brian2sun
Elite Member
It’s been raining here the last 2 days and there are no leaks at all.
Brian2sun Build Thread
- Thread starter brian2sun
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It’s been raining here the last 2 days and there are no leaks at all.
brian2sun
Elite Member
Thanks!
Now I’m overhauling the suspension on this thing. I just bought the Toytec/Boss 2.0 Aluma Series coilovers for the the front to replace my 10 year old OME 883s and OME shocks (haven’t installed them yet). For the rear, I’m keeping my nice and worn in OME 861 coils because they’re great, but I ordered new OEM Tokico Landcruiser rear shocks, which are the same as the 9 year old ones I’m running now, just a fresh set (and they were only $45 ea.!). Can’t wait to feel the difference between these new coilovers and the old, stiff 883s! Here’s a link to them...
TTLK9604-P - Toytec Boss 2.0 Front Aluma Series Coilovers (96-02 4Runner / 95-04 Tacoma)
I also bought a new stereo head unit today. I still have the ‘97 stock stereo believe it or not! Mine actually took a crap years ago and my friend J-money gave me the one out of his ‘97 4runner, and the only thing that works anymore is the AM/FM (and my antenna is broken, haha)! It doesn’t light up or anything anymore! The new stereo is just a Boss CD/AM/FM/USB/AUX deck for $100, but it has bluetooth for calling and audio, so that’s all I really need. I figure since I just use the nav on my phone, I didn’t need a more expensive double DIN head unit with nav or DVD, etc... So I just got a cheap but decent single DIN deck with a pocket insert underneath to fill up the extra space. I was tempted to get a double DIN and mount a backup camera, but ultimately I’ve had this thing for 20 years without a camera, so I’d rather spend the money on other things (or better yet, just save money!).
Anyway, little by little over I’m finally getting this old beast perfect for me again and waaay better than ever!
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brian2sun
Elite Member
Put my new Boss/Toytec Aluma 2.0 coilovers in today! Man they ride wonderful and sit just right from the factory. Hoping they don’t settle too much cuz they’re pretty level with my 861s in the back. If so, I still have room to adjust them up a bit.
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brian2sun
Elite Member
Another little update... I got the Yakima rack a few months ago because my factory rack had finally broken after almost 25 years. I also wanted a means to mount an awning. I really didn’t want a basket on the roof because the Yakima bars work better for strapping my kayak to than a basket (and I don’t want to store a lot of stuff on my roof anyways since it makes the truck easier to tip). I got around to installing the awning last week...
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BrianSD_42
New member
Hey man,
I'm very glad to see that things are still going well and you still have the truck and are posting. I don't come on here as much because I've been busy with job and a kiddo. But I saw this thread today and my email and I just wanted to mention that yours was one of the very first builds that I read when I came to T4R. I've owned my 97 4Runner since 2001 so coming up on 20 years myself.
I'm very glad to see that things are still going well and you still have the truck and are posting. I don't come on here as much because I've been busy with job and a kiddo. But I saw this thread today and my email and I just wanted to mention that yours was one of the very first builds that I read when I came to T4R. I've owned my 97 4Runner since 2001 so coming up on 20 years myself.
brian2sun
Elite Member
Good to see you’re still on here and still have your truck too Brian! I’m the same way... busy with 2 little girls and lots of work lately. I play bass full time in 2 different bands these days, as well as restoring and fixing old instruments in my little home workshop, so now that the country is finally starting to emerge from this virus, my work has picked up about 10 fold! And it’s wonderful!
I was pretty inactive on here for several years as I got the 4Runner to a point that I was content and I stopped doing anything to it for a long time. But a lot of my previous mods were getting old and wore out, so over this past year I did a bunch of stuff to it while I wasn’t working much... New suspension, tires, wheels, drawer system/sleeping platform, roof rack, awning, stereo, backup camera, A pillar spotlight, lots of mechanical work and maintenance, headlight upgrade, etc... I’ve totally fallen back in love with this truck, and it runs and drives better than ever now! I’m going camping for a week up in Mammoth/June Lake/Yosemite next month and can’t wait to really enjoy the new and improved runner!
On a side note, I also bought a 2021 TRD Off Road 4x4 Tacoma last November (thankfully right before all the prices on vehicles skyrocketed), so I’m really enjoying this new truck as my DD. Life is good! Happy Father’s Day!!
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I am wondering how those Toytec Aluma coilovers are holding up? I've got a 99 3rd gen with the Coastal High Clearance bumper, Coastal full skids, and a smitty 12k winch with the Coastal rear bumper with dual swingouts in the near future. I'm looking at those aluma coils myself but concerned with the 550lb spring being too light for all the extras I've thrown at mine. So have also been tossing back and forth with the Toytec Ultimate coilovers as they have the 650lb option. I haven't talked to them yet, but I know the Aluma's are rebuildable, not sure on the Ultimate's. Plus they need be pretty much bulletproof up here as can end up pretty far out into nowhere in Alaska quicker than you'd realize, so getting home is a bit of a priority...usually.
