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F’in right buddy!! Tommy is having way more fun in the snow than I am. Glad I stumbled across this Monday morning carnage. With exception to the front driveshaft, I’m sure it’ll buff out.
When it comes to International Economy shipping from China, I’m just glad when I get my item. 20 resistors to my door for $2.36….about $0.11 each and free shipping. It’s a long winter Mark, no need to rush things. Snowing here since Halloween.
Thanks Evan, I enjoy the research quite a bit, and it helps to keep my progress moving along. My wife works shifts, so I end up with a bunch of consequtive nights I can’t get into the shop cause I’m Daddy-On-Duty to sorta sleeping children. I can only tidy / straighten / watch crap on tv for so long till I feel the need to do something constructive…..or destructive like last night in the shop.
Getting that steering gear out took a lot more effort than I thought for two main reasons. It’s a much tighter squeeze between the inner fender and frame, secondly it’s way heavier than I thought it would be. Got it dripping dry in the vice so I can replace all the seals and O-rings in it another day. A refurbed steering gear is roughly $250 – 300 on RockAuto, but I have a rebuild kit in the parts bin from the days of Purple-ee. Worst case scenario I’ll have to buy a refurb. Either way I HAVE to get new High & Low pressure lines between the pump and steering gear, they were a contibutor to the leak, but not the only source.
I also stripped the remaining steering bits off the frame and the centre link. The centre link was covered in grime (power steering fluid & motor oil & mud sludge mix), so I scraped it clean then washed it in the varsol tank. Contemplating hitting it with some black paint, but I’d have to go buy some. In the meantime all the parts are loosely setup on the workbench.
I’ll prolly replace the balljoints before I jump back into the steering.
Do you guys pull the knuckle off to do the balljoints? Or just support the knuckle and keep the CV & brakes attached? Figure it might just be easier to pull the whole knuckle out than keeping it supported and out of the way.
Had a good night in the shop last night, made some progress on the gauge cluster…..didn’t feel like getting greasy and filthy working on steering.
I attached the tach signal wire, fired up Redee and got nothing on the cluster. I verified continuity in both ends of the signal wire, and under the dash, so the problem lies in the gauge. I swapped it with a spare I had lying around, and the Tach, backlight and Back Door warning light all came to life. I could have stopped here, but I did not want to lose Redee’s odometer reading, and the spare cluster was American MPH.
So more investigation of Redee’s cluster showed some signs of water damage on the printed circuit board. Makes sense with the windshield leaking directly above the steering wheel. (See damage in red).
I figured the least invasive surgery on the gauge cluster would be swapping circuit boards.
Step 1, remove all the bulbs
Step 2, remove 13 small phillips screws which connect circuit board to the gauges (yellow)
Step 3, carefully (VERY FRIGGEN CAREFULLY) pry up the circuit board around the alignment posts. It’ll lift off after, no tricks
Step 4, repeat for second gauge, swap and reinstall.
I tested Redee’s cluster, and it worked perfectly. The RPM reads double as it should, but I ordered an ebay resistor to correct the problem. See mod here —> http://www.mindspring.com/%7Ejayk3/toyota/tachmod.htm
Somewhere between now and Mid January (when these arrive from China), I’ll finish up the Tach portion and put the dash back together.
The other 3 gauges of interest are still in the works.
Opionion Time. <b>Where should I put the stand-alone mechanical oil pressure gauge?</b> Currently it’s under the stereo in a triple set, but I don’t need it as accessible. With 3,500km this year, I had no oil concerns other than a leak. Thinking I’ll just put it under the hood on the firewall.
Total bummer man. But on the positive side you’ve already got the plans, skills and partner, just gotta wait for the green light.
Spent a couple hours researching through my Electrical Schematics, the interweb and Redee’s engine bay to figure out what I need to wire up the OEM gauge cluster. I’ve got 4 unresponsive gauges of interest in the SR5 cluster.
- Water temp
- Oil pressure
- 4WD indicator
- Tachometer
Turns out most of what I need I already have, and I think #4 is gonna give me the most grief.
1: Water temp. I bought an OEM sender off Rock Auto a few months back. The only wire I need to run is from the sender (one I thread it into the block) to Connector N3 in the passenger side footwell. I’ve actually located this connector, the other half was connected to the 22RE, but now it’s just a lonely female connector waiting to be tapped. Not worried about the “lesser gauge” in the cluster, the EFI has very accurate readout.
