Originally Posted By: Astro14
The 5VZ-FE is a way better engine than the 3VZ-E in my 1990 4Runner. The big brakes are a great upgrade. When I lived in Colorado, the old 4Runner used to struggle up hills and coming down could be a challenge with the factory brakes. I had a Downey lift kit, with Doetsch Tech shocks and it was a great set up. Similar to yours.
The other weak link in my truck was the A340 transmission. I think you've got the same one. It doesn't get enough cooling from the cooler loop in the radiator, especially when the converter is unlocked and you're on the gas hard, as you will be when climbing mountain passes or rock crawling.
I strongly encourage you to add a decent size plate type transmission oil cooler. One like this:
http://www.bmracing.com/products/70264-oil-cooler-large-supercooler-14400-btu-rating-black/
Here's my old truck. Picture on the Outer Banks from last summer. A 4Runner is an outstanding choice for exploring the back country. If you could add fuel capacity, that would help...
Nice Rig!!!
Yes, the trans gets hot going up passes! We plan to drain and fill with synthetic trans fluid before he trip, then 5000 miles after the trip to minimize any potential for damage.
Also, on the off-road portions, we will be using 4-Lo which really saves your trans from working to hard. Yea, driving up mountain passes on paved road, the temps spike 230+! But off-roading in 4lo on steep inclines I have only been able to peak 160 trans temps!
So we are going to be really concentrated on protecting the trans and monitoring temps as we go as I agree; out of everything on this truck, the Trans has the most potential for excessive wear/torture.
As for fuel, we have two 5 gallon jerry cans that we are going to mount flat of the roof rack. Trying to keep weight up there as minimal as possible, only light weight items are going up there besides the fuel like camp chairs, tarps, etc.
On the major undertakings we are really taking our time with planning is weight distribution. We are taking into account where the fuel tank is, car battery, and passenger weight and trying to counter that stationary weight with our packing. The goal is to have the heaviest stuff as low as possible and as close to the middle of the rig as possible. Anything on the roof or beyond the line of the rear axle is going to have to be light weight.
Trying to balance that line of thinking, while keeping in mind we are going to live out of this thing for two weeks and common use items need to be accessible is where the "fun" starts. Lol. It's a puzzle for sure!
