Project: 4Crawler - My Weekend Toy(ota, that is)

[Click for larger image] The Golden Crack WildYoats in Moab, 2001

[Click for larger image] Dropping into the Big Sluice Rubicon Bash, 2001

This way to ---> <---

Also check out this Google photo album with more updates.

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Contents:

Owner	General	Engine	Electrical	Transmission
Body Protection	Vehicle Recovery	Custom Features	Wheels/Tires	Drivetrain
Bumper & Winch	Suspension	Technical Info	Future Mods	Suspension
4x4 Links	4x4 Places	Cheap Tricks	Not So Cheap Tricks	Reader's Rides
4Crawler Offroad	Used Parts For Sale	Tips & Techniques	Repairs	...

"4x4" in upper case is "$X$"

Life is good no matter what, after your lowest low is your Marlin Crawler!

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Owner:

• Roger Brown, P.E.
  • Located in SF Bay Area, CA. USA.
  • I used to drive a 1974 Toyota Landcruiser Wagon (FJ-55) from 1984-91.
    • White over blue, 4 door, a classic "Iron Pig" as they are affectionately known.
    • Converted from gasoline to propane (LPG) w/ 50 gal. tanks - approx. 500 mile range. Holley 350 CFM carb., modified for propane, dual exhaust with tri-y headers and glass-pack mufflers w/ front-of-rear-wheel exit.
    • 30x9.50LT all season tires on stock rims and a 2" shackle lift front, 1500 lb. add-a-leaf rear.
    • Had to sell it after the California Air Resources Board mandated smog compliance for LPG in 1990. While I could easily meet the emissions specs., the visual check got me. I could never get a straight answer from the CARB on what emissions equipment was needed, for example they initially said "all OEM equipment was required", I asked "what about the evaporative canister for the gas tank?" and was told "yes, that's required", but I replied "I don't have a gas tank and the propane tanks are sealed pressure vessels!" to which they replied, "Oh, well everything BUT that" and on it went. When I asked for a list of required equipment, they told me I could only have that information if I was a licensed smog shop. At the time, the only approved referee station was over a 2 hour drive away!
  • Here's my daily driver: Project: Caddy Shack

In case you think I'm prejudiced about Toyota 4x4s, I'm not.

After all a Jeep can go everywhere a Toyota does, just take a look at this!

So why did I buy this particular vehicle?

I wasn't really looking for a 4WD vehicle, but I knew I wanted to do something to keep from beating up my little VW pickup in the desert and mountains on roads I probably shouldn't be on in the first place. I like to get away from it all. My typical vacation trips have lots of highway driving in between sections of rugged terrain that I want to visit. They are usually multi-day to multi-week trips and I try to be self-sufficient for most of that, meaning I carry gear, food, water, etc. to spend days away from developed areas. Since I often arrive at my destination late at night, the ability to sleep in the vehicle is desirable to avoid setting up a tent.

A co-worker was selling an '86 4Runner (IFS) and that sparked my interest. I'd ridden in it a few times and was impressed with the vehicle. I researched the early 4Runner models and liked what I found, but also got interested in the '85 model (solid axle). The '86 was snapped up by an eager buyer, so I resigned myself to dreaming of an '85. A few weeks later, the co-worker informed me of an '85 4Runner being sold by an acquaintance. I rushed down and snapped it up right away.

The '85 model is the last one to feature solid axles and leaf springs front and rear. It is also the first model to feature the fuel injected engine (22-RE) which has fair power, good mileage and no carburetor to flood on steep hills. It has the fiberglass shell on back to allow lots of enclosed cargo room. Its got a medium wheelbase and track so its both stable on long highway drives, yet able to maneuver on tight off-road tracks. There is a pretty good aftermarket parts industry following for Toyota, unlike most of the other import brands. I liked my old Land Cruiser and here I could get a smog-legal equivalent.

This vehicle is not for every one, its rough riding, access to the rear seats is difficult and its underpowered for towing. For me, its not my daily driver, so I can optimize it towards trail use, while keeping it street worthy. I rarely travel with more than 2 people and often alone, so the rear seats are usually folded down. I never tow anything and I find the power adequate for my purposes.

