Bandit Runner's Build Thread

fourfive said:
How did you go about removing the factory bushings from your rear upper & lower arms? I ended up ordering the whiteline bushings (W63378 & W63379) today & trying to figure out what diameter size adapters I'll need to press out the factory bushings using a 4wd c-clamp style ball joint press.
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I've seen guys use different types of presses/clamps to push the bushings out, and even fire to burn them out. I did neither.

I drilled a hole through the rubber bushing. Then took my jigsaw and stuck the blade through the hole, and cut around the outer perimeter of the rubber. All that was needed was to break the bonded seal between the rubber and the steel. Then I just took a hammer and hit the bushing a few times and it popped right out.

Then for the lowers I used a sawzall to cut through the steel sleeves that were still left pressed into the arm ends. After cutting through, I took a hammer and chisel, and hammered the sleeves out.

It wasn't really bad at all, and only took a few hours to do them all.
 
Finished beefing up the upper control arms - all welded and cleaned up:
nY4cL97.jpg


BrOXCC3.jpg
 
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I just spent the past hour and a half or so reading through your thread. It is absolutely amazing what you have done. You have inspired me to take on some projects that I would normally be uncomfortable with and learn new skills like welding and wiring. Thank you.
 
jlstick2 said:
I just spent the past hour and a half or so reading through your thread. It is absolutely amazing what you have done. You have inspired me to take on some projects that I would normally be uncomfortable with and learn new skills like welding and wiring. Thank you.
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Much appreciated. I didn't know how to weld or do electrical wiring before joining the forums. But now look at me!

Good luck with your projects!
 
jlstick2 said:
I just spent the past hour and a half or so reading through your thread. It is absolutely amazing what you have done. You have inspired me to take on some projects that I would normally be uncomfortable with and learn new skills like welding and wiring. Thank you.
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This!

The forum is great for this type of thing. The whole... I wasn't going to even do that until I found regular Joe shmoes also doing* it :).. I.e. non mechanics.
 
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So I decided to yank this out of the truck today. It didn't look important anyway.
CSU6dTQ.jpg


While I was at it, I figured I didn't need this thing-a-ma-jig either:
gHNXAli.jpg
 
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So I worked on my electrical upgrade today. First I got the new 200 amp alternator installed. This went pretty well, except I had to pull the pivot bushing in the upper mount outward to get the new alternator to fit into the opening. Luckily I did my homework ahead of time, searching alternator installs. I found someone on YotaTech that had the same issue, and explained how to fix it. Whew! Crisis averted.
t9CBHdb.jpg


On to the wiring. First I carefully disassembled the OEM wiring harness. The reason for this was that I needed the wiring and connectors that attach to the fuse box, alternator, and starter. Success! This is what I was after:
9H0DTku.jpg


The other thing I wanted to reuse from the OEM harness was the hard plastic "box" that the starter wire goes through. This box encases the wiring and safely routes it around the oil pan. I figured it must be pretty important to protect the wires from the hot oil pan. I also saved a few of the clips that help route the rest of the cables:
UhPqXc3.jpg


Then I was going to start building the new wire harness, when I noticed an issue. The new wire that is supposed to go from the positive battery terminal to the starter was too short. Arrrrg! Not sure what happened here, but it was over a foot short. I compared it to the OEM wire here:
fBRslle.jpg


So I was pretty bummed about that. I checked all the other wires, and their lengths were alright. I proceeded to install the other 4 wires without much issue. I need to be able to drive my truck tomorrow, so I ended up putting the OEM starter wire back in. I held my breath and turned the key. The truck started right up. Yes, I must have wired everything correctly!

I emailed Bill from Bumper2Bumper Auto about the short wire. Hopefully I'll get a quick reply and he'll send me another wire that is the correct length. It will be nice to finally finish up with this mod.
 
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I spent a little time today figuring out my winch mounting. The winch fit in the bumper just fine. I didn't need to clock the clutch housing, but I did need to trim a little off a bumper gusset for easier access.

Then I needed to decide where to mount my winch controller box. I wanted to keep it near the winch, so I didn't have to buy longer cables for it. It wouldn't fit on top of the winch, but I finally found a place for it mounted sideways next to the winch in the bumper. I just need to make a bracket for it.
Z8Hr0E2.jpg
 
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WOW! Bandit, your work is amazing!!! So I was perusing through google images to check out different 3rd gen 4runner mods so I could get some ideas on doing some of my own. Then I came across a picture of your beautiful rig near the sand with all your mods and I immediately thought, WOW, now that's the nicest looking rig I've ever seen!

