Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum - Big Bessie's build thread

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- - Big Bessie's build thread - kcdehart (https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/292826-big-bessies-build-thread-kcdehart.html)

Big Bessie's build thread - kcdehart

Starting this to give my more pic-intensive posts a home. I'm a decent ways through where I want the old girl to be at this point, but hey - better late than never.

Picked up this old girl (who I promptly dubbed 'Bessie') in August 2016 with 159k miles. Pretty much 100% stock except for some ugly stick-on chrome trim and a bondo'd on front towhook.....we'll get to that in a bit.

Mods!

Aesthetics

Retrofitted headlights - Acme H1 bixenon kit from TRS
Unknown brand ditch light pods on Rago ditch light brackets with Laminex film
Hella Optilux 3000K halogen high beams and fog lights
LED blinkers F/R (resistors spliced in on the fronts - stops hyperflash for F/R)
LED reverse lights
Facelift tail lights
Custom license plate bracket - power sourced from trailer plug
Black front bumper garnish
Napa awning

Power

Cooling

Hayden 699 Transmission cooler installed in-line

Suspension

Bilstein 5100s and OME 885/895 springs
SPC front UCAs
Front swaybar delete...
3rd gen rear swaybar endlinks

Armor

LFD Offroad front skid plate
Jegs weld-together/weld-on sliders

Brakes

Goodridge 2" extended stainless steel lines - all 6
Semi-metallic Centric Posiquiet pads

Wheels/tires

295/70R17 (33.3") Yokohama Geolandar G003 tires
1st gen Tundra/Sequoia wheels - plastidipped bronze
1.25" Spidertrax wheel spacers
TPMS bypass

Comms

Cobra [insert model number here] CB radio w/ 5' antenna - it's tuned and works OK on the highway, but barely better than my $25 Baofeng UV5R in the mountains

Interior

Fog light switch - mounted to left of dash in a factory location
USB charging ports in center console switch location
Scion T10015 head unit
Weathertech floor mats
Cupholder mod!
Rear hatch interior opener
Sleeping platform

Pretty sure I took this the day of purchase. Pretty much immediately threw on a (used) set of 265/70R17 General Grabbers - the tires on it were OK tread-wise, but had TONNSSSS of dry rot. And thus began the mods :)

https://i.imgur.com/uEMjfltl.jpg

A week or so later I learned just how much of a pain cleaning mud is :)

https://i.imgur.com/3LHgVucl.jpg

First time up Flagpole Knob (west of Harrisonburg, VA). Wanna say this was like 10/2016?

https://i.imgur.com/5jSwdLhl.jpg

Really didn't do many more mods till winter 2018. Added 5100s and OME 885/895 springs. During this, discovered that my LCA bushings were seized, my UBJs failed shortly afterwards. Soooo, the whole front end ended up being rebuilt suspension-wise. Only upgrade there was to SPC UCAs.

https://i.imgur.com/qaKLMA5l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/WkqevcNl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wirzpDql.jpg

And then in 2019 I found rust....

https://i.imgur.com/XeGlwTWl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YhUlOsKl.jpg

Last owner (or a dealer? not sure) had let the front radiator support rust out. When the towhook fell off, they'd used something (bondo? Not exactly sure, but it wasn't metal.) hide the rust hold around a towhook, then undercoated the entire vehicle. This towhook pulled off in my hand one day. Pretty....not fun....experience.

Ended up grinding out all the rust I could find, and rebuilding the rad support with the help of a friend with a welder. Fast forward to 2020 and it's looking like I should do the same thing with the rear crossmember. Hoping to get a full rear bumper before too long though, so may hold out for that. I used rust reformer and undercoating on it after taking those pics.

https://i.imgur.com/Cj0XJOIl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ISXuyMPl.jpg

Also found a hole near the center crossmember where it meets the frame :/ Things seem solid elsewhere, so I'm just dealing with these as I find them and crossing my fingers for a frame recall (hah). Not sure how else to go about it.

Didn't touch it much for the rest of the year other than black headlights, ditch lights, and a bunch of misfire troubleshooting that ended up being a sticking injector.

2020 came around and I went to Sequoia wheels, (used) 285/70R17 KM2s, and a Rigid Armor tire carrier. Added a CB radio, cute the bumper, blacked out my fog light/blinker housings, and replaced my steering rack and busted front bumper garnish in the spring.

https://i.imgur.com/yXW5aSvl.png https://i.imgur.com/ICvwQZpl.jpg

During the second half of the year, I've replaced my incredibly sketchy KM2s (see below pic) with 295/70R17 Yokohama Geolandar G003s (which I absolutely love). Did a bunch more cutting on the poor girl and added 1.25" Spidertrax spacers to make em fit.

https://i.imgur.com/QT4rC9Xl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dTqu6Vjl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/BMmj6eUl.jpg

Hit a pic limit, so splitting up this post. Will add a mod list.

My most recent projects have been a headlight retrofit using TheRetrofitSource's H1 kit and Panamera V2 black shrouds.

https://i.imgur.com/c5egBkml.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/YEboiS4l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/t4cOD1Yl.jpg

Annnd sliders! Got a kit from Jegs for $280. They're .12" DOM. Kinda wish I'd gone with a kit with a kickout, but oh well. I'm pretty happy with these, and don't think I do hard/rock stuff often enough that it'll make that much of a functional difference.

https://i.imgur.com/pcg7pnwl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3XIeMcMl.jpg

Will be adding gussets in the near future.

https://i.imgur.com/zrOl4zml.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3PbMBHhl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Uy1mbmAl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wb4IpmHl.jpg

And here's how she sits as of this post!

https://i.imgur.com/BGrq4hZl.jpg

I had a similar rust issue on my rear crossmember/bumper piece but not quite as bad as yours. The corner holes were similar in size after I cut back to good metal. I welded in new steel which was actually pretty easy to do. Kinda sad to see a car that looks great otherwise just rust away underneath.