2: Oil pressure. I bought the OEM sender from RockAuto with the water temp. All I have to do is uninstall my mechanical gauge, and replace it with a thread adapter and run a wire back to my favourite lonely female connector N3, and tap that yo. I’ll actually run a tee off the block, and keep the mechanical gauge installed too.
3: 4wd indicator. I found the LG (light green) wire under the hood, just gotta connect it with N3, and tap that. Yea yo!! Three-peat!!
4: Tach. Crimp on an eye connector to one wire that I already ran to the negative side of the coil. Then pay my buddy James to solder in a resistor on the back of the gauge cluster that will 1/2 the signal voltage. RPM will read double because the coil puts out twice as many sparks per Rev. Hardest part of this job will be outsourced by my wiring buddy.
Haha such a common sight in our shops. 4Runner on stands, with a pile of Choice A tools (socket, wrenches), Choice B (breaker bars, sprays of sorts) and finally the Effective tools of the primal sorts (bigger hammers and heat)…..all encrusted with weight reduction.
Glad to see your assortment of tools and perseverance paid off!
Those Chevy leafs look super FLEXXY…a mod I’ve had on my list for years but never attempted
Those hood louvers look neat, but I agree on the factory hood for the win. I had to cut out one of the strengthening ridges under the hood to clear my air cleaner, and that hurt a little.
That’s too funny, and hideously true.
It’s not a build until you spend hours doing something and then realize later it was a waste of time. LOL
Thanks Tom, and you’re right about sense of satisfaction. I enjoy just about every cruise I have cause last winter was so busy. The HVAC was pretty nerve wracking, especially separating the plastic tabs/joints. It still isn’t perfect, but works well enough for now. The vent selector has lots of resistance, maybe needs some Jig-A-Loo, and the Hot/Cold temp slider isn’t attached to anything. I’ve got some parts laying around to rig up that cable.
I may not enjoy eating pickles, but My pickle fork set sure got a workout yesterday. Split 4 ball joints, 4 tie rod ends, the pitman arm and idler arm. Well underway to replacing the entire front end steering system. I also found the steering gear seal kit that I bought 5-years ago for Purple-ee but never installed. Redee is leaking pretty good out the GM resevoir, the rigged high-pressure lines, and the bottom of steering box.
@Toyota Tom great build and writeup! Your 4Runner and my first one had the exact same rust spots. Glad to see you fixed yours rather than part with it.
It’s that time of year again….time to pack the toys away for winter wrenching.
Last year’s setup had one flaw where I could only fit the Taco in the shop if it was ACTUALLY TOUCHING Redee, and even then the door needed help to close. So a new floor plan this winter to give me tons of exposure to Redee’s front end.
On the slate will be full steering replacement, balljoints, and now a serious power steering leak. I’ve got Redee’s nose pointing South, close to the “good light” and tool boxes, her booty tucked away in the back corner by the air compressor and Parts washing tank.
It Took significantly less time than last year to rearrange since I’ve spent the last 14-months purging useless crap from the shop. Now all that remains is “somewhat useful crap” as deemed by myself. At least if I need to change things up this winter, Redee will fire up and move under her own power, rather than just pushing power.
Great start Evan! Post up the swingout hinges and latches you use, a dual swingout on Redee would help solve my spare tire troubles, while lookin’ pretty badass.
Oh no, a first gen for sale, makes my wallet and wife nervous! Let us know if you do decide to sell, some of us are also addicts.
My buddy James hooked me up with the photos he captured along the way.
Those panoramic shots look way better if you save them to your computer/phone first, then you can really zoom in on it.
That’s all the evidence I have, besides a hand written turn list that I still need to ammend.
Enjoy!
Mark, thanks for making the trek out here, and puttin’ the Knarr through the tougher parts of the roads less travelled around here.
I’ll keep this route, and make an amendment for where the NO EXIT was legitimate thanks to a massive stack of concrete blocks.
My buddy James who rode shotty, then piloted Redee about 40km is even more stocked to get himself a Toyota 4×4. I am still waiting on his collection of photos to come my way, but here’s a few to get us started.
Descending the Garden of Eden into Dunedin
The Knarr on 1st Line
Looking South towards Hwy 21 after leaving Creemore
Impossibly red tree in somebodies yard
Redee showing some evidence of adventuring.
Glad it was Mark pilotting The Knarr, cause my mirrors weren’t very functional (or necessary) with the earth deposits and branches re-aiming them at every opportunity.
Glad your magical compass helped steer us to lunch, and got you home safe buddy.
