Man, that truck is in better shape than mine. I paid all most double for mine. And you get the sr5, mines just a 4 speed, you get the 5 speed, tach and the cool little gauge thingy. I am jealous.

I'd just do the little things you mentioned and I'd roll that thing till it died.

 

that's the idea. I'm picking up a bench for $20 tomorrow hopefully and some '99 RAV4 steel wheels for $80, and once it's set up I'll do the basic maintainance (which looks like it was NEVER done before), and that's it. I had an '88 back in the day and when I sold it it had 325k. it was almost totally stock, and was super dependable. Hoping I can get this one to the same level.

 

Well I picked up the RAV4 wheels. They're a little dusty but they're in great condition. But I got some bad news on my front end.
I had to have the end of the exhaust welded on, it ended at the muffler when I picked it up, but the guy had the pipe to go over the axle in the bed of the truck. So while they were doing that, I asked them to look over the truck and let me know what they found. Here's the list:

- Oil is leaking from EVERYWHERE. The whole front end is coated. It's also taking out my lower radiator hose.
- My center link is TOAST. They said they've never seen one that bad. It would move 4-5" up. It was THAT sloppy. Bah.
- All 4 of the shocks are toast. Apparrantly the one I thought was good was just about to die.
- The tension rod mount on the driver's side was hit at some time, and is pushed toward the center of the truck. The rod itself if fine.

So basically I've decided it's all coming apart and getting cleaned. It's way too much of a greasy mess to try and fix as it is. I can't even take off the air cleaner lid without having to scrub my hands with Fast Orange after. It's really, really, really greasy. Gonna order all the parts, tear it apart some weekend, pull the engine / tranny, clean the engine compartment, engine, tranny, replace all the gaskets on the engine, etc, etc. I figure it'll be April before it's on the road.

I wasn't really looking for a project, but a project found me!

 

damn. that sucks. do the valve cover gasket, with half moon ends first and foremost. i found most of my oil mess came from that. and it had covered all of my frame and suspension, as well as nearly the entire trans. when i took it off, there were sections of the gasket just missing. lol.

 

Yes, when I do it, I will do them ALL. I don't like leaks. Makes everything else a PITA.

 

Looks like I'm gonna pick up a pair of '02 Highlander buckets tomorrow for $70. Perfect condition, or so the guy says. The mounting brackets are a little wider than stock (17" vs 14.5") but I measured and there's almost 1.5" of space on either side of the bolts, so I'll just have to mount them through the floor. Easy with large washers on both sides of the floorboard for extra support.

I've gone back and forth with the seat thing a few times, I know... haven't had much luck with them so far. Hopefully that is changing!

I'll post pics this weekend probably.

 

Welcome to TM! Do you still have the old wheels by chance? I'm lookin for the factory stainless center caps.

 

Yea they are still on the truck. I have new wheels but not tires yet, I'm going to get the rest of the truck sorted first. I'll be pulling the wheels soon to check the brakes and check things out, I can pull them then if you want 'em. Throw me an offer.

 

Score! Picked up the seats today on my way to work - $70 for a pair of seats out of an '02 Highlander. And they are power seats! Score!




Much better than the stockers.... can't wait to get them in there!

 

Well, kinda bad news for me... the seats sit too tall! The fit fine and mounting wouldn't be an issue, but at 6'3" my head hits the roof with these seats! I'm actually looking at the headliner! I did notice that the brackets can be swapped from the stock seats, so I might just do a little bracket making. For the time being, I took out the passenger seat, which looks like it's way less thrashed, into the driver's seat position. Works fine but it's still a little soft. Works for now, not as important as the front end and engine.

Took the bumper off today, thing weighs a TON. That outta help a little! The lighter I can make the truck, the less gas it uses.

Next stop, degreaser and the self car wash. Gonna be messy. Then rent a hoist from Schucks and out the engine comes! Fun!

 

I'm still waiting for pics of the new/used dash bezel - installed, and confirmation that your hazards, now work.

 

Ha! That'll be a bit... I need to get the engine back together. Well I guess I should do an update while I'm here... LOL!!!

I pulled the heat shield off the exhaust manifold. It's not cracked, it's missing two bolts! That was easy. I'll just replace them all while I'm at it. Cleaned up the interior a little, got all the crap out. The stock carpet stinks, so that'll be coming out as soon as the truck's driveable. In fact the whole interior is getting pulled, gonna clean up the wiring, rewire the speakers, install a stereo, put new insulation and carpet (probably the cheap stuff). Once the truck's all put back together I'll work on figuring out if I can fit those Highlander buckets.

Thought about swapping out the stock carb and slapping a Weber on there. Budget will decide that... I just spent $100 on parts at lunch here.

With my little girl (15 months) and 2 jobs, I'm luck I've got ANYTHING accomplished so far... slowly but surely. And YES I'll take pics of the dash panel and working hazards!

Making some progress at least.

 

Take all the time you need. Mine just went down for a full rebuild and w/ the house and work, I will still be here to read about your truck.

 

Small step... I picked up a Weber from a member here on the board, great guy to deal with. One step closer.
I have the new leaf spring bushings and I have a "sort of" plan to get things done in the next two weeks. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll be driving it!
I'll post pics as I go.

Probably not going to lower it yet, waiting to see how the rest works out. If I lower the back, I might just go for the lowering leafs, since it's a little less than the blocks. I'll probably replace the U-bolts at the same time.

Would anybody be interested in the stock leaves if I wind up replacing them?

 

Update!

Got some work done today, daughter and mommy taking a nap, so off to the garage I went. Replaced the shocks and test fitted one of the wheels.

Check out the bushings on the leaf springs!!! Good thing I have new ones, that's some serious sag!!!!

 

More pics:

 

Great work, Al!

 

Really bad bushings... and after.... MUCH BETTER.

 

Minus one carb. I got me some cleanin' to do....

At least the oil wasn't inside the intake manifold. I know, it's probably all over the back of the valves.... BAH.

 

Progress!!!!

So I had time this weekend!!! Finally! Had a friday show at the coast and it went OK... so I have the whole weekend for once. Soooooo...

I replaced the shocks up front. What a PITA to take the stockers out. You have to squeeze the top end of it through the hole in the control arm. Had to drift it though with a hammer and screwdriver. New ones work NICE. Dropped the back of the truck on wheels again and it's nice and solid now. doesn't do anything but bounce right back up. Much better.

In the last pic is my idler arm, which is being replaced tomorrow. Check out how bad it was, the only thing holding it together is the large washer and what's left of the rubber bushing. What a good thing I didn't drive it right away!!! You can also see in the pics how much oil is everywhere.... taking a few rags and degreaser to everything tomorrow before the new idler arm and steering stabilizer go on.

Onward!