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Thread: Corax's '88 Runner

  1. #21

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    Since I got my 1" body lift years ago I've been embarassed by the gap between the gas tank and the body. Actually no, but I was bored today so I raised the tank 1" to match the body lift. Originally I had 17" from the ground to the bottom of the tank skid plate and the tank hung ~4.5" below the frame rails. So I dropped the tank and spent way too long cutting off the front mount. This is what it looked like originally

    then after much effort, mostly with my Dremel because that was the only thing I had that could get in there to cut the metal next to the welds - it is of course welded to the top sides and bottom (before I painted it)

    the rear mount was much easier. I cut it on an angle to get more weld between the 2 halves. I also used a 90* square to mark the 1" I was cutting out to make sure I didn't change the mounting angle

    I still need to cut and remount the tank skid plate, but here's where the tank is now

    giving me a bit more ground clearance (should be 18" by the time I get the skid back on)
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  2. #22

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    So I decided to bomb through some water at way too fast speeds and got about an inch of water covering the spark plugs. On the 7mge, the spark plugs sit between the two valve covers with no where for water to go so I developed a massive misfire (took ~10 minutes for the water to leak past the plug wires though). Massive misfire dumped gas into the exhaust and cat, cat got hot. Actually the entire exhaust system was glowing bright orange from the cat back (including the entire muffler).

    this crappy cell phone pic was taken ~ 5 minutes after I shut the engine off I'm lucky the cat didn't completely melt down and clog the exaust


    Since I can't make a drain for the "valley" and the original cover worked just as well and not having anything, I thought I'd seal off the engine bay from the wheel wells a bit better.

    I started with an old racing slick my roommate had from his racecar and cut the sidewalls off with a utility knife (pattern already cut out in this pic)- I also thought about using a truck tire innertube, but the one I found had too much "memory" in the rubber and wanted to curl up too bad to use + the rubber is too thin and flexible


    just over 3/16" of nylon belted high speed soft compound rubber (should suit my driving style)


    since I have a 1" body lift I left the original fender rubber in place and marked the distance from each edge I wanted to extend the new rubber guard. I took off the original, traced it to the slick, extended the edges where I wanted to and cut it out with a utility knife. I also used the original to mark and punch the hole ("hammer" type hole punch set from HF for <$10)


    A few weeks ago I got a "Riv Nut" set from HF also. I used the 10-24 thread Riv Nuts in the original holes in the inner fender, they fit perfect and let me use stainless machine screws w/ fender washers to attach the rubber guard - I plan on tucking the the front in on top of the frame rail in front of the idler arm and using an empty bolt hole to secure it
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  3. #23

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    Finally got around to REALLY upgrading the cooling system. A few months back I found a double row, dual pass Ron Davis radiator at a flea market for $25 (too good of a deal to pass up). Though I wasn't sure if I could use it, a few weeks of staring at it got me going on how to fit it into an already tight engine bay.

    (2 of the fins were previously repaired, but they look solid)


    Here's how it works. A dual-pass horizontal-flow radiator moves coolant across the top half of the radiator on the first pass, then directs the coolant across the lower portion of the radiator face for a second pass. One reason this works is because the velocity of the coolant roughly doubles when the coolant is forced to travel across half as many tubes per pass. This creates turbulence in the tubes, exposing more coolant to the radiator tube walls and improving heat transfer. It also provides a bit of a restriction to coolant flow, reducing the overall flow rate of the cooling system and allowing the coolant to spend more time in the radiator. I think one of my problems with the single core Griffin was that it flowed too fast with this engine - the coolant didn't have enough time to really cool as it passed through the radiator (but that's just speculation).


    I enlarged the radiator opening a bit so I could move the radiator as far forward as possible.

    Here it is all mocked up in its final position. I already had the lower brackets made (just a "J-hook" to cradle the bottom of the radiator), so I just needed to bend and fit the brackets to their final position.


    The top hose/inlet is a simple 1.5" neck that the hose slides on to. The lower hose/outlet though is a 3/4" NPT bung . . . so I got a copper 3/4" NPT fitting, trimmed the overall length down and soldered a "street elbow" on to it. I also tapped the bung a bit deeper so that the copper fitting would thread all the way in (no threads showing). The outlet on my fitting is now 1.25" - the stock lower radiator hose is 1.375" - so there sohould be no real restriction that I need to worry about.

    top view of it mounted with the plumbing all connected - I found a formed hose that I could cut/splice onto the stock lower radiator hose and used a universal flex hose for the top

    Home Depot pipe hanger to hold the long lower radiator hose away from anything it might rub against


    ** started to fill the radiator with water to flush everything out of it and noticed water puring out of the bottom/front core tube . . . I don't know how I didn't see it split and spread 1/8" open. I tried to silver solder it but couldn't get it to stick, so I filled it with as much JB weld as I could push in and then squeezed the core closed. I pressure tested it to 20psi and it's held, so I'll consider this a permanent repair.

