I have a 92 2wd pickup and a 92 4wd 4runner. My pickup sits real low and i rearended somone but everything still runs amazing. The 4runner has a blown motor but the body is immaculate. I would like to have a lowered 4 runner and I am wondering if the parts are interchangable. What i want to do is pretty much take all the six lug and 4 wheel drive parts off the 4runner and replace them with the 5 lug and 2wd parts from my pickup. I will also be taking the motor and tranny out of the truck and putting it into the 4runner. I am thinking that the toyota 4runner and pickup parts are pretty interchangable with the things i have done with the pickup. I realize i will most likely need a new driveshaft, but that is the easy part. The overall question is, will the front end parts like the torsion bars, spindles, and all the 2wd components bolt onto the front end once the 4wd parts are taken off?
If the frame isn't bad on the pickup you could switch the bodys an just built new body mounts for the back 6
yeah, but that seems a lot harder to switch the whole body and electonics and everything instead of just changing out parts that are easier to install and take off.
front end might work, not sure cause I dont think anyones done it... as far as changing trannys and such, leave the transfer case in just remove the front axles. that will keep it easy as possible. rear end your gunna have some issues.
how will i have issues with the rear end? i have to pull the swap the motor out anyways and i don't want a jerry rigged setup. i want the 4runner to sit as low as my 2wd truck does now. if it will work my pickup has a leaf under axle setup and if i can't use the leaf springs from my truck i can just use the rear end in the same setup as my truck.
your going to pay for 4wd insurance on a 2wd first off the frames are different your front end will not just bolt on... you can do it but a welder an grinder would be a must if you swap frames the wheelbase is different, the 4runner is shorter you would need to move the rear axle forward to fit the forerunner are they both v6's? if so I would swap the suspension if the 2wd is a 22r then I would swap the bodys and mod the 2wd frame to fit... best bet is a custom airbag suspension since the available wheels are numerous in 6 lug now... you could convert to 5 or just stay 6 lug I have seen a few slammed 4runners on the net... do some searching man GL and let us know how the project goes
well like mentioned the 4runner has a different suspension layout up front. as far as bolt on stuff, i would take the front axle stuff out. swap the motor and trans to your 2wd stuff. flip the balljoints and crank the torsions. the 4runner should have a factory 4 link in the back. so just trim or replace the coils with shorter ones. you may want to lengthen/shorten the bars if the rearend moves from being lowered too much. keep an eye on the pinion. you might be able to have the front hubs redrilled and run the pickup rear end with some new mounts welded to it for the 4 link stuff. that would give you the option of adjusting the pinion. i wanna see it done. it should be cool.
I agree you should pick up the 4runner body and drop it on the 2wd frame. You won't be able to get as low doing it the other was. If your 2wd is an extra cab it is a different story because the frame will need to be shortened. The torsion bar setup is on the top with the 4runner, rather than the bottom with the 2wd. Every bagged 4runner I've ever seen has been a reg cab 2wd pickup frame.
lol, i commented on your post on the minitruckin site. the 4x4 frame isn't even close to the 2x4. even the 2x4 4runners run a 4x4 frame that lacks the front diff, transfer case etc... it won't be easy, but adjusting the wheelbase of your 2x4 frame (assuming it's usable) and adding body mounts is about the only way to go low with the 4runner.
i was looking at specs and the runner and a reg. cab short bed pickup have the same wheelbase and are just a few inches different in overall length, so i'm gonna search the junk yards for a reg cab pickup with a 5 speed and 22r and do it that way i'm thinkin. just see if they might trade me for my xtra cab pickup