2000 limited SleepyDad build

trip report UT

I did a 3000 mile trip from MN->Moab->Vegas->Grand Canyon

I know this is not my 4runner but... I only had 6 extra hours in Moab when I was there so I tried to run a fun but easy trail.

HellRoaring Rim
Red Rock 4-Wheelers, Inc. -

this was a great trail and was easy enough but did pose some trouble for the rover. some of the ledges were a bit tricky but anybody who takes their time and has 31" tires should be fine. I always drag my poor family to see cool rocks. I was a geology minor in college so... I guess I like rocks.

<a href="https://imgur.com/PZP8TWw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/PZP8TWwl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/rVNMCPe"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/rVNMCPel.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/9eenQZw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9eenQZwl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/pGx46ZW"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/pGx46ZWl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

My son... said to me... dad those ladies over there nobody will believe me when I tell them.... I said ok well lets give them $10 and see if they will take a picture? no way dad... yes way buddy this is vegas.
<a href="https://imgur.com/A2n9vV3"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/A2n9vV3l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
 
High output alternator 160 amp

I had picked this guy up last fall but... I'm just getting around to putting it in.

High Output Alternator 160 Amp 1996-2002 4Runner 2000-2004 5VZ Tacoma

this will be the first step in my stupid attempt at an electric fan conversion. also for a winch that is coming maybe this year.

<a href="https://imgur.com/Faj5Oo8"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Faj5Oo8l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/mHI7NPb"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/mHI7NPbl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
 
sleepydad said:
I did a 3000 mile trip from MN->Moab->Vegas->Grand Canyon

I know this is not my 4runner but... I only had 6 extra hours in Moab when I was there so I tried to run a fun but easy trail.

HellRoaring Rim
Red Rock 4-Wheelers, Inc. -

this was a great trail and was easy enough but did pose some trouble for the rover. some of the ledges were a bit tricky but anybody who takes their time and has 31" tires should be fine. I always drag my poor family to see cool rocks. I was a geology minor in college so... I guess I like rocks.

<a href="https://imgur.com/PZP8TWw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/PZP8TWwl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/rVNMCPe"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/rVNMCPel.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/9eenQZw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9eenQZwl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/pGx46ZW"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/pGx46ZWl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

My son... said to me... dad those ladies over there nobody will believe me when I tell them.... I said ok well lets give them $10 and see if they will take a picture? no way dad... yes way buddy this is vegas.
<a href="https://imgur.com/A2n9vV3"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/A2n9vV3l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
Click to expand...

Not sure you could wipe that smile off your son’s face with an industrial air hammer. Heck, even Mario is quite happy.
 
4/2019 update

I wanted to upsize to 33" tires

I also like the look of the spare steelies 42601-35751
BFG was doing a promo for a rebate
BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 LT255/85R16 123Q E-ply
<a href="https://imgur.com/qG7CePj"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/qG7CePjl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>


went with the SOLO motor sports LCA and SPC UCA
these LCA move the lower ball joint forward about 1" and the SPC allow for a good quality alignment.
<a href="https://imgur.com/l5NsFyl"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/l5NsFyll.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

things are never complete you have to use some custom bumps from Duro Bumps
<a href="https://imgur.com/QKcMbLK"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/QKcMbLKl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>


I also undid the 231 tundra brake caliper and went back to stock sized calipers. I was less than impressed by the tundra brake upgrade.
stock size napa rotors, calipers and pads
<a href="https://imgur.com/La6IRfV"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/La6IRfVl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

I need to take it this week for an alignment
<a href="https://imgur.com/gEyPK5H"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gEyPK5Hl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

update, align done
<a href="https://imgur.com/ypvGCTL"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ypvGCTLl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

ready to rock again
<a href="https://imgur.com/mEwg6pp"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/mEwg6ppl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
 
Last edited:
sleepydad said:
went with the SOLO motor sports LCA and SPC UCA
these LCA move the lower ball joint forward about 1" and the SPC allow for a good quality alignment.
Click to expand...

Always been a steelie fan myself. Couldn't get rid of them even when I went to 17s. I think this is the first truck I've seen with the SOLO replacements. Looks like it made a world of difference. Got me thinking for sure...
 
