JZiggy's "Grown Up" 4Runner Build

JZiggy said:

Some stuff! I realized my license plates lights were super dirty. Took the lenses off, cleaned them, and put fresh bulbs in cuz the originals were kind of hazy. Old on left new on right.

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I did this recently. There are a number of vent channels in the rubber seal that lets the dust in. I sealed all but 1 of them with RTV during reassembly to hopefully reduce the issue in the future.

-Charlie

I'm looking at repairing my paint in pretty much the exact same spots as you did.

Where did you get the your a color matched sunfire red aerosol paint? And when you did the repaint why did you choose not to apply a primer beforehand?

Pyral said:

I'm looking at repairing my paint in pretty much the exact same spots as you did.

Where did you get the your a color matched sunfire red aerosol paint? And when you did the repaint why did you choose not to apply a primer beforehand?

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I got the paint from automotivetouchup.com

Good question, I don't exactly remember why. I think some of the base coat was still there and it made it easier/simpler to attempt to blend with the existing paint.

JZiggy said:

Got a steering rack bracket upgrade from 333 Fab for a present! This fits the bushing more snugly, can't corrode, and is actually stiffer than the OEM so the rack can't deflect as much. I also took the opportunity to pull the stud out, clean all the threads, and reinstall the stud with some loctite.

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It's a neat looking bracket, I had my eye on it for a while too! But curious about the deflection that it is designed to correct - are we talking up/down, left/right, front/back?

Spiker Engineering said:

It's a neat looking bracket, I had my eye on it for a while too! But curious about the deflection that it is designed to correct - are we talking up/down, left/right, front/back?

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I assume it would improve stiffness triaxially, but their simulations show the deflection front-to-back (how the vehicle is facing)

JZiggy said:

I assume it would improve stiffness triaxially, but their simulations show the deflection front-to-back (how the vehicle is facing)

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Interesting - my brain is having trouble processing how any (significant) front-to-back load can be introduced into the rack from the tires - won't the tie rods just move to accommodate the deflection? Not sure how any load other than friction from the tie rods can introduce a front to back load into the rack.

The side to side load of course is a different animal, but I think it's the other two mounts that take up that load?

Regardless, this thing is neat :thumb:.

ETA: I guess if a tire hits a hard obstacle while the wheel is turned, the angle of the tie rod can have a small front-to-back component? Maybe that's the condition they are referring to. Still it seems to me that that loading should be reacted by the control arms.

Spiker Engineering said:

ETA: I guess if a tire hits a hard obstacle while the wheel is turned, the angle of the tie rod can have a small front-to-back component? Maybe that's the condition they are referring to. Still it seems to me that that loading should be reacted by the control arms.

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The vector of turning forces on the wheel at high angles has a rearward component. So, not front-back rolling forces, but forces turning the wheel (uneven loading over rocks, etc). Still doesn't seem significant to me since there are still bushings in the system...

Hard wheeling might break it (and has on a few occasions on here), but that's a whole different animal than regular driving.

-Charlie

You said that the old clear coat was pealing, was there a reason you chose to redo both the clearcoat and the base paint? Couldn't you of simply sanded away the old clearcoat with some fine sandpaper and put a new clear coat on if the base paint was fine?

Pyral said:

You said that the old clear coat was pealing, was there a reason you chose to redo both the clearcoat and the base paint? Couldn't you of simply sanded away the old clearcoat with some fine sandpaper and put a new clear coat on if the base paint was fine?

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Any amount of sanding seemed to go straight to the metal in some small places. It needed a fresh coat to look decent.

I was able to remove the cabin air filter without much trouble. Reach up and work it past the snaps by hand, no big deal.

It has certainly caught some crap (including old HVAC foam) so I banged it out and sprayed some compressed air to clean the dust out. Nice to know that the filter can be removed and reinstalled without drama.



Hit the AC evaporator with AC coil cleaner. It wasn't very dirty but it does get condensation on it during use which attracts dust

Time for a little update!

