Fix4Dirt '98 XLT

Finally, its about time!

The Specs

Basic- 1998 XLT 4x4
Mileage- 323k (8/25/22)
Engine- 4.0 SOHC (stock)
Trans- 5r55e (stock)
Tcase- BW4405 (stock)
Front/Rear End- D35 IFS 3.73/8.8 LS 3.73 (stock)
Suspension- TT w/Keys/OME36+Shackle, ES UCA/LCA bushings, ES Sway bar end links (not stock)
Wheels/Tires- Stock 15" teardrop w/ 1" spacer/31" Toyo OC ATIII
Audio- MACH HU/Amp, Kicker CS door speakers, Kicker Comp C8 sub
Bumpers- RockRanger bumper+ HF 12k Winch
Accessories- Roof Basket, 30" LED Bar, Rear light pods, loads of sound deadening

The future!!!

- "New" hatch (spot welds tearing/torn on old one, need to paint up new one) In Progress
- Brake Booster Done
- Powertrax NoSlip
- Superlift?
- 33s?

Pics!!!

Stock

Lift stock tires

Current form (6/14/22) Lift & 31s

Current Form (12/29/22) A bit more lift, 31s, basket

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Hey, ya know what though, you may not have beaten the 4runner yet, but you'd probably still beat my truck up it, even if I had a rear locker! So you're still ahead of someone
Man I miss having 4wd, now I've got more power but I'm a 2wd..

Can't say I've caught trout or anything by hand, but I have caught snakes, turtles, jellyfish (technically a hand held net, not sure that counts ), some small itty bitty fish if that counts too, etc... Went to some springs a few months back and found those freshwater tiny flounder looking fish (want to say I googled it at some point and that's exactly what it was, but I really cannot remember), like an inch and a half or so, saw a few of 'em, I was able to nab a few of those. But even still, dad gum @410Fortune , even sleeping that can be hard to do, I've tried that myself a few times.

well, i suppose. but still i will return for revenge on that hill.

oh, wow! nope havent gotten there yet LOL except those tiny ones those you xan do by hand, but nothing larger LOL!

 

[DemonMudder]

well, i suppose. but still i will return for revenge on that hill.

oh, wow! nope havent gotten there yet LOL except those tiny ones those you xan do by hand, but nothing larger LOL!

Oh I'll be coming for ya, I'll either nab another truck with 4x4 already and build it up or build this one up like crazy to compete with ya

Nothing larger, yet!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Oh I'll be coming for ya, I'll either nab another truck with 4x4 already and build it up or build this one up like crazy to compete with ya

Nothing larger, yet!

you win LOL if ya end up with a 4wd chances are youll be better than mine with the plans ive heard.

maybe... but i kinda like the thrill of reeling stuff in

 

[DemonMudder]

you win LOL if ya end up with a 4wd chances are youll be better than mine with the plans ive heard.

maybe... but i kinda like the thrill of reeling stuff in

You say that, a 4wd would get lifted and more built around mud than desert areas. So where you're at, if I made this truck into a pre runner since she is a 2wd so shes perfect, THEN I could beat ya up there probably. Even a 4wd with that setup I suppose. But still, something like this truck, if I ever got mine straight axles like that on 53s, is a mudder, not a desert climber
So no, you'll probably be ahead of me for a long time, though I wont lie, a pre runner setup is still being looked at as debatable, would be cool, just not the greatest amount of places out here to use it.

 

[CDW6212R]

You guys are way ahead of me off roading, I've never been anywhere to experience any of that, but I appreciate the hard work it takes to build something to survive those obstacles.

Catching wild things, I've seen a lot of wildlife on my mail routes, just Friday I saw raccoons for the first time, a family running across the road.

Here's my only picture of triumph over a spider in my yard. I was digging up weeds for planting a few things, and this was deep in the grass where I pulled the grass and roots away. Nasty looking thing for a normal residential yard;

 

[Fix4Dirt]

still got more to do, but so far my findings

- need locker
- sohc at 11k elevation and inclines = bad
-sohc above 6k start to feel slow and gets worse with elevation

the last 2 are normal but in 4hi at one point the X didnt make enough power to move itself. granted it was stuxk at 1.5-2k rpm since it didnt have enough power to move itself into the power band. tested and once it gets into the band it works normally just didnt have enough low end to move itself

 

[Fix4Dirt]

pics so far

 

[CDW6212R]

The power you can improve but that's a huge subject and not cheap ever. The gearing is something you can do to help it pull at all speeds, and inclines. You should have 4.10's now if it was the normal 4WD model, your bigger tires change that some.

Divide the OEM 30" tire by your new size, or what you will have, and multiply that by the current gear ratio. That gives you a ratio that will get it back to the original gearing.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The power you can improve but that's a huge subject and not cheap ever. The gearing is something you can do to help it pull at all speeds, and inclines. You should have 4.10's now if it was the normal 4WD model, your bigger tires change that some.