So what say you with yours? Nice truck by the way!
brian2sun
Elite Member
Thanks! These Aluma 2.0s are awesome. They ride fantastic. They haven’t sagged at all in the 5 or so months I’ve had them on the truck (and they still have room to adjust higher if I ever need it) and I got a solid 2.5” of lift with them set from the factory. I did crank the collar down a few threads on the passenger side only because it sat ~.25” higher than the D/S when I first installed them. I love the 550 lb. coils! I‘ve always felt 600-650 lb. coils in our trucks (even with bumpers and weight) was just a bit too stiff. The Alumas soak up the ruts and washboards a lot closer to how high dollar Kings do, rather than how OME and Bilstein 5100s perform (which can both get very jarring IME). The 550 coils flex great in the rocks too. They make the truck feel less tippy in off camber spots... I suppose because the extra give they have helps keep the center of gravity lower.
Short of spending $2K+ on a full King setup with remote reservoirs, etc.. I think these are the next best thing, and they’re a night and day difference in ride quality and flex compared to my OME lift I ran for over 10 years (which I now realize rode like crap the entire time).
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brian2sun
Elite Member
Just finished a ton of maintenance over the past month. I hadn’t done these things in 10-20 years, so even tho I only put 2-3K miles on a year on this truck, it was time. I started with the diffs and t-case oil and then flushed the tranny with 12 quarts of new ATF (using the tranny’s own pump - not a machine flush). Then I dug in and did the timing belt which was 15 years old, and replaced the cam and crankshaft seals (which the driver’s side cam seal was leaking pretty good for the past few years), new idler pulleys, new TB tensioner, and new water pump and thermo. Also replaced the 3 drive belts and threw all the old belts in the truck for spares.
I’ve had a B&M external tranny cooler for the last 10 years or so (and I had bypassed the internal stock cooler in the radiator), but going up long grades, my tranny was getting hotter than I like… like almost too hot even leave my hand on the center console tray sometimes. When it would start to get hot, I would always have to pull over and give it a while to cool down. But that’s annoying to have to do, especially in the summer heat, so I got a new OEM radiator and ran the external cooler in series with the new internal cooler. I figure I got another 10 years before I need to worry about any milkshakes (I’ll just figure on buying a new radiator every 8 -10 years or so, since they’re relatively cheap). My trans stays cool now no matter what, so it was a good call.
I had the external cooler zip tied thru my AC condenser and radiator, and when cutting the zip ties to remove the old radiator, I accidentally nicked the AC condenser with my wire cutters and all my freon went bye bye. So dumb, but whatever, it happens. So I had to replace the AC condenser too (and the separator/air drier since it was exposed to air for a few days while waiting on the new condenser).
I bought a set of cheap manifold gauges to vacuum and refill the AC system, and that manifold was a real POS. What should have taken a couple hours took 2 days before I finally realized that the low pressure valve was actually closing back off in the (almost) fully open position, which explained why even after jumping the AC compressor with a paper clip to turn it on manually, I just could not get the freon to flow into the system. Once I figured out that stupid valve was defective, I found the “sweet spot” where the valve was actually open and I filled it up with 2 cans of R134a and added 2.5 oz. of oil in the system (to replace the oil lost from replacing the condenser and air drier). Then I returned that stupid manifold for $150 because of the 2 days of frustration and head scratching that it needlessly cost me. I hate Amazon a little more every day. But my AC blows nice and cold again now.
Anyway, with a new radiator also came new upper and lower hoses, as well as a few of the smaller heater hoses by the firewall that were slowly leaking coolant. I flushed the block with several gallons of distilled water and after the final drain, I filled the system with new Toyota red 50/50 coolant. I had always ran regular green coolant before since that’s what my ‘97 came with from the factory (Toyota didn’t come out with their red stuff until a couple years after my truck was built).
I’m leaving for my annual camping and kayaking trip to Mammoth/June Lake/Yosemite in 2 weeks, so I’m ready to roll and the 4runner is back in tip top shape. Cheers!
I’ve had a B&M external tranny cooler for the last 10 years or so (and I had bypassed the internal stock cooler in the radiator), but going up long grades, my tranny was getting hotter than I like… like almost too hot even leave my hand on the center console tray sometimes. When it would start to get hot, I would always have to pull over and give it a while to cool down. But that’s annoying to have to do, especially in the summer heat, so I got a new OEM radiator and ran the external cooler in series with the new internal cooler. I figure I got another 10 years before I need to worry about any milkshakes (I’ll just figure on buying a new radiator every 8 -10 years or so, since they’re relatively cheap). My trans stays cool now no matter what, so it was a good call.
