First post, first first gen 4runner, first of January

Hi,

Clearly this is a lot of firsts.

Got into a Yota when I was 16 and haven't owned much of anything else in the last 20 years.

Recently picked up my first 4runner, 1986 DLX with minor suspension upgrades and a "rebuilt" but fairly tired 22RE. No paper trail to verify work or maintenance so IDK.

It was by far the best deal going after two years of a low key search.


I also designed and 3D printed my very own 1982 5MGE to 22RE AFM adapter plate. Just got it installed on my 95 pickup daily driver yesterday over lunch.
Works like a dream! Fired right up first try (more firsts). Feels like an easy 10+ ft lbs gain, better starting and smoother idle. Winds up noticeably better in the higher RPM ranges.
I learned about that trick because I also own an 82 Celica Supra and was researching parts compatibility.
Never wanted to go for the "warm air intake" cone filter under the hood, especially because I do hundreds of miles of dirt road driving every summer, so after 2 years of staring at the AFM, I made my own solution using the factory setup.


Cheers.

 

Welcome to the forum!

That looks like a cool project! I love the old Celica/Supras as well.

 

Welcome.

 

Color me jealous! I love 1st gens.
Welcome!

 

welcome

 

Welcome from FL

 

Welcome from SoCal!!

Looks like a nice project!! Love the classic 4Runners!!

 

Welcome from Colorado.! Nice 1st gen.!

 

Welcome from Arizona. The 1st Gens are what hooked me.

 

It's funny, as a teenager I fantasized about a Blazer with the removable top, but I was just Toyota all the way from my first car, an 82 Tercel.
Finally it dawned on me, I can have both with a 4runner.

Plus I'm a diehard pickup loyalist, my ONLY vehicle for 12 years straight was my trusty 89 Xtracab.
See here before I threw the timing chain, at the foot of Idaho's tallest mountain, the 89. I still have it (it's not a her like most cars, I'd go to prison if I abused a woman the way I did this truck).

 

Welcome aboard fellow first genner!

 

Nice job. I think I looked at that rig when it was for sale.

 

It's surprisingly clean other than the A pillar rust spots, but all the other usual cancer suspects are 100% intact.
The tired 22RE is meh to me, not a worry. That's a simple fix in my eyes.

I'm actually developing a really uncommon swap with the Supra, the naturally aspirated 1JZGE VVT-i with all the unicorn features like no hydro fan, no E-throttle and the likely ability to hard-wire it into neutral at the ECU (they are auto only) to access the VVT-i. It's installed in the Supra and mated to the W58, just stuck at wiring. I'd love to chuck these in pickups and 4runners assuming I like the power and fuel economy.

I thought the 1UZ was the way to go until I owned one and understood the depth of crazy I would be getting into, not to mention creating a deathwagon.

 

Nice one, welcome aboard

 

Welcome from St. Louis MO...you'll love this board it's the best by far. Your 4 Runner looks Great by the way!!!

 

I'm stoked to get out in it this year. I need to pull error codes and see what's up, it has an ignition issue - I believe spark - but I'm not sweating it too bad. Got a couple other priorities like replacing my furnace at the moment.

But, I do intend to begin producing parts for these and the Celica Supra. I'm not as familiar with the 4runner stuff yet.
Interior bits are easy but I can also do high strength and high temp for under the hood, like that AFM plate.
I just don't know which 4runner pieces are Unobtanium and which are easy to get.
What are some parts I should look into making for these?

 

Alright, I'm still around.

About two months ago a dead cylinder was diagnosed in the 22RE, after hunting down it's reluctance to start.
Then one month ago a fellow commuter elected to ram my 95 pickup, destroying the passenger side and the steering, but no mechanical damage.

So this weekend I'll be yanking the 95 22RE. I have all the 22RE Performance/LCE goodies to redo timing and valve cover in hand. I'll catch up on whatever else I find that needs attention once it's on a stand. Anything that looks ready for service, maybe a starter just because.
Then we pull the 86 22RE, address clutch/flywheel if need be (no idea condition of that one, I do know my 95 was 100% fine), seems like I need to swap some connectors over, and then the 95 goes in the 4runner.

The 4runner brake pedal is hard as a rock too, so that needs work.

Goal is on the road June 1.

 

Well, things got a bit out of hand.

Pulled both motors in one weekend, that was actually pretty fun. Took about 6hrs each day. The 4Runner had definitely been the victim of some poor workmanship, lots of random, SAE and over-torqued bolts. Luckily nothing sheared off. Seems the crank pulley was stuck in with red Loctite, it WILL NOT break. Folded a steel pipe in half and sheared a flywheel bolt attempting to get it.

The 95 motor was...no bueno. Pulled the oil pan on the stand, prepping to do the timing chain. Huge flakes of bearings everywhere. That is beyond my level and I'm working out of the back yard so I paid for a rebuild.

And now I know just how incompatible early and late 22RE are. So we assembled the rebuilt 95, learned the hard way, and I'm now going back to the 86 manifolds/sensors. Got a set of high impedance 4 hole injectors with resistor delete plug on the way.

Also picked up a 97 Jaguar XJ6 alternator, plug and play 120 amp unit, only mod is to bore out the V belt pulley from OEM alternator and swap it in place of the serp belt pulley it comes with. Fits the bracket, plugs match, get your belt one size up from OEM. I ate it on the core and still saved money even!

Pieced together a new dual diaphragm booster and a 1" master cylinder from various Yota trucks/Runners, don't even remember now. It oughta stop on a dime compared to the rock hard and dangerous brakes it had.

 

Made some good progress.

Cheers to Toyota Minis owners forum for the pro tip on the best alternator upgrade available: 94-97 Jaguar XJ6. Swap over your v-belt pulley (requires overboring the arbor hole and 2 washers to mount properly) and install with factory mount, factory plug and a belt one size up from OEM. 120 amps for $20 less than OEM, even after I ate it on the core charge.

Cheers to Wai for what appears to be a really nice alternator. At first I figured they were some Chinese knockoff brand but no, they make stuff for heavy equipment and those guys don't tolerate crap parts, they can't afford to do so.

Cheers to Yotatech forum for the early to late upper intake swap tutorial. I mean...I had the parts just laying here...

Cheers to eBay seller "osidetiger" for the excellent high impedance 4 hole injector with resistor delete kit.

Cheers to LCE for the metal chain guides, upgraded oil pump and vacuum line kit and a bunch of other goodies.

Cheers to 22RE Performance for the billet half moons, excellent valve cover gasket (yes there's a difference from the Fel-Pro, I had both on hand) and a bunch of other goodies.

A word of caution on the intake swap - the thread I read simply said "swap the elbow union out with the straight union from the 89+ thermostat." A+ write up aside from that.
As you can see, I have a stretch of hard line JB welded in. Turns out that is not so simple to do, especially on a Sunday morning with deadlines.
I learned the hard way the old elbow is a press fit, the new union is threaded, the thread is BSPT 1/8-28 and the tap is a special order item.
I decided a 1/8 NPT pipe tap was sufficient (within 5% perfect match, can be made to seal without crossthreading) but the press fit hole is small enough it first requires drilling. I would be fine with this option though, if I had more time.
We decided a stick of aluminum hard line off my dead Supra A/C with a big stop flange and some marine JB weld would be the lesser of all evil options, and believe me, I tried several.

Now just gotta plug her in and hit the go button!