3rd Gen T4R DIY Maintenance, Repair and Modification Videos

Pj Benn said:

New to the forums and 3rd gen 4runner ownership. Been spending tons of time here and YouTube researching. Thank you for your amazing contributions to this community.

I’m confident to take on easier jobs and considering doing harder ones. Earlier watching your inner and outer tie rod video I wondered if there was a list of work that involves special tools. definitely do not want to invest in $$$ Toyota special tools for a single job. Would rather not have to modify tools to make them work. A list would make it much easier for me to quickly reference and know what to pay the shop for on Tuesday

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You're welcome.

I guess one could say there's lots and lots of special tools outside the normal ratchets, sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers people own. The way I look at it is this, if I have to purchase a tool or two that will enable me to do the job myself, it's worth it because #1) I trust myself to do as good and many times a better job than the paid guys because it's my rig and I'm going to take my time and make sure it's done right. #2) The money I saved doing my own work just paid for the tools I bought that I will most likely use again.

But, I think possibly you are mainly talking about such specialized tools that you might only use once or twice like the Schley Harmonic Balancer holder tool or maybe the Rear Axle Bearing Puller/Installer. The way I look at it when purchasing these tools is I can always sell it on Ebay if I don't think I'll use it again and recoup a decent amount of my money. Or, you can lend it to other 3rd Gen enthusiasts to be helpful.

In the course of the last 4 years running the YouTube channel with Sean, I've probably invested at least $4000 in tools which isn't bad considering some people spend twice that just on a big fancy tool box which is empty of tools. But, with those tools I've saved myself and others much much more. Shop labor rates are very high these days.

The exact thing you're thinking about kept me from tackling the rear axle seal job. I heard you needed a press and other special tools and i let that steer my decision to let my local dealership to the job for me. $1500 it cost me for a rear axle seal job and a rear brake job and they ended up botching the seal job and I had to bring my rig back and school the mechanic from what i learned on this forum. If I would have researched further, I would have found out I could pick up a Harbor Freight 20 ton press for under $200 which I've since used for many jobs other than the rear axle seal repair. Same goes for the press sleeve kit and bearing splitter kit I bought for the job.

I think you should do your own work and invest in the tools you need. You'll learn a lot and save money in the long run.

All solid point and along the same train of thought I follow. Only thing I was thinking while reading was “what about the amount of time”. But honestly if I’m gonna have to take off from work to take it to the shop what’s the difference. If I have the space I will be pushing myself to try harder work. Thanks

Pj Benn said:

All solid point and along the same train of thought I follow. Only thing I was thinking while reading was “what about the amount of time”. But honestly if I’m gonna have to take off from work to take it to the shop what’s the difference. If I have the space I will be pushing myself to try harder work. Thanks

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In regards to time, if you are in a profession where your time is worth a ton of money, then maybe it might not seem as worth it to turn your own wrenches. I'm a firefighter and don't make anywhere close to the hourly rates shops charge, $150-200/hour, so it's a no brainer for me. The time it takes to do your own work could also be taking away from other things like family time, so if you work a ton of hours already and wrenching on your vehicles would severely cut into your quality time with your family, that's another situation I can see deterring people from turning wrenches. But again, for a guy like me that doesn't have children and has plenty of free time, turning wrenches on my personal rigs really isn't taking me away too much from quality time with my girlfriend and from other things I value.

For me, running the YouTube channel with Sean is where I end up dumping an enormous amount to time into and that's where I end up cutting deep into my free time. Researching videos, shooting videos, editing videos, answering people's questions on our channel and on forums like this is a huge time sink. But, it's helping people out so I think it's worth it. There's obviously worse ways to spend your time.

Like me and many others on this forum, turning wrenches is something we actually enjoy. It's a hobby that can save you quite a bit of money. If a person finds turning wrenches to be a chore, then it's obviously not for them. Also, I think a lot of people turn wrenches out of shear necessity because they don't have a lot of money and can't afford to take it to a shop. So, they find videos like ours and get the job done because they need their rig to get from point A to B.