I got to looking closer at the picture and I thought, well... that's the coolest looking front bumper I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking roof rack I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking rear bumper I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking snorkel I've ever seen, and those are the coolest looking headlights I've ever seen...

I figured I'd better check out the website that was displaying this picture and save it for future reference. It brought me here to your build thread with a trove of information on your mods, so I spent the next couple hours looking through all your amazing mods. That's when I realized that all of your mods were custom built by you! Not only are your mods amazing, but you were kind enough to take the time to share the details with everyone! Awesome... seriously!

Long story short, I joined toyota-4runner.org pretty much for the main purpose of following your build threads, cheering you on, and asking you questions when the time comes. Hope you don't mind :)
 
Wilderness Runner said:
WOW! Bandit, your work is amazing!!! So I was perusing through google images to check out different 3rd gen 4runner mods so I could get some ideas on doing some of my own. Then I came across a picture of your beautiful rig near the sand with all your mods and I immediately thought, WOW, now that's the nicest looking rig I've ever seen!

I got to looking closer at the picture and I thought, well... that's the coolest looking front bumper I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking roof rack I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking rear bumper I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking snorkel I've ever seen, and those are the coolest looking headlights I've ever seen...

I figured I'd better check out the website that was displaying this picture and save it for future reference. It brought me here to your build thread with a trove of information on your mods, so I spent the next couple hours looking through all your amazing mods. That's when I realized that all of your mods were custom built by you! Not only are your mods amazing, but you were kind enough to take the time to share the details with everyone! Awesome... seriously!

Long story short, I joined toyota-4runner.org pretty much for the main purpose of following your build threads, cheering you on, and asking you questions when the time comes. Hope you don't mind :)
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Wow. I am truly honored. Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm glad I am able to inspire others in this fun hobby.

Ask all the questions you want. I don't mind at all.

If you would like to build your own Bandit bumpers, I do sell the plans with all the necessary information to build your own. See this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-t4r-items/184735-build-your-own-bandit-bumper.html
 
Bandit Runner said:
If you would like to build your own Bandit bumpers, I do sell the plans with all the necessary information to build your own. See this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-t4r-items/184735-build-your-own-bandit-bumper.html
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Sweet! I'll have to check it out. :reddance:
Just out of curiosity, it looks like you have a smaller size hitch on the rear bumper in your photos? Can the rear bumper support a full sized hitch for towing trailers like the stock tow receiver or is it not strong enough?
 
Wilderness Runner said:
WOW! Bandit, your work is amazing!!! So I was perusing through google images to check out different 3rd gen 4runner mods so I could get some ideas on doing some of my own. Then I came across a picture of your beautiful rig near the sand with all your mods and I immediately thought, WOW, now that's the nicest looking rig I've ever seen!

I got to looking closer at the picture and I thought, well... that's the coolest looking front bumper I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking roof rack I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking rear bumper I've ever seen, and that's the coolest looking snorkel I've ever seen, and those are the coolest looking headlights I've ever seen...

I figured I'd better check out the website that was displaying this picture and save it for future reference. It brought me here to your build thread with a trove of information on your mods, so I spent the next couple hours looking through all your amazing mods. That's when I realized that all of your mods were custom built by you! Not only are your mods amazing, but you were kind enough to take the time to share the details with everyone! Awesome... seriously!

Long story short, I joined toyota-4runner.org pretty much for the main purpose of following your build threads, cheering you on, and asking you questions when the time comes. Hope you don't mind :)
Click to expand...

That was really nice. He really does have a beautiful truck & it inspires all of us.
 
I got one of the kits from Bumper2Bumper and did the install the same as you, meaning I pulled all of the factory clips and that white box out and ran the wires through them. WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS!! lol

great build though, keep innovating so I can continue to steal your ideas!
 
Wilderness Runner said:
Sweet! I'll have to check it out. :reddance:
Just out of curiosity, it looks like you have a smaller size hitch on the rear bumper in your photos? Can the rear bumper support a full sized hitch for towing trailers like the stock tow receiver or is it not strong enough?
Click to expand...

The hitch is a standard class III receiver. It is made to fit a 2" square ball mount. Same size as the stock tow receiver.
 
I could of sworn I had read through your build before but I was mistaken. I started from the beginning last night and just finished. This build has been amazing. This is everything I want mine to become (minus a few lights haha) but in all seriousness, this might be my favorite 4runner.
 
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