Atomic6's build, history, maintenance, whatever-you-want-to-call-it thread

[Atomic6]

I’ve been knocking around the idea of starting a build/maintenance/adventure thread for some time now and I finally bit the bullet. I was looking back in my history to figure out when I installed some suspension parts and have no records of it! That’s so frustrating, so I’m mainly starting this for myself to remember what I’ve done. Hope you get some benefit out of it too.

I neglected this truck for many years just using it as a daily driver. I recently moved to Denver and that reinvigorated my love for this truck! We also want to explore Colorado and all that it has to offer, and the 4Runner is a perfect vehicle for this.


Most recent shots:
September 9th, 2018: Black Hawk, CO.





1998 TOYOTA 4RUNNER SR5 4x4
Evergreen Metallic Pearl
3.4L V6 5VZ-FE
Automatic
4.10:1 Differential Gears (open)

Suspension:
1.5” body lift
Front:
-Bilstein height adjustable 5100 shocks
-OME 883 coils (590lbs/in)
-Donahoe Racing 2.5 coil overs rebuilt by 303 Shock Services
-SPC upper control arms
-Whiteline lower control arm bushings
-Total Chaos spindle gussets
-Sonoran steel limit strap brackets
-Speedstrap 10” limit straps
-Wheelers Off-road SuperBump bump stops
-1” diff drop
-Energy Suspension steering rack bushings
-Energy Suspension sway bar bushings sway bar removed 10/2016
Rear:
-Bilstein long travel 5100 shocks
-Toytec Superflex coils (240 lbs/in) (with the annoying coil slap)
-Toytec panhard drop bracket
-S10 Blazer bump stops
-Energy Suspension sway bar bushings sway bar removed 08/2017

Wheels & Tires:
-Tundra/Sequoia alloys
-285/75R17 (34s) Nitto Ridge Grapplers
-1.25" Spidertrax wheel spacers

Engine & Drivetrain:
-ISR
-Deckplate
-B&M SuperCooler transmission cooler
-CS144 Alternator
-EC433 Radiator
-Rebooted OEM CVs with extended boot mod

Brakes
Front:
-TBU
-13WL calipers
-231mm Bosch rotors
-StopTech braided stainless steel lines
Rear:
-Toytec braided stainless steel extended line

Exterior:
-Satoshi style grill with FJ40 emblem
-Hella 500s
-eBay snorkel
-ARB 3423020 bullbar
-4x Innovations sliders
-Custom rear bumper with swingout
-RAT products 3-piece 3/8” skid plates
-OEM Sport flares

Interior:
-Rear drawer system
-1st gen rollbar
-99+ center console
-Paranoid Fab 6-switch single DIN plate
-Full white LED replacement

Comms and Navigation:
-BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Ham Radio (KE0MYV)
-Uniden PRO520XL CB mounted in ash tray
-True North Fabrications CB mount
-4ft Firefly
-ProComm IM-AF Antenna MultiPlexor
-Amazon Fire 7 HD running Gaia


Her name is Tess, by the way.

 

[Atomic6]

A little history, I bought this 4Runner on the Fourth of July in 2007 :usa2:. I needed a vehicle that had dual airbags (parent’s requirement) to drive my girlfriend (now wife) and I back and forth to college. My brother had a ‘97 2WD that I loved, so the 3rd gen 4Runner was at the top of the search.

My dad and I stumbled on this one on craigslist one day and quickly ran over to their house. They had it listed for $6,000. It was pretty clean with only 137k miles, 4WD, SR5, all the regular stuff. Plus, they were the original owners! It was the wife’s “soccer mom” car to drive the kids around (her words, not mine ). They upgraded to a new 4Runner and didn’t need this one anymore. It had a dent in the passenger door and near the tail light from a wind storm. The wind picked up their trampoline and threw it at the truck!

After test driving it, trying out 4WD, and kicking the tires, we offered them $5,500. For some odd reason the wife said, “if you take it today, you can have it for $4,500.” We couldn’t shake her hand fast enough! SOLD! :wow2:

We took it to a local mechanic to check out and it came back with a perfect report. The previous owners were meticulous about servicing it at the local Toyota dealership and they gave us all the service records from when they bought it new in 1998. I even have the window sticker, which I think is really cool.

July, 2007: 137,332 miles
Here are some of the first pictures I have of it. You can barely see the dent just under the top body line. It takes up most of the door and sometimes looks like another body line.












and next to my brothers 2WD. He’s still jealous I have 4WD, SR5 flares, a CD player, RS3000 security, a spoiler, and tan interior!

