2001 Beach Runner SR5 Slow Build

[Drewdaytoday]

Hey brother have you hit up any trails

 

[BoarderDave]

Hey brother have you hit up any trails

Hey man! Unfortunately, no I havent. With it being only 2WD and still having no lift and real basic street tires from the original owner, I dont think I'd risk it yet. Not until I at least get some decent All Terrains on it.
For now, she's just a commuter vehicle and a beach-runner to get me to the surf and back. :yo:

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As for any updates to the actual thread.. Not really much going on.
After the plugs/wires, I had to get my California emissions SMOG check. Passed it easily. I also got my oil changed that same day.. Fresh new 10W-30 to keep her smooth.

Just been driving and enjoying. Averaging about 16.5 MPGs these days. And that's a combo of mostly street driving conditions with a little actual 60+ MPH freeway jaunts. Im on the freeway nearly every day.. however, I rarely get up over 45 MPH because afterall.. this IS southern CA and I drive right in the prime-time 7:30AM and 5:15pm rush-hours. :der: So although Im on the freeway.. its still pretty much "city" driving conditions. Stop. Go. Stop. Stop more. Go a little. Stop. :rant:

 

[b.abel]

looks like it is coming along! I need a new antenna motor too.

 

[infamousRNR]

Updating everyone to let you know there is no update... :dance:

hah. I've just been driving her around. Enjoying everything she is and can do.
I got the oil changed last week. New 10W-40 oil in to keep with usual 3-5k oil changes.

10w- 40?...........

i use 5w.... is there a reason you use 10w?

 

[BoarderDave]

looks like it is coming along! I need a new antenna motor too.

Thank you, thank you. I was surprised at how easy that whole antenna thing was. I didnt replace my motor, just the mast, but I had to open it all up and it really wasn't too tough to get in to and play with. Use a free afternoon and get it all fixed up. It's so nice having a functioning antenna again (even though shortly after that I got a new headunit with Bluetooth and I rarely even use the radio anymore. hah). :yo:
Best of luck to you on the fix. Thanks for checking out my thread.

10w- 40?...........
i use 5w.... is there a reason you use 10w?

I live in a very steady temperature climate. My vehicle will almost NEVER see below freezing temps.. Especially not until I actually get a lift and some decent tires (then I'll make some snowboarding trips).
Being that my vehicle 90% of the time lives in 60*-80* weather (even during this El Nino winter we're only dipping down into low 50's).. I really have no need for going down to a 5W viscous motor oil. 10W-30 or 10W-40 is more common in my area for these temps.

5W-40 is good for an all temp vehicle.. I just know my particular world really is fine with a 10W and 30 or 40 elsewhere.
I actually just went to 10W-30 in my last oil change a few weeks ago.. As we're probably heading back towards summer temps now.

 

[BoarderDave]

I'm going to be rolling over 160K on the odometer by Friday. She's still doing well!

Aside from that, my birthday just rolled by the other day and my father-in-law got me my rear cargo mat to complete my entire WeatherTech set. :yo: I'm stoked on it. No longer will my toolboxes slide around on the slick carpet..

Fit is pretty good actually now that it's had a day to settle from the pic. Right out of the box, it curls up a little on the corners.. but after you get some heat and some cooling and it has a chance to settle in, it fits well. I'm a fan for sure!

Before:

After:

 

[556.sig]

Looking good, and diggin those floor mats. Need to get me some weathertechs. Keep up the good work.

 

[BoarderDave]

Looking good, and diggin those floor mats. Need to get me some weathertechs. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! Yeah, I really enjoy the mats. Fronts, middles, and the new cargo. I love em all. :yo: Highly encourage you to get them too. Thanks for the kind words.

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That being said.. only update is that this weekend (as expected), I rolled into the 160's.

:surfer:

She's growing up... :biggrin1:

 

[BoarderDave]

Nothin too fancy over the last couple of months..



Shortly after 160k miles, got new front pads and rotors to fix the death brake-wobble I had when stopping under load. Since I dont carry major weight right now and I'm not really doing any offroading, didnt feel the need to get crazy with the Tundra upgrade. I can always decide to go there later when I get serious with building this.



Oil change shortly after 161k to keep with my 3-5k mile interval.



Then just rolled over 162k miles couple weeks ago on a roadtrip to central CA..

Ah good ol hometown scenery.

When I got back from my trip I pulled, cleaned thoroughly, and reoiled my K&N filter. I also took that time to clean my MAF sensor. She was developing a slight rough idle.. cleaner breathing smoothed it out a little bit. :thumb:

Also picked up some Duplicolor HWP101 Silver paint to fix these nasty old center caps as well. Lookin WAY better now. Not 100% match, but close enough for my purposes.

I've also been tracking my consumption as well as my repair/maint logs with an app since the start of this year. Continuously get an average of slightly over 17 mpgs for normal work week commuting. Recently (with my roadtrip) I saw it jump up into the 22 range.

