thewanderlustking

Alright the transfer case fluid is separate from the transmission. Odd that they use Dextron ATF II in the automatic version and a different transfer case oil in the manual one... There is a drain and a fill level on the back side. When I get it back up, I will take pictures.

On the A304H transfer case, does it refill via the transmission dipstick? It "seems" like it does as the fluid level dropped down SIGNIFICANTLY after engaging the 4x4... But no point in taking a risk. If not I need to figure out how to check and adjust the level. Probably do a drain and refill. I know it takes the same ATF fluid on on the Auto as does the transmission.

X10! While not CSF, Roundforge is a very good resource for Toyotas though and all things off-road. A lot of that does translate over to our trucks too. Tough call. Linda points out the discrepancy between the sizes, core widths. Myself, I wouldn't think twice about giving it a shot, but I have lots of experience stuffing things in where they don't go... Most of the time moving interfering parts isn't a big deal. I haven't played with any 83 or earlier trucks though and am not sure about what changes from the 83 to the 84 chassis. To be safe, order from Amazon or a local parts house that will let you return it for free. If I am putting a radiator in, or working with coolers and the like, and don't know how much fitting work is needed, I protect the core. Cut out and tape cardboard to the core so you don't damage the fins or leave marks on them during install. I haven't looked for pre 84 stuff, but there are a lot of other options out there too, cheaper ones than CSF. But if the bolt issue is daunting, chances are pretty high that the cheaper options will have even more fitment issues to work out. A core with change from 14' to 20' is a HUGE UPGRADE, IF you can get it ti fit in there...

All you have to do is buy some bolts in the size they tell you. Easy peasy. You just can't reuse your original fan shroud bolts. CSF makes good radiators too.

Oh and I don't know if this applies to all fo the Toyota fan clutches, but somebody was posting up on here about how they had changed the oil in the clutch to alter the temperature. Apparently this is a thing you can do?!

The little 22 motors are worked pretty hard in these and head gasket issues are not uncommon. So getting out in front of it BEFORE that happens, is a pretty smart idea! As others have said, the fan clutch on yours is solely temperature based. It is pretty common for fan clutches to "whoosh and roar" for a minute or so on start up, and then quiet down. Go over your cooling system closely. Verify correct thermostat operation. If you decide to change it, you can find one slightly cooler than stock. If your radiator needs replacement you can get aluminum radiator kits that also replace the fan clutch with an electric thermostatically controlled fan. Make sure your fan shroud is there. Some of the older Toyotas have two shroud parts. Make sure the coolant is nice and clean/fresh. Might even be worth running the nice Toyota coolant in it. It seems to last longer than the green stuff anyways. If it needs a flush, I would put the Toyota red/pink back in myself. I LOVE a product made by Redline called "Water Wetter" and can't recommend it enough! I have had some pretty high horsepower Volkswagens that suffered from cooling system issues. Using Water Wetter significantly improved the cooling system efficiency. It alters the surface tension to make the heat transfer more effectively. My 1977 Rabbit went from overheating at lights, to being okay parked on the highway on a hot day stuck in traffic. I will be adding that to my 4Runner cooling system here shortly after I replace a few other things, like the thermostat and flush the coolant. Most importantly, keep a close eye on temperatures. I have a super cool gauge from a company called Perfect Tuning. It lets me configure audible and visual alarms for specific parameters I want to keep an eye on. It is meant to be used in a standalone engine management situation with a MegaSquirt. But it does accept sensor inputs directly, I think up to 4. I will be using to in my 4Runner to monitor Air Fuel Ratio, coolant temp, transmission temp, and maybe transfer case temp. Even if I don't go 'squirt the truck. I would imagine there are similar options out there for MUCH cheaper that would at least give you a configurable alarm for coolant temp. A quick look and I am not finding any, but they have to be out there... And if you have any doubts or concerns about your headgasket, a block test is very easy to do and nice peace of mind.