Anyway, I blabbed long enough. Good luck with your rig.

p.s. I noticed you screen name reminds me of a famous MMA fighter BJ Penn. You switched the "B" and the "J". I'm guessing you're a fan? I just looked it up and BJ Penn was born in Hawaii. I liked watching his fights. He's definitely a talented fighter.

Yeah I’m a fan lol. Gotta root for the home team!

can yall tall me if my 4runner is still safe to to drive?

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

dont really know much about cars and this is my only ride to work.
also what would be the average cost for parts and labor?
thanks you guys

IVtez said:

can yall tall me if my 4runner is still safe to to drive?

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

dont really know much about cars and this is my only ride to work.
also what would be the average cost for parts and labor?
thanks you guys

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It looks like from the picture that your exhaust pipe broke. You wouldn't want the end section just hanging there like that while you're driving. There's a rubber grommet hanger that the tail pipe attaches to on the passenger side frame rail. Release the tail pipe hanger from the grommet so this doesn't potentially become a road hazard if it falls off. It would be ok to drive your rig like this for now because the passenger compartment is fairly well sealed and exhaust fumes aren't going to make their way into the vehicle where it would be dangerous for you to breath (carbon monoxide poisoning). But, to play it safe, have the fresh air vent open while you're driving. I recommend you seek out a good muffler shop soon and have them repair it for you. Bring the old tail pipe section with you so they can basically mimmic it in their tubing bender.

As an example for a rough estimate; over on Burtman's site, an upgraded Gibson catback exhaust system will run you $329 plus tax and shipping. If you're wrenching yourself, you could install it yourself with fairly basic tools (ratchet, sockets, screwdrivers, etc.), as long as you don't run into any rust issues. Keep that price in mind if you end up going to a shop to have them do the repair.

Gibson Catback Exhaust System

weekendclimber said:

As an example for a rough estimate; over on Burtman's site, an upgraded Gibson catback exhaust system will run you $329 plus tax and shipping. If you're wrenching yourself, you could install it yourself with fairly basic tools (ratchet, sockets, screwdrivers, etc.), as long as you don't run into any rust issues. Keep that price in mind if you end up going to a shop to have them do the repair.

Gibson Catback Exhaust System

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Thanks for sharing this. This is good to know.

IAC Valve Testing and Cleaning

In this video we show you how to test and clean out the IAC (Idle Air Control) Valve. This video is for 1996-2000 models. If you have a 2001 or 2002 model, you have a different throttle body that doesn't have a screw on IAC valve that controls the air flow to the engine when it's idling.

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Opinions on brake pads? I need new ones in the front and there are many choices. Not sure OEM is necessary. Thx.

Clifford said:

Opinions on brake pads? I need new ones in the front and there are many choices. Not sure OEM is necessary. Thx.

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My suggestion is OEM.

mtbtim said:

My suggestion is OEM.

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I second this opinion. Brakes are the most important part of your vehicle. Do it right and do it once.

Key fob

I have an 01 4runner and I bought a key fob because mine didn't come with one when I bought it. When trying to program the key fob my lock/unlock seems to stop locking after 5 or attempts (this is neccessary to program the key fob) I'm pretty sure it's the door lock actuator but I was wondering if there is any other way to program the key fob? I just really don't want to spend the money fixing the actuators

kleangpun88 said:

I have an 01 4runner and I bought a key fob because mine didn't come with one when I bought it. When trying to program the key fob my lock/unlock seems to stop locking after 5 or attempts (this is neccessary to program the key fob) I'm pretty sure it's the door lock actuator but I was wondering if there is any other way to program the key fob? I just really don't want to spend the money fixing the actuators

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Nope, that is the Only way (or is on the '99, I guess they could have added the functionality in Techstream for the '01, but I wouldn't count on it).

The known "tricks" I've seen are to do it in the morning/when it's coolest as the actuators work better then. If that's no help, then you can Manually help the locks up and down (might need a friend or two if it's more than just the drivers door). And the 3rd is that you can rebuild the actuators, all 4 of them, for about Half the price of one new actuator. The info is in the forum somewhere, links to the motors used on ebay, etc... use the better search (bottom sticky thread).

I really like to be fully prepared before I start on something. This thread/forum and the YouTube videos have been a huge help.

