88 Toyota 4runner build (Old Red)

[DefiantOne13]

Well figured I would post a build up on my 1988 Toyota 4runner 22re 5 speed with way to many miles Bought it about 8 years ago. It’s called old red because the original paint is red. it was already SAS swapped. Everything was off and not square to my liking. It’s gone through a few stages and currently now my most favorite stage. I Wanted to step away from the “pre runner” stuff for a little while and build a simple trail rig I could get out with the wife & kids and adventure with. It’s been awhile now and the kids are teenagers now and way too cool for me so it’s usually me and the old lady but mostly me now going out solo.

This will be a few posts so beer with me as I struggle with technology This was the day I bought it. Drove like a brick on wheels bouncing all over. It sat stupid high in the front and the rear shocks bottomed out all the time lol

 

[DefiantOne13]

Took it out and enjoyed it and had a blast honestly. Put new wheels on it which I hated immediately after I bolted them on About a year or so went by and it was just not what I wanted, drove like crap, stock diffs, 410 gears and performed like warm milk on a hot day lol I wanted something cleaner and more capable of some real fun but keep it simple. So the rabbit hole of research started and I set a 3k budget which went right out the window

I ran out of time on my lunch break so the next posts will be in few days lol

 

[badlinesgoodtimes]

hell yea dude! thing is clean! where you located ?

 

[DefiantOne13]

hell yea dude! thing is clean! where you located ?

Thanks, I’m in Burbank. It looks a bit different now but still clean I think lol

 

[DefiantOne13]

I wanted something that sat lower and could crawl some rocks and trails. I was all blind getting into this. I had two buddies that were into it And keep telling how cool these old Yotas are. So with some of there pointers i jumped in.

I pulled it in the backyard and basically cut everything off and started from scratch. Bought a trail gear front leaf spring hanger kit. pushed everything forward quite a bit. Took some Tg springs and stock pickup rear springs and made my own front leaf pack. I re guessed the front axle. stuffed it with all the RCV goods, Yukon 529 gears, spool, six shooter knuckles, Diff guard and Pushed the steering box forward and mounted ram assist. New shock hoops for the 14” 2.0 Fox shocks

For the rear I kept it super simple and mounted some Chevy 63’s with a LLR upper shock mount kit. Mounted 14” 2.0 fox resi. Diff guard, Yukon 5.29s and a grizzly locker. For the body armor I bought rear bumper and sliders. Front bumper was back order at the time. I did a single TG 4.7 transfer case. I got some free 37” General grabbers, Ditched the methods and added my own Rock rings to the original steel wheels. Worked great and tons of fun but a year later I changed it up a bit again.

 

[DefiantOne13]

So after about another year I changed some things up again. I added Fox bypass’s and bumps to the front. Front bumper, 9k warn winch. Bought tube doors and a killer toy bikini top for the summer. installed my dual cases which is a stock case and 4.7. New tires, I ditched the hardtop cause it felt to top heavy and bought a soft topper top for the winter. Also my younger son hooked me up with some sick splatter painted parts to match my emblem lol Definitely one of the funnest vehicles I’ve ever owned. She takes the abuse and keeps going.

 

[DefiantOne13]

Gave her a once over and went out for new years. Lost a drive line but that was my fault lol them road sodas will creep up and make you do dumb shit

 

[DefiantOne13]

last trip out was King of the hammers. I blew the rear diff not even an hour after getting there. I wasn’t even doing anything crazy just letting it idle up the hill next to chocolate thunder Luckily I had my Crewcab so we could get around and see some action and we sure did what a shit show lol Dust for days, fights, fireworks, carnage, light saber fight and all kinds of other shit lol

 

[DefiantOne13]

So blew the diff at KOH an hour into the trip. I’m running 5.29s which definitely isn’t ideal with running duals but I have a spare ring and pinion so that is what I’m sticking with for now. I do drive it a lot on the streets to and from trails. I wanted to go down to a 4:10 gear maybe next time. While it is down I decided to do new drivelines. Full prep and clean up. One thing that bugs me on this thing is the hard lines to the rear drum brakes which makes servicing the diff a pain in the ass. I went with some steel braided lines and made new hard lines. Now I can pull the axles and the third and not have to bleed brakes again, which is nice. I’ve worn through a ram assist line and a brake line so bought some neon orange spiral plastic line protection to help with the rubbing and chafing. (Yes it glows at night ) First time doing a diff so I cut out a plate to hold it to make life easier. I think the pattern came out pretty good. Don’t mind the ugly exhaust that is next on the list. Along with tubing the rear, 40s and disc brake conversation at some point