Our 1985 4Runner has been in the family since 1988. 1985 was the last year Toyota installed solid front axles and leaf springs in their USA trucks and 4Runners. It is also the only year trucks and 4Runners were available with both solid axles and fuel injection. Currently this truck has 224,000 miles and we plan on driving it a lot longer.
The old engine had 212k miles and consumed oil. The new motor was built in California by Tim Jenkins at DOA Racing and installed in April 1999. This motor is balanced and blueprinted. The head is ported/polished. Tim also installed his C270 camshaft and made other improvements to increase power. Tim says the motor will generate 150 horsepower (stock was 116 hp). Fifth gear is no longer a cosmetic decoration on the shift knob. It has become quite usable.
In addition to the boneyard parts listed above you will need to make a trip to your local dealer for some gaskets. Those include throttle body (22271-35020), EGR (25628-35020), middle intake (17176-35020), and cold start injector. You may also need a vacuum plug if your throttle body has 4 vacuum ports.
This conversion allows the removal of the Air Flow Valve that attaches to the lower plenum. Just unbolt it and disconnect the harness and hoses. The existing lower hot water hose will connect to the bottom of the late model throttle body. The upper hot water hose should be replaced unless you are lucky enough to receive the molded hose from the boneyard. The EGR valve will bolt up in the old position on the back of the plenum. The cold start injector tube will need to be bent slightly so it bolts up.
One instant change that is noticed is the warm-up behavior. It does idle up nicely and the idle comes down real smooth as the truck warms up. There is also a nice increase in power.
Ok, the headaches. As with the xcab the dust shield needed to be ground on the lower edge to clear the caliper. In addition, the top edge needed some grinding too. For the sender on the master cylider I cut the connector off the lid and crimped on some 1 /4" male spade connectors that plugged into the existing harness connector. I only had one brake line that was difficult to hook up. The others were no problem. The biggest problem was clearance between the booster and the steering coupling. I had been warned that the vacuum booster was larger in diameter (it was taller too). It was tight and I've heard of others just notching the booster.
I noticed in the boneyard that steering columns on IFS trucks used a smaller u-joint on the coupling. Since I wanted to add a tilt column with intermittent wipers I purchased a boneyard column from a 1986 truck. After installation I found out the steering shaft from the gear box to the column was too short by about 2-3 inches. I went back to the boneyard and picked up the matching shaft and it fit, though tighter than in the IFS truck. The old 1985 rag-joint coupling with the larger u-joint was longer than the IFS coupling, and did fit, but was very tight. I'm currently using the smaller IFS coupling.
The results? The braking has been significantly improved. The pedal is firmer and the truck stops much easier. I did leave the rear brakes alone, though doing the swap in the rear is an option. The brakes on late model trucks use larger drums. The easiest way to accomplish this swap is to purchase the entire axle and swap. The IFS rear axle is wider than the 1985 axle which would stick the tires out from the fender well. The solution is rims with 4 inch backspacing, but this was an additional expense I didn't want.
Right after we purchased the truck we installed the Downey lift which included four new leaf springs. These springs gave the truck 3" of lift. A concern voiced in Toyota circles was the durability of Downey springs. After 150K miles, the rear springs had sagged, and were replaced with Alcan springs. The fronts appear to be holding the lift.
The Alcan springs are a custom spring made by a shop in Colorado. They are trully a custom spring. When I ordered the springs, I told them I wanted a spring that would give 3" of lift, that I carried 275 pounds of camping gear, and that I had a 14 gallon auxiliary gas tank. The springs they provided are stiffer than the Downey springs with the truck empty. I haven't loaded the truck yet to see how they ride loaded. There are 7 leaves in the pack, compared to 3 in the stockers and 4 in the Downeys.
For shackles I'm using 3" longer-than-stock shackles from Advanced Off-Road in the rear, and 1" longer-than-stock shackles from Downey in the front. When I had the Alcan springs made I didn't compensate for the bumper which lowered the rear end half an inch.
We used to have two flavors of Rancho shocks on the 4Runner. In the rear were RS5000 which were ok when the truck was loaded with camping gear. Empty they were just a little stiff. The front shocks were adjustable RS 9000's (RS9115). After I installed the rear Bilstein the ride was much better and I didn't realize the RS5000's in the rear were that stiff. The ride with the Bilsteins in the rear and RS9000's in the front was very nice.
It's a Radio Shack TRC-418 that we purchased in 1988. We selected this radio for several reasons including cost, simple features, and size. This radio is mounted on the bottom of the accessory tray in the center console, where it installed very cleanly. The antenna is a fiberglass whip on a ball-n-spring assembly attached on the driver's side rear quarter panel. Yes, drilling was required, and I've never had a problem with that. It was mounted on the drivers side so when the whip was hit by trees it tightened on the ball instead of loosened.
Drew Persson of Persson Offroad Systems makes a set of stainless steel disconnects that are as attractive as they are functional. These disconnects allow the sway bar to be disconnected when off-roading, significantly improving front axle articulation. Why would you want to? Because the function of the sway bar is to keep the front axle parallel with the chassis. Cornering on paved streets this is an advantage. Off-road the sway bar will limit wheel travel and continue it's attempt to keep the frame and axle parallel, a disadvantage. Drew no longer makes disconnects.
The tires are mounted on American Racing Outlaw II wheels with 3.75 inch backspacing. This places the inside of the rim right up against the ball-joints. In fact the rubber on the joints rubs slightly on the rim. This keeps the wheels inside the fenders and the truck clean. The tires only rub in the fenders when new.
I still have Smittybilt on the front and sides of the 4Runner. They are moderate-use bumpers that have protected this truck from trees, rocks, and collisions. Smittybilt is not the best out there. Their finishes don't hold up well and the bumpers will rust easily. In the case of the front winch bumper, we had to have the bumper mounts re-welded and the frame mounts replaced. The steel cracked and welds broke. So far the repairs have held up.
The Downey Off-road pre-runner rear bumper we used to have was not tough enough and rusted. In addition, it blocked access to the spare tire, requiring partial removal of the bumper to drop the tire. After a few years we installed a Smittybilt receiver bumper. This bumper gave us more protection, plus the towing receiver, used to pull out Fords, Chevys, and Jeeps. One problem we had with both bumpers was their tendency to shift. This always took the paint off the tailgate and we had to make sure to jump on the bumper before dropping the tailgate.
Of course the Smitty has been replaced with the Stout Equipment bumper pictured. True to the Stout name this bumper is serious steel and will not shift. The swing out tire carrier allows us to run a full size spare. Since I didn't need the extra gas capacity, I had Stout install a rack for an ammo can instead of the 5 gallon gas can. Stout Equipment is now out of business. For Stout products contact Steve Hinken at Hinken Specialty Fabrication, 505/203-4639. Steve has the Stout jigs and can fabricate most of the Stout line.
The tank was very easy to install. It mounts below the truck bed above the spare tire. The spare is removed along with the brackets and the tank is bolted to the frame. The spare then cranks as usual to the bottom of the tank serving as a skid plate. The fuel from the auxiliary tank gravity flows into the bottom of the stock tank via the drain plug. Other hoses attach to the emission system. This keeps the gauge at full for a long time. The gauge then drops slowly to 3/4 tank, then drops normally from there down. The tank fills from it's own filler neck in the wheel well. Stock suspension trucks with large tires may have a problem accessing the filler neck, especially when loaded. A suspension lift is highly recommend to solve this problem and lift the spare tire off the ground, improving the departure angle.