Even though it’s an easy job I knew I was fully prepared to change front diff gear oil this morning. I knew it was gonna be tough to crack the 10mm plugs. Sure enough I rounded out the drain plug. Luckily from the videos I knew to have an extractor ready. Started extracting and rounded that right out and slightly bent my new cheap breaker bar lol. Started working in the next size up extractor before I ran out of time. Oh well at least I knew what to expect going into and bought a spare plug.

Probably gonna have to pay a shop to extract the plug.

Pj Benn said:

I really like to be fully prepared before I start on something. This thread/forum and the YouTube videos have been a huge help.

Even though it’s an easy job I knew I was fully prepared to change front diff gear oil this morning. I knew it was gonna be tough to crack the 10mm plugs. Sure enough I rounded out the drain plug. Luckily from the videos I knew to have an extractor ready. Started extracting and rounded that right out and slightly bent my new cheap breaker bar lol. Started working in the next size up extractor before I ran out of time. Oh well at least I knew what to expect going into and bought a spare plug.

Probably gonna have to pay a shop to extract the plug.

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Dude, I was hoping our video on the subject would prevent this from happening. You really should have used some heat and maybe smacked the plug a couple times with a hammer. Before just going to town with another extractor, heat up around that plug for a good amount of time. What gets stuck is the bond of that copper washer to the plug. With the right amount of heat, you will get it out. If the extractor doesn't work, try the hammer and chisel technique we talk about in the video.

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mtbtim said:

Dude, I was hoping our video on the subject would prevent this from happening. You really should have used some heat and maybe smacked the plug a couple times with a hammer.

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Another "trick" is to hold as much force as possible (without the tool jumping out of the fastener and rounding it off in the first place) for as long as possible. From a strictly Technical point of view the following is False, but in practice it's true:

Torque is Cumulative, or torque = pressure(force) x time

That boils down to you being able to loosen stuck fasteners by just applying as much force as You, or the Fastener, can manage and continue to apply that force for as long as you have the strength to do so. This works on any fastener, so for any of you motorcyclists who've buggered up the chocolate-head screws that hold the top of the master cylinder on, that is the Exact thing where I was shown this tip and it works beautifully.

I don't even own an impact because this technique works with the hand-tools I already own and has proven to be so effective that I simply haven't found a reason to shell out the cash for more tools (air or electric gun, impact sockets/extensions/wobbles, etc...) If nothing else, it's a handy trick for hard-to-reach spots where that stuff simply won't fit.

Add in heat and shocking the threads as needed, and Bob will be your uncle 999 times out of 1,000.

I was sure I seen a video with you talking about the problem. I watched the 30k service video before starting and figured I had got confused with another post/video since it looked easy in that video. I tried hammering a bit but with a rubber mallet (so I didn’t wake the neighbors since it was before sunrise). Doubt that did anything. Pb blaster did nothing either. I thought about grabbing my torch but decided it would take way more to heat the diff up. Will try again tomorrow morning hopefully the mapp gas Burnzomatic is hot enough. can’t believe I missed that vid this morning. Thanks

I tried 2x. Completely broke my 18in 3/8 breaker bar and gave up. Transfer case oil was easy so I tried 1 last time. Used up the rest of the mapp gas drove up the curb for more room for leverage and used an adapter on my 2ft 1/2 breaker. Stepped on it head a crack and felt give. Figured I broke the adapter or something. Checked and seen plug finally broke free! Thanks for the help and encouragement. Saved me $ from paying a shop to remove

Pj Benn said:

I tried 2x. Completely broke my 18in 3/8 breaker bar and gave up. Transfer case oil was easy so I tried 1 last time. Used up the rest of the mapp gas drove up the curb for more room for leverage and used an adapter on my 2ft 1/2 breaker. Stepped on it head a crack and felt give. Figured I broke the adapter or something. Checked and seen plug finally broke free! Thanks for the help and encouragement. Saved me $ from paying a shop to remove

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Good job persevering and getting that damn plug out. Don't torque it to the FSM spec. Just use your best judgement and get it snug with a 3/8" ratchet. You will thank yourself the next time you have to remove it.