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Good friend of mine is losing the battle against cancer. He won against colon cancer 5 or so years ago but 2.5 was ago it was found in his liver and this weekend he’s being put on home hospice as his liver is failing and he’s not eligible for a transplant. He bought this truck in 2005 to build his dream rig but things always kept cropping up. We’ve talked about it for years and I’ve offered to help but he just couldn’t get to it. Well, when we were talking this weekend I asked him if there was anything I could do to help and he said sell his 4Runner. Jumped on posting it right away and got some bites but the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want to sell it.
Lord knows the last thing I need is another project between the k5, the rzr, and my two kids, but the thought of this thing getting sold to someone who would tear it up or just let it sit longer didn’t sit well with me. I talked it over with my wife and she agreed that I should buy it. So I did.
Not a clue in the world what I’m going to do with it but I’m going to try my damndest to get it running and take him for a spin before it’s to late. From what he’s told me it needs a new tank and pump and possibly fuel lines for it to start. Needs a master and booster cylinder to drive.
It’s a 1989 4Runner. Fuel injected 22re with a manual trans. No rust. 199k miles. Straight body and interior. Removable top. My plan at the moment is get it driving and cleaned up and then just make it a cool family cruiser. Take the kids around town. Maybe do some light off roading with it. Take it to the deer lease. Scratch that old truck itch I’ve got while I wait for it to cool off so I can finish the blazer.
I’m heading to his house Saturday to deliver the money and get the title and give this truck a once over. I won’t be able to bring it back to my house for a couple of weeks because my Tundra is getting new gears Thursday and I’ve gotta break those in.
He’s already got the new tank and pump for it. This is a platform I’ve got zero experience with but I know they are solid and will last forever with good maintenance. They seem simple enough to work on and parts aren’t that expensive. The lack of power is going to kill me but maybe some gears down the road can fix that? Or a 4.3 gm swap?
Unfortunately he passed about a week after I bought it from him. Got it home and got to work on it. He had a tank and pump but the pump hanger and sending unit were beyond repair so I had to buy those.
For anyone wondering, I found a complete knock off hanger on Amazon for $50 that worked perfectly.
Tried to start it and just heard a thunk from the starter. Opened it up and the bendix was frozen. Cleaned it up and repacked the bearings and it’s working again.
$258 later and I’ve got plugs, wires, coil, cap, rotor, belts, oil, oil filter, and wheel cylinders coming. Really hoping it’s not the master cylinder and booster like Mark thought. I know at least one wheel cylinder is leaking. Figure replace those and then go from there.
So far only the new coil and fuel pump relay showed up. Swapped those in and the new relay solved my issues so I’m not having to run with the jumper wire in the diagnostic port.
Very sorry to read about your friends passing. My condolences. I think it’s great that you’ve taken on his project! He has great taste. Congrats on getting it started up…I’ve enjoyed following your progress.
New cap, rotor, and wires installed yesterday. Only got the one picture of the rotor. Cap didn’t look bad at all. Wires were just old and crusty and dry rotted.
Rockauto sucks for shipping. Ordered all these parts at the same time and they’ve been split up between 4 shipments arriving on separate days. None of the shipments matched the tracking that was sent. Just a CF.
Coil and fuel pump relay delivered Tuesday.
One belt, oil filter, and spark plugs delivered Wednesday
Two belts, oil, cap, rotor, wires delivered Thursday.
Oil drain gasket and wheel cylinders are now showing delayed by FedEx.
New belts and new oil and filter. Put about half a can of sea foam in the 5gals of gas in the tank. Let it sit there and idle for 15mins or so. Think the temp gauge isn’t working because it never moved. Whole thing stinks like crap burning off 17 years of gunk. It’s got a couple of oil leaks and was starting to smoke. Going to add some MMO and see if that helps.
Going to try and do the rear wheel cylinders tomorrow or Saturday.
Got one rear wheel cylinder done. The side I thought was leaking. Looks like it’s an axle seal instead. That sucks. I was glad the drum came off easily. Couple whacks with a dead blow and it slid right off. I’ll get new shoes ordered, a bleeder cap for my power bleeder, and try and get the brakes wrapped up by Saturday.
The side I thought was leaking. Looks like it’s an axle seal instead. That sucks.
that does suck. to replace the seal, you'll need to undo the brakes that you just did. the axle gets pulled with the backing plate still attached, and then remove the bearing/seal (by breaking with a chisel), and then putting the new seal/bearing on with a shop press. do it before the gear oil ruins your new brake shoes.
I’m not looking forward to it. Need to clean it up and check fluid level to see if it’s low or what’s going on. Haven’t replaced the brakes yet so no worries on ruining new stuff.
You say a press, you talking hammer and socket or like an actual press?
that does suck. to replace the seal, you'll need to undo the brakes that you just did. the axle gets pulled with the backing plate still attached, and then remove the bearing/seal (by breaking with a chisel), and then putting the new seal/bearing on with a shop press. do it before the gear oil ruins your new brake shoes.
my mechanic used an air hammer and got the ball bearings out. I used a dremel and cut the race. Then cracked the race to remove it. I used a fence pipe from Home Depot to hammer new one on. Did it last spring on 94 V6 4wd Ext cab truck. Still works.
there are videos out there of people beating it out by pounding it onto a big block of wood on garage floor. I tried that too but got too tired and did the above
Ordered a new brake booster and master cylinder. Truck was built 10/88 so ordered the appropriate parts from Rockauto. Get them in and they are very different from the original parts. Did I receive the wrong parts or does my truck have a combination of pre 4/89 and post 4/89 parts on it?
Sorry to hear about your friend, cancer sucks.
The brake master and booster are probably just updated parts, or the originals are not available anymore and those will fit and work.
Depending on the size of tires you want to go with, you might want an upgraded larger bore master from an fj80 (I think) to get a little better volume for bigger calipers, and rear disc options...
The booster will work but the master won’t. The lines on the existing master are on top and the new master has them on the side. It’s either go source some brake lines that would work or get a different master. Not even gonna attempt trying to rebend 30+ year old brake lines.
09-30-2023, 05:36 AM