On the Toyotas, some actually came from the factory with electric lockers. Not on our RVs, but on some of the pickups and 4x4s. These are common enough I can grab a 3rd member for mine online for reasonable prices, and if I find it locally in a pick-n-pull I can even get it really cheaply! Yukon gears (I believe it was them anyways) makes one that is an "auto locker," not sure how that works but I am pretty sure I don't like the idea for use on icy roads... ARB, of course, makes an air locker. Still, this is talking about the Toyotas. I don't have the foggiest clue what is available aftermarket for the Nissans, is there much? And I also personally know the hell that finding parts for the older Nissans can be... Yes the 22RE Toyotas are kinda underpowered, but even more so poorly geared. I have been playing on various Toyota forums for a while now and I see echoed there what several of the members here have said, change the rear end ratio! Even some of the newer Toyotas suffer from REALLY poor final gearing. The absolute best drive though I took in my Mini Cruiser was the last one. I had recently finished the 4.88 rear end upgrade and HOLY CRAP it made a HUGE DIFFERENCE! The sluggishness was completely gone. RPM was in a better range. It was super responsive. The validation was pretty awesome, I just wish I had gotten to take it on some proper adventures. Someday. The community here is pretty awesome, I must agree! It is why I am still here after selling my Mini Cruiser! That and Linda hasn't banned me yet, hopefully I am still useful lol! 😉 I came here for the RV stuff, but fell in LOVE with the Toyota platform! The day I delivered the Mini Cruiser to my friend, we left from his place and drove about an hour to pick up my 4Runner, and I couldn't be happier! Sometime soon I might just sneak a build thread into the Miscellaneous section for my 4Runner Overlander Project. eventually, I would love to find another Toyota (maybe even a Nissan) RV. For now I am just happy to be back working on familiar mechanical bits and using the knowledge I gained here from my Mini Cruiser to plan out a simpler camper conversion. Anyways your Toyota to Nissan experience sorta sounds like my pre and post rear end swap drives.

I got my 1986 Mini Cruiser with only 32k on it! And I had a pile of receipts to prove it too. I don't know how many miles I put on it, but sadly it wasn't a lot... I miss it, but I still have visitation rights! My best friend eded up with it. As for coach manuals, there may not be any. And if you do find one, it probably won't go into details on the appliances. Builders would frequently put in whatever they could get, or a customer could also make a special request. My Mini came with a stack of various manuals, one for each appliance. And I added a few to the pile.

YMMV, literally. (I only got 32k out of my original fuel pump.) But let me add a couple alternative points to this conversation. Linda, your scenario of still running on original fuel pumps, is kinda irrelevant. Morbo's original pump is already dead. The only way to get an original fuel pump, is to go get a used one out of another vehicle and hope it is still original. That would be silly. The quality of new parts these days is HORRIBLE. With the supply chain issues in the past couple years, quality has gone down even more too. Even a brand new Bosch fuel pump, while WAY better than the Amazon Chiniseum one, is still nowhere NEAR the quality of the original ones. I have sen plenty of brand new fuel pumps fail within 1-2 years. Even the better quality ones. In fact we are on fuel pump three in the bosses truck in only 3-4 months. He has a brand new gas tank, and a high dollar "quality" fuel pump. I have noticed there seems to be a 'burn in" or break in period for new pumps. After they have passed the 2yr mark, I rarely see them come back. But I did mine back in 2019 before the quality went WAY down the drain, and I was still concerned enough to make it an easier job to do. There was another reason I took that approach with the access hole. I had parked my Mini in my second driveway when the pump went out. It is dirt/gravel. So I couldn't lift it up safely, or high enough to drop the tank. Yes, we do have a drain plug! A super cool thing, and I will probably be using it on my new Toy in the next few days. Its fuel pump died tonight. LOL... But before I drop the tank, I will be checking to see if that one has an access panel! Heh, nope... And the first video that comes up on replacing the pump, he suggests cutting a hole. His truck had broken down in a hospital parking lot, and he couldn't drop the tank there. The main reason I took that approach on my Mini Cruiser, accessibility in any situation. And it is easy enough to do that popping in a cheap local parts house pump, or even having a cheap Amazon pump on hand, isn't a big deal. You can see into the tank really well to inspect it on my (old, now sold) Mini. Obviously you can't slosh the tank back and forth like you could if it was dropped out. But you could easily rinse the tank out from the access hole and drain out the bottom. With gas or another appropriate cleaner. I won't be cutting holes in my 4Runner to do the pump though. First off it is pretty high up and I can probably drop the rank without even putting it on ramps or jack stands. And there is no clean way to do it, it really would be a hack job on that truck. Plus it is easy to get it towed to my shop if need be. That is my last "selling point" lol! Our RV's (usually) fall into requiring special RV towing. Most tow places won't put them onto a flatbed even if they had somebody smart enough that can. While everyone should have AAA RV Towing, or Good Sam's, or both even, if you can eliminate the need for a tow and quickly repair it on site, heck yeah! Dropping the tank is usually going to be the better option. But on some of these Toyota RV's an access hole can be made cleanly and it can be a smart way to approach the repair. If you do though, make SURE to clean off the top of the tank before opening it up. You have to do this when you drop the tank too, but in that case it is easier to accomplish. Either approach is good. Both have positives and negatives. And a 6" holesaw is not cheap... But the $300 or so I spent on pump, holesaw, and access panel cover was less than a tow. Last thought/comment. Yes debris is the worst culprit and killer of pumps. But old gas with methanol is also pretty bad for them. Anyways, just another idea worth considering that will work on some of our vehicles. It isn't for everyone and it does take some effort to initially setup.

