Numbchux

I would be concerned about making the whole cab cold if you cut the bulkhead out. My Brat doesn't have a tailgate, but I don't think any part of that bed is insulated well enough to hold in the heat that heater puts out. I would put some separate heater in the bed, or your dryer duct idea (so it could be shut off, and keep the cab warm while driving) first.

Was it on fire? That engine looks rough... off the top of my head, looks like ignitor.

Was working on the 4.3Runner a lot. But it has earned itself a spot at the bottom of my priority list for awhile :-p Which means, Brat is back at the top. Brought my case down to the shop so we could grind a bit and test fit to get it just right. Got the ring gear modded just enough. After numerous test-fits in the one case half, I was pretty satisfied with the fit. So I put the other case half on just for a try. And something was major hitting. Couldn't figure it out, but definitely a gear hitting something solid. Not good. Laid everything in the other case half....and found the problem. The Carbonetic LSD case is hitting one of the low range gears. As you can see in this picture. The LSD has a larger, squared off shoulder, and the stock front diff is much more rounded. Red arrow pointing where contact is happening. It's hitting the lower left gear of the 4 in this picture: Not sure what to do from here. I think I need to take some measurements and see just how much material would have to come off to get that to clear, and debate whether I want to do that, or use a different front diff.

Toyota 4Runners had a little heater core/blower unit that was mounted in the center console for rear heat (my '87 SR5 had one). It would be very easy to use in another location. It just needs 12v and a couple 1/2" (IIRC) lines from the engine. Mine never worked, as the lines going to it rusted out and were bypassed long before I bought the truck....

Sweet! Thanks Shawn! That's perfect. I have jumpseats, but they are not installed. So I don't mind modifying/relocating them. Due to the amount of rust on this rig (mostly cosmetic) is to put a roll bar in it, and weld a gusset plate between the top of the roll bar to the cab. That way there's some extra beef attaching the rear suspension pickup points to the unibody.

Seems like kind of a dumb question.....but, as some of you may have seen in my other threads, my Brat ('84) doesn't live at home. It's about 25 miles away, in a direction that is not on the way to anything. That said, a friend of mine has a roll bar that came out of his Jeep Commanche. It's at a more convenient place. I'm wondering if someone knows, or would be willing to find out, the appropriate dimensions that would give me an idea of how difficult it would be to get fit. Width, maybe distance from the front of the bed to the wheel wells, height of the wheel wells, height of the back of the cab, etc.

Planning on taking the 4.3Runner camping this weekend, so some Camping mods were needed. 1st on the list when camping out of an SUV/Wagon, usually the rear hatch/gate is not designed to be operated from the inside, so I bought 2 momentary buttons, and mounted them to the inside trim panel (pics to come in the daylight), and wired them to control the rear window. Now I can roll the rear window up or down from the inside. Then I needed the rear window to operate with the key off, so I made that mod too. I used 4Crawler's write-up on modifying the system to track down the necessary wires to do this. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/RearWindow.shtml#Relay The last step for today was lighting. I already had some LEDs in the stock dome and deck light fixtures from http://www.autolumination.com . But I needed to improve on that. So I got a pair of these LED light strips: http://www.oznium.com/smd-bar Ziptied them to the roll bar, and wired them in with the deck light: Lights the thing up like crazy. I'll have to be careful not to hit this switch while on the road at night, as it could be very distracting to a driver behind me.

I wouldn't be so quick to modify the frame there on an IFS rig. The upper suspension arm bolts to the top of the frame right there where you'd have the most clearance issues. It's not as much of an issue with a solid axle swap, as the axle is actually attached much further back. I think oil pan clearance would be a non-issue. Look how tall my 4.3 is: I needed 2 inches of extra vertical clearance for the front diff, and a couple fairly small holes in the hood. Height-wise, a Subaru motor would have so much spare room. But I think my 4.3 is too wide to drop through the Toyota frame (had to get aftermarket, "block-hugger" headers to tuck in the narrow toyota frame). I do think the Subaru heads would have to be ABOVE the frame and suspension arms.

If that bellhousing had been available 4 years ago when I was deciding what engine to put in my 4runner, I probably would have gone EG33 instead of 4.3... I think a ~3" Body/Drivetrain lift would be required, as I do not think the heads on the boxer would fit down inside the frame (although I have measured nothing....). This would be much easier with a Solid-axle version, as there's not really anything on top of the frame, the upper arms on the IFS would make it harder. Everything else would be fairly easy. I don't think it's any longer than a 22RE, 3VZE, or 4.3. And the radiator hoses are in the right place (same diameter, too). Just hook up the Toyota radiator and go.

That had to be a fun extraction :cool:

Ummmm.....Something isn't quite right about that picture. The tube work is awesome, but the sun isn't supposed to shine down there :-p

5MT transfer gears are a weak link while still AWD. There are companies (PPG, I think) that make stronger ones, but at that point, you might as well do the toyota trans. Long story short....might work.....might not.....

I've done it. My Loyale (while it was still my dad's) got the cheap r134a conversion fittings and recharged with it. The A/C worked great for a week or so until it leaked out again. Wasn't long before I did an EJ swap on that car and ripped out the A/C. I've been running my Celica for 2 years/40k miles though like that. When I bought the car, the system was too low to even engage. I bought the conversion kit from WalMart, hooked it up and filled the system, and it worked immediately. The conversion fitting leaked though. I bought another kit from AutoZone, and that one has held ever since. Put a small can in it this spring to top it off, and it worked great all summer. Not ice cold, but pretty good.