TCMach said:
Always been a steelie fan myself. Couldn't get rid of them even when I went to 17s. I think this is the first truck I've seen with the SOLO replacements. Looks like it made a world of difference. Got me thinking for sure...
Click to expand...

I have a big soft spot for the pizza cutter steelies.

check out this thread...

Solo Motorsports stock length LCA's will soon be a thing!!!!

I think 35" might clear without too much trouble actually...part of me wanted to do it but... for now the 33" will do.
 
sleepydad said:
I had picked this guy up last fall but... I'm just getting around to putting it in.

High Output Alternator 160 Amp 1996-2002 4Runner 2000-2004 5VZ Tacoma

this will be the first step in my stupid attempt at an electric fan conversion. also for a winch that is coming maybe this year.
Click to expand...

As a fellow e-fan user, they are absolutely great for cooling in almost every situation. Frees up power, etc and all that. Oh did I mention they are great in almost every situation? They suck at cooling when off-roading. I went on a 4 hour ride up in the high Sierras during the summer and was pegged at 220*.

I have a 16" SPAL 25 amp fan that's mounted flush with the radiator. Kept the stock shroud. If you want to keep yours happy offroad you'll need a larger fan or a bigger one that covers more of the radiator.
 
gamefreakgc said:
As a fellow e-fan user, they are absolutely great for cooling in almost every situation. Frees up power, etc and all that. Oh did I mention they are great in almost every situation? They suck at cooling when off-roading. I went on a 4 hour ride up in the high Sierras during the summer and was pegged at 220*.

I have a 16" SPAL 25 amp fan that's mounted flush with the radiator. Kept the stock shroud. If you want to keep yours happy offroad you'll need a larger fan or a bigger one that covers more of the radiator.
Click to expand...

I have tried to think it thru...

champion aluminum radiator this adds and extra gallon and good quality product.
alternator++amps
Derale double fan shroud they claim 4000 cfm
and last but not least

AUTO COOL 55 Pulse width modulated fan controller | autocoolguy

so hopefully this will be enough to keep things under control... we shall see.

Think I have everything I need to set things up... now I just need a 3-4 hours in the garage to hook everything up.
 
sleepydad said:
I have tried to think it thru...

champion aluminum radiator this adds and extra gallon and good quality product.
alternator++amps
Derale double fan shroud they claim 4000 cfm
and last but not least

AUTO COOL 55 Pulse width modulated fan controller | autocoolguy

so hopefully this will be enough to keep things under control... we shall see.

Think I have everything I need to set things up... now I just need a 3-4 hours in the garage to hook everything up.
Click to expand...

The Derale kits seem to draw 40+ amps, so that should help for sure. However, personally, I doubt the durability of said fans, which is why I went with a single SPAL fan. Flex-a-lite is even worse. I have not used a Derale one though but have heard good things about the controllers as far as reliability goes.

I've seen the champion radiators in some of the high-performance Taco builds and they seem to be a solid product.
 
I'm so sick of the battery wanting to move around

100% somebody here on the 3rd gen forumns did this and it's not my idea at all. I can't remember who is was but I want to give them credit. will edit in their identity when I find them again.

where the goods can be found.
TRD/Aluminum Battery Hold Downs | Page 32 | Tacoma World

step 1 cut a slab of 1/8" aluminum and figure out how to bolt it down. the center bolt is really the only bolt but it's very solid. the other 4 nut/bolt combo are for the battery tray thing... see next pic.

