02 3rd Gen 4Runner (Slow build)

[llennium]

It's been over six months since I was able to get out and work on the Runner. Family and finances have taken a hit in the last 6-8 months and this really slowed the opertunity to get out on the trails or work on the Runner. Everything is starting to level out but due to a change in my wifes job any major updates or a vehicle change will have to wait. Over the last couple of weekends I have been able to get outside and work on the 4R a liitle more just to help clear the head.

I purchased a grille on craigslist last summer with the intent of performing the satoshi grille mod but never found time. The photo of the grille on CL was black and I thought this would be easy since it didn't have chrome. Once home and looking the grille over I quickly realized the seller had painted the chrome black, making my job much harder. Due to the time change and a recent need to get out of the house, I started working on the grille. I cut out the center section and smoothed everything down. I have started sanding down the chrome sections but need to keep working on this. Below are a couple pics of the original grill and a couple test fittings.

 

[llennium]

I spent a little time on the Runner today and worked on covering up the chrome license plate bracket. I used Plasti Dip on the top plate cover of the rear bumper and it turned out great. So, I decided to give it a go on the chrome and see how it turned out.

I prepped by simply washing with soap and water as the can advises. Let everything dry thoroughly with some assistance from the air compressor. When I sprayed the bumper I put four coats and it turned out as expected, that was the plan for the bracket. The first couple coats looked ok but from my last experience it has to dry before looking smooth and factory. When I started spraying the wind picked up a little and today was humid. I think this may have affected the outcome. You can see in the pics below, the Plasti Dip didn't turn out like the top plate on the bumper. The bracket is much rougher than I wanted it to be and doesn't appear to be sticking as well. I'm thinking it was the humidity but not sure. I'm going to leave it as is for now and see how it holds up. If this peels easily I'm not sure if I will try this again or remove and paint.

This is what I started with.

Masked off and ready to spray.

After four coats, complete.

I like the black look but not digging how rough it is.

I picked up some bondo and primer for the grille and will be working on it in the evening over the next couple weeks. Need to get the paint ordered and I will be set to knock this one out. I also worked on my power plugs for the back of the console. I removed the ash try and fabed up a faceplate out of plastic to mount the plugs to. I'm still debating if I want two 12V plugs or a 12V plug and an A/C plug. :-? I have everything needed either way, just need to determine which would be more beneficial. :-B

 

[llennium]

I finally got to spend some time outside after work. I put together the power distribution for the back of the console and the test fit looked pretty good. Still need to run the wiring but that's the easy stuff. And yes I know the AC plug isn't centered but I have plans to mount an LED above the AC plug. The LED will be used to confirm when power is on. The 12V plug will be hot all the time.

Sent from my Galaxy S II using Tapatalk

 

[llennium]

finished product with LED for power. I put a cheap switch next to the ash tray in the front to control power to the small inverter. I plan on replacing this with an OEM switch of some type when I pick one up. The only issue I ran into is with the clearance of the cig plug and the drink holder. I need to find a cig plug with a shallow socket to allow the drink holder to clear.

 

[llennium]

The next project.

I just picked it up today and the guy I bought it from said it came out of a 3rd Gen, so I'm hoping it's already been modified. It needs a little TLC to look good and I will post some pics as this moves along. :thumb3:

 

[llennium]

Friday morning I headed to the Oauchita National Forest and camped at Lake Sylvia camp ground with the wife, my son, and a couple of good friends (KMAYO). Saturday was used to recon some trails none of us had been on before. Here are a few pics of the action.

KMAYO

Its a poser but I take most photos when on the trails so I don't get many action shots of my own rig.

Little guy I stumbled across when taking some pics. Trust me I was using the zoom lens and didn't get close.

 

[llennium]

Thursday we had a pretty serious storm blow through and while picking the kids from school my son asked "why did I just get wet"? I noticed I had water running down the A-pillar on my side and in front of the visor on the passenger side. During our last trip we had a few tight trails and I was concerned that something was damaged and I wasn't aware. Everything looked good after a quick look in the rain.

So today I decided to get out there and clean everything up and discovered the sunroof appeared to be setting a little low compared to the roof line. I started with cleaning the areas where the sunroof seats on the roof and the actual rubber seal. Next, was cleaning out the old grease and any debris that might possibly cause problems.

After the above was done I found the screws on the sunroof that allowed me to adjust the glass to fit the lines of the roof. Raising the rear of the sunroof allowed easy access to the adjustment screws. Each side of the sunroof has a bracket in the front and rear with a medium phillips and a T25 torx. The torx screw was really tight and hard to loosen but can be done and pushing up on the sunroof while tightening will hold the glass in place. Here are a few pics of the work done.

Before cleaning the rail up. Looks like the cable is wearing out.