A couple hints. In my Mini Cruiser I spent a bit measuring, remeasuring, then measured again and popped 6” hole saw through the floor. It ended up underneath my dining table. Per someone here’s recommendation, I then used a marine access hatch to seal it back up. Now it takes about 15 minutes to change out a fuel pump. Why? Methanol kills our pumps. So sitting there with old gas will take out an otherwise good fuel pump. I did use a Bosch file pump, it wasn’t cheap. Between the pump, holesaw, and hatch I probably was into it for $300. (MUCH LESS than paying a shop.) But now a cheap $30 Amazon spare can go into the emergency kit. Preventative maintenance if your rv will sit unused for a while like most of us, then fill up with rec fuel before it is parked. (Run the old out first.)

Yes, afterwards. Here is a video from when I pulled the pan to inspect it. Disclaimer: Remember I got this assembled and mostly installed. IMG_1093.MOV

The video didn’t really turn out. This is it in the park position. Here it is all the way in low. If you look closer at the park position, you can see the pin off the shifter mechanism right here. This needs to be sandwiched between the discs on the sliding valve. It wasn’t on mine. Oops. BYW these pictures are orientated with the right side being the passenger side. The bottom of the picture is towards the front.

Post up what year and model RV you have. I haven’t seen a code reader with the right adapter for the older Toyotas, but all you need on most of them is a paper clip stuffed into the correct spots anyways. I probably have the correct manual at home for the later ones. The earlier Toyota Factory Shop Manual is a posted up on here already.

In general, you should put the wheels on and set it on the ground in rest state, before tightening suspension components. I don't think anything in the back on one of these though would make a difference. This is more for suspension components like control arms with bushings. Old Man Emu's website would likely have some more instructions and detailed installation advice. If I am not mistaken, you used their springs too.

If it had an external filter, no that’s not stock. At least not on any of the A43Ds I have seen…. That is a pretty good idea though. Makes for a quickie filter change every other oil change or so. Okay I DEFINITELY found a problem, hopefully THE problem. Inside, there is a pin coming off the shifter lever. This moves forward and back with the shifter. In the valve body, the main shift valve slides in and out and has two rings on the end. The pin is supposed to be caught between those rings. It wasn’t. It was slid all the way in, so I believe it was stuck in low gear. I managed to catch 90% of the fluid back in a jug. The rest though I took a bath in when I lowered the valve body. I got it back up correctly. I’m about to verify the shifter movement above corresponds to the pawl underneath then I can put the pan back on, fill and take shower #5 for the evening… I took a video showing the issue. Let me see how much of a mess I make and I will try to get another one with it working.