    Previously I was using a 14" fan on my single core Griffin radiator. I could fit one 12" or 2 9" fans with the new setup (not enough room between the radiator and the front cross member for the 14"). I did some math on how much coverage the fans would give on the radiator:
    1x14" fan = 153 sq.in.
    1x12" fan = 113 sq.in.
    2x9" fans = 127 sq.in
    So 2x9" fans it is then - combined they pull 22 amps when they first start spinning, but settle down to 10 amps at full speed. Even though I'm stepping down in fan size I should be golden since the overall cooling capacity is increasing (won't find out till I have to pull the trailer again).

    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  4. #24

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    I've been lugging around a NWMP fuel tank for the last 14 months and I finally got tired of moving it around to different locations, so I decided to finally install it today. It's supposed to be a gravity feed system with a hose running into a fitting where the main tank drain plug is on the bottom. Problem with this is I don't like the idea of having something hang even lower off the main tank, especially a brass fitting that could drain all my fuel if it gets hit hard enough.

    So I thought of putting a shut valve on it (elec or manual) and have the aux tank drain into the filler neck vent tube for the main tank, but the filler neck is too high and I don't want to put a hole lower than that in the side of the main tank because I'm afraid it'll leak.

    My final option is an electric fuel pump, but fuel pumps can get damaged when they run dry from heat build up and I would have no way of knowing when to shut off the extra pump. I can't find anything saying they are safe for short periods of dry running and likewise nothing about how they work except that they do not use a diaphragm.

    This is what I came up with, though it may be a bit over engineered it should save the pump from running dry, and if the rest of the system wiring fails a jumper wire across the load side of the relay will still turn on the fuel pump (actually changed it a bit from the first idea, now I have the switches working on the ground side with the relay at the passenger side rear of the engine bay)



    Red: fuel lines
    Dk Blue: wiring
    Parts: low pressure nitrous fuel safety switch (adjustable 2-5psi), fuel pump, momentary & toggle switches, relay, slight fuel line restriction (small crimp in steel fuel line to main tank)

    - the toggle switch turns on the system, but the relay won't turn on the fuel pump until there is ~3psi at the low pressure switch
    - press the momentary switch to bypass the pressure switch and turn on the relay and fuel pump
    - pressure builds behind the restriction and makes the pressure switch close, the momentary switch can be let go now as the relay will stay on
    - when the aux tank runs dry the pressure switch opens deactivating the relay and fuel pump

    if I really want to get fancy, I was thinking I could run a wire from the + side of the fuel pump back up to the switch panel through an LED and on to ground as a "fuel pump on" indicator light

    Installing the tank is easy, so I'll leave out the bits about drilling holes and bolting it up. It's the details that'll make it trouble free in the long run . . . like an exhaust heat shield so the gas doesn't get too hot (excessive vapor/boiling)


    view from the wheel well - before I fill it for the first time I'd like to replace the rubber hose with steel braided to help deter thieves from thinking it would be easy to cut the rubber hose and steal my gas - I was also thinking a steel hard line would work, but I'd have to find another fitting first


    transfer pump (universal, for a carb'd car) - I used 1/4 riv-nuts to attach it to the frame rail (still need to put a fuel filter inline to pretect the pump)


    a bit of protection to keep the hoses from chaffing against the frame rail, it also keeps them tied together nicely so they don't move around much


    a few months ago I had to repair the main tank fuel pump bracket because the metal line on the outside finally rusted through, while I was at it I added an extra line to dump the fuel from the aux tank into the main tank, I had actually extended that fitting down to the bottom of the tank in the hopes that it would work like a siphon once fuel starts flowing (in case the pump fails/doesn't work out I could still use the aux tank w/ pump removed)


    I tossed my spare tire back under there and noticed that the tank didn't affect my departure angle at all, though if I drop off an obstacle the spare will definately take the hit. If I know I'm hitting any rough trails I'll just take the spare off and toss it in the back. I am planning on making some kind of spare carrier for the rear bumper - I always liked the idea of being able to carry 2 spare tires for longer trips.

    rear view

    Switches installed - turn the toggle on, press the momentary switch till there's enough pressure to trigger the pressure switch, let go of the momentary and the pump runs till the toggle is switched off or the pressure in the line drops (aux tank empty) - the blue LED is wired to the transfer pump V+ wire so it is on any time the pump is running


    With the extra fuel on board I should be able to get a range just shy of 600 miles normal driving
    (17 gal factory tank + 14 gal aux tank) x 19mpg = 589 miles
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  5. #25

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    With the aux fuel tank I lost a bit of ground clearance in the rear, so time to relocate the spare. I also like the idea of being able to carry 2 spares on longer road trips, this will let me do that. Wet weather stopped me from working on the property in Wild and Wonderful (WV), so a perfect opportunity to change up the rear bumper a bit and get it ready for a spare tire carrier.

    this was what I had when I started

    trim the wings off . . . .

