[BigBadBill]

My name is Bill and i'm 16 year old. Got my license in October and got a 94 toyota truck. Its a 4 cylinder w/ a 5 speed manual and only 40,000 miles. Body has 180,000. I haven't done anything to it yet but I got it with a 6" superlift, k&n intake, flowmaster exhaust, 35" BF mudterrains. The suspension, wheels, and tires only have 1000 miles on them. I got it for $5000.

The reason for this post is i was wondering what to do next. I live in Northern Nevada and would love to get more into off-roading. I'd be doing mostly trails, hills, and mild rock crawling. But it is also still my only means of transportation. So what should my next step be? The things I have been thinking are lockers, driving lights, a brush guard, stuff like that. But I don't really know a whole lot. Are those necessary? Am i missing anything major? If anyone has some feedback i'd really appreciate it. And if you have more specifics on good reliable brands that would be awesome. Thanks a lot.

Bill Pierz
Nevada TTORA
'94 Truck

 

[rojodiablo]

Lights, some rock sliders, and the recovery and repair gear might be your first ideas. Good tow straps, a come-along, a hi-lift will help you out forever. Lights, a brush guard are great ideas. I would pass on a locker for the moment, as long as your gearing works well for the truck. You will learn more, and respect your truck more if you learn its' limits as you use it as is. You'll be amazed at what you can do. Good hand tools. Have fun!

 

[tbplus10]

Recovery gear and a good look at your truck on a lift to check things like gear ratio (someone did put bigger tires on, did they regear?) and condition of the T-case, tranny, frt & rear diffs, skid plates, exhaust, and fuel tank. Then make a priority list of repair items needed. That will probably eat your budget for a few months.
As you take it wheeling you'll be able to decide whether a winch should be next or sliders or a locker. Everyone prioritizes their needs differently.

Tim

 

[WILD YOTE]

My name is Bill and i'm 16 year old. Got my license in October and got a 94 toyota truck. Its a 4 cylinder w/ a 5 speed manual and only 40,000 miles. Body has 180,000. I haven't done anything to it yet but I got it with a 6" superlift, k&n intake, flowmaster exhaust, 35" BF mudterrains. The suspension, wheels, and tires only have 1000 miles on them. I got it for $5000.

The reason for this post is i was wondering what to do next. I live in Northern Nevada and would love to get more into off-roading. I'd be doing mostly trails, hills, and mild rock crawling. But it is also still my only means of transportation. So what should my next step be? The things I have been thinking are lockers, driving lights, a brush guard, stuff like that. But I don't really know a whole lot. Are those necessary? Am i missing anything major? If anyone has some feedback i'd really appreciate it. And if you have more specifics on good reliable brands that would be awesome. Thanks a lot.

Bill Pierz
Nevada TTORA
'94 Truck

With 35's and a four banger I'd get taller gears. Lockers might be a bad idea with stock diff's AND 35's (wouldnt want to break an axle.) Maybe invest in some protection. Like sliders, bumpers, skid plates, winch etc... If you get into it more, a solid front axle set up would be much more capable. Sounds like you're off to a great start though. Toyota's RULE!!!

 

[Paul H.]

I agree, sliders, ARB or TJM bumper, and gear change.

 

[TmudRroverD]

If your looking for something to do that is cheap, but gives back more than you paid for it, get some lights. I have lights on my front bumper and i have two hanging down from my trailor hich bar. They are very easy to put on, but will give you experience on working on your truck and a taste of the electrical system. They def. help at night. You would be amazed about how often you will use them once you put them on. Something you might want to consider is you can run the light and splice them into your door jam alarm... so if you still have them on when you open your door... that annoying buzzer will go off so you dont forget. Its fun and cheap... do your research though... some lights are 10x better than ones that cost more than it
have fun
brian

 

[BigBadBill]

Ya, I would have to check about it but he did change the gears when he put the tires on. I just don't know what size. Forgot to mention it. About getting it checked out on a lift how would i go about doing that? How much does it cost? Etc. That sounded like a good idea.

