My parts rig becomes its own project
Some of you may remember this 1996 Toyota 4Runner limited I picked up a few months ago for $200. The plan at that time was to use the drivetrain for a Jeep YJ project I have, but an opportunity at a 1977 Jeep CJ5 has me rethinking things.
Back in October we made a trip to Bend Oregon to pick up our new Winnebago Chalet. While there we visited with my uncle for most of a day and even camped in our new RV for the first time on his property. He has an old Jeep (1977 CJ5) that I have always been interested in. Regrettably, I did not take any pictures of my uncle’s Jeep.
I hadn’t ever looked that close at his Jeep before, but he mentioned that it had been stuck in first gear for a couple of years and he had even been driving it like that to a nearby convenience store occasionally. Thinking I may be able to fix the shifting issue, I broke out some tools and removed the shifter assembly from the top of the transmission (t-18 4 speed I believe). After some experimentation to learn how the shifter functioned, I reinstalled it and was able to shift through all the gears. Later that evening my uncle drove the Jeep to the store and I drove it back. Once back at his house I told him to let me know if he ever decided to sell it, thinking that if that ever happened it would be years from now. The next morning Mrs. Mile and I started the trip home in our new motorhome. I later heard the Jeep’s transmission became stuck in 2nd gear a couple days later.
Fast forward to early December and my uncle calls me to ask if I’m still interested in his Jeep. The holidays are far from the best time for me to make big unplanned purchases, but I knew that he wouldn’t be selling the CJ5 if he didn’t need the money. My uncle and I agreed to a $3,000 purchase price with $1,000 paid now and the rest as I am able pay it. Since an old CJ5 isn’t a great road trip vehicle and this one has some mechanical issues, we are planning a trip this coming spring or summer to pick it up and tow it back behind our motorhome. I’m planning to post pictures and updates on the CJ5 project as they happen, so check back for more on that.
After all that backstory, we can finally get back to the subject of this post. My 1996 Toyota 4Runner limited is actually in pretty good shape. I believe it is a one owner vehicle and the mileage isn’t that high (for a Toyota) at 192k miles. I can’t find any rust, its straight, and about 98% complete (missing the clock, the original wheels, and part of a fender flare on the passenger front corner). The only real issue is the blown head gasket, so I think I’ll fix that and sell the 4Runner as a driving vehicle. I’ve seen other comparable 4Runners for sale anywhere between $4,000 and $8,000, I think I’ll try for $6,000 when mine is running and driving like it should. The money I make from this relatively small project will cover the cost of my uncle’s CJ5 and still give me some money to make some repairs/upgrades.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have done some (not so deep) cleaning of both the interior and exterior. Inside I cleaned out all the trash and vacuumed it (this made a big difference) and I will go back once it’s running to give it more of a detailed cleaning. I made use of my electric pressure washer for the outside of the 4Runner, removing the green and a lot of the more stubborn dirt and such. Again, I will go back and give it a proper wash and wax after I have fixed the head gasket issue.
Yesterday I finally pulled the 4Runner into the garage and took the engine apart. I want to assess the condition of the heads and cylinder walls before I start ordering parts. If it needs more work than new head gaskets I will start selling parts instead of fixing it. So far, things look alright. There is some discoloration on the walls of cylinders 1 and 3, but no scoring that I can feel. I figure the blown head gasket was allowing coolant into these cylinders and some surface rust formed while it was sitting. In the pictures below, cylinders 1 and 3 have lighter colored (cleaner) piston tops. I poured some power steering fluid into each cylinder to see if it would seep past the rings. Hopefully the rings still seal well enough to keep that from happening. With all the water in the oil, I’m hoping there isn’t any significant bearing damage.
I still need to thoroughly inspect the heads for cracks and deal with any warpage. If they aren’t cracked, I plan to resurface them at home rather than take them to a machine shop. A friend of mine did it recently and I have watched a couple of videos that show how to do it. If they are pretty close to flat already, all I need is a fairly thick piece of glass and some self-adhesive sandpaper (fingers crossed).
Once the engine is running again, I’ll probably go through and check other fluids. I definitely needs to have the brake system flushed since the fluid is really dark and the pedal is squishy. Both the front and rear bumpers are a little out of alignment and I think it would look better if that were fixed. I will be posting updates as I make progress on this project, so check back if you want to see more.
