JZiggy's "Grown Up" 4Runner Build

JZiggy · Nov 22, 2016

These were factory ones on my local Craigslist. I painted them so they look fresh. Here was my painting process:
- Scrub with simple green
- Rinse with water
- Wipe down with isopropyl alcohol, allow to dry
- Paint with Rustoleum Primer & Sealer, Gray, 3 light coats til covered, allow to dry a few minutes
- Paint with Rustoleum Trim and Bumper Spray, Matte Black, again 3 light coats til covered.
- Dry a couple days in the sun!!

I did not get the front mud guards, apparently they are quite rare. But I got some aftermarket ones and trimmed them to fit, wasn't too hard. I'll post up about that with some pictures later.

JZiggy · Nov 24, 2016

Fender flares turned out good! I'm grateful to the dude that suggested the gasketing for the flares, makes a big difference in fit & finish.

JZiggy · Nov 24, 2016

In other news, I disassembled and cleaned my roof rack. Mold everywhere, leaves and dirt stuffed in the open spaces, general swampass... I know left-coasters are all into composting, but I'm not doing it in my roof rack.

Some tips:

Replace the gray tape patches under the 10 mounting holes with some 3M body tape. It's super sticky and strong and helps seal the hole. Silicone RTV was used on the mounting bolt threads. They are a T25 Torx, make sure you've got a bit that adapts to a ratchet -- some of the threads are really tight due to the sealant.

JZiggy · Nov 24, 2016

A nice fella on Craigslist hooked me up with a pair of '99 "tall" springs, paint code yellow/red. (The yellow looks a little green, which was confusing when doing research on springs). Gave them a little wire brushing on the ends where some surface rust had set it and primed/painted.

Old (yellow/blue) vs. new. Note the extra wrap.

Bumpstop clearance before and after:

The mod netted me a clean 1" at the rear wheel wells, and my bumpstop clearance went from about 1/4" to 1-1/4", much more comfortable on the bumps now!

Bilstein 4600's coming next week...

Pekoe1111 · Nov 26, 2016

Tall Springs

Trying to find these used is a challenge.

JRZEE2000TR4LTD · Nov 26, 2016

Pekoe1111 said:
Trying to find these used is a challenge.

Is someone trying to get a post count up or is this just a troll?

JZiggy · Nov 27, 2016

I replaced the rear sway bar bushings with Prothane when I did the coils. A couple of questions for the gurus:

- The 99 springs have boosted the end up a bit, and the rear sway bar doesn't meet the endlinks at a 90* angle anymore. Should I consider putting some front links (1" longer) in the rear to compensate?

- The original rubber bushings have a washer on each side, so 4 washers total per endlink. The Prothane kit only has 2 washers per side, so I left the inside surface of the bushings naked so they press right up against the frame. Is this correct, or should I have retained two extra factory washers?

Lastly, am I just overthinking all this stuff?

JZiggy · Nov 29, 2016

Marlin Crawler shifter seats for the transmission and transfer case. Don't be like me and try to reuse the black rubber gasket underneath the new Marlin seat... read the directions and throw that thing away!

By the way, what is that little air hose for? There's a small vacuum tube connected to it.

Chuckles89 · Nov 29, 2016

That's a breather line that loops right down to another barb

JZiggy · Nov 29, 2016

Chuckles89 said:
That's a breather line that loops right down to another barb

Thanks! :boink:

JZiggy · Dec 2, 2016

Installed an Energy Suspension poly steering rack kit last night. The old rubber bushings came out pretty easily, the real chore was getting the poly bushings and spacer sleeve to all push in there. At one point I had to get out Big Bessy to finish to job.

JZiggy · Dec 3, 2016

Finished the suspension. Too dark for many pictures tonight. I went with Bilstein 4600's to keep stock right height.

I put some front sway bar links in the rear. The angle looked a bit off after the boost from 99 rear springs. How does the angle look to you guys? (The floor jack is supporting the rear axle so the suspension is compressed to normal height)

Update: Went back to factory length rear endlink. The extended ones were too long and hit the LCA a bit.

JZiggy · Dec 3, 2016

When I upgraded my stock size tires (225/75R15) to 265/70R16 I noticed my odometer & speedometer read 7% slower than before.

I assumed my speedo gear was a 31 tooth (31:11) so I could swap in a 33:11 to mostly correct (math -- 33/31 = +6.5%)

Turns out my speedo gear is a 32 tooth. I popped in a 33 toother but it'll only take me halfway. I'll turn on the GPS and get some data tomorrow and see where I actually am with it.

Tyler James Inc · Dec 3, 2016

Dang, nice rig man.
99+ 3rz is a pretty rare find!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JZiggy · Dec 4, 2016

Tyler James Inc said:
Dang, nice rig man.
99+ 3rz is a pretty rare find!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the kind words!

JZiggy · Dec 4, 2016

JZiggy said:
When I upgraded my stock size tires (225/75R15) to 265/70R16 I noticed my odometer & speedometer read 7% slower than before.

I assumed my speedo gear was a 31 tooth (31:11) so I could swap in a 33:11 to mostly correct (math -- 33/31 = +6.5%)

Turns out my speedo gear is a 32 tooth. I popped in a 33 toother but it'll only take me halfway. I'll turn on the GPS and get some data tomorrow and see where I actually am with it.

So I totally did that math backwards. Going from the 32 to 33 tooth gear made my odometer 10% slow rather than 7% slow. Oops!

Looks like what I really need is a 30 tooth gear.

32/30 = 6.67% increase, should match the 7% offset nicely.

JZiggy · Dec 4, 2016

Forgot to mention, I also installed my [MENTION=89792]bhicks[/MENTION] 3D printed rear cupholders. Man these things rock! I've had the backseat full of passengers a few times and they love them too.

Update: Nearly 3 years in and this is *still* one of my favorite mods!

Tyler James Inc · Dec 4, 2016

Oh wow, those are stout looking cup holders! Haven't seen those before [emoji1360]

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JZiggy · Dec 16, 2016

Here's my (extremely satisfying) mini upgrade for the week. Swap out the old 2-hole windshield sprayers for some Toyota OEM 3-holers. These came from an early 2000's Rav4 with "cold spec", part 85381-42070. I owe [MENTION=5345]habanero[/MENTION] for the idea!

Before & After

--- Update! The best option is the Honda Odyssey sprayer:

JZiggy · Dec 16, 2016

Interesting OEM radiator cap trivia. Note the differences between my original rad cap (left) and the new OEM one (right).

JZiggy's &quot;Grown Up&quot; 4Runner Build

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JZiggy's "Grown Up" 4Runner Build