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Vehicle :

• 1985 Toyota 4Runner SR-5
• 302,000 miles and counting
  • I'm the third owner, purchased w/ 185,000 on the clock
  • Turned 200k driving west across South Dakota on my way home from a trip to Minnesota in 1998
  • Turned 300K driving across town to a 4x4 club meeting
• White (paint code 033) w/ bronze factory striping
  • The striping is a bit worn, but has some advantages in that the hood stripes have a directional reflection characteristic. Looking from the front, they appear in shades of light to dark bronze, but from the driver's seat, they are flat black. I don't know if this was intentional, but they serve as an effective anti-glare surface on the hood.
    • Unfortunately, the California sun got the better of the hood stripes. While washing it recently, the outer layer of a few stripes began to peel off. So, I conducted a stripe-removal experiment.
  • Also, the side stripes are positioned to take the brunt of scraping from trail brush, so I think I'll keep them for now
• Most factory options:
  • Cruise control
  • Full gauge set; tachometer, water temperature, oil pressure, voltmeter
  • Power steering, brakes and windows; but I don't have the electric door locks
  • Flip-up sun roof
  • Tilt steering wheel
    • Stock wheel replaced with a quick-release Grant wheel
  • Driver's side adjustable sport seat with the cool "SR-5" fabric pattern
  • Air conditioning, currently inoperative and removed
    • Compressor to be converted for airing up tires
  • Rear heater
    • Now removed and replaced with a Tuffy security console
  • Intermittent wipers
  • Map lights
  • The infamous clinometer
    • Altimeter, slope and tilt gauges, modified for more range
  • Removable rear shell and factory roll bar
• I had my truck weighed recently (at the Wonder Ice Cream Co., south SF Bay Area, CA.)
  • Shell on, rear seat cushions removed, 33x15.50 Swampers, 1/2 tank of gas, box of tools/parts and some camping gear and me in the driver's seat:
    • Front: 2180 lbs - Rear: 2480 lbs
    • Total: 4660 lbs - 47%F 53%R weight distr.
    • BTW: The worn 33x15.50 TSL/SX tires on 15x10 steel rims weigh in at 88 lbs. each, 352 lbs. for the set!

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Engine :

• 22R-EC
  • 2.4 liter, 4-cylinder, Electronic Fuel Injection
    • Pistons bored 0.040" (1.0mm) over for 2417cc total displacement (stock 2366cc)
    • Lubrication: 15W40 conventional oil and a Purolator PureOne filter w/ anti-drainback valve
• Radiator:
  • A 2 row all-al;uminum radiator from eBay
    • Along with a stock Aisin fan and clutch
  • The radiator is a DIRECT fit, the 4 core support bolts line up perfectly and the fan shroud bolts right up, they even have the welded on metric nuts like stock.
  • Used to run a heavy-duty 3-row GoDan #2041 (now: TransPro #432041) radiator handles the cooling duties
    • The 2041 uses a larger radiator cap than stock, mine came with a Stant #329.
    • The larger opening makes for easier filling.
    • The only difference is the radiator is about 1" thicker for the 3rd row of cooling tubes inside.
    • The fan now rides inside the shroud, so if you have a body lift, the radiator must be re-centered on the fan and if you have a large electric fan like a Flex-A-Lite, it won't clear the A/C compressor pulley.
• Full custom exhast system, including:
  • LC Engineering Street Performer header
  • New stainless steel catalytic convertor (mine was 90+% plugged after 220K miles!).
  • Currently running a Borla stainless steel turbo muffler with muffled exhaust tip.
  • Used to run a Flowmaster 50-series Delta Flow muffler ordered on-line from Summit Racing
    • Muffler has a very nice sound, not too loud, bit you can hear it and it sounds marvelous.
    • Nice feature with Flowmaster is that you can specify the exact muffler configuration, mine was:
      • 9 - Delta Flow series
      • 4 - 4" Case thickness
      • 20 - 2.0" ID inlet and outlet connections
      • 5 - 50 series muffler, the quietest
      • 3 - offset inlet and opposit offset outlet ports
    • This made for a very neat, semi-custom installation
    • And it sounds good, too! (link to QuickTime file)
  • Custom 2" stainless steel tailpipe exiting between the frame and body
• Now that the exhaust is getting out easier, I felt the need to get more air into the engine, so...
  • Relocated air box to stock battery location w/ 2" PVC snorkle inside passenger side fender fitted with a K&N Filtercharger
    • Intake length is about the same as stock, even with the snorkle
    • Banks Power has a good re-oiling calculator
  • LC Engineering rebuilt throttle body and gasket-matched intake plenum
  • TRD Level 1 camshaft to open the valves and let the air in and out faster
  • DOA Racing steel timing chain guides to keep that chain where it belongs
  • ARP head studs to hold it all together
  • Newly cleaned and balanced fuel injectors thanks to RC Engineering
    • Wow, what a difference!
• Replaced most of the vacuum lines with a 3/6/10mm silicone rubber kit.