I'm curious to see if I notice any higher average now with a clean fresh air filter and MAF sensor.

Not sure how I feel knowing how much gas money I actually run through though.. hah. 3700 miles and Im pushin $600. :redface:

All in all.. shes still clean, running well, and being enjoyed tremendously. :yo: Love these 3rd Gen 4Runners!



Enjoy your weekend everyone.

 

[BoarderDave]

Got some fresh meats on her yesterday! :yo:
General Grabber AT2 all terrain tires in the standard size 265/70/R16. Really stoked on these. They look good, feel WAY better than the old tires that came on this rig when I bought it, and I bet will perform way better too. I'll have to find that out as I continue to wear these in.

Shortly after getting them installed, I drove directly to Firestone and got a wheel alignment as well. Wanted to start all fresh and straight on these.

Also just washed, polished, cleaned inside, out, and under, got a full tank of gas, pulled off some old and replaced with fresh T4R.org decals. She's all ready for a trip now! Where to go... where to go.
Have a good weekend everyone. :yo:

 

[timboslice401]

Love the Plasti Dipped Emblems. Did you remove them to paint them?

 

[Aeneas]

I must have missed it on the first page, but I got all the way to page 3 thinking it was 4wd. It was like getting to third base before finding out she's a dude. Just kidding. Super clean truck buddy. Keep it up.

 

[BoarderDave]

Love the Plasti Dipped Emblems. Did you remove them to paint them?

Nope, did the usual process for plasti-dip spray.. mask off the outside area with newspaper and painters tape; spray and let dry, pull up the edges and peel away. I then took a tooth-pick to scratch out the inner portions of the small areas like the O's and the A in "Toyota".

I must have missed it on the first page, but I got all the way to page 3 thinking it was 4wd. It was like getting to third base before finding out she's a dude. Just kidding. Super clean truck buddy. Keep it up.

hahaha! :rofl:
Sorry for that. She is a 2WD - but it's okay. Averages just shy of 18MPG consumption and gets into 21-22 range on 100% highway driving. Can't be too mad at that for a car that is a commuter 95% of the time. Thanks for the kind words! I will continue to do my best in keeping this thing up and improving every step I can.

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As for any recent updates (since the thread was bumped).. my u-joints started clunking and squealing in reverse a couple weeks ago during the recent rains SoCal has been getting (maybe I was playing in too many puddles :yo and so I got new joints on the driveshaft. Now I have a 60-70MPH vibration/shudder going on - so I will be pulling the driveshaft sometime in the next week or two and dropping it off to be rebalanced.

I also have collected all the parts needed to do valve cover gaskets ( it has the very small leak that leads to burning oil smell). Will also toss in a new Toyota PCV and grommet whilst I'm in there.

And because posts are usually boring without pics.. here's a couple recents.

Just recently hit 166k

And was camping in Malibu area with my wife for our 4th anniversary.

 

[Houli]

Looks good! The weathertech mats are nice, had them in my last car and need to get them for the 4Runner.

 

[BoarderDave]

Looks good! The weathertech mats are nice, had them in my last car and need to get them for the 4Runner.

Thanks! Yes, I love them. Expensive as all get-out, hah, but worth it. They have held up really well to dirt and grime I track in daily. Easy to pull and clean and be back to fresh clean interior in no time. Highly recommend them if you can stomach the cost. :yo:

 

[BoarderDave]

Recently got new zerk fitted u-joints put in my rig, which ended up causing a little out of balance feeling at freeway speeds. So pulled the driveshaft out and dropped it off to be balanced. Reinstalled and back on the road smoothly now.

Also spray cleaned my engine bay.. sooo nice seeing it all clean again in there. :yo:

Next up will probably be pulling all the top half off to get to the pesky leaky valve cover gaskets. :sad:

 

[BoarderDave]

Fresh new update to my 4Runner here. :yo:
My brother in law hooked me up MAJORLY with a set of my choice Method Race Wheels - so I went with the new MR311 Vex Titanium wheels. 16" to fit on my stock 265/70/R16 sized General Grabber AT2's.

I am in love with the look of these. Totally changed the attitude of the vehicle and I used to walk away from it and glance once or twice.. now it's just ridiculous. Might as well just be backing away from the vehicle after I park it..

Anyways.. here's some pics of the new wheels installed. Cheers.

 

[Unner]

Truck is looking great! What app are you using to track MPGs? I've been wanting to start doing that.

 

[BoarderDave]

Truck is looking great! What app are you using to track MPGs? I've been wanting to start doing that.

Thanks man! I use an app called GasTracker by Fuelly. Works awesome. Tracks maintenance, repairs, and other stuff too. So I set reminders of when to rotate tires, oil change, spark plugs, etc.. I dig it.
Got my wife using it on her Mazda too and she likes it as well. :yo:

 

[nchacon1984]

:jaw: Those wheels....they look so good on your 4Runner