AxleIke- 1999 4Runner SR5

[AxleIke]

This is My build thread. Hopefully in the coming pages, you will find some useful tech

1999 4Runner
SR5
Millenium Silver

Factory Options:

Front tint
heated mirrors
rear locker
5 speed Transmission

Current Modifications:

Wheels and Tires

Factory 5 Spoke Wheels
285/75R16 BFG All Terrain KO2

Suspension:

Front:

Factory Steering rack
Factory Lower ball joints
Factory Lower A-arms

Icon Uniball Upper A-Arms
Custom valved Icon 2.5 Internal Res Shocks (longer version)
Eibach 600 lb/in 14" coils

Rear:

OME 890 180 lb/inch 2" lift springs
OME 10 mm poly spacers
2" Custom valved Icon Emulsion shocks
Factory upper links
Sonoran Steel panhard bar
Modified toytec lower control arms with factory bushings

Engine

3.4L V6
Custom modified Intake
Grey Supercharger
2.1" URD pulley
Hybrid TRD URD 7th Injector Kit
Wideband O2


Drivetrain

Stock R150
Inchworm trans adapter
23 spline turbo truck crawl box
Marlin MC09 dual case adapter
Stock t-case
4.3 diffs from Automatic 4runner

Stock Rear Locker
ARB front locker

Interior
Custom linkage for dual case shifters
Aftermarket Headunit
Converted factory switches for front locker and air compressor

Armor and Wheeling support

Front ARB bull bar
Warn M8000 winch converted to Synth line
Ikebuilt Sliders
Ikebuilt Rear bumper w/tire carrier
Ikebuilt trans/tcase integrated cross member/skid plate
Ikebuilt gas tank skid
Ikebuilt front skid

Notable Trails run

Colorado:
Chinaman's Gulch
Blanca Peak (all the way to the end of the road)
The Chutes (Kelly Flats trail)

Utah:
Greenday (area BFE)
Minor Threat (area BFE)

South Dakota:
Iceman
Jake
Upper Hal Johns (little John)

 

[AxleIke]

Purchase and Current Pics

Purchased November 2011. 200,000 miles. 2 owner. First owner was an old lady who never offroaded it. Just drove back and forth from Colorado Springs to Denver.



Current Picture

 

[AxleIke]

To start, this truck replaced a few 1st gen 4runners I had.

I first had an 87 which some may remember from other sites:

Dual ARB's, factory IFS, custom steering built with 80 series tie rods, DOM tubing, and a total chaos idler, 35's, flat belly, dual ultimate marlin, 488's, blah





Then I had an 89 that I started a truggy build on:

ARB's Front and rear, 80 series front axle, 3link front with king coils, front frame halfed and redone, hellfire high steer, blah bah blah







But, before I could finish, I had the opportunity to go back to school, and I had to sell it off.

I picked up my current 4runner for a commuter/camper

 

[AxleIke]

At first, All I did was put on some 265/75R16 MTR Kevlars and bolted on a 1st gen supercharger ( the grey one). I took it on some easy trails around the southwest and did some camping.

I also kept some souvenirs from my first 4runner, the 87. I modified the front grill to accept the 1st gen Toyota emblem, and slapped the old "4 Wheel Drive 4Runner" badge on the back. I also swapped over the gear shift handles for the trans and the transfer cased

Engineer Pass



New Mexico



Canyon de Chelly, Arizona



Grand Staircase of the Escalante National Monument, Utah




Finally, I took it out on a snow run, and managed to break my leg. It did well stock

 

[AxleIke]

After I finished healing up from the broken leg and finally selling off all the truggy parts, I got a lift from Toytech, Bilstein shocks front and rear, 620 lb/in front coils, 180 lb/in OME 890's in the rear.

I also picked up an ARB bull bar, and some 285/75R16 Yokohama geolanders.

To clear the tires, I tried bolting on my old spidertrax spacers I ran on my 87. This did not work fantastic as they are lug centric. But it worked for a while

 

[AxleIke]

Then, because I now had a large spare tire to fit, I fabbed up a rear bumper:

Plated the rear of the frame and welded on some 1/4" brackets to bolt the bumper to.



Started by making the main structure and adding a hitch





Then added the back steel and a hinge





Bent up some tubing for the sides:





Topped the tubing with 11 gauge to make it smooth and began finishing the lower valence:

 

[AxleIke]

Then, it was time for the tire carrier. Lots of time on the bender and a number of jacked up tubes trying to get the compound bends worked out. When I got done, I realized I'd made a frank and beans. Didn't want to redo it though.









Then, I added a second hitch to carry bikes and stuff



Latch:



Painted and Finished:





Added a pin to keep the arm from sliding slightly during movement, which caused the latch to bind:



Bike rack for demonstration:

 

[Joshks22]

Sick bumper man,lol frank and beans or not it looks good,i need ideas for when i build my rear bumper,keep up the good work

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[JWaldz]

NICE 4Runner(s).. Good to see another Colorado resident on the forums! :wave:

Look forward to seeing the rest of the build.

