% of my time now is cleaning and refurbishing/rebuilding. I also realized the rear driveshaft I have isn't the correct size, so I need to get that swapped.

 

I converted my 2003 tacoma V6 about 3-4 years ago. Did a lot of research before doing the conversion. It really is pretty straight forward as everything is almost all bolt on aside from a few mods. Totally worth it at the end. 4wd is much much more fun. Good luck with you project. Everything is looking good.

 

Definitely feels manageable once you've done the research, I enjoy the process of restoration so taking my time with cleaning all the parts up has been good! But will be nice to actually start bolting things on soon.

 

Do junkyards near you really always have 4WD Toyota parts? Great score on those CVs. Out here 4WD Toyota products almost never even make it to a junkyard and when they do, if you're not there in the first 24 hours, they're already stripped bare, down to the frame

 

CVs while a bit rough looking initially have actually cleaned up really well, and by the grace of god I got the entire assembly apart (including the side Toyota doesn't tell you how to take apart). Everything is taking an evaporust bath and once I get the reboot kits I'll be good to go with OEM CVs. I was originally going to get aftermarket CVs and hubs but now this makes me want to track down some OEM hubs too. I also popped one of the flanges from my transfer case off, came off easy although unstaking the 30mm nut wasn't as easy. I'm going to overhaul all of the seals and such and restore/repaint the flanges too.

 

I've had pretty good luck I'd say, I got the t-case, front shaft, and these at the junkyard so far, all within an hour of me in western NC. I've just been checking on car-part.com for stuff as I need it and have had decent luck that way so far. That said nothing I've gotten from the yard has been in great shape. Luckily I don't mind the restoring process but I'm kind of getting bottom of the barrel stuff lol. Theres also a few guys in the area that have 1st gen tacoma and 3rd gen 4runner specific junk yards, which is where I got the diff and rear shaft. I feel grateful that I was able to source the trans first from a private seller and it's in excellent shape, everything else I can get away with restoring myself.

 

Toyota discontinued those OEM outer CV seals, you may get lucky and find a dealer with some in stock but they are removed from most dealers now unless they have them on the shelf. Just FYI.

 

Very cool. 1st Gen Tacoma specific junkyards is one of the better sales pitches I've ever heard for moving to another state

Good luck with the rest of the swap!