98 PreRunner to IFS 4x4 conversion

[pray4surf]

My rig rolled off the dealer lot as a 1998 2WD PreRunner (2.7L Non-TRD). I purchased it used with 150,000 miles on her as my eldest daughters first vehicle. Long story short, I got the truck back when she bought another Toyota PreRunner (an 02). Took the truck out for a few off-road adventures and got bit by the 4WD bug...

Had read on other forums about others converting a 2WD PreRunner to 4x4 using Toyota parts. So, over the course of 6 months or so I collected all the necessary components (or so I thought) and successfully converted this truck to 4WD.

Additionally, as the conversion took place, other mods have been performed.

4.88 Motive gears (both front and rear)
ARB RD-89 rear locker
Viair compressor and tank
SAW 2.5 coilovers
Wheeler's Offroad leaf pack (to be replaced down the road)
Bilstein 5125 rear shocks
Bent-Up front and rear bumpers
Tube style rock sliders
199mm Tundra front brakes (pads and rotors)
Goodridge stainless steel brakelines
plus some other minor mods; diff breather extension, CB Radio, Blue Sea aux fusebox, Fog lights, driving lights on the front, aux reverse lights, 4Crawler 1" BL...

I've posted up a couple of pics in the Introduction section. If you want more, please ask.

If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them...

Rick

[spiderjp]

that sounds like a lot of work how does it wheel   and how much did it end up costing I always wondered if that would be cheaper than buying one   atleast u have all the parts u wanted in it

[pray4surf]

that sounds like a lot of work how does it wheel   and how much did it end up costing I always wondered if that would be cheaper than buying one   atleast u have all the parts u wanted in it

It wheels, well - like an IFS Tacoma...  ;) - No complaints from me or the truck so far. Everything I've asked of it, it did without any problems...

Just the 4x conversion parts alone have been around $1,500, the cost increased to probably $3K all-in-all with regearing, ARB locker, machine/driveline shop labor, etc...

But you are right, It is set up just the way I wanted it. Though subject to change as my experience changes....

Rick

[hammeredtoys]

Any reason you didn't use a solid axle or do you like the IFS ride and sound like a nice set-up ~cool2

[pray4surf]

Any reason you didn't use a solid axle or do you like the IFS ride and sound like a nice set-up ~cool2

SAC (or SAS) would have taxed my abilities. The IFS was strictly bolt-on... I can turn a wrench, I have no welding skills/ability/experience.

Rick

[hammeredtoys]

Any reason you didn't use a solid axle or do you like the IFS ride and sound like a nice set-up ~cool2

SAC (or SAS) would have taxed my abilities. The IFS was strictly bolt-on... I can turn a wrench, I have no welding skills/ability/experience.

Rick

Bolt on that's cool! Well I did not either bought a arc welder and just started practicing! The only welding would have been the front hanger other then that drill two holes in the frame for rear spring hanger. steering could have been a issue but probally not.

[DavidWymore]

Tacos have a rack and pinion...probably not easy to conv to a steering box. Dunno.

Have you seen Total Chaos' longtravel 4x4 IFS stuff? Pricey, but...

[pray4surf]

Prodded for a little more of a writeup...  here goes...

As mentioned in post 1, started with a non-TRD PreRunner - you know those trucks that look like they are 4x4, but are not...  And not being a TRD, it didn't come with the factory e-locker.

Shortly after getting the truck, I stumbled across a website/forum devoted to offroading Toyota's. TTORA.com - Each chapter organizes runs about once a month. To make a long (boring) story short, I took the truck up to Calico and toyed around on the fireroads (obviously avoiding Doran and Odessa) but did make it out to Wall St. canyon (only needing a slight tug heading back out)...  But the 'damage' had been done, and continue to participate in organized 4WD runs - I needed a 4WD.

So I started to read all I can and kept my eye out for bargains on used 4WD parts.

In a nutshell, converting a Toyota PreRunner to 4WD involves adding a transfer case and front driveline to the existing truck. However, the Driverside drop tcase will not bolt up to the 2WD A430E transmission. One option was to buy an Inchworm adapter, but that solution was kind of pricey at around $700. I found an A340F tranny and tcase out of a wrecked 04 Taco for $750. So I was off and running (or so I thought).

