Bawlzdeep in this Build

[Jon]

*******IN WORK*********

Got my 4Runner back in September 2010 bone stock 333,000mi.

Toytec Ultimate lift and 275/75/16 Kumho KL71 tires done in week 2 of ownership.

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First "rock crawling"

The off road mod bug bit me hard. Need a winch to trail ride alone. And the Addicted Offroad bumper is perfect for bolting up an XRC8 winch with synthetic line. The factory lights were crap so I got the crystal housings and fitted 6000K HID's. Still "light hungry" off road.

Started getting Bawlzy in the Gulf.

Bad Christmas Eve. Tide comes in FAST! FML

No worries. Replace the main fuse and she starts right back up. What you know about REAL sea foam!? Had to pull the entire interior, rebuild and clean all seat motors and electrical connections that went under. Water got right under my head unit, never touched the ECU, luckily. Not gonna put that carpet back in so I went with Herculiner.

Triumph over failure. $hit just got real!

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To many close calls with deep water crossings. Time for a snorkel. Not being a huge fan of the "big name" stuff or the price, I took a trip to the hardware store for some piping.

Cut the hole with a jigsaw. Then lined the edge with 3/8 fuel line that I had.

Hard to build a good looking/functional head so I went to Safari.

Snorkel test. It works! Door seals...not so much! Easy clean up
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[Jon]

Then got a cheap set of "off the shelf" fogs and retrofitted 6000K HIDs in those too. Much better! Also around this time the radiator failed and left me on the trail with http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/88642-sweet-strawberry-milkshake-fml.html

Got as much wheeling/camping/fishing in as I could before the next wonderful trip to the sandbox.

Back home and seems that the "temporarilyfixed" Pink Milkshaked trans sitting for 6mo has $hit the bed.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/88642-sweet-strawberry-milkshake-fml.html

The clutches were toast and didn't want to move it out of the driveway. Craig's List scored a 5-speed trans/t-case, cross member, master cylinder, pedal, and both drive shafts for $450. Along with some other random parts the seller tossed in. New E-bay stage 2 clutch kit with fly wheel, a few feet of brake line and slave cylinder and I'm done with parts. Hope it all works!

Time to do it, solo.

Out with the auto

Minor wiring to fool the ECU with a fake neutral safety switch. Had to rewire the 4X4 switch too.

 

[Jon]

First test run was a joint run with T4R locals and the Emerald Coast Jeepers, AKA trail traffic, LOL.

Watch closely Heeps, this is how you hill climb!

Excuse me, I have a trans to test. Forgot to mention that at this point the rear E-locker has been out for a year or so. (It was just a loose connection at the rear end)

I've outgrown the 33's. Don't have enough for a SAS so I'll just do a strong IFS build on 35's. Now to choose which 35's to go with. KM2s were #1 on my list but then I saw the Pitbull Rockers on a few buggies on Youtube. They looked like they would suit any type of terrain, and they do! They better for around $400 a tire.

Major rubbing issue even with the SpiderTrax spacers. I took a grinder to the UCAs but it still rubbed on the lugs.

The upper ball joints were going out again anyway so that was all the reason I need to get the Camburg UCAs.

Did the Tundra brake swap at the same time. Huge difference in stopping power.

The tires were grabbing at the front and rear fenders. No way in hell was I going for a body lift. I opted to trim the fenders to clear these massive meats.

Florida wheeling was fun but nothing compared to the terrain of Northern California. I'm never home now. Work and wheeling, that's about it. We survived a few snow wheeling trips before the front diff let go on our way back from Bowman Lake. So I hand the front and rear diffs off to my local shop J&M to get the 4.30's replaced with 4.88's and an ARB locker up front. With all four 35 inch Pitbull Rockers turning with 4psi, it feels like an unstopable tank! The Super Charger helps too. Only running it at 4psi due to lack of a tune. No reason for me to go any higher with 360k miles on it. It get's us pretty much anywhere we want to go. The family loves the ability to pass by all the congested roadside camp spots to keep pushing further into the wilderness and enjoy the real outdoors. Who Doesn't?

 

[Jon]

On our drive from FL to CA.

First snow trip was on HWY 80 to North Tahoe. Happened to be a blizzard. Fun stuff this snow! I like it.

New LED light from DDM Tuning. A couple more abusive snow runs and the front diff had had enough. Wonder why?!

And, there's your problem right there!

New 4.88 gears front and rear along with an ARB locker up front. Assembly done by J&M Offroad in Grass Valley.

New flat black http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rll-249310?seid=srese1&gclid=CPn2qLCBqbgCFaNxQgodin8ArQ and nearby test grounds located.

Finally get to put the lockers to use!

Rear end was sagging to much so I went with Toytec's new Superflex springs and Bistien's extended 5100 shocks.

 

[fightman80]

Where the Hell have you been man???!!! Never noticed that you didn't have a build thread before.... lol!

Glad you're back!

 

[Jon]

Been around man. Answering some fix it questions and hanging out in the "Offroad" section.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

looking good man! i think i recognize a lot of those spots in your pics, unless you found an Eglin twin in CA, keep it up!

 

[Jon]

Thanks man. ALMOST all of that is Eglin. Looking forward to tossing on one of those nice roof racks one day. Still the best out there as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Hepar]

Good to see where your beast started at. Love it.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Subscribed.

Didn't you already have some kind of build/pics thread?

 

[Jon]

Yeah, I had this link http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3887969/1997-toyota-4runner-limited-sport-utility-4d/ in my sig forever but no real build thread.

 

[Kurtis]

I was wondering when you were going to make a build thread. Glad to see it!

 

[BrianSD_42]

Awesome. I definitely saw many pics of your truck in different threads over the last year. Glad to see an official build.

 

[Rockdawg84]

Jon Ive loved your truck and am glad you now have a dedicated thread for an awesome truck that is sporting those beautiful Rockers!!:hungry::hungry:

carry on

 

[Jon]

Thanks guys! Happy to get off of my lazy a$$ and finally get this done. Looking forward to custom built sliders which are coming up soon and possibly a rear bumper with carrier.

Teaser

Built by Scott Franklin up here in NorCal

 

[KSWAY]

Did you already have the sliders built? We ended up eliminating the kick out on mine after I got hung up on a rock at the High Lakes. They were a little too far out on mine.

 

[audiness]

opcorn:

 

[Jon]

I think he built them for a customer that flaked out. Were just trying to get a day where we're both free. I remember you guys telling me about having to modify them. I like the look of the kickout but if It's a hinderenc then I might have him modify them.

 

[Jon]

Built by my friend Scott Franklin in Oroville CA. We had to chop the front corner a bit to fit for my stupid 35's and then fitted them at 25 degrees and welded them up. Look good now but they'll be prettier with new scrapes scratches and dents!:hungry:

Hit me up if you need a pair or anything else. Scott has a fab shop and can build almost anything.

 

[downpour11]

You went to Oroville and didn't call me!! LOL I was just up there with Stoke all Saturday.

Sliders came out sweet man!