Divide the OEM 30" tire by your new size, or what you will have, and multiply that by the current gear ratio. That gives you a ratio that will get it back to the original gearing.

yeah not doing more power mods LOL borla muffler is all it will get! i have 373s at the moment it had the tow package with the 373 stock, and to get it stock it would be around 410 needed. but idk if its a worthwile change. not much can be done power wise at 11k without boosting or big mods, all the bolt ons will change it some but not a huge change i suspect. would a v8 truck be better? i assume not since power figures were close and the elevation loss applies to both. however my only reason is the v8 got more low end LOL once it hits 2.5k i feel some power st elevation in my sohc not much bit a bit

 

[CDW6212R]

The 3.73:1 gears are a better highway gear than 4.10's, and it looks like the 4.10 became standard for 4WD's in 1999. I keep reading that but there are a lot before 1999 that had the 3.73's in them.

Bigger tires equal a step or several steps more in gear ratio, you'll likely be heading towards a 4.56:1 or even bigger. The 302 will make a little more torque earlier(bottom end rpm's), so it could help with elevation a bit.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The 3.73:1 gears are a better highway gear than 4.10's, and it looks like the 4.10 became standard for 4WD's in 1999. I keep reading that but there are a lot before 1999 that had the 3.73's in them.

Bigger tires equal a step or several steps more in gear ratio, you'll likely be heading towards a 4.56:1 or even bigger. The 302 will make a little more torque earlier(bottom end rpm's), so it could help with elevation a bit.

hmm yeah wish i ahd 410 but its not a huge difference from what i heard wish it was a 430 for the front diff. only thing is with 456 my highway mpgs will go down since it also does long drives. hmm yeah, food for thought, but wouldnt happen for a bit LOL

 

[DemonMudder]

The 3.73:1 gears are a better highway gear than 4.10's, and it looks like the 4.10 became standard for 4WD's in 1999. I keep reading that but there are a lot before 1999 that had the 3.73's in them.

Bigger tires equal a step or several steps more in gear ratio, you'll likely be heading towards a 4.56:1 or even bigger. The 302 will make a little more torque earlier(bottom end rpm's), so it could help with elevation a bit.

Mine was a '99 4WD, I had 3.73s in her. From my experience at least in the Rado (supposedly having a 4.10 rear), I can still highway speed fine, not as nicely as before, but it's a truck, bigger and older than the X as well, I'm not drag racing it anyway. 3.73 to 4.10 doesn't make a crazy huge difference like a 4.56 swap would, but its definitely there and noticeable. Plus, I'm actually getting slightly better mileage than the X did anyway, usually was getting between 14-16 after the small lift and 32s, the Rado is on a 3" lift with 33x12.50s and gets a decent average between like 17-19, I've hit 21 before, not easy to do though; but I'm also assuming thats due to being 2wd vs 4wd, the 4wd (my moms silverado and my brothers burban as examples, burban gets like 10-12mpg, her truck I want to say last I heard was like 14 or 15mpg).

I'm not sure what determined the X getting 4.10s or not, because that reasoning wouldn't make much sense for mine unless it was just a weird exclusion, or because it was a '99, was the part of the transition and wasnt lucky enough. LIKE THE RADO....i hate transition years, not even going into chevy with the transitions of somethings (overall, 88-98, but some parts were 88-93, 88-94, 94-98, 95-98, 96-98, etc....my brother and I were so unlucky with our years, both were transitions for several different things..
So maybe that's what happened at least in my gearing case on the X

A 302 certainly would help, especially after an upgrade here and there for some more power, you'd still have some loss, but it wouldn't be as bad, especially paired with the 4.10s if ya went that far.

 

[Josh P]

would a v8 truck be better?

A 347 or 363 with 4.10 gears.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

one good shot from the lake.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

one good shot from the lake.

View attachment 433234

Beautiful bro

 

[Fix4Dirt]

few more

 

[Fix4Dirt]

new interesting issue. doesnt autolock when put into gear and brske letnout. but randomly will lock, sometimes it seems when you hitnthe turn signal. did just change to a new flasher relay, so will have to dig into that deeper.

 

[410Fortune]

what?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

what?

when thentruck is unlockrd and put it into gear and let off the brakes it will automatically lock all the doors. now, it no longer does that, instead randomly after say 30 minutes of driving it will lock, or once in a while seems when the turn signal is activated. the manual lock switches and button on the fob still work as usual just no autolock anymore. coincidentally this happened around the time i installed the led lights all around so needed a new flasher relay, so i suspect based on that and the fact that once n a while it locks when turn signal is activated they are in some way comnected but im not sure yet.

not sure that made sense.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

when thentruck is unlockrd and put it into gear and let off the brakes it will automatically lock all the doors. now, it no longer does that, instead randomly after say 30 minutes of driving it will lock, or once in a while seems when the turn signal is activated. the manual lock switches and button on the fob still work as usual just no autolock anymore. coincidentally this happened around the time i installed the led lights all around so needed a new flasher relay, so i suspect based on that and the fact that once n a while it locks when turn signal is activated they are in some way comnected but im not sure yet.

not sure that made sense.

Did you replace the reverse lights?