Anyway, today i did some cutting so my tire wouldn't rub and took off my air dam (going to make a badass custom one). But i noticed my suspension is really squeky (holy shit how do you spell that) and don't really know why. Should a 94 truck have a front AND rear bushing on the front suspension? Because both mine only has one on the front and I need to know whether that is normal or i need to get new ones. Thanks in advance and thanks a lot for all the info. It will really make a differnence.

 

[85runnerman]

locker will be fine in the rear but youd want to upgrade the front axles before locking it with 35's

 

[MuddinMama]

My name is Bill and i'm 16 year old. Got my license in October and got a 94 toyota truck. Its a 4 cylinder w/ a 5 speed manual and only 40,000 miles. Body has 180,000. I haven't done anything to it yet but I got it with a 6" superlift, k&n intake, flowmaster exhaust, 35" BF mudterrains. The suspension, wheels, and tires only have 1000 miles on them. I got it for $5000.

Yo BBB. Welcome to the Madness.

Superlift doesn't make a 6" suspension lift for our trucks: http://www.superlift.com/products/toyota/tbifs.asp - so you might want to check to see what you really have under there. If the kit came with blocks, get rid of them & start looking @ new leafs. How are those 35's workin' out for ya?

Think gears (check to see what gear code you already have: http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/other/4_axles.html). You might be able to get away with stock - I do. My next move would be a CB, winch, better battery, body armor (bumpers & sliders) & locker(s), but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it now.

 

[BigBadBill]

Superlift doesn't make a 6" suspension lift for our trucks: http://www.superlift.com/products/toyota/tbifs.asp - so you might want to check to see what you really have under there. If the kit came with blocks, get rid of them & start looking @ new leafs. How are those 35's workin' out for ya?

Thats just what i was told so it must a be a 5" because it is pretty up there. No blocks it has bigger leafs (it was done right). As for the 35's I love them. Look great, perform better. Had to do some cutting to get the right clearance but I made that look good too. Thx a lot.
Bill

 

[MuddinMama]

Thats just what i was told so it must a be a 5" because it is pretty up there. No blocks it has bigger leafs (it was done right). As for the 35's I love them. Look great, perform better. Had to do some cutting to get the right clearance but I made that look good too. Thx a lot.
Bill

>"Note: The 4" to 5" front lift height range is determined by torsion bar adjustment."<
It's a 4" lift. The fact you had to cut for 35's tells me that. How much did you have to take off for those anyhow?

I'll be upgrading to 35's this summer - my BFG MT km's have over 35K on them & have about 50% tread left @ best. Time for new ones.

 

[BigBadBill]

I took off about half an inch at the thickest part and then tapered it both ways. It actually was a good thing because there was a little pocket in the fender behind the front wheels and now it is open so it won't rust out. Thx for the info on the lift. Good to really know whats goin' on. BTW sweet website and sweet truck. It looks really similar to mine. I thought that was pretty cool.

Bill

 

[MuddinMama]

I took off about half an inch at the thickest part and then tapered it both ways. It actually was a good thing because there was a little pocket in the fender behind the front wheels and now it is open so it won't rust out. Thx for the info on the lift. Good to really know whats goin' on. BTW sweet website and sweet truck. It looks really similar to mine. I thought that was pretty cool.

Bill

I appreciate the compliment & wish I had more time to update things. Got any pix of your 'Yota?

Thanx for the info! I'm thinking I can get by without trimming. Hahaha. What a concept. We cut the lower valance corners off for the 33's & should just remove the whole thing anyhow.

Your BFG MT km's will last forever...almost. Great tires! I read in one of the 4 wheeler mags that BFG has redesigned their MT's for distribution this spring/summer. From the puny pic, they looked like an MT/Krawler hybrid, but it was hard to tell & I haven't been able to find any more info than that. I'm hoping my current muds can wait a few more thousand miles to find out. Those or radial Baja Claws/Xterrains, but I'd like to stay away from directional tires.

 

[BigBadBill]

I'm workin' on pix. Just got a new nikon coolpix 5400. So gotta get some good ones.