    1/4" plate steel upright + piece the wings back together

    all done

    here's the hinge brackets for the spare tire carrier - I got the idea of having the spare swing up and to the side from Scotty at Addicted Offroad

    Here's the delrin hinge I plan on using, now I just need to get some steel to make the arm . . .
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  6. #26

    new shoes

    new shoes - 33x10.5x15 BFG KM2&#39;s on 8" wide black steelies with 4.5" backspacing + took off the dumpy looking JCWhitney universal rubber flares since the tires are inside the wheel wells again. I still don&#39;t have any lift on the front and don&#39;t plan on any, I do have a 1" body lift - I might have to tap the body seam at the rear of the front wheel wells a bit, but it doesn&#39;t have to get hammered flat. The rears fit fine after I bent the mudflap brackets a bit to angle them rearward.





    initial driving impressions on road:
    - I can break the rear loose exiting a tight corner once again in 1st or 2nd (2nd gear only does it if I&#39;m in the power band).
    - definately a bit "looser" mid-turn through the twisties than my well worn 32x11.5 BFG A/T&#39;s w/ 3.5" backspacing, but I kinda expected that. I&#39;m hoping they&#39;ll stick just a tad better once the new tire smell is gone and they get scuffed in
    - I&#39;m pleasantly surprised with the level of road noise - I can only hear them if I&#39;m off the throttle, and even then it&#39;s minimal
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  7. #27

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    I don&#39;t want to lift the front of my &#39;runner any more than it already is, but last trip out I found that I kept bashing the front crossmember and it got dented up fairly well.. I consider skid plates to be "consumables" when offroad, so I&#39;m not worried that the front skid also got a bit thrashed.
    So this is the shape of my reinforcement. You can see the score lines where I was going to bent it to wrap around and under

    I cut the top off so it would conform better to the front crossmember

    all done 1/4" steel to help guard my front crossmember

    the next part of this will be a skid extending from the front crossmember to the one I made tying the lower-rear control arms together. This way, any hits I take to the front will be spread out a bit - I try not to slam around that hard anyway
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  8. #28

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    Part of my engine swap had me remove the steering stabilizer since it would interfere with the oil pan. I recently picked one up at a junkyard in the hopes that it&#39;ll cure a slight vibration/wobble that I have when turning at higher speeds. A few days thinking about it and I figured out what I needed to do.

    Here&#39;s my bracket for the frame side attachment using 2 driver side front cross member bolts

    I borrowed this idea from the universal fit steering stabilizers - 1" exhuast clamps from NAPA work perfect with a piece of 1/8" flat stock between them

    ready for install - this stabilizer doesn&#39;t have any brand names on it, but I&#39;m pretty sure it&#39;s not OEM. I liked how wide the body of it is (compared to the thin OEM ones), so I plucked it out of a mid 90&#39;s Limited 4runner

    installed and ready for testing on some high speed fireroads - the stock bolts were long enough once I ditched the washers that were on them
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  9. #29

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    Finally warm enough to get some minor work done - pair of used 25mm SwayAWay Torsions, painted blue because some of the red had been sand blasted off (from AZ) and blue was the only spray paint I had nearby



    the guy I bought them from had left the adjuster arms on, but the adjuster arms on my &#39;88 were a bit narrower so they wouldn&#39;t work. I fought getting the adjuster arms off for 1.5 hrs, the ones on my OEM torsions slid right off - good lesson on why the factory used little dust boots to seal the splines up (I added a healthy dose of grease to make sure future disassembly goes smoothly)



    also removed the driver rear grab handle and mounted my 3D Maglight there
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  10. #30

    Re: Corax's '88 Runner

    I found these overpriced LED strips from Autozone and decided to upgrade the interior lighting in the rear since the “Deck Light” is all but useless. These cost $15, but 1/2 the price is probably due to the “TRY ME” switch and battery on the package. The same type LED strip lights can be found online for about $12/foot and can be cut into 4” sections – then it’s just a matter of soldering 2 wires onto each separate section. Measured current draw on both is 20-30mA and best of all it’s an easy connection as these run straight off 12V (no need for a LED regulator).

    Mounted them in the rear corners & drilled a 1/8” hole for the wires to pass through. These have 3M tape already on them, so just clean the shell and stick ‘em on (if you’ve never used 3M tape before, make sure the lights are where you want them because they won’t move once the tape makes contact).

    The upper rear section of the shell is hollow and connects to the “d” pillar, but I still had to use a stiff piece of wire to run my LED wires into the pillar. Here’s the wiring at the base of the “d” pillar – I used a spare 2 pin Toyota connector that I had lying around to connect the shell to the body.

    All that’s left is to run two wires straight to the Deck Light itself – connect the LED wires to the wires going to the bulb and you’re done. I tried taking some night-time photos, but anyone who’s tried that before knows that night pics don’t work very well. Suffice it to say that now there’s plenty of light in the back, but not so bright as to be blinding (I could comfortably read a book by this light, even up by the front seats).

    Here&#39;s 4crawler’s Deck Light Mod for some more info
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

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