 

[JZiggy]

Nice to see you on here, AxleIke. I too moved over to this forum after transitioning my project focus from 1st gens to 3rd gens. Your 1st gen build has always been inspiring for me and I will enjoy following your next build!

 

[AxleIke]

One irritating thing with the 99 and 2000 5 speed trucks was that while the center console cup holders are about 10 billion times better than the 96-98 trucks, your knuckles hit any decent sized coffee mug or water bottle that is in the front cup holder every time you shift into 2nd, 4th, and reverse.

So, the solution: Short throw set up from Marlin.

 

[AxleIke]

Then, because I'm bling bling, I added a winch and some lights. Gotta look right to wheel right!





Despite wheeling a lot with my old truck, I never needed a winch for myself before, always managed to drive stuff or back out, and didn't do much snow wheeling. With the winch, I can do some snow wheeling, which is fun!

 

[AxleIke]

For many years, I had been wanting an ARB fridge for camping. So, I started hoarding Amazon Gift cards from birthday's and christmas'. Finally, got enough to get one.

Then, I build the crappiest thing I've ever built, which I now hate with a passion, my camping set up:





This thing sucks for many reasons.

1. I got garbage plywood, so everything is warped and nothing lines up.
2. the paneling takes up WAY too much room, so I can hardly fit anything in it
3. The fridge needs to drop, its too high, and the lid will not go up enough to stay open before it hits the hatch.
4. It was designed to be taken in and out easily. Its not. It takes 15 or 20 minutes to get it in and out.

So, I (someday) will build something better. Trying to design a drop slide right now.

At first, I used the 12V supply at the back of the truck to power the rig. As you know, the internal power supply is turned on when the ignition is on. This is helpful so if you have a phone or something plugged in, and leave the truck, you don't come back to a dead battery. But, with the fridge, you want it on 100%.

So, I pulled the 12V relay, and added a jumper when the fridge is in the back.





However, this did not last long, because I found that the rattling of the truck during offroad driving caused the fridge to constantly come unplugged. So I sourced the ARB plug, and wired that directly to the battery. The plug on the fridge threads into the plug in the truck now, so that the fridge connection is always solid. I did not use the 12 V source for this so I could still plug other stuff in back there, and not have issues with the tiny 16 gauge (I think) wires running to it.

 

[AxleIke]

Next, I needed sliders. Decided to go with 2x2 0.250 wall square legs, 0.250 wall 2x3 rectangular for the main beam, and .120 wall Hrew out riggers. The goal was to keep it tight to the body.

Over the last 15 or 20 years, I've found that sliders that stick way out have 2 pros and 2 cons:

Pros:
1. They keep the body WAY away from the rocks.
2. They provide a nice step when loading things on the roof

Cons:
1. If you DD, they will get your pants muddy/wet/dusty everytime you get out of the truck. More importantly, they will get your significant other's pants/skirt/dress muddy/wet/dusty. This usually makes them cranky.

2. They hang the truck up left and right on the rocks we have out west, to the point of hindering progress.

Cons, for me, outweigh the pros. I originally had kickouts on my 87. Those things caused me to get hung up more times than I can remember.

These new sliders do not have that issue.

 

[AxleIke]

As you can see in the last post, at this point, I also swapped to BFG KO's in a 285/75R16 size. Didn't like the P rating on the Yokohamas. Got a set used to try out.

I also had some issues with wheel wobble.

So, I replaced the spidertrax spacers with nothing in the rear, and 1/2" aluminum spacers up front. I used 2003 Matrix rear wheel studs, which have a 1/2" longer shoulder than the factory 4runner studs, and the same thread pitch. This year Matrix was the only one with rear drum brakes, which is why it has these studs. The studs worked perfect, the spacers, not so much, but more on that later.

So, i first replaced my steering rack, lower ball joints, and tie rod ends:



As is common, I had about 0.5 deg of caster with the lift kit, so some new UCA's were in order.

I first bought the SPC adjustable uppers. I got them out of the box, took a long look at them, and returned them immediately. No way I was going to trust that design to hold together, much less an alignment, with the wheeling I was doing. So, I ordered up a set of Icon uniballs. I chose the Icon because they have a low profile bolt set up, which allows them to have a sealing cap over the top. This keeps dirt, slime, etc... off the top of the uniball, where it would collect and cause premature wear. The underside does get stuff on it too, but because its facing down, stuff falls off of it, and it doesn't have the same issue.

 

[habanero]

Heya Mr. AxleIke. Interesting start to what I'm sure will be an interesting build and nice work as always.

 

[AxleIke]

Sick bumper man,lol frank and beans or not it looks good,i need ideas for when i build my rear bumper,keep up the good work

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Thanks! Though, don't follow it too closely, as it has some issues, which I will go into later

NICE 4Runner(s).. Good to see another Colorado resident on the forums! :wave:

Look forward to seeing the rest of the build.

