I've decided to remake my build thread as my old thread title I don't think was drawing a lot of traffic.

A little background on this 4Runner. Before this, I had owned two Ford Rangers as my daily driver. The first one was a 1994 Ranger 2WD with a 2.3 and a manual transmission. It replaced my Ford Focus as my daily driver in 2010 when I unfortunately popped the engine in the Focus. I had that for four years, but it started to get rusty so I unloaded it and picked up a 2004 Ranger FX4 Level II with a 4.0 and a manual. That was a great truck, but it was approaching 180,000 miles and those early 4.0s were known for timing chain issues and I wanted to get rid of that before it gave me any problems.

That leads me to this truck. I've wanted either another 1st gen Tacoma or a 3rd gen 4Runner ever since my brief stint with a 1997 Tacoma 3.4 4WD a few years ago. That truck was a complete pile of crap, but it gave me the Toyota bug. I had been browsing Craigslist for a few months checking out anything within a 2 hour radius, but to no avail. Everything in Michigan and Indiana was a rusty mess. I ended up finding this one on eBay in Pennsylvania in October from a guy who deals in a lot of 3rd gens. This one was a three owner vehicle originally from New Jersey, however the underside of it is extraordinarily clean for being from New England.

Flash forward to today; I have since moved to Phoenix and have got it caught up to date on maintenance as well as a few choice modifications.

Current Photos from July 22nd/23rd in Crown King, AZ & Prescott, AZ:

DSC_1044 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1042 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1040 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1054 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr


Truck Info: 2002 Millenium Silver Toyota 4Runner 3.4 Auto 4WD
Current Mileage: 16x,xxx

Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes

• Powerstop Z32 TBU
• LT285/75/16 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
• SCS Ray10 in Dark Matte Bronze
• D558 Front Bilstein 5100s
• Tundra Rear Bilstein 5100s
• Toytec/Eibach Front Springs
• OME 890 Rear Springs w/ 10mm Trim Packers
• Toytec Diff Drop

Performance

• Extended Rear Differential Breather
• B&M 70268 External Trans Cooler

Exterior

• Running Boards Removed
• 20% Front Tint
• AVS Bug Deflector
• TRD Badge
• MJT Fab Satoshi Grille
• Polished Aluminum Fairlead

Lighting

• 20" eBay LED Bar
• Morimoto/Nilight HID Retrofits
• 4" Round Jeep JK LED Foglights
• Turn Signal Mod
• LED Reverse Lights
• LED Front Turn Signals
• LED License Plate Lights
• MJT Fab Grille Light Kit

Armor/Recovery

• 4xInnovations HREW Sliders w/ Kickout
• RPM Fab Front Bumper
• 2 x 3/4" Bumper-Mounted Shackles
• RCI Metalworks 3/16" Steel Front Skid

Interior

• LED Dome Lights
• JVC Bluetooth Stereo
• Weather Tech Tan Front Mats

Recovery Gear/Tools

• Towstrap
• Jumper Cables
• Viair 88P Air Compressor
• Tire Deflator
• Craftsman Toolset
• Maglite LED 3 D Cell Flashlight
• Hatchet

Maintenance

• NGK Spark Plugs & Wires
• Air Filter
• Transmission Drain & Refill
• New Driver's Side Valve Cover
• Valve Cover Gaskets
• Fuel Filter
• A/C, P/S & Alternator Belts
• Toyota Lower Ball Joints
• Front Swaybar Endlinks
• Driver's Side ITRE
• Denso Radiator
• Aisin Thermostat & Seal
• Gates Radiator Hoses
• Toyota PCV Valve, Hose & Grommet

Future Purchases

• SPC UCAs
• Roof Basket or Full Length Rack
• Lockers (Maybe?)
• IVD Suspension
• eimkeith panhard bar drop
• Superflex Rear Springs
• Rear swingout bumper

Trails Completed

• Schnebly Hill Road
• Broken Arrow
• Box Canyon
• Four Peaks
• Backway to Crown King
• Senator Highway
• Grand Canyon National Park

Link to my Flickr Account for more photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/trailbikerider/

As I said, the truck was originally purchased from a seller on eBay out of Philadelphia, PA. Here's how it looked when I received it from the shipper's (all photos from original eBay listing).

