Penny: The Red 93’ Runner

Figured I’d start this build thread.

my wife wrecked her car a while back and I had been searching for a 4Runner for her. I came across this clean little stock 93’.

definitely needs some attention. On the drive home it began leaking coolant from the water pump which was awesome. I really hope this isn’t the trend to come but we will see. Engine is a reman Jasper with 50k on it. Everything else has 292k.

having the timing belt water pump etc., done by a Toyota master tech. Everything else I’ll be doing myself.

I want to get as much life out of this 3.0 as I can because as soon as it pops. I’m dropping a 3.4 in.

DISCLAIMER: I know some people get really annoyed when others post on their build threads. I am not one of those people. I am here to communicate and share with other members. Feel free to comment on this thread that’s why I am here, to interact with others.

 

New shocks in the front and currently waiting on stock replacement coil springs to do the rear. There is a 2” thick binder of maintenance done on this rig which is why I wanted it. It was very well maintained and meticulously serviced.

 

Before any of the above was done I had to remove the peeling stock decals. I couldn’t stand to look at them. I accomplished this with a 3M eraser wheel also known as a pin stripe remover wheel attached to a drill motor. It’s an expensive wheel but it’s worth it in the time you save.

 

Had to paint and RP342 the factory skid plate.

if you haven’t heard of RP342 you should have.

 

Welcome. Very clean looking rig considering how many miles it has on it. Sucks the water pump went so quickly after you got it. So do I understand that you are replacing the rear springs with oem springs? If so, they do tend to sag pretty quickly. I replaced mine with OME standards and although they did lift the back end a bit higher than the front, I highly recommend them.

 

Welcome.

 

do the moog replacements start to sag? I want to maintain stock height. The wife is short and hates when I lift my rigs haha I went with moog because most of the reviews said they are really stiff and don’t sag. Also, when the 3.0 pops I will have to add a body lift. So trying to maintain the low for the short people in the world.

 

This is the grill mod I’ll be accomplishing in the next week or so. It’s hard to tell but the grill is cracked and broken in many places. So this will be a very nice upgrade. 83 Truck grill.

 

That looks like a dope little starting point rig. Should be fun.

 

Obligatory under the hood shot

 

Yep, going to be a sweet little rig.

 

Got the 83 truck grill today. Getting it fit in.

 

That is absolutely beautiful. Nice rig, man! Loving the thread

 

Moog Rear coils showed up today so that install will be complete this weekend. Possibly even tomorrow.

 

So the deal here is there is a lot of cutting to make it fit. You need to basically get the grill and slowly start hacking and sanding until you get it in place. I then secured it with self tapping screws into the bumper (very small holes and still behind the factory grill so they will never be seen). Also zip tied the top. Once I get a new bumper it should allow for better clearance it shuts the hood tight still totally operational though and very secure.

My grill was already busted in multiple places so I wasn’t worried about cutting it up and gluing it back where I needed it. It would be awesome to make these attach to the chrome rings we have already. I think this set up would look even better on the early 2nd gen lights.

Before:

After:

 

My OME's have yet to sag and they have been on for 20 years. You would definitely need to lift the front if you wanted it level. I am fine with the rake. Hopefully the moogs won't but 2nd gens generally came from the factory already starting to sag.

 

Welcome from Arizona. Great project.

 

I got the new

$103 moog cc255 coil spring set for toyota 4runner

moog cc255 coils installed. I measured from top of wheel to fender well at 11.25” before starting (spare removed)


After the install I measured from top of wheel to fender well at 12.75”


To me this is exactly where I want the truck to sit. Looks perfect.

a more glamorous shot:

I also only replaced these with stock length shocks. Like stated before this is for the wife’s commute. Down the road though..... I’m sure I’ll get to do what I do best....

 

Also, I found it much easier and safer to just do one side at a time by leaving the tire mounted on the opposite side you intend to drop to place the spring in it’s perch. This way if any accidents happen you’re only replacing one side instead of both.

 

Swapped the rear diff fluid while I was under there and it came out clean. I was really surprised at how well this was maintained. Cleaned the plug filled it back up and I’ll do the front tomorrow. I’m having the guy who is doing the timing belt and water pump drain and refill the trans.

 

Make sure you do the transfer case too.

 

that will be done with the trans didn’t think I had to mention it lol

 

Dropping it off at the shop tomorrow for the water pump and timing belt.

 

Can you elaborate on the shocks and springs that you installed? Part #s, supplier? Thanks, I need to do mine and not sure where to go since there are so many options...

 

I used cheapo shocks since this is just my wife’s rig and won’t be taken off road. Moog rear springs. Can’t remember the part number but I think I mentioned them above.

 

Well, I moved from WA to AZ in March. My wife tried to make the trek in the 4Runner and the transmission lost all of its gears.

I will be performing a 3.4 swap. And now I’ll also need a new transmission.

anyone have a good remanufactured trans supplier? Anyone in Mohave county have a parts rig? Get at me.

 

Marlin Crawler seems to be the gold standard for rebuilt manual trans. I was able to find a junkyard trans with 115k on it for $450 in Ridgecrest CA. The junkyards there had a bunch of them for some reason. Check car-parts.com for the closest yard with a trans if you go the junkyard route.

 

Sorry, needing an auto trans. Would like to buy new if possible. Shop quoted me $4K to rebuild a A340H.

 

Here we are a year later and I still have yet to find a transmission. Might just sell it at this point since I can’t find one.

 

Did you fix or sell?