 

[Atomic6]

October, 2007
Like most of us, the first “mod” I did was remove the running boards. I also added some Hella 500s to the bumper. They’re the same ones that are still on the truck today. Oh, and being dumb, I added blue neon to the interior and blue LEDs in the instrument cluster. :barf:

 

[Atomic6]

February, 2009: 158,331 miles
On the Cincinnati Craigslist, an ad popped for an ARB front bumper. The guy was selling his 4Runner and trying to part out some of the accessories. Being that it was only 1.5 hours away and super cheap, I jumped at the deal and picked it up!

Unfortunately, on the way home, I was so excited with my new bumper purchase that I didn't see the cop as I flew past him at 80mph and got my second out-of-state ticket. A year after this (yes, an entire year!) Illinois passed a bill that stated that if you are under 21 and get two moving violations, you lose your license for 6 months. Some how, since I got two out-of-state tickets (both prior to the bill), and had no way to go to traffic school to get them off my record, I was grandfathered in and had my license suspended! :bravo:

With an angle grinder I bought at ACE (and returned a few hours later :redface and some hand tools, I installed the bumper by myself in the college’s parking garage!

I had to drive around campus for a bit to find an outlet that worked :thumb:

 

[Atomic6]

April, 2009
The 4Runner was the primary hauler for our SAE Baja car…




January, 2010
Some drunk a-hole went down the street and smashed every car’s side-view mirror. :wtf:


July, 2010
Graduated from Miami University in May. With my first “grown-up” paycheck, I did the most logical thing… went out and blew it all on a project car!


I bought the TR6 on the Fourth of July too :usa2:. With the TR6 at the top of the priority list, the 4Runner took a back seat for many years to come.

 

[Atomic6]

July, 2010 - June, 2016 (Sidebar… the TR6)
Not to bore you too much, but I put a ton a work into TRixy. If it wasn’t a ’76 and I didn’t have too many projects (more on that later), I would have seriously considered keeping it.

A quick run down of some of the note-worthy things I did to the car: hardtop with tinted lexan, triple webers, header with 2.5” custom exhaust, designed and built adjustable UCAs, lowered, and 16x8 wheels. The entire suspension, drivetrain, and brakes were completely gone through as well.

I also have a few articles published about the mods I did in a LBC magazine.













Sadly, in June of 2016 I listed the car on BaT and sold it for far too cheap. My wife and I were moving to Denver in October and I had to get rid of it. Every sunny day (which there are a lot in Denver!), I miss TRixy so much!

:focus: back to the 4Runner…

 

[Atomic6]

April, 2014
Rear shock rusted out and broke, so I finally lifted the 4Runner.

Front:
-Bilstein height adjustable 5100 shocks
-OME 883 coils (590lbs/in)
-1” diff drop

Rear:
-Bilstein long travel 5100 shocks
-Toytec Superflex coils (240 lbs/in)
-Toytec panhard drop bracket

The picture show LC coils for the rear and the regular Bilstein 5125s, but I ended up getting the Superflex coils and longer 5100s from Toytec instead.






November, 2014: 216,500 miles
The alternator failed and I had to use the TR6 to jump the 4Runner. CS144 upgrade time! My driver side CV boot had a slight tear in it (probably from the lift), so I also replaced it with one from Rockauto since it had a lifetime warranty and no core charge.

 

[Atomic6]

January, 2015: 219,631 miles
If I recall correctly, I noticed my coolant lines to the rear heater had rusted out and left coolant all over my garage floor. I took this opportunity to bypass the rear heat (since I’ve never used it), install a trans cooler, trans temp gauge, and flush the radiator.

Rusted heater lines:


Rear heat bypassed:


Trans cooler:


Only the best for Tess:


New gauge and volt meter:

 

[Atomic6]

May, 2015 (Sidebar…)
Another hiatus from the 4Runner. fftopic:

On Memorial Day :usa2: (I must have a thing for picking up cars on holidays) I took delivery of my 1968 Camaro SS.

Don't mind the crappy music:




The car was originally my mother-in-law’s. She had it in her 20s as her daily driver. Many years ago it was in a storage unit where a fire broke out and she lost her wedding dress, family heirlooms, tons of records, and the Camaro. The worst part about the Camaro being in there was that she took the insurance off a few months before the incident!





After the fire, the car sat outside for a few years until she decided to have a shop restore it. Not to get into too many details, but the shop didn't pan out to be what it advertised it was… so back into storage it went. They did however, remove a ton of bad panels, sandblast and coat the carcass, and replace the trunk floor. :noidea:

Fast forward to 2015 and my MIL didn't want to throw anymore money into the car, but she also didn’t want to sell it outside of the family, so that’s where I come it. The car is now mine to restore back to it’s former glory! :trophy:





It’s a real SS, number’s matching 396ci/325HP L35 big block with the 4-speed muncie and 12-bolt rear end. If I were around in ’68, this is almost the exact spec Camaro I’d buy!

