1989 4Runner

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?

 

You’re a nice friend. Fix it asap and get that ride along going!!

 

He passed last week before I was even able to pick it up. I’m heading down there today to get it and bring it back. It’s gonna be a while before I make any real progress. Blown all my play money recently on my trailer and rzr and life so gotta restock that.

 

Finally got it home.

 

Vacuumed it out and cleaned it out tonight. It was messy and dirty. Had to roll the rear window down which meant hooking up a battery. Only battery I have is the blazer which is side post and this one takes top post. Put the battery in and touched the terminals and like magic, it came alive. Dash, lights, blinkers, buzzer, rear window, wipers. Really got me excited. Found the tank, pump, and a new air filter in the cab along with a pair of tightey whities with obligatory holes, a beach towel, $.70 in pennys and dimes, a bag of sun flower seeds that were opened and everywhere, and a bunch of dirt and rocks.

 

Pump//sending unit. And there’s still a couple of gallons of rank ass gas in the tank.

 

I had one when I that I drove all over NV, the PI and MA. It was a great truck and wasn’t underpowered.

 

Anything less than 8 cylinders is under powered in my book but gearing can make up for that. Or a turbo.

 

Pump hanger and sending unit are trashed.

 

These are the rigs that sparked my love of 4Runners. It took me until '07 or so till I finally got one. (An '01)

I'm sorry about your friend. I wish you'd been able to take him for that ride, but this will be a great way to keep him with you.

Maybe put some memento of him in or on the rig and then take him for lots of rides when it's done.

 

Seems the only pump hangers available are OEM at $200/ea. I scrounged the depths of Amazon and found a $50 knock off that had the right amount of ports on it. Came in and looks great. I’m not dropping a $100 on an OEM sending unit so I went with a universal. Need to open the holes up just a touch but otherwise I should have this in tomorrow.



Oh, and whoever approved the fuel filter location on this rig should be slapped.

 

Pulled the starter apart and got the bendix fixed. Tightened down the ground wires on the terminal. Turned the key and the rest is history.

https://youtu.be/NlIv5vP9Kao?si=qIkiM50D2ERrOCBG

 

That's awesome. Sorry to hear about your buddy. I would imagine that you have a good feeling doing this project. I'm positive that he would have loved to see the revival.

 

$258 later and I’ve got plugs, wires, coil, cap, rotor, belts, oil, oil filter, and wheel cylinders coming. Really hoping it’s not the master cylinder and booster like Mark thought. I know at least one wheel cylinder is leaking. Figure replace those and then go from there.

 

He better. Found some of his old underwear in here when I was cleaning it out. Probably laughing his ass off at that.

 

Might want to give it the rhino liner treatment in place of the current paint job. Nice ride.

 

Nah. Pressure wash the crap off and then a quick clear coat and done.

 

So far only the new coil and fuel pump relay showed up. Swapped those in and the new relay solved my issues so I’m not having to run with the jumper wire in the diagnostic port.

 

Not sure when these were last changed but safe to say a while ago. Put some new NGK’s in it.

 

Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, fuel pump relay, starter clean up, battery, master cylinder, brake booster, fuel pump, fuel filter, oil, oil filter, belts, wheel cylinders, rear brakes, and gas tank.

https://youtube.com/shorts/y2XKZRzHVJ8?si=MZAe-Ty6g1nvOlKe

It drives amazing. After this video I topped off the power steering fluid and that quit making noise. Got driveline fluids delivering tomorrow. Then coolant flush and thermostat and tires. And then daily driving.

 

New tires. All new drivetrain fluids. New calipers. Waiting on the new rotors, new pads, radiator, cap, t-stat, and temp sender. Then title, inspection, and drive it.

 

Brakes bled. New radiator, thermostat, temp sensor, and cap installed. Had to do a bit of trimming on the fan shroud and gotta pick up long bolts for the fan shroud to bolt to the radiator but otherwise it fit pretty well. Pretty certain everything was OE from 1989 except the coolant. It was actually really clean and clear and zero sediment so I’m assuming it got flushed at some point.

 

Freaking awesome. Dream find right there. It’s too bad it came to you at the cost of losing a good friend.

 

Got tunes now.


The brakes suck now. I think it’s a combination of late 89 calipers and early 89 booster. My foot has to go to the floor before they brake. Bled everything twice with my power bleeder so pretty confident it’s not air. It also doesn’t pump up after multiple pushes. Exact same pedal every time. Oh well. It runs and drives great and I’m going to start venturing out in it this week!

 

Sorry about your buddy.
I've been on the hunt for one recently, lots of clapped out junk out there. This was my first one I ever had and built

 

If I didn’t have a built k5 and a rzr, I’d probably build this one for that. But it’s just going to be a cruiser.

 

Replaced the rubber lines in the brake system and ran another way of brake fluid through and it’s better. Got it inspected today and it passed. Going to register it tomorrow. Got an appointment on the 26th to get the title transferred. Hopefully all downhill for street legal now.

Next round of work is steering components, suspension, and clutch hydraulics.

 

WOW, blast from the past, I owned an 85 and an 88 pickup. Learned A TON about the 22RE, replaced many things, head, timing chain, starter, water pump, main and rod bearings,. This was the truck that made me say. " I will never own another Toyota as long as I live" never say never. 35 years later, '16 tundra ,'16 highlander '08 RAV4, '10 Camry. Please continue to repair and improve this rare gem and never give it up

 

That’s the plan. Simple basic truck. Manual locks, manual windows, manual transmission. I just want to make it a simple cruiser. You don’t see this generation Toyota on the road around here.

I will say that I am scared to turn the AC on. I’m getting tired of fixing stuff and just want to drive. And since this system is probably r12, I don’t want to think about the PIA it would be to upgrade to the modern flammable crap.