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Post by s95runner on Nov 6, 2007 22:25:54 GMT -5
Hi everyone ;D... I just found my way to your site through the top 4x4 sites.... I have a 1995 Toyota 4 Runner 3.0L V6... It's currently in the shop having its head gasket repaired... Yay... I'm new to the Toyota world, but not the world of 4 wheeling... Anyways, I look forward to soaking up as much info on 4 runners as I can... See ya around the boards (I sound like a real dork in that post :  |
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Post by Hoodlum on Nov 7, 2007 11:34:59 GMT -5
WELCOME to the world of Toys.  Hey we all sound like dorks from time to time...it's all good ;D So what do you have in mind for your runner? What were you wheeling before you bought the yota? |
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Post by s95runner on Nov 7, 2007 18:10:35 GMT -5
I haven't really put a whole lot of thought into mods yet... I kinda want to get to know what I have to work with before I start slapping crap on it... And first things first gotta finish fixing my head gasket....  I came to the Toyota world from the world of Jeeps.... I'm still active on my Jeep forum... I'm know as a sell out over there..... I can't help it that I traded up, and they didn't |
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Post by Hoodlum on Nov 8, 2007 8:43:47 GMT -5
LOL I had a heep once.....................................once
glad you decided to upgrade. And def take your time with making decisions on what you want or need.
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Post by DeadlyPeace on Nov 8, 2007 13:04:45 GMT -5
Welcome aboard this crazy ship of fools ;D
Glad to hear you have a good head on your shoulders and made the up grade and want to get to know what I have to work with instead of just slapping shit together. That how real 4x4's are made.
I use to have a J.E.E.P. (Japanese Engineering Eventually Prevails) too, and actually had a lot of fun with it. I did finally roll it pretty hard and threw the running gear under a 2WD Toyota I had.
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Post by bowshtr on Nov 8, 2007 18:13:35 GMT -5
Welcome! Glad to see another Virginian here and a female at that!!
Glad to hear you made a wise decision going to toyota. Its too bad you are dealing with head gasket issues. Hopefully everything will be just fine for you!
Where in Va you located?
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Post by s95runner on Nov 8, 2007 22:31:39 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm not in a hurry to modify it.. I'd rather do it right... besides, my bank account couldn't withstand that kinda shock... I love that J.E.E.P Acronym... I posted it as my signature on my Jeep site... That might cause a little stir.. But what do I care, I have yall now as my new family.. From the wonderful area of Charlottesville... Oh yay.. I purchased the last of the parts for my 4 runner, and should have him back on the road by sometime next week... Bout time too... I missed driving him I'll have to get pics of him once I get him back |
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Post by bowshtr on Nov 9, 2007 6:19:30 GMT -5
I am sure the J**P guys are gonna love that! LOL
I have been wanting to make it down that way sometime with my rig to Crozet and do some wheeling. Maybe one day i will get a big enough trailer and actually wheel my piece!
What all has been done to your runner?
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Post by s95runner on Nov 9, 2007 8:14:26 GMT -5
Except for replacing the head gasket, and all that crap. The only money I've spent on it was for my CD player for it... I've only had it for a couple of months... and I blew my head gasket back in Aug...
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Post by bowshtr on Nov 9, 2007 9:23:04 GMT -5
Damn!
That sounds like my toyota story. I bought mine thinking it was a radiator cap, thermostat and fan clutch. But a month after having the truck i had to replace the head gasket. Kinda sux!! When i tore down into mine i noticed that the head gasket had already been replaced once before due to a previously milled head. I rebuilt the head new valves, cam, springs everything and had tohave it slightly milled. My valve clearance was good but i think with the compression ratios bumped up from twice milled it spun a rod bearing and then threw a rod! About 6 months after rebuilding the top end.
