BEGINNING - Build on a Stock 4Runner! *UPDATED BUILD THREAD*

[bryanbgw]

It's time! I bought a 1998 Black Limited 4Runner a few years ago with 167,000 mi. It's been my dream to own a 3rd Gen 4Runner, it felt unreal driving home after purchasing it. It's been my daily driver and forest road explorer. I have not yet been able to dive into any off-roading. For years, I've browsed this forum, ogling at all of your builds. I always thought "shoot, my 4Runner has 170k miles now, it's too late to start a build.... 195k miles, too late to start..." 215k, why wait any longer! I want to run my 4Runner till she can't run no more!

Current day: 215,000 mi. I've swapped the front/rear bumper, grille, wheels, and headlights out with 2002 parts, (as well as a sport hood, SCORE!:naughty and added a 1.5" spacer lift. Besides this, its essentially a stock 4Runner and i'm ready to get going on my build!

Before I begin asking for opinions, I want to say I've looked extensively through posts
and once I begin believing I have found what is going to work for me, another guy responds
raging why the OP is an idiot and that we shouldn't listen to him.:doh:

SO, I've decided to just start a post for FRESH opinions. No more browsing through 7 year old discussions. I'm hoping this will be a fruitful thread full of current thoughts and options, that may be able to help myself as well as any others beginning a 3rd Gen 4Runner build. :tea: I'd love to hear what has worked for you/what hasn't worked for you. Here's a breakdown of what I'm after. I'll do my best to streamline any questions. And again, all opinions are WELCOME here!

A few photos of said Runner..

OVERALL
I would like a rig that will be used primarily for overlanding, possibly getting into some mild crawling, but will still give me somewhat decent road manners for long trips to trailheads.


ARMOR
I'd like to do anything I can myself to help save some mula, so i'm interested in these build kits.

3RD GEN 4RUNNER HIGH CLEARANCE FRONT BUMPER KIT
3rd Gen 4Runner High Clearance Front Bumper Kit - Coastal Offroad

3RD GEN 4RUNNER HIGH CLEARANCE REAR BUMPER KIT
3rd Gen 4Runner High Clearance Rear Bumper Kit - Coastal Offroad


SUSPENSION
Essentially, if i'm running the above armor..

-What would give my 4Runner decent road manners but still allow me to get into some noob off road wheeling?
-What would give me a decent amount of lift and able to slap 33" tires below?
-For your recommendations, would a panhard drop bracket or other modifications be needed?

*Note* A 1" ToyTec Body Lift is on the way.

This is where i'm struggling. Some swear by OME coils and bilstein 5100's. Others say it's trash and to go for LC coils/shocks and Tundra TRD 5100's. I'm overwhelmed.



EXTRAS
Winch: Any popular/affordable winches for simple recoveries?

Compressor: I am an avid Mountaineer and am hoping to get into the high altitude winter trailheads where the forest roads are covered in snow. Would getting a compressor to air down/up be too much of a trouble or have you found it's worth it for snow and other uses?

Roof Rack: Currently running Yakima Cross bars (3ea). I only carry a skybox or a 3man roof top tent. I also just got a 6' ARB Awning I plan to mount. I'd also like to carry some MaxTrax as well but haven't found a good method of mounting on cross bars. Would a full length rack be of much use? Do any of you who own these LOVE them and get tons of use?



I'll leave this here. All opinions welcome! You are the experts! :hail:

I will be sure to update this post with detailed photos and updates of the build as it progresses.

 

[bryanbgw]

Bump.:fishing:

 

[jesusfreak4life]

Nice lookin ride Bryan, all I can say is weight is a huge factor, only do what you find is essential. Others opinions are not relevant, build it your way and show us how it is going. The more weight the harder you work your motor and drive train and it affects your mileage. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out, c ya!

 

[Majkmichael]

It's time! I bought a 1998 Black Limited 4Runner a few years ago with 167,000 mi. It's been my dream to own a 3rd Gen 4Runner, it felt unreal driving home after purchasing it. It's been my daily driver and forest road explorer. I have not yet been able to dive into any off-roading. For years, I've browsed this forum, ogling at all of your builds. I always thought "shoot, my 4Runner has 170k miles now, it's too late to start a build.... 195k miles, too late to start..." 215k, why wait any longer! I want to run my 4Runner till she can't run no more!

