Hi 4Runner fans. I’m from the Evergreen state and became a 4Runner owner in May of 2022. Thanks for letting me share your forum!

1st post, “I think”. OnThis is 2nd 4runner, a totally base 2020 Black TRD off-road. We have had it nearly three years and not done a thing. Bone stock as it gets including the AT20 tires.

Since we are well out of Warrantee and keeping it forever we are ready to make some upgrades. First on the list are new tires since we want to get rid of the AT20’s before 50K and the next rainy season. (Florida).

It's an annoyance to me to know that something isn't right. Plus it degrades performance (by a little) and might cause other problems.
My first 4Runner never had the CEL come on for 99% of the time I had it.

Hey, fellow newbie. I just did this antenna replacement on my 3rd gen and bought a no-name aftermarket mast and cable assembly off Amazon for like $20. If I had to do it again, I would probably spend the extra money and buy the OEM part even though it would have been more than double the cost.

The aftermarket piece is OK but feels a little flimsy and the teeth on the cable appear to be a bit more rounded that what they probably should be for the gear in the antenna motor. Everything works after the install, but I have a feeling I will need to do another replacement at some point in the relatively near future.

I don't know if the motors on the Gen2 are the same as Gen3, but here are a couple of tips I learned while doing the replacement on my **3rd Gen.** Hopefully this applies to you, but it may not.

My mast was snapped off down in the shaft of the antenna housing, so it was a pain to get the broken mast pieces out since it wouldn't rise at all. There was no good way to grab the lip of the broken shaft. I tried finding a punch with a slightly wider diameter and trying to force it down in far enough that I could pull everything out from sheer friction of the punch being tight to the walls of the mast. That didn't work. I ultimately jammed needle nose pliers down far enough to be able to open them enough that it put pressure on the mast walls to be able to pull everything out.

Getting the wheel well liner off to access the motor was also kind of a pain because the clips holding it on were so old and crusty, they didn't come out easily. I ended up just snapping off a bunch of them and punching the rear posts out from the front, but I didn't have replacements ready when I was done with the job, so the liner was only attached in a couple of spots.

I watched a few YouTube videos beforehand that don't really show the full process to get the motor open to remove the old broken cable. There is a center bolt that holds everything together and there is a tiny nut in the recessed part of the back of the motor housing. I didn't realize that and the tiny nut fell out when I removed the bolt. Fortunately, I found it on the floor of the garage, but had no idea where it had come from. Put a wide piece of tape over the rear of the antenna motor housing to keep it from falling out and getting lost forever. You won't be able to put the motor back together without it. Then use a wide punch to hold it in place when you assemble and thread the bolt back in.

There is also a nut on the lower left-hand side that is sandwiched between the plastic motor housing that can get jostled around and out of alignment. It's captured so it won't fall out, but it can get moved out of alignment and prevent you from closing everything back up. Make sure you're aware of it. Again, having a thin punch is handy to be able to reposition it and get it centered on the opening.

The motor just sort of hangs down out of the wheel well, so it is a little awkward to work with. The plastic cable attached to the new antenna was also hard to get aligned with the gear. It was like there was tension on the assembly and the cable just kept wanting to spin the teeth the opposite direction of where they needed to be to feed into the gear. But once I was able to hold it still it fed in.

Make sure you have a helper to turn the radio on and off to make sure everything is working before you close the motor and get it back in the truck. I had one of my kids help and it took a bit of trial and error to get the cable to feed so I was getting consistent up and down action.

All in all, this job was a bigger pain in the neck than it should have been. It probably took me about 90 minutes total if you don't count the time spent on YouTube trying to figure out where the tiny bolt came from.

It wasn't terrible, but I really don't want to have to do the job again any time soon. Hence, why I would buy the OEM antenna if I had a do over.

I hope this helps you and maybe others. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures along the way. Hopefully this doesn't stay hidden in the newbie thread. I may search for and antenna replacement thread and stick in in there too.

Hi there,

I'm new on here. Been using this forum for awhile to get ideas on what to do with my 84 Runner. Finally decided to join in on the fun instead of bench warming. So I have this 1984 4runner SR5, 22R carbureted passed down to me from my dad. Its been sitting for awhile as the engine and transmission were rebuilt and slowly putting it back together. Daily driver.