After cleaning up.

Adjustment screws on the rear passenger side.

Before making any adjustments.

After adjustments.

 

[llennium]

When I bought the 4Runner the side of the drivers seat had started tearing as most 3rd Gen Runners have done. My intention was to get some seat covers but I never got around to it. I prefer the stock look as opposed to seat covers anyway.

I had a pretty serious sinus infection this week and wasn't able to do much around the house or to the 4Runner. So, after knocking a few things out around the house I decided to see how hard it would be to change out the seat bottoms on the front seats.

Removing the seat bottoms wasn't difficult but I found quickly that the passenger seat has a sensor that I assume is for the air bag. I decided it was worth digging in and pulling the leather skins from the foam and just switching the seat skins.

Once everything was free it was just a matter of pulling the copper looking rings that were holding it together. This turned out to not be as difficult as I thought just time consuming. While apart I put a piece of duct tape on the inside where the tear was for extra support and since the tear wouldn't be seen I simply covered the outside with duct tape also. This will eventually be covered with something more aesthetically pleasing but works for now and can't be seen.

I didn't take enough pics of each step for a write up but if anyone has any questions let me know and I will help where I can.

Seat was laying on the back.

Pulling the leather off.

Temp patch.

How it looked once done.

 

[llennium]

Looking at my last post I can't believe it's been almost a year since I put anything on here. I've had the new car bug and test driving FJs and Rubicons.
I finally decided I didn't want to spend the money and would work on bringing the Runner up to new car condition. Having said that, I'm hoping to provide updates more often moving forward.

This weekend was spent working on the Runner (along with yard work) and getting a start on the refresh. It may seem like an odd place to start but it was time to upgrade the stereo. I have been dealing with an inexpensive Alpine unit and a failing crossover for my sub that was driving me crazy. I had previously been looking at Pioneer's AppRadio 2 and using with my Galaxy S3. Best Buy had this unit on sale for $100 off, so I decided to give it a go.

I took my time with the install and soldered all connections and used heat shrinking to protect.

These units have security built in to keep you from being distracted while driving. To bypass this you need a switch to simulate the E-brake being applied and must be on-off-on to work. I found an electronic solution and will be picking this up in time. This unit also has input for a rear view camera, I plan on getting one to test and eventually connecting several with a rotary dial to change. The camera will kick automatically when the Runner is put into reverse. This took the most time to find but is a white/black wire in the driver kick panel. So far it works pretty will and sounds great. I'm really looking forward to using it with the phone.

I have had a friend in the dash (gauges) since I bought the Runner and never took the time to clean him out. While I had part of the dash apart I went ahead and pulled the gauges and cleaned them out.

I didn't take any pics but all plastics have been pulled from the back of the cabin/hatch area. I needed to run my HAM antenna better and will be adding the ghetto sound deadening (roof seal) to the back. I have already done this to all four doors and it works well. My sunroof has had issues with leaks so I will be pulling the headliner and attempting to correct this also.

For the last 6 months I have had squeak coming from the front suspension. I pulled the steering rack guide and lubed hoping this was the culprit but it didn't help. It appears to be coming from the steering rack where the steering shaft enters the rack. If anyone has input I would appreciate it.

I attempted to put my 1st gen runner roll bar in for a test fit and wasn't successful. If anyone has input on how to get that D@%! thing in there let me know.

Finally, last week [MENTION=67046]KMAYO[/MENTION] bought his wife a new ride and was trading parts with the Runner he plans to keep. I inserted myself with the offer to help swap the 199mm for the 231mm. We pulled my stock calipers and put the 199's on and my stock on the Runner he will be selling. Thanks [MENTION=67046]KMAYO[/MENTION]

Coming soon:
Goodyear DuraTracs (265/75/16)
Lower ball joint
upper ball joint
Steering rack (stop the squeak)
Spidertrax wheel spacers 1.25"
Shrockworks/Outdoor logic bumper
Possibly improve suspension

This will all take time but I'm looking forward to getting the Runner where I wanted it to be years ago.

 

[downpour11]

Nice truck! I like the 12v outlet you put in behind the center console. Front seat looks much better too. Have fun with those upper ball joints when you get em!

 

[llennium]

Nice truck! I like the 12v outlet you put in behind the center console. Front seat looks much better too. Have fun with those upper ball joints when you get em!

Thanks [MENTION=56044]downpour11[/MENTION]. I'll be saving the UBJ for later.

 

[llennium]

I called around to local tire shops last week and found nobody stocks all terrain tires. So I finally decided to have my local shop order a set of Duratracs. They should be in Monday, I took the day off to visit the family, so the runner will get dropped off for new shoes. I'm really looking forward to this since my General Grabbers have seen better days and are starting to ride pretty rough. This may be the incentive I need to get back on the trails. I'll throw some pics up next week.

