Howdy folks. I am returning to the land o' the 4Runner.
I have a 1991 with ~535,000 km on it that I purchased back in 2006, maybe. Somewhere around there. Swapped a 3.4 from a 1997 Tacoma into it after I drowned the 3.0 in a big mud puddle. Then in October 2012, I slid it sideways across the freeway in an ice storm, got T boned, and then shoved into one of those cable barriers. Those things stop you quickly, for the record. Drove it home and put it into semi-retirement. I have long term plans for a rebuild/resurrection.
Replaced that with a 1999 Limited. Did the orange/grey wire mod first day. That thing was a tank (snow poser pic included).
Got a better job that came with a vehicle allowance, so off it went and I replaced it with a 2013 Tacoma TRD Sport. Rode out 4 or so rounds of layoffs when the oil and gas industry took a kick in the 'nads, then became one of the statistics in December 2015. Managed to hang onto the truck until last weekend when a nice kid and his dad came up from California to buy it off of me. So, hopefully he's enjoying it as much as I did.
So, here I am, back with a 2003 Limited. Already dealing with the annoying little problems, like a cracked windshield and HVAC lights that were burnt out. Couldn't get the key fobs to work. Tried new batteries. Then I realized that the clock was also constantly resetting to 1:00 every time I started it up. No dome light, either. Surprise, surprise, they're all on the same fuse. New fuse, problem solved. For three days. Then today, no dice. Put a new fuse in, blows as soon as it hits the contacts.
Sonofa...
Fuse also handles the running board lights. They've never worked, even with the new fuse (when it worked). Up on the ramps, crawl underneath. Sure enough, the wires are pulled out of one plug, and very, very brittle on the passenger side. But that's not the best part. The best part was finding both front brackets completely rusted through and a Mickey Mouse repair job done, just to keep the boards in place.
Sonofa...
Now the 4Runner is 100% running board free.
Next up, tackling the timing belt (someone else can do that job) and the suspension. I *think* it still has the original XREAS shocks on it. It definitely has the lines and the central control absorbers, but I didn't bother to trace them back to the shocks to see if they're still attached. Either way, this thing rides like an ox cart over bumps. I'm thinking Bilsteins on all 4 corners.
I have a 1991 with ~535,000 km on it that I purchased back in 2006, maybe. Somewhere around there. Swapped a 3.4 from a 1997 Tacoma into it after I drowned the 3.0 in a big mud puddle. Then in October 2012, I slid it sideways across the freeway in an ice storm, got T boned, and then shoved into one of those cable barriers. Those things stop you quickly, for the record. Drove it home and put it into semi-retirement. I have long term plans for a rebuild/resurrection.
Replaced that with a 1999 Limited. Did the orange/grey wire mod first day. That thing was a tank (snow poser pic included).
Got a better job that came with a vehicle allowance, so off it went and I replaced it with a 2013 Tacoma TRD Sport. Rode out 4 or so rounds of layoffs when the oil and gas industry took a kick in the 'nads, then became one of the statistics in December 2015. Managed to hang onto the truck until last weekend when a nice kid and his dad came up from California to buy it off of me. So, hopefully he's enjoying it as much as I did.
So, here I am, back with a 2003 Limited. Already dealing with the annoying little problems, like a cracked windshield and HVAC lights that were burnt out. Couldn't get the key fobs to work. Tried new batteries. Then I realized that the clock was also constantly resetting to 1:00 every time I started it up. No dome light, either. Surprise, surprise, they're all on the same fuse. New fuse, problem solved. For three days. Then today, no dice. Put a new fuse in, blows as soon as it hits the contacts.
Sonofa...
Fuse also handles the running board lights. They've never worked, even with the new fuse (when it worked). Up on the ramps, crawl underneath. Sure enough, the wires are pulled out of one plug, and very, very brittle on the passenger side. But that's not the best part. The best part was finding both front brackets completely rusted through and a Mickey Mouse repair job done, just to keep the boards in place.
Sonofa...
Now the 4Runner is 100% running board free.
Next up, tackling the timing belt (someone else can do that job) and the suspension. I *think* it still has the original XREAS shocks on it. It definitely has the lines and the central control absorbers, but I didn't bother to trace them back to the shocks to see if they're still attached. Either way, this thing rides like an ox cart over bumps. I'm thinking Bilsteins on all 4 corners.