October 16th, 2016


















Shortly after I bought the truck, I sold my old Ranger and began doing some preventative maintenance as I would be pulling a 5x8 Uhaul loaded down from Kalamazoo, MI to Phoenix, AZ. A few of the items completed were the 231mm TBU, diff breather extension, external trans cooler and a much needed valve cover replacement.





Not much happened for a month or two after the move. The first thing I did was removed the factory running boards and installed the OME/Bilstein lift.

January 21st, 2017





February 4th, 2017





Not too long after the lift was installed, I broke it in when I rolled 150k.

I drove around like that for a few weeks until I couldn't stand the small highway tires, so I got a set of Hercules Terra Trac AT2s mounted in 265/75/16 for a STEAL. Out the door, mounted and balanced with a front end alignment for under $500. For those that don't know, Hercules is a division of Cooper Tire. So far I've been extremely impressed with these. I just drove the truck with them on Schnebly Hill Road and Broken Arrow trail in Sedona, AZ this past weekend and they crawled up everything with ease.

February 20th, 2017



2002 4Runner - Front by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

2002 4Runner - Side by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

2002 4Runner - Rear by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

2002 4Runner - Rear 3/4 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

2002 4Runner - Side by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

2002 4Runner - Side by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Somewhere along the line I ordered an AVS bug deflector and installed that.





Tax time came, and I treated myself to an early birthday gift with a set of wheels. I know these are played out, but they're cheap, they're easy to clean, and they look fantastic on 3rd gens.

March 5th, 2017









I did a budget retrofit using TYC headlights and $25 Amazon Nilight projectors, but I couldn't get the bulbs to stop flickering. I ended up returning the Xentec HID kit I bought and returned to factory headlights for the time being. I'll be buying a set of Morimoto ballasts and bulbs in the future to hopefully eliminate that issue. These next set of photos show the headlights before they were removed.

April 14th, 2017

Drove up to the top of Four Peaks in Fort McDowell, AZ with a 5th gen guy.

Four Peaks Run by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Four Peaks Run by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Four Peaks Run by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Four Peaks Run by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

I recently went with a bunch of 4Runner guys up to Sedona to run a few trails I've been wanting to hit since I moved, which included Schnebly Hill Road and Broken Arrow (with the infamous Devil's Staircase). I didn't get hardly any photos on SHR because the group didn't want to stop, but I have a few from one of the guys that was following me.

April 23rd, 2017





Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr



The most recent modification is a satoshi grille done by MJT Grille Fab. I ordered it in primer and ended up rattle canning it Millenium Silver. It looks like crap, but maybe down the road if I end up caring more I'll have it professionally painted.

April 25th, 2017

Looks super clean man! Love the wheels and the stance.

Thank you very much!


So this is retrofit headlights round 2. I returned all of the cheap crap I bought a a month ago and decided to spend the money on Morimoto equipment. Comes with a new harness as well, which looks to be put together much better than the $11 harness I had been using prior. This is probably a little overkill for my $25 projectors, but at least I'll (hopefully) have functioning HIDs now. Install is this weekend along with my 20" LED lightbar.

Nice truck, looks super clean!

I've always wanted a silver 4runner limited. I like where this build is going! After getting retrofits on my runner, I can't imagine going back to halogen.

Just curious, what HID kit were you using before?

Thanks man! Your truck has a lot done to it that I would do myself. I'm hoping to score a good deal on an ARB bumper next weekend at the Expo!

You may change your mind after you get up close to some of the other vendors offerings :-). I the Arizona 4runners should have a meet up in Flag Saturday night


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I was using a 55w Xentec HID kit that I bought on Amazon. Had tons of issues with the bulb color not being quite right along with flickering even with a set of added capacitors.

Haha maybe! I like the 4xInnovations bumper as well but they won't be there as a vendor. I will be up there Saturday/Sunday most likely camping with another 3rd gen guy. If you want to camp with us or get together shoot me a PM and we can get in touch.

Ordered a set of sliders! It was either this, or spend quadruple on a front bumper (though that will probably happen before too long).

Can't wait to get them installed!

Went up and did some wheeling at Box Canyon in Wickenburg, AZ this weekend. There's a really narrow part through two canyon walls and quite a bit of water before it widens out into a desert wash.









Sliders also showed up the other day. Hoping to have them welded on in the next few weeks.

Just placed an order for a set of OME 890 rear springs. While the 906s haven't been too bad, I want something softer and with slightly more lift/rake. That being said, there will be a set of 906s with ~5,000 miles on them for sale soon!