 

[llennium]

Yesterday I dropped the Runner off early AM to have tires put on before heading to Hot Springs to visit family. This made it a tough day since I'm the kinda guy that likes to hang out while work is done to confirm there are no issues. Finally got to pick her up around 4:30pm to find they had no issues and she was looking pretty sweet with new shoes.

I went with the Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and so far love em. I haven't been offroad yet but driving into work this morning the ride was much improved and quieter. I currently have the rear interior plastics pulled out so there is a ton of noise back there. I did't notice any road noise during the drive in but I'm used to the General Grabbers which had gotten pretty loud, so this is a nice change.
I went with 265/75/16 since this is my DD also and I wanted to try and improve my gas mileage. These are the 6ply model and are lighter than the 10ply Generals I had previously. After calling around I found that there are few 6ply A/T tires any longer and the Duratrac's are one of the few.

I'll provide more info on these as I go along but so far thumbs up.

 

[llennium]

The new head unit has a rear camera input and my test camera came in today. I quickly ran the cables and temp mounted so I can decide where to mount. The long term plan is to mount a couple under the Runner to check clearance when on the trails and have one in the bumper when in reverse. Current test fit is on the rear spoiler which seems a little high so far. I'm going to work through a couple places before deciding.

Temp location.

Reverse cam

 

[llennium]

I know these aren't the kind of updates everyone wants but thought I would put an update out there.

I haven't had time to find my leak (sunroof) but got tired of the road noise with the rear panels removed. I decided while out with the family this morning I would pick up some more of the material I used on the doors for sound deadening and get the Runner put back together.

I spent the afternoon covering the side panels and cargo area floor. I also cleaned up the wiring for my amp and power inverter. I need to find someplace to hide the amp but I'm planning on building a sleep platform and may just hide it in the platform. I still plan on removing the seats and covering the rest of the floor area but with what I have done so far I can tell a drastic improvement.

 

[llennium]

I know these aren't the kind of updates everyone wants but thought I would put an update out there.

I haven't had time to find my leak (sunroof) but got tired of the road noise with the rear panels removed. I decided while out with the family this morning I would pick up some more of the material I used on the doors for sound deadening and get the Runner put back together.

I spent the afternoon covering the side panels and cargo area floor. I also cleaned up the wiring for my amp and power inverter. I need to find someplace to hide the amp but I'm planning on building a sleep platform and may just hide it in the platform. I still plan on removing the seats and covering the rest of the floor area but with what I have done so far I can tell a drastic improvement.

 

[smkd13]

Hey ? Where did you get you sounds deadening material from. That stuff is normally $$$$

 

[llennium]

Hey ? Where did you get you sounds deadening material from. That stuff is normally $$$$

I know exactly what you mean, I have always wanted to do this but could never make myself spend the money. After looking through some of the car audio forums I found that some people were using roofing repair material. After debating for sometime what the ill effects might be I decided to give it a try (during the summer) on the drivers door. After several weeks and no issues I completed the rest of the doors and could really tell a difference in the decrease of road noise. since this made such an improvement I have plans to complete the entire cabin area but it will be one section at a time.

This stuff is a rubberized asphalt with an aluminum backing. It's very easy to work with. I cleaned all areas with denatured alcohol before applying and have not had any issues. It runs around $16 bucks for 25 ft. It took 4 rolls to do all four doors the rear panels and the rear floor.
Quick roof waterproof repair

 

[smkd13]

I know exactly what you mean, I have always wanted to do this but could never make myself spend the money. After looking through some of the car audio forums I found that some people were using roofing repair material. After debating for sometime what the ill effects might be I decided to give it a try (during the summer) on the drivers door. After several weeks and no issues I completed the rest of the doors and could really tell a difference in the decrease of road noise. since this made such an improvement I have plans to complete the entire cabin area but it will be one section at a time.

This stuff is a rubberized asphalt with an aluminum backing. It's very easy to work with. I cleaned all areas with denatured alcohol before applying and have not had any issues. It runs around $16 bucks for 25 ft. It took 4 rolls to do all four doors the rear panels and the rear floor.
Quick roof waterproof repair

wow that is funny cause i use that stuff all the time when i was doing siding to seal around doors and windows lol. I had no idea that i could use it as a sound deadening material too lol thank you for that. I am gonna be doing the doors and main cab area first. road noise in these Runners are HORRIBLE LOL.

 

[llennium]

wow that is funny cause i use that stuff all the time when i was doing siding to seal around doors and windows lol. I had no idea that i could use it as a sound deadening material too lol thank you for that. I am gonna be doing the doors and main cab area first. road noise in these Runners are HORRIBLE LOL.

:lol: It's surprising how many uses one product can have.