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Electrical:

• A 160A Premier Power Welder supplies the power for...
• Dual 800A Black Panther batteries located under the rear seat well, above the rear driveshaft
  • A 200A solenoid and 1/0 welding cable carry the electrons up front to the engine
• 3 -12V power points in rear cargo area.
  • 12V florescent light for rear deck illumination
  • Hard mounted 120VAC/300W power inverter
• Parking lights re-wired to work with as turn signals
• Hella Vision Plus H4 (55/60W) headlights, w/ protective wire grills
  • Now upgraded to 50/100W bulbs and a dual relay wiring harness; LET THERE BE LIGHT!
• Hella 550 Fog Lights
• A pair of 35W Rock Lights provide illumination underneath for night-time action.
• Re-wired power side and rear windows to work w/ ignition off

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Transmission :

• Rebuilt Toyota 5 speed
  • Aisin Seiki W56-5 manual transmission from Transmission Exchange
  • Recently changed the lube over to Redline MTL synthetic
• A Marlin Ultimate Crawler (dual transfer case), #263.
  • The 4.70 gear is installed in the rear transfer case which features a custom 4Crawler short-throw shift kit
    • The front crawl box has the stock 2.28 low ratio.
  • I also gain a 2-Lo range (2.28 : 1) without needing to unlock the front hubs, by putting the front box into low and shifting the rear case between 4H and 2H.
  • Currently running Redline 75W90 synthetic gear oil

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Suspension/Lift:

• Front:
  • Custom spring pack consisting of stock '83 pickup and '85 4Runner rear leaf springs w/ 2.5" dropped front hangers
    • Result in a 2.75" forward axle location
    • Custom u-bolt flip kit with 5/8" diameter Rancho u-bolts
  • Custom 2" longer than stock, 4Crawler wide-body shackles
  • Custom long-travel triple-shock (Rancho 9120/99012) setup
  • Front sway bar removed due to the cross-over steering installation
  • Custom, long travel, double-cardan drive shaft built by Driveline Service of San Jose
  • All-Pro hybrid D60/Toyota front axle w/ hydraulic-assisted high cross-over steering
• Rear:
  • 56" Orbit Eye springs, 5.5" lift
  • Custom 4Crawler double spring shackles, 3.5"/6.5"
  • Custom CV-style drive shaft built by Driveline Service of San Jose
    • 4Crawler custom degree shims to correct the pinion angle
  • Rancho 9012 shocks on custom mounts
  • Brake proportioning valve is tied up with an adjustable turn-buckle setup.
    • I found that with the weight of the 4Runner shell, rear bumper/tire carrier, I have no problems with rear-wheel lockup. Now I can dial in the amount of braking I need.
• Body Lift:
  • 3" custom 4Crawler Ultimate Body Lift
  • 2" 4Crawler Drivetrain Lift with Frontrange crossmember and skid plate
• ProThane polyurethane body mounts and bushings (shackles and spring hangers).
  • Note: Body mounts eliminate that annoying shudder over bumps and make washboard gravel roads tolerable.