<a href="https://imgur.com/YS6FmLc"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/YS6FmLcl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

The AGM battery type comes with a false bottom plastic tray so this makes is possible to just cave man the nut/bolts and not having to flush them up.
<a href="https://imgur.com/2O88Lfi"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/2O88Lfil.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

battery goes back in
<a href="https://imgur.com/sP8mpCc"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/sP8mpCcl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

this is a compare of our taco brothers crazy coolness
<a href="https://imgur.com/PDGYz6Y"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/PDGYz6Yl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

what is even better about the crazy taco guy is he made the width adjustable via these little sliding stops. this is some serious rocket science and it works really well.
<a href="https://imgur.com/4Ltz3OM"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4Ltz3OMl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

everything in place and snug
<a href="https://imgur.com/9CfrMYo"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9CfrMYol.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

you can see how those adjustable stops work and allows you to move the battery just a little bit this way or that.
<a href="https://imgur.com/3JQBKRk"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/3JQBKRkl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

I need to cut a spacer or go grab some m10 washers to fix this space. this is a totally no brain trade off for having a very solid battery crank down.
<a href="https://imgur.com/K66ilFx"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/K66ilFxl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

this setup is rock solid and I'm no longer worried about even having to look at the battery when offroading. I don't think you could lift the truck up with the battery tray but it's darn close.

<a href="https://imgur.com/l7TfSMz"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/l7TfSMzl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
 
Last edited:
LittleCaesar said:
I have to ask what you didn’t like about the TBU upgrade. My false bottom actually cracked under my AGM Duralast last year.
Click to expand...

I like a very firm pedal at the top of the travel. the larger calipers made mine way too soft and mushy even after bleeding it 4x times.

I also had a couple of strange lockups. I only had the lockups when I had rear drums, after I did the disc brake conversion on my rear I never had it happen.

I also never really felt like it stopped the truck better.

with the stock brakes the pedal is nice and firm right at the top and the truck stops just fine. I had to slam it on the freeway already one time and the truck chirped to a stop just fine.

maybe it works better on newer trucks? 01,02 have such a different braking system than the older trucks? I don't know.

I have never tried the 199mm calipers. I will re-use the tundra brakes on my sketchy build. maybe just comes down to personal preference? after 300,000+ miles in 3rd gens over the last 25 years I have issues? well I have issues for sure.
 
My 99 4Runner has the 199 calipers on it and the pedal does feel pretty firm to start. It also has resurfaced drums and new shoes and hardware and wheel cylinders that are all adjusted correctly so that probably makes a huge difference. Btw bought my parts for the rear brake setup. Also bought the mustang ebrake cables and a new 4Runner cable gonna see how/if/wtf it is possible to get the ebrake to work on the rear disc conversion
 
I agree with ya for the most part. Unless one goes off-road frequently or tows more than a handful of times yearly, I would just stay with the stock calipers and make sure everything works well. In fact I believe the 231mm conversion has made my 4Runner at times slower but I won’t change it,

I did find that bleeding the brakes with the 4Runner running finally gave me then the firm pedal I desired.

The rig is looking good.
 
Panhard and correction and anger

I run the 024RCB-P - ToyTec Superflex Rear Coils
with the weight I have this should give me about 3.25" of rear lift.

we all know [MENTION=28464]eimkeith[/MENTION] makes an excellent weld on kit to help correct the panhard bar back into parallel. so with my feable goopy welding skills I made it happen.

<a href="https://imgur.com/Vuw4y2g"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Vuw4y2gl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/40Y9YgA"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/40Y9YgAl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

I also grabbed the front range offoad adjustable link bar, blasted it and put a couple of coats of DTM and some flat black chassis nasty paint by KBS.

4Runner Panhard Link (3rd Gen, Rear) - Front Range Off-Road Fabrication

<a href="https://imgur.com/9GMjKer"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9GMjKerl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

now for the fun part where I got all :redbrick: do we have clearance issues yes we do. you can't see in the second shot but it's hitting and it's going to make some serious noise. I don't need any new clunks please.

<a href="https://imgur.com/VuiZx7r"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/VuiZx7rl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/nAlsgD9"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/nAlsgD9l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

so at this point I was like why not just cut the focker off? plenty of threads right? hell yea there is.

when in doubt cut stuff off
<a href="https://imgur.com/yEa8JR1"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yEa8JR1l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

yes this is way better thank you... sorry blurry action shot I guess.
<a href="https://imgur.com/DSSWlCo"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/DSSWlCol.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/LRVDHyd"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/LRVDHydl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

after all that yes it was worth it... man this truck drives like it's on 33" rails now. no seriously it's way better. nothing worth it is ever easy I guess.
 
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