3rd Gen Toyota Pickup - Budget Expo Build

[Tacoverlander]

Nice build! Love seeing your adventures! Sweet rig too :Wow1: I dig older toyotas. Im currently building a 96 tacoma which brings me to my question. Did you notice any difference after installing the sound deadner inside the cab. Im getting ready to rip the interior out of mine and clean it. I figured that would be a good time to do this as well. Whats your thoughts and was it worth it?

 

[DeskToGlory]

Nice build! Love seeing your adventures! Sweet rig too :Wow1: I dig older toyotas. Im currently building a 96 tacoma which brings me to my question. Did you notice any difference after installing the sound deadner inside the cab. Im getting ready to rip the interior out of mine and clean it. I figured that would be a good time to do this as well. Whats your thoughts and was it worth it?

Hey Tacoverlander,

The sound deadening definitely helped. It's not magic by any means, but the noise is decreased slightly and heat transfer into the cab has been reduced. The mud terrains on the highway with the windows rolled down kind negates any sort of sound deadening though

 

[DeskToGlory]

Hey there, I was wondering, did you have to do anything special to your suspension for the ARB front bumper? Some people have said they've had to adjust their suspension to deal with the weight.

Also, did you grow up tinkering with cars? Your knowledge of Little Red at this point is impressive! I've only got the home mechanic skills of installing basic parts like brakes/filters/suspension and changing fluids, not much on understanding gear ratios, what the consequences of bigger tires are, etc. I'd love to hear more about how you've learned about your truck and what resources you've used. I have a red 1991 Toyota pickup, 2WD, that I'm sad to leave behind, but am going to sell to upgrade to 4wd. If I knew enough, maybe I could turn her into a 4wd and Little Red could have a sister

Hey there Yurtdweller!

I had installed OME torsion bars before leaving on our trip, so they were able to handle the little bit of additional weight without an issue. Honestly though, the bumper was lighter than expected so I think it would have been just fine with stock suspension.

I grew up playing with cars and trucks. Subscriptions to Hot Rod magazine and a gear head dad help with that. I built a 1967 Mustang Coupe as my first car and learned a lot putting that car together (a stock 351W and a C4 weren't cool enough for a high school kid, so a beefed up '69 351W and T5 5 speed went in for awhile. Now it's sitting at my dads house waiting for a little TLC. Then I bought a 1973 Bronco so I could play in the woods. After that I owned a series of Toyotas (1988 4Runner, 1984 Pickup, 1993 Pickup), a 1987 Iroc Z Camaro, 1995 Civic Si, 2000 Silverado, 1984 Chevy Pickup, Ford Pinto drag car...

Every time I buy, drive, or work on something I learn a little bit more. When I put 33s on my Bronco I learned about how they affect the drivability of the truck and figured out the gear ratio thing. I also learned how the stock limited slip hates heavy tires. So yeah, I learn a lot from mistakes.

Just by watching TV series' like Hod Rod Garage and Roadkill on YouTube you can always pick up one or two tricks (how to, or how not to do something).

Hope that sheds a little light on the subject!

Richard

 

[DeskToGlory]

LC Engineering Header and Pro Flow Exhaust System

The last bit of work we did to the truck before leaving on our cross Canada trip was to install a completely new exhaust system. LC Engineering shipped us one of their Street Headers, a Pro Flow Exhaust System, and a new Magnaflow catalytic converter to replace our old hacked on exhaust and wake up our little 22RE.

LCE STREET HEADER KIT 4WD DIRECT-FIT 22R/RE 1985-1995

PRO FLOW EXHAUST SYSTEM 22R/RE/3VZ 2WD & 4WD 1985-1995 PICKUP

When I saw this big brown truck pull up beside the house it felt like I was a kid at Christmas all over again.

Remember when the engine compartment used to look shiny and new? I think I'm going to have to spend a little bit of time and use a couple cans of Gunk to get it cleaned up... eventually.

Usually I like to use PB Blaster, but this Liquid Wrench did the job of making sure I didn't break any hardware when removing the old parts.

Performance parts... oh wait. The old exhaust had been cracked and "repaired" a few times in Latin America so I was stoked to have a chance to replace it.

I just wanted to give this little LC Engineering Street Header a hug when it arrived (so I did). I'm weird that way though.

The new LC Engineering Pro Flow Exhaust System

LCE Street Header vs. Stock Manifold

The installation was straight forward, fit the truck perfectly, and I haven't had to deal with any exhaust leaks etc so far. At this point the header and exhaust has been on the truck for about 8,000km and it still looks as good as it did when it was installed, albeit there is more dirt and mud on it now.

The little 2.4L pulls much harder in the higher RPM range (3500RPM and higher) with the new header/exhaust. The engine was rebuilt with a slightly more aggressive camshaft (with an advertised duration of 260 degrees) and it seems to work well with the free flowing exhaust. I have a couple sets of 4.88 gears waiting to get installed, so the entire combo should work together quite well.

 

[mtnkid85]

Truck is looking good. Love the LCE header, I ran one on my old 85 22re.