Current day: 215,000 mi. I've swapped the front/rear bumper, grille, wheels, and headlights out with 2002 parts, (as well as a sport hood, SCORE!:naughty and added a 1.5" spacer lift. Besides this, its essentially a stock 4Runner and i'm ready to get going on my build!

Before I begin asking for opinions, I want to say I've looked extensively through posts
and once I begin believing I have found what is going to work for me, another guy responds
raging why the OP is an idiot and that we shouldn't listen to him.:doh:

SO, I've decided to just start a post for FRESH opinions. No more browsing through 7 year old discussions. I'm hoping this will be a fruitful thread full of current thoughts and options, that may be able to help myself as well as any others beginning a 3rd Gen 4Runner build. :tea: I'd love to hear what has worked for you/what hasn't worked for you. Here's a breakdown of what I'm after. I'll do my best to streamline any questions. And again, all opinions are WELCOME here!

A few photos of said Runner..

OVERALL
I would like a rig that will be used primarily for overlanding, possibly getting into some mild crawling, but will still give me somewhat decent road manners for long trips to trailheads.


ARMOR
I'd like to do anything I can myself to help save some mula, so i'm interested in these build kits.

3RD GEN 4RUNNER HIGH CLEARANCE FRONT BUMPER KIT
3rd Gen 4Runner High Clearance Front Bumper Kit - Coastal Offroad

3RD GEN 4RUNNER HIGH CLEARANCE REAR BUMPER KIT
3rd Gen 4Runner High Clearance Rear Bumper Kit - Coastal Offroad


SUSPENSION
Essentially, if i'm running the above armor..

-What would give my 4Runner decent road manners but still allow me to get into some noob off road wheeling?
-What would give me a decent amount of lift and able to slap 33" tires below?
-For your recommendations, would a panhard drop bracket or other modifications be needed?

*Note* A 1" ToyTec Body Lift is on the way.

This is where i'm struggling. Some swear by OME coils and bilstein 5100's. Others say it's trash and to go for LC coils/shocks and Tundra TRD 5100's. I'm overwhelmed.



EXTRAS
Winch: Any popular/affordable winches for simple recoveries?

Compressor: I am an avid Mountaineer and am hoping to get into the high altitude winter trailheads where the forest roads are covered in snow. Would getting a compressor to air down/up be too much of a trouble or have you found it's worth it for snow and other uses?

Roof Rack: Currently running Yakima Cross bars (3ea). I only carry a skybox or a 3man roof top tent. I also just got a 6' ARB Awning I plan to mount. I'd also like to carry some MaxTrax as well but haven't found a good method of mounting on cross bars. Would a full length rack be of much use? Do any of you who own these LOVE them and get tons of use?



I'll leave this here. All opinions welcome! You are the experts! :hail:

I will be sure to update this post with detailed photos and updates of the build as it progresses.

Harbor freight has some decent winches that are fairly affordable. Not the highest quality or anything but if you don't plan on using it every week you should be fine.

 

[Smog-guy707]

I bought my 4Runner when it had 240k and it now has 340k and supercharged. It is never too late to start!

One thing I did before lifting or was replace all of the bushings in the front end as well as rear end. The front got alll new bushings. The rear got all of the control arms replaced. That made it so when I lifted it, it felt really firm. It didn’t ride terrible, but man what a difference all new bushings made.

As for the pan hard drop bracket. I did it on mine but now I wish I would’ve went with Eimkeith kit. It’s a bracket for each side of the pan hard bar instead of a 3” drop on one side only

And weight will matter for the kind of springs you get. So you need to factor that in when selecting some


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[spartacus]

Your rig is already setup for over landing slash min to med off road. to make your overlanding experience more enjoyable., fridge, dual battery setup , drawer system, sleeping platform ,rock sliders., skids, led lighting etc and also recovery gear.

 

[Brian.]

Tell us about the mechanical baseline. Have you done the timing belt, water pump, acc belts, pulleys, cam and crank seals, plugs, plug wires, etc... How about both sets of ball joints, the tons of bushings on all control arms (16 for just control arms, then there's the sway-bars, steering rack, and body bushings). There's a ton of simple upkeep work that's essential for an Overland rig you Must rely on to get you out of whatever it got you into.

It's all boring, you don't "see" any changes but it still chews through $1000 for parts, type work. If you've got that done, Great! If not, you might want to consider starting there before spending money on "looks good" stuff. "Looks good" doesn't help much if it's unable to move (or stop, or steer).