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Drivetrain :

• Toyota 8" front and rear.
  • 4.88 : 1 Precision ring and pinion gears
    • V6 rear and FJ-80 reverse-rotation/high-pinion front
  • ARB RD23s front and rear
    • I used to run 5.29 Richmond gears and Detroit TrueTrac up front and a Detroit SoftLocker in back
  • Front axle: All Pro/Currie D60 hybrid axle w/ Warn locking hubs
  • Rear axle: IFS rear housing w/ Front Range Offroad full floating axle kit w/ FJ80 drive flanges
    • Addco rear sway bar w/ custom quick disconnect end-links.
• With nice new gears and over a gallon of synthetic Redline Shockproof gear oil, I don't want water getting into the pumpkins, so I installed differential breathers with A/N fittings and S/S braided hose vented the front one to a K&N filter mounted high on the passenger-side firewall and the rear to a filter on the rear tire carrier.
  • After about 8 months, I found a problem with my original vent line installation. The were several low points in the tubing runs where gear oil seemed to collect. Enough gear oil built up until air flow was impaired. I rerouted the lines so both tubing runs will be such that excess oil can drain back down into the diff. as needed.
• A Centerforce Dual Friction clutch turned by a 10 lb. heavier than stock flywheel.
  • Really smooth operation at slow speeds but it grabs like the dickens around 3000 RPM
• A custom drivetrain lift raises the engine, transmission, and transfer cases 2" from stock, coupled with a custom dual transfer case skid plate/crossmember maximizes breakover angles.
  • A 3" gas tank lift was also done to maximize clearance between the axles.

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Wheels, Tires and Brakes:

• Tires:
  • A set of 35x12.50 Milestar Patagonia M/Ts on 15x8 Champion Beadlocks
  • To keep the rubber on the road, a set of Centramatic Continuous Wheel Balancers balance the wheels along with a bag of Dynabeads
• To put the air back in the tires, the following setup is used:
  • Thomas on-board air compressor & front bumper air tank.
    • Installation information may be found here.
      • It'll air up all four 33x9.50 BFGs (simultaneously) in 6 minutes with my...
  • 4Air tire inflator/deflator:
    • This setup ensures equal tire pressures; a very important concern with locking diffs.
    • The air down/up time is very fast due to large hose/valves.
    • I use a digital pressure gauge that reads down to 2.5 PSI in 1/2 pound increments, very accurate, important when I run in the sub-5 PSI range.
  • Quick disconect mud flaps remove easliy for off-road use
• Brakes:
  • Front: Wilwood 4 piston calipers
  • Rear: Supra disc brakes

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Body protection and Vehicle Recovery(*):

• Custom 3" 4Crawler body lift to give clearance for...
  • Front Winch Bumoer carries...
    • a Warn XD-9000 winch
      • Modified front of bumper into a Hawse fairlead for easy pulls
    • A Pull-Pal winch anchor for those tree-less extractions
• Custom 4Crawler Rock SliderZ (a.k.a. nerf bars)
• Custom wraparound rear bumper with swing out tire carrier
• Front and rear fenders trimmed for added tire clearance

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Custom Features/Accessories:

• AM/FM/Cassette radio by Clarion, now replaced with a JVC KD-AVX77 with USB and BlueTooth
• A Uniden GrantXL SSB/CB radio provides mobile communications feeding into a. 24" FireStik-II antenna mounted on the left rear corner of the vehicle
• Fire extinguisher mounted on roll bar. That 25 yr. old extinguisher will soon be replaced.
• Hot water shower from R & M Specialty Products is installed inside the left front fender and plumbed into the rear heater hose
  • Handy for washing off the trail grime after a hard day of wheeling
• A kool Kayline soft-top for the summer months, now replaced with a Killer Toy Top
• Other than that, its bone stock :-)

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Future Mods (once the above items are paid for - Remember: 4x4 in UPPER CASE *is* $X$)

• Install a 3rd battery for deep-cycle discharge with accessories
  • Found that a portable jump start battery pack works fine for this, built-in 25AH battery and charger makes a great addition for powering stuff in the truck overnight and around camp, like for inflating the air mattress in the tent!
• Add a 10-13 gallon water holding tank in back over the frame
• Flesh out plans for a replacement hardtop with removeable sides

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[Last updated: 26.June.2025 ]

Visitor # 405523 since 08.AUG.2001

[First created: MAY.1998]