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Kevin B's 1985 4Runner

Owners Name & City- Kevin B., Magna


Make, Model & Year of Vehicle- 1985 Toyota 4Runner SR5


Engine- 22RE, 261 cam, Thorley header, K&N filter


Transmission- Stock W56


T-Case- Stock case with 4.7 low range


Axles- Stock front w/spacers, IFS width rear


Differentials- 5.29s, Spartan locker in the rear


Suspension- 2" OME/Dakar lift and NitroCharger shocks.


Wheels and Tires- 255/85r16 KM2s on TRD alloys


Lights- IPF H4 conversion (Rigid Dually's waiting install)


Power- 140 amp alternator, Optima Redtop


Other-

DSCF0044_zpsb7e751fd.jpg




Just picked this up from Tacoman99 to replace my 1986 4Runner with a blown motor. Except for a few little bits I'll be transferring from my old rig, it's going to stay stock while I get it cleaned up and reliable and get to know it. It needs a new rear main and has saggy springs. It runs a little rough, I expect to clear that up with fresh gas, new plugs and wires, a little seafoam, etc. Tentative long term plans are OME/Dakar front and rear, 5.29s and my 255/85r16 KM2s, duals and/or 4.7 transfer case gears, and a locked rear. And probably a 3RZ swap :D.
 
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Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Wrestling it back together, the exhaust mani is giving me fits. I'm playing games with ratchet straps trying to line it up, and I haven't even started on the intake side.
 
mesha

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
Kevin, leave it to you to buy the only toyota on Earth that breaks down.
 
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I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
If you happen to have stripped exhaust manifold holes in the head, I have the helicoil kit you'll need. (I bought it, did the one single hole I needed it for, and now the rest of the kit will sit and rot until someone else needs it, since I don't have a 22RE anymore)
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Well, I think I've established at this point that I'm not a mechanic? I set a goal to have the head swapped and the truck running by the end of my weekend (which ended 1 hour ago), and I didn't quite get there. I left the nuts on a coolant line finger-tight, and of course it's under the intake plenum, so all that crap is gonna have to come back off so I can get to it. I chose to take a nap before coming into work, so I'll mess with that tomorrow. Then I'll button it back up and we'll find out what else I did wrong. ;)
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
I Lean said:
If you happen to have stripped exhaust manifold holes in the head, I have the helicoil kit you'll need. (I bought it, did the one single hole I needed it for, and now the rest of the kit will sit and rot until someone else needs it, since I don't have a 22RE anymore)
Click to expand...

The trouble wasn't stripped holes, just a weirdly hung exhaust I think. I had to play games with a jack and ratchet straps to get the manifold to line up while connected to the exhaust, but I got it there finally. Thanks for the offer though!
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
man, you have got to win some kind of award for your tenacity and wrenching in the snow outside. Sounds like you're close!
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
I'm just no damned good at this stuff. I don't know what yet, but I jacked something up. It purrs like a kitten and is definitely firing on all cylinders now, but 10 minutes after I fired it up it's still blowing gray smoke out the tailpipe. It doesn't smell acrid like burning oil and doesn't smell sweet like burning coolant, but it's burning something it isn't supposed to.

I'll wait until it cools down and look to see if there's oil in the coolant (eta - yup, thick skim of oil in my nice fresh coolant). I'll probably have to tear it down and do it again, can I/should I reuse the new head gasket?
 
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Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
No updates. A buddy suggested that I may have slopped oil into the coolant passages when I switched the head, and to run it for a couple days and see what happens. So I let it idle for about an hour this morning, and it did smoke less than at first with no sign of overheating. I'm going to put the grill and fender back on in the morning, flush the coolant, and go drive it around for a bit.
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
I'll do that, thanks for the offer!

FYTO is going to be iffy. I've got no time off between now and then and it's getting harder and harder to motivate myself to keep at it when I get home in the morning. Assuming that the head gasket is good, I still need to:

  • address the front springs - this will probably entail putting in the 3" lift springs I got from 83trailblazer and blocking the rear to level it, and then removing the block and reworking the front pack to lower it when I have more time.
  • change the front diff and trans fluids
  • throw on the KM2s (which means getting my wheel spacers from Steve).

    And I want to:

  • get my sliders on
  • install my burlier alternator
  • install the 4.7 transfer case
  • install my rigids (need to make up my mind where to put them)


No way I'll have time to do all that before FYTO, we'll see how close I get. If I have to pull the head again, I probably won't make it.
 
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