Yeah, I'm debating doing something like that for the time being till I get a rear bumper - that'll be down the road a ways. Could buy an entirely new rear crossmember, so I'm weighing that idea as well.

Those Yoko's are some chonky boys, rig looking good!

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

Quote:

Originally Posted by montijo505 (Post 3578359)

Those Yoko's are some chonky boys, rig looking good!

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

That they are! Thanks!

Decided I'd go the cheaper route and just replace the rear crossmember rather than doing a full bumper. The bumper isn't really needed/$2k for one isn't in the books at the moment...but that rust certainly doesn't care.

SO, ordered the crossmember and endcaps this morning. Part numbers for anyone interested (though they really weren't too hard to find):

51209-35211 Cross-Member $287.97
51391-35090 End Cap $16.76
51392-35080 End Cap $16.76

McGeorge Toyota ended up having the best prices online. ~$10 cheaper for each end cap and $20 cheaper on the crossmember. 3-day shipping for it all was also only $27!

Hopefully these can be put on before the end of the year. Doesn't seem like too wild of a job - we'll have an assortment of cutting tools and a welder at our disposal. But if anyone has recommendations - particularly around making sure things are aligned - I'd love to hear em!

Got a little snow yesterday (which is pretty rare for the area, as I understand), so I jumped on the opportunity to test out the Geolandars. They weren't bad, but their lack of siping really made itself apparent in the really shallow slippery snow. Tapped the brakes backing down my (rather steep) driveway and immediately started sliding. clawed my way back up, turned around in the yard, and proceeded to slide down forwards instead of backwards. I preferred that over not using the brake and hitting the road below at 20mph.

Once I got out and about the tires did fine. No issues. Hit a back road to explore and get some pics. They give a good visual of where she's come in a year.

Left: This time last year.
Right: Now

https://i.imgur.com/u1BEetNl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/GolN8Isl.jpg

Played with the colors a bit on these, but I like em :D

https://i.imgur.com/fZYJpg8l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vtQSp6ql.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gcGePQ2l.jpg

I've been chasing some power drain issues for a while now. Noticed yesterday that I was getting a bluetooth signal from the OBD-II reader that I leave plugged into the 4Runner for Torque. Unplugged it, and fingers are crossed that solves the issue I've been chasing for around a year. I'm gonna feel pretty dumb if it does lol

Couple small additions recently...

Broke down and got some Weathertech mats for the rear as well. Figured it'd be good to have them for the winter so gave up on trying to find a deal like I did for the front. They fit great, so I'm happy!

https://i.imgur.com/OTDbJY7l.jpg

I also grabbed a cupholder insert from Etsy. Fits perfectly, and showed up in 2 days. For anyone interested: Toyota 4Runner Yeti Cupholder Insert 2003-2009 4th Generation | Etsy

https://i.imgur.com/8ks24bbl.jpg

Recently added:

An interior rear hatch open button. Super easy process following this guide: Interior Rear Hatch release Button - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

Just bought a small momentary switch, soldered some longer wires onto it, and then spliced it into the purple with white stripe and the light green with red stripe wires on the rear door ECU. I recommend disconnecting the battery before disconnecting the plugs on that ECU. Otherwise, the rear door won't work, and you'll freak out like I did until you unplug the battery as a last ditch attempt to reset it :)

When adding the switch, make sure it's small enough that it clears the metal behind the plastic cover panel. Also make sure you don't drill a hole in a spot where there's no clearance behind it..............yeah, made that mistake.......measure twice, cut once...

I also recommend adding a cover of some sort so that you don't accidentally hit it when the vehicle's unlocked.
A sleeping platform that folds up so that the rear seats can still be used (bought from a friend for $100)
https://i.imgur.com/0eDPAb2l.jpg
Napa awning! It's proven to be amazing for keeping cool at trackdays.
https://i.imgur.com/mvf5s5fl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/8jdyOrml.jpg

Annnnnnd looks like the headgasket is going. Getting that done next week to the tune of $3k+ :'(

Nice truck :) Good luck with the headgasket.

She sat in the shop for a month, but the headgasket is DONE. Along with timing components, a valve adjustment, and a new oil pump. The end cost?? A lot. Significantly more than I posted earlier :help: BUT it's starting up great now (no misfires, no water noise), I got a little over 18mpg on a highway trip yesterday (I was sitting at around 13-14 before), and the engine is *so* smooth. Not a single tick.

Here are some pics of the parts the shop gave me back. The timing bits weren't bad, but the oil pump *really* needed replacing. Check out that play at 200k miles (click the last image, it's a vid).

https://i.imgur.com/AI4q1Qtl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/WD1tTlll.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3JXl6sMl.jpg <a href="https://imgur.com/CZnRD7n"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/CZnRD7nl.mp4" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

Also gave my headlights and fog lights a little love. The clear coat was peeling off of the headlights, and the headlights had TONS of fog. I used a Meguair's restoration kit (included light sanding) and it worked wonders. Hopefully it holds up!

https://i.imgur.com/G3wUYKQl.jpg