 

[Thebeastlives]

Tell us about the mechanical baseline. Have you done the timing belt, water pump, acc belts, pulleys, cam and crank seals, plugs, plug wires, etc... How about both sets of ball joints, the tons of bushings on all control arms (16 for just control arms, then there's the sway-bars, steering rack, and body bushings). There's a ton of simple upkeep work that's essential for an Overland rig you Must rely on to get you out of whatever it got you into.

It's all boring, you don't "see" any changes but it still chews through $1000 for parts, type work. If you've got that done, Great! If not, you might want to consider starting there before spending money on "looks good" stuff. "Looks good" doesn't help much if it's unable to move (or stop, or steer).

absolutely fabulous advice for an old high mileage 3rd gen 4 runner. If the truck can't move, stop or run won't matter how the truck looks or functions

 

[zcostilla]

My ‘97 is stock, like yours but without the body lift. Everything I’ve read says address the high-failure items first. So add a radiator cooler to prevent the pink milkshake, timing belt & water pump, do a fluid flush everywhere you can, and consider the tundra brake upgrade. That’s my plan as well. Then and only then am I going to spend money for other upgrades because a broken 4Runner is no fun, especially when it could’ve been prevented.

 

[ptsailing]

Harbor freight has some decent winches that are fairly affordable. Not the highest quality or anything but if you don't plan on using it every week you should be fine.

I have had the Harbor Freight Badlands 12000 lb winch on my rig for a few years and use it regularly. I have not had any problems with it. It has gotten me out of more than a few tricky spots especially weekends I am up in the snow.

For what you pay for a similar Warn brand winch, you can replace your Harbor Freight winch 2 or 3 times.

One thing I did do was go to New England Ropes and bought my own dyneema synthetic rope and made a winch cable out of their 10mm HTS90 (breaking strength of 25000lb and less than <1% stretch)

Half the fun of these vehicles is all the DIY stuff you can do.

 

[Kanoe]

Opinions vary but you asked!

I'd leave it alone. It'll never be more reliable or economic to run than it is today. Spend your time getting all the maintenance up to date.

 

[bryanbgw]

Tell us about the mechanical baseline. Have you done the timing belt, water pump, acc belts, pulleys, cam and crank seals, plugs, plug wires, etc... How about both sets of ball joints, the tons of bushings on all control arms (16 for just control arms, then there's the sway-bars, steering rack, and body bushings). There's a ton of simple upkeep work that's essential for an Overland rig you Must rely on to get you out of whatever it got you into.

It's all boring, you don't "see" any changes but it still chews through $1000 for parts, type work. If you've got that done, Great! If not, you might want to consider starting there before spending money on "looks good" stuff. "Looks good" doesn't help much if it's unable to move (or stop, or steer).

Great advice. I'll take it.

I have ordered the Coastal Offroad High Clearance bumper, so while I wait for it to come in i'll make a check list of the things you've listed and start knocking them out. Once I finish off the list THEN i'll get to put on the bumper.

Seems like these should be my priorities!

Quick question on the Body Bushings. Since I am doing a body lift soon this may be a great time to replace those. Do you have any you could recommend? Some i'm finding are going for $200, while other sets are $50. A bit confused here.

Thanks man.

 

[bryanbgw]

Harbor freight has some decent winches that are fairly affordable. Not the highest quality or anything but if you don't plan on using it every week you should be fine.

Can you recommend a specific lbs capacity I should look for? Smittybilt has a 9500lb that people seem pretty happy with. Any reason to go for anything more or would this suffice in your opinion?

Thanks for the post!

 

[bryanbgw]

I bought my 4Runner when it had 240k and it now has 340k and supercharged. It is never too late to start!

One thing I did before lifting or was replace all of the bushings in the front end as well as rear end. The front got alll new bushings. The rear got all of the control arms replaced. That made it so when I lifted it, it felt really firm. It didn’t ride terrible, but man what a difference all new bushings made.

As for the pan hard drop bracket. I did it on mine but now I wish I would’ve went with Eimkeith kit. It’s a bracket for each side of the pan hard bar instead of a 3” drop on one side only

And weight will matter for the kind of springs you get. So you need to factor that in when selecting some


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting. Are you talking about the PCK (Panhard Correction Kits)? I'll look into them! Any downside of going this route vs the more common route of only doing 1 side?

Thanks for the post!:thumb3:

 

[bryanbgw]

My ‘97 is stock, like yours but without the body lift. Everything I’ve read says address the high-failure items first. So add a radiator cooler to prevent the pink milkshake, tim8ng belt & water pump, do a fluid flush everywhere you can, and consider the tundra brake upgrade. Thanks my plan as well. Then and only then am I going to spend money for other upgrades because a broken 4Runner is no fun, especially when it could’ve been prevented.