 

[DeskToGlory]

In Montreal I heard a banging and whining coming from the rear end of the truck. I had called around looking for a mechanic to help pull the axles and differential out, but nobody had spare time for weeks. That wasn't going to work for our timeline so we risked it and eased the truck towards Toronto. About halfway there an axle snapped and we pulled over to the side of the road, called CAA and waited for the flatbed to pick us up.

While sitting in the tow truck en route to Toronto I posted on Instagram and Facebook asking if anybody knew of a reputable mechanic in the greater Toronto area. Toyota Canada reached out after seeing the post and invited us to their service shop to help diagnose and repair the truck. What just happened? Apparently we have a few followers from their head office and they were more than happy to have us bring the truck in. Crazy.

Really stoked to work with them on this project and get our little buddy back on his wheels. ‪#‎bestdayever‬

Here's the sheared off axle shaft.

I have had G2 Gear & Axle rear axles, bearings, seals, 4.88 gears, and installation kits tucked in the back of the truck for the last two months. A broken axle means that I can't put off the installation any longer. Since everything is apart it's the perfect time to install the new gears at the same time!

 

[AaronK]

That's awesome!

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[Lonnie-S]

That's great that Toyota of Canada responded. Please do give us an update regarding the street drive-ability and practical useage of the truck on-road after the 4.88 gears are installed. I do recall from our brief exchange earlier that you felt the 4.88s would be a solution of the lack of horsepower off-road for your expedition travel. I'm faced with the same issue as I have an '84 4WD with 4.10 gears and a 22R engine. I was thinking I'd need a more powerful engine, but it would be nice to get away with a rebuild of my 22R and getting 4.88 lockers instead.

Regards,

Lonnie

 

[Crenshaw]

I'm also interested to hear what you think of the 4.88s. I always felt like these trucks should've come with them from the factory. My truck works great with 4.88s and 33s and was even pretty tolerable with 31s if you could ignore the significant speedo error.

 

[MightyP]

While sitting in the tow truck en route to Toronto I posted on Instagram and Facebook asking if anybody knew of a reputable mechanic in the greater Toronto area. Toyota Canada reached out after seeing the post and invited us to their service shop to help diagnose and repair the truck. What just happened? Apparently we have a few followers from their head office and they were more than happy to have us bring the truck in. Crazy.

Toyota of Canada guys are awesome. I'm not even in Canada and they've helped me out a few times. True automotive enthusiasts.

Anyway, great build.

 

[DeskToGlory]

4.88 G2 Gear and Axles gears and Longfield Super Axles Install

We left home almost 62,000km ago and finally had our first mechanical breakdown. Honestly though, it couldn't have gone any better. Our CAA membership covered the 320km tow to Toronto, Toyota Canada invited us in to their shop to help with the work, I finally had the opportunity to install my G2 Axle & Gear 4.88 gears and Trail-Gear Longfield Super Axles, and we put fresh brake drums/shoes on while we were at it.

The best part, as often is the case, was that we were able to meet countless people at Toyota Canada who went well out of their way (one who even came into the shop during his holiday) to make this all happen.

I originally had a pair of axles from G2 as well, but it turns out that the ones shipped to me were for the narrower (early) 8" rear axles. I overnighted a pair of Longfields from Vancouver so we could use those instead. Anybody looking for a pair of short axles? They're in the back of the truck and I can deliver

Check out that garbage on the left! We ended up needing a new backing plate etc on the side that broke as well. Fancy!

Any time I have a chance to upgrade with new parts, I'll do it. We could have found a used axle, but instead of that we purchased Longfields. Good choice I expect.

We followed the gear break-in instructions, put in some new fluid, and then hammered west. I'm loving the new gears. Acceleration is much better in every gear, I can hold a speed going up most grades, and I can use fifth gear (and accelerate as well) in situations other than cruising on flat or downhill. I really should have done this to begin with, but getting it done at the head office of Toyota Canada was a good second choice!

 

[toyotech]

Did you regear the front as well? Crazy how you had spare parts for most of this lol. I did 4.88 on my 3.0 auto 4Runner on 32s and love it. Mpg didn't even change from stock. If anything it got better lol.


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[Thebushyota]

Just to let you guys know you were an inspiration to my wife and I just picked up my 91 Toyota thanks for all the great advice

 

[DeskToGlory]

Did you regear the front as well? Crazy how you had spare parts for most of this lol. I did 4.88 on my 3.0 auto 4Runner on 32s and love it. Mpg didn't even change from stock. If anything it got better lol.


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I would have just regeared the rear if we were in a real rush to get home, but I took a little extra time to get them both done at the same time so we could actually use 4x4 at points on our way west.

Yes, MPG is about the same, but the truck drives significantly better now. I should have done this a few years ago!

 

[Boonie Buster]

Hi Richard! Good job on the build and attention to detail!

So I have a couple questions on your ARB light setup.:
How do you like the combo spot/flood lights running together?
Which side of the vehicle do you have the spot light on? (I'll assume the flood is on the other side of the vehicle... lol)