What are some future plans you got for your truck
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Post by s95runner on Nov 12, 2007 1:18:08 GMT -5
Well, I got some good news today. My 4 runner should be fixed by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest... I'm thinking about taking it out for a little light wheeling next weekend... I think he deserves a little treat after just being operated on... (he by the way is my 4 runner... I have determined him to be a male..... I have a theory behind it, but it's a little twisted..) As far as plans, i haven't really made any decisions yet... I know about modifying Jeeps, but I don't know crap about toyotas yet... Obviously I'm going to lift it, and put bigger tires on it, and all that... But I don't really understand exactly what I'm working with to start... I don't even know what kind of axles I have yet... This whole Toyota thing is like learning to speak Japanese.. I'll get the hang of it soon though. Then I can start dreaming about the future of him. |
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Post by bowshtr on Nov 12, 2007 10:23:42 GMT -5
Check out roger brown's site, he is a wiz when it comes to tweeking toyota's. www.4crawler.com/4Runner.shtml if you go down to contents and start reading up. I use his page all the time for fixing or modifing things. www.4x4wire.com/toyota/ Here is another great site for reading up some things. toyota.off-road.com/Those few sites ought to get you a start. Toyota's are fairly simple vehicles, in stock form they are incredible wheelers. There are so many options to building your rig. Basically just sit down draw up an idea of what you want to do with it and then research what it would take to make that idea/dream possible and do it. Stock toyota axles are fairly strong axles. The rear is an 8" ring gear that is very similar to the ford 9". It is a third member rear that is very easy to re-gear or upgrade. There are rear floater kits out there that will beef things up a bit. But for that kind of money you are better off just doing a swap to 3/4 ton or 1 tons like i did. As far as your front end goes there really isnt much to desire about them. It is IFS (independent front suspension) which basically means on road cadilac off road junk. You can build up the IFS slightly to perform decently offroad, but you wont win any sort of awards with it. Unless you spend the dough and go with a Total Chaos kit that is designed more for desert racing. You can "Lift" these things for cheap if you know what parts you are looking for. They sell lifts for them but you are lookin at 500+ bucks for a kit. SDORI sells 1.5 inch ball joint spacers for 100 bucks, then crank the t bars slightly, get rogers diff lowering spacers for 1 inch and a 3 inch body lift, then convert your rear to leaf springs. you could run a 36 for under 500 bucks. There are soo many things you can do on the cheap its just a matter of your fab skills, money, and time. Other options are SAS (solid axle swap) for the front end, utilizing an early model 1984 and lower straight axle from any toyota truck or 4runner. Or you can run heavy duty chevy stuff. Well i hope that my reply helps in getting you to learn Japanese a lil bit better! Good luck! One other thing, when you get your runner up and running dont beat on it hard at all. Treat it as if you are breaking in a brand new engine! You need to give it some time for the seals and gaskets to fully seal. I dont think you want to do a rebuild again in the next few months. |
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Post by s95runner on Nov 12, 2007 20:38:27 GMT -5
Thank you soo much, that is going to be really helpful. I love this site already |
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Post by bowshtr on Nov 13, 2007 13:52:56 GMT -5
Good deal! I am glad that i was able to help.
Hope you enjoy your stay....
Chris
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Post by DeadlyPeace on Nov 13, 2007 14:38:23 GMT -5
Glad you're enjoying your stay here. Just know that there is no escape for you now.......LOL ;D
Also good to hear that you're letting them j**pers know what j**p really stand for.
Another place to check for info (if you haven't already) is the FAQ and Tips and Tricks forums under Toy Tech. also the T.O.R. Project Center articles.
Just for looking up parts for ideas, here's a few of my favorate link to stat with.
www.marlincrawler.com/
www.allprooffroad.com/
www.sky-manufacturing.com/toyota.htm
www.lcengineering.com/
Good luck on the build up. And as you probable already know if you have questions about something you're not sure of or just need a little advice about something, just ask.
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Post by s95runner on Nov 13, 2007 22:38:32 GMT -5
I'm getting the hang of things around here... Had to get comfortable with yall before I really branched out and all... I've heard horror stories about the guys over at pirate4x4.... But, since I've been active on forums like these before I know how to use the search function... Besides being the stubborn woman that I am... I prefer to learn things on my own... I know better than to post dumb questions like, what kinda tire will fit on my stock 4runner... A topic that has no doubt been covered a million times over, and has many variables that won't allow for one set answer... Anywhoo, I love the site it's great... and yall all seem to be very nice...  |
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Post by bowshtr on Nov 14, 2007 6:27:17 GMT -5
Pirate4x4 is a great site. I know what you mean as far as horror stories. Its one of those places where you have to tread lightly until you move up in the ranks some. There are a ton of great people there which are willing to help you with anything, its just you have to make sure your post is well written and placed in the right section. If not you will be ripped! I am a member there and have my lil red star which makes searching a whole lot easier. I think i read and kept up on the site for a year before i purchased my red star and started posting.
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Post by s95runner on Nov 14, 2007 20:52:53 GMT -5
I know quite a few of the guys over there, several are on my other forums... I think I'd be ok on there as long as I didn't post anything really stupid... But, I like the forums I'm on already... I think if I joined anymore, the only wheeling I'd get done, would be web wheeling..  Well, I tried adding a pic of my 4runner, but I can't get the pic to post |
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Post by DeadlyPeace on Nov 15, 2007 12:57:14 GMT -5
For posting pics (and any other posting tips) have you check out the IMPORTANT INFORMATION INSIDE!! section yet? If not it's a good place to start. There's one forum in there callled USING POST TOOLS that tells how to post pics. Scroll down to the 4x4 bus.
Good luck
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Post by s95runner on Nov 15, 2007 17:06:09 GMT -5
This forums functions are almost identical to that of the Jeep one that I'm in... I think the problem is that I'm using my photoshop account to host the pics..... And because at the time my e-mail address that I got my account with has Jeep in it... The link to the pics are messed up because of the forums editing of the word J.E.E.P. I'll just have to get a new e-mail address eventually and try at that time.
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