Continued to collect parts; spindles, CV's, front diff, front driveshaft, interior console plastic and shifter plate. Had hoped to install manual hub parts, but settled for ADD as the parts are widely available.

Having read many threads on these conversions, and everyone claiming that it took them two days, I took a week off from work in March 08 to convert my truck...

Step one was to drop the tranny and install the 4WD tanny and tcase. And with the help of another local TTORA member, we tackled that on day one of my conversion.

It wasn't very long after we got the 4x4 trans installed, that I realized it was incompatible. Despite all the research I had done, I failed to realize that the 03-04 toyota's were equipped with 'throttle-by-wire' - basically, what had been mechanically controlled/activated prior to 03 were now electronically controlled. So while the trans and tcase bolted up to the block, I couldn't go any further....

Time was running out on my week vacation and I came to grips with the fact that I needed to find another tranny/tcase in order to proceed. So on the last day of my 9-day wrench-a-thon, I reinstalled the original 2WD tranny and almost called it quits....

I looked high and low for another tranny/tcase (and did find a buyer for the 04 at the same price I paid for it). I looked at one in Alpine one weekend and finally found one in northern california. In addition, the NorCal seller was looking to sell of the entire front end off a '96 Tacoma that he torched off to convert to a solid front axle. So for a few more bills I snapped up these parts (even though I didn't need most of them).

So, the process restarted - I did have the help of some local (and not so local) Toyota owners, some as far away as Georgia offered moral support, others closer took turns coming to my residence to lend a hand.

It would be great to say that from here on out, it was cake...  but it wasn't.

Soon realized that after installing the tranny and tcase, the tcase shifter lever was too far aft under the cab. Further research (you can see where this is going) and I find out that tranny/tcases for the 4-cyl 2.7L motors were slightly different from the 6-cyl 3.4L powerplants. One difference was a top-shift vs. fwd-shift tcase. Though I haven't had any 'real' acknowledgment, my gut feeing is the engine block on the 2.7L is longer than the 3.4L block and this 'pushed' the entire trans/tcase assembly further aft - The A340F trans for either powerplant are the same physical sizes, so the use of the fwd-shift tcase allows for the proper location of the tcase shifter. That left me with two options; find a trans/tcase out of a 2.7L tacoma, or (as suggested my Jim @ Inchworm) cut the shifter lever and weld in a dog-leg. Seeing that Toyotas made very few 2.7L 4x4's with auto trannys and finding one may prove fruitless, cutting and welding was the logical way to go. (Yes, i could have cut a new hole in the floorboard/tunnel - But I wanted as stock looking as possible finish)

Also, the second trans/tcase I purchased came out of a 4Runner. No real difference except the 4Runner's use the rear ABS sensors to 'drive' the speedo. Where the 4x4 Tacomas had a variable speed sensor on the ass end of the tcase. So I had to locate the VSS and when I did and installed it, still no speedo and a glaring CE light.  This SNAFU was the most perplexing. I even borrowed back the first tcase (because it had the 'matching' VSS) and bolted that up and sure enough a working speedo. So once again, I dropped the tcase and put mine back on.  Ultimately, I found a TTORA member in NorCal who had a handful of the various VSS gears (teeth count range from 28 to 33) and using a 32 tooth gear was all it took to get the gears on the output shaft to mesh with the gears on the VSS.

Remember that the trans/tcase were to far aft?  Well this became an issue with the driveshafts. The rear driveshaft on the Tacoma's are two piece with a center carrier bearing. No need to purchase a rear driveshaft as I simply took my prerunner DS to Vista Driveline and had them shorten the front piece. When it came time to install the front driveshaft (which marked the 'end' of the conversion - as it was the last component) it too had to be lengthened....

Of course, while all this was happening I continued to shop for deals on used parts. Found a rear bumper up in northern LA, a front bumper in Phoenix AZ, rock sliders came from a fab shop in Oregon (Free to me! He just wanted someone repping his stuff in SoCal) - while I would have preferred something not so wide/bulky I couldn't pass up on Free stuff.

All-in-all - I started the conversion in early March and finally finished it up in early August. If I didn't have to rely on this truck as my daily driver, it was imperative that at the end of each wrenching period, the truck had to be driveable.

Would I do it again?  I don't know. Was it worth it? You betcha!  Just the knowledge that I did this myself is all the reward I need. Though having the efforts acknowledged by others is sweet...