I hadn't changed the front diff oil in a few years. I learned at one point that the TrueTrac diffs really prefer dino 80W-90 vs. synthetic so I used some Valvoline stuff with no limited slip additive. The drain plug was stuck tight -- nothing a little heat, Kroil, and chiseling can't take care of.

I took the opportunity to upgrade the plug to a Lexus 90341-24016. It's a teeny bit shorter and has a 14mm head rather than a 10mm hex wrench, hallelujah! This time I installed it with a touch of anti-seize on the threads too.







While messing around on the front end I pulled the brake pads and cleaned / greased up the sliding points. Amazingly, these pads are Akebono ACT812 ProACT ceramics I installed 6 years and 70,000 miles ago (along with the 199mm TBU) are barely worn!


(wet from brake cleaner)

If your ever in a jam with those 10 mm hex plugs. You can pound a T55 impact torx into it, and they will come right out. It's good to know a Lexus plug will work as well. Thanks for sharing..

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

That's a good tip! I rounded my dragon plug out then just welded the Allen but in. That worked too but used an Allen bit.

JBurt said:

That's a good tip! I rounded my dragon plug out then just welded the Allen but in. That worked too but used an Allen bit.

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Yes. You can actually keep using the same plug just with a torx bit too.. Works very well.

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

More chassis maintenance madness!

Before I forget, I snugged up the top nuts of the rear shocks. Seems like they like to loosen up over time.

I installed rear OEM brake shoes with Timmy back in 2017, if memory serves (we did a video). Since then I've hosed the out with brake cleaner and touched up the adjustment once or twice when I had the wheels off, but that's it.

Not too bad looking after a spritz



But I uninstalled everything, cleaned carefully, and lubricated all the slide points. I also overhauled the bellcranks which have not been touched ever.

Driver's side was nice, just a bit of dirty grease. Cleaned and lubed heavily with silicone paste. Got a new boot too!







Passenger side (shown w/ boot off) was in rough shape. Water had gotten into the boot and corroded the pin to the aluminum housing. I heated it, Kroiled it, and got it apart. It spent the night in some Evapo-rust and it cleaned up well with a wire brush. Much of the bracket itself has lost its paint so I fixed that too.





And installed!



(Side note, I'm not sure if I'm seeing the very beginnings of axle seal failure there... did that job in late 2016. I'll have to keep an eye on it.)

I also found that the cables connecting the bellcranks to the adjuster bracket were a little rough with the sheathing flaking off. Dorman makes a replacement (part 962-048) that was a carbon copy, perfect length.



Finally, since I discombobulated the bellcranks I readjusted the slack and then set the brake shoe adjustment. I have a little force gauge that I can connect with a strap to the parking brake cable. When 8-9 clicks takes ~40 lb of force then I know it's just right

If you made it this far, go find something else more interesting to do!!

JZiggy said:

More mini-mods. When I first bought the truck I had to address the squeaky clutch pedal. I did a torsion spring-ectomy and replaced the pivot bushings. But that was 6 years ago, wow!

This time I did the bushings on both the clutch and brake pedal (which I had never done). Regreased all the sliding components and replaced the plunger pad that looked old and crispy.

Clutch pedal

Brake pedal

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Where did you get the replacement pedal bushings?

Pyral said:

Where did you get the replacement pedal bushings?

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Toyota

I can look up the part number for you at some point if you need.

JZiggy said:

Toyota

I can look up the part number for you at some point if you need.

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That would be nice. I want to make sure I don’t end up buying the clutch spring bushings

Did you find the part number?

Pyral said:

Did you find the part number?

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Here's a diagram:

CLUTCH PEDAL & FLEXIBLE HOSE

The bushings on the main bolt pivot are 90386-13007
The little one on the pin is 90386-08002

I'd go ahead and grab a new bumper that hits the switch and a pedal cover too.