Good stuff.

I'm compiling a list of your post combined with Brian.'s

Once I tackle these items i'll get to the more "fun" part of adding armor and such.

Thank you!

 

[bryanbgw]

I have had the Harbor Freight Badlands 12000 lb winch on my rig for a few years and use it regularly. I have not had any problems with it. It has gotten me out of more than a few tricky spots especially weekends I am up in the snow.

For what you pay for a similar Warn brand winch, you can replace your Harbor Freight winch 2 or 3 times.

One thing I did do was go to New England Ropes and bought my own dyneema synthetic rope and made a winch cable out of their 10mm HTS90 (breaking strength of 25000lb and less than <1% stretch)

Half the fun of these vehicles is all the DIY stuff you can do.

Would you say a 9500lb would suffice or would you recommend going for the 12k?
Also i'll look into the synthetic rope. Great idea!

 

[VernySanders]

I just did a write up for that front high clearance bumper. I recommend them, quality is top notch and from experience so is customer service. Brandon will take care of you.

 

[zcostilla]

Good stuff.

I'm compiling a list of your post combined with Brian.'s

Once I tackle these items i'll get to the more "fun" part of adding armor and such.

Thank you!

You’re welcome. I want to do some mild/moderate overlanding too, but I don’t like things hanging off the rear bumper. I know a lot of guys do it, but I really want all my weight between the axles, so I took out half of the rear seat, deleting the one behind the driver, and moved the spare into the rear. I keep my tools and recovery gear inside, and also camping/survival gear I’ve stockpiled through 20 years of military service.

I will start with a simple tent and I’m looking for a way to rig a heavy duty tarp to quickly attach to the factory roof rack and extend it to the passenger side and rearward. Probably make something out of heavy duty PVC that slides into itself or go 2-piece with a coupler. It might seem ghetto, but I’m disabled and live off my military retirement and disability, so I have a fixed budget. If I really get into overlanding, then I’ll probably upgrade to a series 80 landcruiser And consider the more expensive pro-style overlanding gear. But I don’t want to waste money when I have all kinds of camping stuff on hand.

 

[3bears]

Would you say a 9500lb would suffice or would you recommend going for the 12k?
Also i'll look into the synthetic rope. Great idea!

while I am not gonna "overland" compared to many...I am going to explore more this summer if the bug gets lifted. Might turn into fall.
But anyway....im gonna go with the smitty 9500 pound. Ive been putting off getting a winch for years, and who knows how often it will get used. But I can think of 3 times in the past 4 years I know I could have used one, and some places I could not explore....or did not want to...because I did not have a winch. I travel alone and thats part of the reason too. Could have used one a few weeks ago when a neighbor got stuck in snow after sliding off road.
Otherwise...if you travel with others, and they have a winch, you yourself may not need one.
The harbor freight ones might be ok, and if I lived in the lower 48 would consider...but there is no harbor freights in Alaska so their warranty is about worthless.

what im playing with now is the cost of the system. I want synthetic ....but wire winch comes in at 259 delivered synthetic near double in price, and maybe in a year or two I can switch out. The reduced weight of synthetic is nice...my springs and shocks are only about 30k old and had not planned on replacing...but the added weight might have to change that idea. I dont have an off road bumper and will fit winch behind my fat lip.
Since the majority of my driving is paved...example 400 miles of hiway to get to off road...one way...I dont want to lift much and bring in all the extra vibration and issues people talk about. Right now Im running factory "talls" which added about 1 inch.

also , like many, im on a very limited budget...still building my small cabin/home and need money to go explore ( gas etc)

 

[APhelps]

This is probably not going to be popular but my personal opinion has really changed since offroading my 4R, I personally now think they are complete piles of crap. The entire front suspension / drive train is crap and really not a good platform for offroading. The front differentials are notoriously weak, the cv axles are weak, and the spindles are weak. If you really want to offroad the truck I'd really advise just to SAS the truck from the beginning and not waste your time or money with the IFS.

A suspension lift just compounds the problem and you'll deal with multiple problems related to CV axles.

The best advice I can say is put on at least a 1" BL, 35" tires and cut your firewalls. Bigger lifts don't add more clearance for tires and really compound a vehicle that has a weak front suspension/front drive train.