Recently purchased a skyjacker 3" lift, single steering stabilizer, and some procomp 51 series wheels wrapped in Falken Wildpeak 32x11.5 R15. Looking to do a full or almost full makeover of the suspension before I trail her.

Hey everyone, just signed up. So, hello! I'm coming from Portland, OR and looking to get into a 4runner very soon. Actually looking at 3rd gen in a couple days and wanted to ask for some advice on it.

It's an 01 Limited and the seller says he put in a new OEM radiator in the last year. I know that the pink milkshake is a concern on this gen. I'm waiting for hime to get back to me on details of why he replaced the radiator (it's at 260K so I don't want to automatically assume it was pink milkshake). However, incase it was due to the milkshake issue, what can I do/check to verify the health of the transmission and rest of the car after the fact before purchasing? Is there anyways I can get a good idea if it has or has not had the milkshake issue if the seller isn't forthcoming with me? Is worst case scenario sourcing a donor transmission from a parts car?

Thank you!

Hi everyone, new to the forum and 4Runner but absolutely loving the car.

Came here because I’m big on DIY projects and just started but quickly fell flat on one. Basically, found a set of OEMAudio Plus speakers for an incredible deal online that I couldn’t pass up. Bring it home, turns out it doesn’t fit the 3 row SR5. Ok, don’t want to be discouraged immediately, so I start coming up with solutions and realize the cubby on the passenger side would be a great little box to fit a sub. Long story short, I cut a hole, threw all the wiring together, put the insulation from the sub box into the cubby, and cranked up the radio to immense disappointment. Sounds terrible. I expected rattling because of the plastic, but it’s like I didn’t install the sub at all. You can tell it’s working from maybe 2 feet away at most. My question is, has someone else tried this with the little side cubby? I’m tempted to throw it all back in the box and list it all for sale but I’ve already gotten this far. Thanks in advance, I’ll attach pictures once I figure out how to do that from my phone!

Previously had an 05 sport, 12 trail edition, currently waiting on a 23 TRD OP to get to the dealership. Can’t wait to get back in one.

Hello All,

New Guy checking in.

Keith

Second Post (sorry). I bought a 2019 SR5 to bring to Liberia (Africa, not Costa Rica). The previous owner installed an ARB Bull Bar, stage 5 ICON lift, fabtech nerf bars, and a Front Runner 3/4 roof rack. It has just under 60k miles, and since I bought it, I have put new Falken Wildpeaks on and installed a Rago Industries Molle panel and shelf. Future mods include an ARB fridge, ditch lights, and a winch.

The biggest issue I have right now is that when the vehicle finally showed up 5 months later, someone decided to remove my driver's master switch. I ordered a new one, and now, when the child window lock is engaged, the only window that will roll down is the drivers. Also, it will not roll down the passenger side window, even though the passenger side switch will roll the window down. There are obviously some gremlins in the system somewhere, and unfortunately, Liberia is not known for its competent mechanics so I am hoping this forum can help. I have done a lot of searches in the 5th gen forum for "window switch problem," but thus far, haven't found posts that have the same problem.

Hello

Newbie checking in welcome me broadly


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Hi am new here welcome me broadly


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Hey guys, glad to be here! I've got an 87 4runner, I'll post some pics of the rusty old bastard soon. I came to this forum because I had to replace my MAF meter (I broke the old one) but now I cant seem to get the ECU to read the new one. I have to keep pulling the battery out after every dickin' around in the engine bay session, because you know, Canadian winter. It fires when I turn the key, but dies right away. Occasionally I can get it to actually stay running for a minute or so, but it runs really rough, then dies. Anyone seen anything on this site that will help? I'd have liked to ask this question where I should ask it, but, you know, post minimums and such

Hello!

how many posts before I can make a sale thread?

curious...how much do you guys think a 1999 4runner, 2wd, 250k miles, runs great. no issues besides cosmetic age stuff. originally a florida car and last 5 years or so in illinois. prices??