 

[Atomic6]

August, 2015: 225,747 miles
Passenger CV boot tore, so I picked up another replacement and kept my OEM CV to reboot later. Also replaced my worn steering rack and rusty lines.

Looking back at the pictures, this must be when I got the front calipers replaced too…

 

[Atomic6]

November, 2015
Installed a bro bar (AKA 41.5” light bar) on custom mounts, SPC UCAs, 1.25” Spidertrax wheel spacers,

and FINALLY added 285/75R16 Duratracs! I love and hate these tires. They perform great, but they’re E-rated so the ride is pretty rough. When these wear out I’ll probably get a different rated tire to bring back some comfort. Maybe 315s

That’s my brother with his ’97 2WD in the background. He still has it today (2017).







Chicago winters… salt and neglect:

 

[Atomic6]

February, 2016
Added some LED turn signals in the filler panel below the headlights. Also removed the bro bar. That thing didn’t last long!






March, 2016
Replaced the valve cover gaskets since the originals were leaking.



Also picked up my mother-in-laws ’74 Spitfire to get it running. It hadn’t run in over 11 years.




Replaced ignition components (points, condenser, plugs, etc), changed the oil (engine, trans, diff), rebuilt carburetor, cleaned gas tank, new clutch master cylinder, new tires, new battery, and a new hazard switch (which was the reason it was off the road in the first place).

 

[Atomic6]

April, 2016
HID retrofit. Best upgrade ever? Yes, hands down!







Also built a drawer system that I need to finish.



September, 2016: 238,648 miles
The big move from Mt. Prospect, IL to Denver, CO was upon us! Since my wife’s work was transferring us out there, they paid to have our stuff and two cars moved. After seeing the state of the Camaro, I think they’re rewriting that policy!

I requested the Camaro to be shipped by an enclosed trailer (which they happily obliged), but the 4Runner could go on a regular car hauler. If I had known the transporters were going to be as sketchy and rude as these guys, I would have driven the truck to Colorado myself! Countless times I was on the verge of taking my truck off their trailer. :mad2:

This is the first thing I saw when they pulled up…


When they arrived at my house, I think I took a thousand pictures of my truck, the haulers, and the paperwork.





Long story short, the truck arrived in Denver without a (new) scratch on it.

 

[Atomic6]

November, 2016
She’s official! and I’m a weirdo


While I was still in IL, I picked up some RAT products 3/16” skid plates through a group buy from [MENTION=101896]isu2014[/MENTION] on here and had them powder coated. I never had time to install them until after the move.

 

[Atomic6]

March, 2017
Added a EC433 all aluminum radiator. If you want more info, I posted about it here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/234846-all-aluminum-ec433-radiator-install.html





At the same time, I replace the t-stat and added a coolant temp sensor.




My neglect and the Chicago salty winters took a toll on the floor which resulted in this mess. Note to self: get WeatherTechs!


Surprisingly, the rest of the floor is in great condition. The rockers, on the other hand, look like they should be in the cancer ward.

Anyways, I found someone with a parts Tacoma that I could cut the floor out of. He was swapping the 3.4L into his Tacoma and didn’t need the cab for anything. Plus, the whole Taco was roached except for the diver side floor. The Tacoma floor doesn’t line up 100%, but it’s really close and I made it work.

Cut, mock up, prep, weld, seam sealer, rust proof. Done.


Apparently, March was a packed month! I also replaced the bell cranks because my parking brake has been frozen for years. As a flatlander, I’ve never needed it. :lol:



Oh, and my gas tank strap broke (more rust). So I took a trip to the junk yard and picked up a new-to-me one.

 

[Atomic6]

April, 2017
Took a trip to Red Rocks and Echo Lake:




Junk yard scores: 99+ console, new visor, and driver’s oh-:toilet: handle. Now I get the hype on the console, the extra cupholders are great!


Throttle body and MAF cleaned.


And I tinted my clear parking lenses orange to change things up. They were looking pretty faded next to the 99+ headlights.





....and we're up-to-date! For now :eyebrows:

 

[theesotericone]

....and we're up-to-date! For now :eyebrows:

Nice intro man. Now screw the 4runner and get to work on that Camaro. I helped a buddy restore a 69 SS in the early 90's. One of the top 5 muscle cars for sure.

 

[Flemster]

Rust

The rust looks like a nightmare! Props for staying on top of it! Sweet Build so far!

 

[stever1000]

April, 2016
HID retrofit. Best upgrade ever? Yes, hands down!

Do you have more info?

 

[trailbikerider]

I'm curious as to what harness was used, as well as what ballasts/bulbs you put in there? I used the exact same components as you, using an Amazon H4 to H1 bixenon adapter harness and a Xentec 55w HID kit and could not get rid of the light flicker. I've since gone back to my factory headlights until I figure out what components I want to buy.