Thanks! Takes a long time to get through it all. Colorado FTW!

Nice to see you on here, AxleIke. I too moved over to this forum after transitioning my project focus from 1st gens to 3rd gens. Your 1st gen build has always been inspiring for me and I will enjoy following your next build!

Thanks man! I miss my first gens.

Wish I hadn't sold those trucks. Oh well.

3rd gen is much nicer with kids. Thats for sure.

 

[AxleIke]

Heya Mr. AxleIke. Interesting start to what I'm sure will be an interesting build and nice work as always.

Thanks! Nice to see a familiar screenname! Cheers!

 

[AxleIke]

I got a new set of BFG KO2's as soon as they came out.

My take on the last couple years with these things:

Goods:

They are much improved in the snow vs the old KO's. They have a lot more siping.

This makes them good on the rocks out here in the west. They are also tough, though I've pretty much always run these with a few exceptions, so I don't have a lot to compare to.

Bads:

They are heavy. This makes them suck on the road, if you have similar criteria for ride quality as me (more on this when I get to shocks).

They are loud. Again, a problem for me, not so much for others.

Like their predecessors, they are an AT. So at the first sign of mud, they are pretty useless. In SD, I got into a muddy section, and they wouldn't climb up a 3" high rock. Not exaggerating there.

When they were new:

 

[AxleIke]

Then, it was time for dual cases. On my 87, I could never decide what was my favorite mod: Dual cases or dual lockers. Both are pretty great.

So, I bought a used MC09 and after waiting for a year for Marlin to get the trans adapters back into production, I bought an inchworm adapter.

Pulled everything out:



Now, you will notice there are actually two transmissions and transfer cases there. If you will allow me a long tangent to explain a failed project, that will be clear, LOL.

TANGENT:


At first, I was planning to put in an R151 to get around the trans adapter issue, and get a lower first gear. The issue with that was, the R151 I got had a busted 2nd gear. So, it was looking like a major pain to re-fit it, and in the time I had, I decided to buy the trans adapter.

But, for those who are curious, the swap is possible, with a few caveats:

There are 2 versions of the R150 transmission. One came behind the 3.0, with a pass drop tcase and the other behind the 3.4 with a driver drop case.

The 3.0 has a shorter bell housing, and, due to the opposite exhuast drop, the clutch slave is on the passenger side. The 3.4 version has a longer bell housing, with the slave on the driver side.

The R151 came behind the 22RTE, and has a completely different bell housing BUUUUTTTT the transfercase adapter is designed for the late 80's gear drive tcases we all love (this is confusing, but the transfer case adapter is the back half of the transmission)

Because all three transmissions are R series, the front half of the transmissions are identical. Therefore, any R series bellhousing will bolt to an R series trans.

Finally, because the 3.0 and the 3.4 have the same block, just different heads, the 3.0 and 3.4 engine sides of the transmissions are identical.

Soooo, you ask, why on earth all this crap? If the R150 3.4L bell housing will bolt to the R151, why not just use it.

The issue is the pesky transfercase adapters. Because the 22RTE is (obviously) a totally different beast, the R151 transfercase adapter is different. The biggest, most PITA difference, is that the trans shifter hole is about 3 inches further forward than the R150 adapters. So, if you simply bolt up the 3.4L bell housing, you have to cut a big hole up under the dash, and redo all the interior so the shifter can come out up further.

With the 3.4L bellhousing, you ALSO have to swap the input shafts, which isn't a big deal. But, with the 3.0 bellhousing, you do not. The 3.0 and 22RTE are the exact same length.

However, if you use the shorter, 3.0 bell housing, the trans hole is actually about 4.5" further forward than the stock R150.

This is where the R151 transfercase adapter has another feature that is different than the R150. The R151 and corresponding 23 spline gear drive tcase are FORWARD shift. This means that the transfercase shift rails extend out of the transfercase and into the back of the transmission, and that the transfercase shift lever and plate actually bolt to the transmission, and not the transfercase.



Okay, so I get that this has seemed like a whole long diatribe, and for what. Well, what I came up with was the following:







I cut off the original tcase shifter and welded the trans shifter to that. By using the solid links, the shift pattern remains the same and you can easily shift into all of the gears.

If you use a 3.0 bell housing, and this configuration, the relocated shifter comes up in nearly the exact same spot as factory, meaning zero interior modifications are needed. You do have to use a slave cylinder from a 3.0 truck and extend the hydraulic line, but by the time you've done all this BS, that is pretty doable, LOL

Finally, no transmission adapter to the gear drive tcase is needed, which both simplifies the install as well as makes the whole unit about 1/2" shorter, which clears the rear crossmembers nicely.

Unfortunately, after getting all this put together and figured out, I found the busted gears during the transmission rebuild, which I will get to in another post.

But, this hasn't been forgotten, and I still plan to implement it someday.