Brad

the civic is my beater. i'm still playing with my CL-S

thanks for the recommendation and the warning, sir. i'm really just looking into getting my hands on one right now. i may do some modifications down the road.

Nightshade

I have been on it for about 4 years now. The hazings here on HAN are nothing, but once you get past it and figure out the unwritten rules of the place it is the single best 4x4 site on the web bar none.

Nightshade

Well check out their classifieds there are some great rigs on there for some sweet prices. If you are hung up on looks more than function then go to Jeeps Unlimited or some pussy site like that.

Brad

i'm looking for a early 90s toyota pickup or 4runner, perhaps a jeep cherokee or grand cherokee, but i don't care what it looks like as long as its reliable.

wedley2

el oh el

b00gers

What do you guys think about early 90s 4Runners or Cherokees?

Nightshade

Depends on what you want out of it.

The 4runners V6 is crap so if you get one the first thing you should do is change the head gasket if it hasn't recently been done. The way to get a cheap one is to scour Craigslist for one of the thousands of them for sale with a blown V6 then pick up the Chevy Vortech 4.3 V6 to swap into it for a trouble free combo. The only other thing I don't like is the IFS, but if you aren't into hardcore wheeling it should be fine for your average weekend play date on the dirt.

The Cherowagons I am not a fan of because of the unibody but they are good vehicles. The engines are solid if maintained well. The tranny I would look for is either the manual (hard to find in the Cherowagon) or the AX15 auto which is the choice tranny (some research will help identify it). Make sure you get the 4.0 inline 6 if you do decide on one of these. The 4 banger is underpowered horribly but can be swapped out relativley cheaply. The axle combo is a Dana 30/35 combo which again is ok for a weekend fun in the dirt kind of wheeler but the hardcore will shatter them rather quickly in heavy rocks and the C-clip design makes for some work swapping out the inner axles. They can and do put up to abuse but it is a weak spot that can give some issues if you over shoot it's strength and bind them up under throttle.

b00gers

Thanks. I might have to bug you if I do decide on one. I dont plan to go wheeling or anything like that...its mostly to transport myself and my bike. Also having a ride that I can beat around.

If I can find a blown 4runner, how much am I looking for the Chevy V6 swap?

dubcac

I think that would be more of a pain than it is worth here in CA. You'd have to get it passed by the ref.

Nightshade

Well average cost around here for a 93-98 4 runner with blown motor in excellent condition otherwise averages around $3500 or so.

A 4.3 with about 70k on it averages around $500 to $900.

An adapter from engine to tranny from Advance Adapters is about $300 I am guessing (not sure may be closer to $400)

Engine mounts and possible rewelding depends on where you get them but the mounts average about $20 a piece (40 a pair) and welding varies if needed.

I want to say that there may be a bit more to it such as making the wiring work with the 4runners cluster but it is a pretty common swap that is rather well documented (about like the H22 into 5th gen swaps in commonality).

This is just a base estimate of cost but I haven't personally done the swap and everyone I know who has done it did it themselves in their garage in a couple weekends. I would venture to say you may want to find out about how the emissions system connects so that you will still pass the wonderful Cali standards, I know it can be met because more than a few are daily driven machines and more than a few have done emissions friendly V8 swaps as well.