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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?
Good for you man. I had a '99 four runner and it was a ton of fun, slow as could be but fun none the less. A small SUV is where its at, itd make a great rock truck
I had a 03 4Runner a long time ago that was my first rock truck. Slow is right. Think I timed it at like 13 sec 0-60 haha. And this one has even less power! Excited about getting back into a stick shift. Haven’t had one in 7 years. I’ll probably do some mild crawling with this one but I’ve got a rzr to thrash and if I really want to do some full size stuff, the blazer is built to take it despite my unwillingness to make it a dedicated rock truck.
This should be a fun project. Knowing the audience here, LS swap is the obvious answer but a 4.3L would be a good power plant for what you want to do. I am just not familiar with the Toyota drive trains and their strength, nor what adapters are available. If I did not already have an LS1 at home, I would consider a 1995 or newer 4.3L to replace the 2.5L in my TJ. I had one that was a little hopped up in my '95 reg cab C1500 with an NV3500 and it was a fun daily driver when I was in college.
This should be a fun project. Knowing the audience here, LS swap is the obvious answer but a 4.3L would be a good power plant for what you want to do. I am just not familiar with the Toyota drive trains and their strength, nor what adapters are available. If I did not already have an LS1 at home, I would consider a 1995 or newer 4.3L to replace the 2.5L in my TJ. I had one that was a little hopped up in my '95 reg cab C1500 with an NV3500 and it was a fun daily driver when I was in college.
An LS swap would be awesome but everything I've found says it's a very labor intensive thing to do and would require a complete drivetrain swap to handle it.
The 4.3 however is well supported and fairly easily accomplished. But that's assuming the 22re dies which would be a surprise.
An LS swap would be awesome but everything I've found says it's a very labor intensive thing to do and would require a complete drivetrain swap to handle it.
The 4.3 however is well supported and fairly easily accomplished. But that's assuming the 22re dies which would be a surprise.
Umm...why is that about swapping the entire drivetrain? I'm assuming both the 4.3 Vortec or the LS would be mated to a 4L60e and some transfer case? Or is it because of the smaller engine compartment? I can see the 4.3 being smaller front-to-back than the V8.
A little 4.8 or 5.3 I imagine would be a good improvement. Maybe double HP what the RE22 made?
Last edited by strutaeng; Aug 21, 2023 at 10:45 AM.
Stock trans and transfer case can't handle the power of the LS series so you'd have to replace the transmission, transfer case, driveshafts, linkages, etc. A 4.3 uses an adapter plate and motor mounts and connects to the stock parts. A 4.8 would be awesome in something like this but it's not an easy conversion. The toyota 3.4 is another popular swap but the engine is more expensive than the 4.3.
EDIT: got tree'ed while I was searching specs on the Toyota transmissions...
I presume because he wants to keep the manual trans. Same boat I'm in with the Jeep. Many of the smaller manuals that will fit and are compatible with transfer cases can not handle V8 power. Doing a quick search, seems the Toyota W56 can handle mid-upper 2xx HP as long as it is not abused.
Aug 20, 2023 | 08:21 PM
1989 Toyota 4Runner
