Today we got the differentials painted and in. So far so go. Hopefully engine in tomorrow.

https://youtu.be/sCAauhaxnI4

Epic DIY. My favorite part is the lunch break in part 2.

Haha, gotta stop for fuel!

So distracted by the work going on on the shop lights... rewired for LED upgrade?

Today was very successful. Tires on and engine in!


https://youtu.be/98j0L4kDxFo

Today was a very successful day. Body lowered and driving. Some major gremlins showed up:

Broke bolt off in condenser - $$
3 Exhaust Leaks - $$$
CV Boots - $
Brake Calipers need replacing - $$$
Brake line assembly or T block is leaking - $

Other than that we're in the clear and ready for some driving after an inspection and alignment.

Also some pro tips and thoughts on the day:


Firstly I'd like to know in what way does Energy Suspension consider the adorable little piece of plastic on the right a substitute for OEM rear shock bushings. They are too thin and so you can't thread down a nut on OEM shocks. So we put the old ones back in.


Secondly, if you lower your gas tank on a 2004 4Runner and rip the fuel sending unit harness out of the plug...well...now you have the pinout. I could not find the 04 and somewhere in the 4th gens they changed the wire colors it seems.


This one...now this one I have some thoughts about. I want to know what engineer over at TOYTEC decided to phone in this design for the 1" body lift kit. 3 extra seconds of thought would have made this a great kit. I spent $150 on their kit thinking they could do better than me and let me tell you. I was mistaken. Whoever they got to do this kit was absent on Load Dispersion and Surface Area day.

Why on god's green earth is the bolt shoulder smaller than the OEM. Are we trying to rip the sheet metal? It's not shown in the picture but the spacers are significantly smaller in diameter than the OEM bushings. Again, are we trying to stress the sheet metal? I could have grabbed some UHMW HDPE and turned a better set of spacers on a lathe.

I can't even talk about the radiator lowering brackets. At least for the 1" option they don't sit correctly so you just have to crank them down and just let everything bend.

Two ****ing seconds of thought could have fixed all of these issues. /End_Rant.gif


If anyone needs me I'll be manufacturing and selling online better 1" lift kits and fuel pump harness extension whips...


Otherwise a great day! Cab is on!

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/8F4rIOYqutQ

I would love to see some pictures of the rusty frame you were replacing. Im picking up my 4runner later this week and the frame looked 14years old and from new england but it sti'' looked solid. From the distant pictures the one your replacing doesn't look terrible, where there certain spots that really deteriorated while the rest looked ok?

oh and i believe por15s gloss will fad in the sun but still remain a solid rust barrier for years. i did my entire trail truck inside and out with it. then topcoated everything that would see sun with por topcoat. expect the rear bumper because i didnt want that safety blue. its now faded black over the past year but i'm not worried at all of it coming of, painted on bare sandblasted metal following prep instructions

Would you consider doing 1.5in or 2in body lift kits as well? Cause I'd be interested in a quality body lift in the future, I don't know much about them but sounds like you've got it covered.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

To answer some of your questions:

This is the rust on the old frame.








Before of the underside of the cab

After of the underside of the cab



Very proud



New frame before the cab got lowered. Note the size of the TOYTEC spacers...



Before of the carpet


In progress of the carpet


Closed to finished of the carpet



And now the final day!
https://youtu.be/ixJHVukD_n4

Pretty cool! You should know the kbb value is much lower than reality. For reference, I sold my 2004 v8 in good shape with 156k on it for $12k a few weeks ago. Had two people that wanted it at that price. Keep that in mind when you figure on your sheet if this was a good investment or not.

Did you get new carpet or just clean the one that was in it? My carpet isn't as bad as that but I'd entertain the idea of replacing it if I could.

Nice job.

This is good knowledge to have...just in case 40 or 50 years later...someone finds a 4th gen in a barn that needs restoring.

Nice! subscribed, please replace mine next

Did you ever consider galvanizing the frame? Old muscle car restorers do this. It rust proofs the inside of the frame, too. You have to chase all the threaded hole afterwards, clean off the frame and then paint, but you'd never have to worry about it again. Pretty cool process.