Two really great videos I just watched. If you've got a half hour or so to kill, sit down, and enjoy. First, BRZ vs FRS. I thought this one was really interesting. I really wish the Subaru dealership up here would get a BRZ test car so I could drive it!! And then, the daddy. FR-S vs Genesis vs Elise.

CTS seems to have solved the issue..... Got about 25 miles on it so far. Can't wait to get it offroad. Had to test the suspension travel so I could get the fenders trimmed....

Agreed. I'm not sure about the TO bearing either. Easy way to tell on the pressure plate. The EA/ER flywheel has a step from the pressure plate mounting face down to the friction surface. Whereas the EJ one is flat. This means that the friction surface protrudes out beyond the cover on an EA/ER pressure plate. The picture in that ebay link shows a cover where the mounting surface is on the same(ish) plane as the friction surface.

So.....new job = less stress and more free time..... Worked on it a bunch this week. Confirmed that I am getting WOT with the pedal. Set the ignition timing. Had to advance it quite a bit from where it was. So much that I was pretty sure I had the plug wires on the wrong posts. So I fixed that, and reset it. Then it died, and wouldn't restart. Messed with it for quite awhile yesterday, bah. Tried it today, it fired right up, and purred like a kitten. Put it in gear and put some load on it (just holding the brakes....didn't feel like moving the jet ski and stuff behind it just yet), ran awesome. Then as soon as it hit operating temp, it died. Restarted once, but only ran for a minute. Then it wouldn't restart. Then it threw a code for a CTS......So, I'll pick one of those up tomorrow, and try again. Hoping to drive it to work this week....

To put that quote back in context, it's "the worlds first boxer engine......with direct injection". Which is absolutely true. I admit, the first time I saw the ad, I had a moment of WTF during that pause. I drove the FR-S at the local dealership within a few days that it was on the showroom floor. I was beyond impressed. Light, agile, nimble, comfortable, glorious. Will most likely be my next car.

We had stick-on rain gaurds on our GD #171 Rally Car as the Lexan windows we made for that car didn't seal very well. Absolutely no problems clearing the tops of the windows when the doors were opened. If they are installed correctly, they will clear just fine, but it will probably take some trial and error to get there. Also, I don't know how much room there will be to mount the driver's side one with the radio antenna where it is. That said, most auto parts stores sell stick-on visors like that. Get some measurements, and walk in with a tape measure and see what might work.

Heads aren't your main issue, oil pressure loss is a concern to the main bearings and piston rings (likely your cause of oil consumption). If it was only driven a couple miles, it probably didn't overheat, which would mean almost zero chance of warped heads. These are all wear items, and can be replaced. But depending on how much damage they absorbed, they may be causing more damage to the crank, pistons, and block. Get an engine reseal kit, bearings, and rings (measure the last 2 before ordering, you may need/want oversized ones), give it a DIY cylinder hone, and it'll be good for many many years of service to come.

There's always the garden edging option....

In the front? Absolutely not unless it was put in by a previous owner. A Front LSD was not available from subaru until the mid-90s in Japan, and 2004 STi in the US. That said, any front diff designed for a subaru 5-speed would be a direct fit. I'm putting a Carbonetic front LSD, that's advertised for a 2002-2007 WRX, in an '80s trans. But, it's not cheap, and not a small project.....so highly unlikely.

I'm not the person to ask. Never bought new front struts for a 4-lug subaru....

Thought I replied to this... The XT6 trans does not have the low range stuff any more than the phase 1 EJs do. The case is shaped to leave room for the gears, but it would still require some serious machining to get everything to mount up. IMHO not worth it. Here's some phase 1 EJ gears laid in an XT6 case: I think the XT6 trans might have the ticket that might not require the RX donor, though. You could probably mix and match input and output shafts like GLoyale did (He used an EJ ouput shaft and gears, which didn't work out). As the N/A PT4WD Dual-Range and XT6 FT4WD trans have the same gear ratios, but likely not the difference in hypoid cuts by using the EJ ouput shaft and gears. But this is just speculation.... Got the circlips and case gaskets from the dealership today. Going to stop by my buddy's shop tomorrow to see if the machining is done. I'll be out of town for the weekend, so I won't be able to test-fit until next week sometime....but it's getting close. Then I have to find time to strip another EJ harness....and put the whole mess in the brat. And THEN, I have to measure the driveshaft and have that modded. Oh yea, and find my 4.444 rear end. I took a glance in my shed today, and only saw a 3.7. Maybe tear apart some of my spare axles to make some deep-DOJ rear axles. I also was looking at a gear calculator, comparing my 4.3Runner setup to the Brat... 4.3Runner, 4L60, Toyota 2.26 Low, Toyota 4.10 axles, 35s: 3.06 x 2.26 x 4.1 = 28.4 3k rpm in 1st Low = 961 feet/minute Brat, on 29s: 3.545 x 1.592 x 4.444 = 25 3k rpm in 1st Low = 909 feet/minute The 4.3Runner is an Auto, so it has the torque converter. But the Brat is a LOT lighter. With the EJ MPFI, it should be a very capable rig. Especially with the front LSD, and hopefully an auto-locker in the rear

Excel Gs are superseding GR2s. The only difference is black paint instead of silver and a different sticker, and they have the same part numbers. Which means parts dealers have no way to order one or the other. In fact it's not uncommon to get some of each. My Celica has 3 Excel-Gs and one GR2. IIRC, any 4WD EA82 should use the same rear shock. Only difference I can think of would be the internal valving. I don't think they'd bother having different valving for the different body styles just for a stock replacement, but if it does, grab the wagon ones, as those have the stiffest springs (most weight).