I had the external cooler zip tied thru my AC condenser and radiator, and when cutting the zip ties to remove the old radiator, I accidentally nicked the AC condenser with my wire cutters and all my freon went bye bye. So dumb, but whatever, it happens. So I had to replace the AC condenser too (and the separator/air drier since it was exposed to air for a few days while waiting on the new condenser).
I bought a set of cheap manifold gauges to vacuum and refill the AC system, and that manifold was a real POS. What should have taken a couple hours took 2 days before I finally realized that the low pressure valve was actually closing back off in the (almost) fully open position, which explained why even after jumping the AC compressor with a paper clip to turn it on manually, I just could not get the freon to flow into the system. Once I figured out that stupid valve was defective, I found the “sweet spot” where the valve was actually open and I filled it up with 2 cans of R134a and added 2.5 oz. of oil in the system (to replace the oil lost from replacing the condenser and air drier). Then I returned that stupid manifold for $150 because of the 2 days of frustration and head scratching that it needlessly cost me. I hate Amazon a little more every day. But my AC blows nice and cold again now.
Anyway, with a new radiator also came new upper and lower hoses, as well as a few of the smaller heater hoses by the firewall that were slowly leaking coolant. I flushed the block with several gallons of distilled water and after the final drain, I filled the system with new Toyota red 50/50 coolant. I had always ran regular green coolant before since that’s what my ‘97 came with from the factory (Toyota didn’t come out with their red stuff until a couple years after my truck was built).
I’m leaving for my annual camping and kayaking trip to Mammoth/June Lake/Yosemite in 2 weeks, so I’m ready to roll and the 4runner is back in tip top shape. Cheers!
ChildrenOfBodom
Moderator
Would love some pics... been a long time! You going out with Michael and Chris etc? Have a good time man.
brian2sun
Elite Member
What’s up James! How’s it going? Yes, Michael, Chris And I have been doing this trip yearly since about 2007, but Chris just broke his leg and had to have a few screws installed, so I think he’s out for this year.
I tried to upload a few pics of the ol’ beast, but it kept saying “file failed”. I don’t have a camera that can even take pics that are under 136K or whatever the limit is on here. All my pics are like 5-18 MBs. This site needs to get outta 2010, haha.
JoeT4R
Senior Member
Having not read any other part of your build thread, which I plan to do after I finish this post, I really like what I'm seeing. Seems like your rig got a lot of much needed TLC. Did you happen to replace the thermostat, by chance? Also, which B&M cooler are you currently running? I'm using the 70268 and have had good results over the last 6 years with it, but I've had temps reach 203* recently, although it was extraordinarily hot and I was doing a lot of stop and go traffic in the D.C. metro area. Wasn't too happy about that.
EDIT: I now see you're running the 70268, also. Lol!
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brian2sun
Elite Member
Hi, yes I did put a new thermostat in (OEM 180* with jiggle valve at 6 o’clock). I had an aftermarket thermo in there before and I regularly saw engine temps in the 200-210* range. Now on a 105* day, it didn’t get over 199*.
I don’t know if it’s my full skids keeping some heat in around my tranny, or just all the weight I’m carrying on my camping trips that is putting the same kind of stress on the tranny as towing a trailer would, or a combination of things… but the B&M alone just wasn’t cutting it for my truck. I don’t have a tranny temp sensor, but my hand always told me it was too hot. Some others with built-out rigs similar to mine seem to be fine with just a 70268, but I’m glad I won’t be needing to pull over to let things cool down anymore (in the middle of the CA desert in the summer especially). I think for $150-200, a new OEM radiator every 8-10 years to minimize any risk of strawberry milkshake, so I can run 2 tranny coolers is a no brainer for me.
I don’t know if it’s my full skids keeping some heat in around my tranny, or just all the weight I’m carrying on my camping trips that is putting the same kind of stress on the tranny as towing a trailer would, or a combination of things… but the B&M alone just wasn’t cutting it for my truck. I don’t have a tranny temp sensor, but my hand always told me it was too hot. Some others with built-out rigs similar to mine seem to be fine with just a 70268, but I’m glad I won’t be needing to pull over to let things cool down anymore (in the middle of the CA desert in the summer especially). I think for $150-200, a new OEM radiator every 8-10 years to minimize any risk of strawberry milkshake, so I can run 2 tranny coolers is a no brainer for me.
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JoeT4R
Senior Member
Agreed. Another piece of cheap maintenance that will ABSOLUTELY help with keeping engine temps cooler is the fan clutch. Aisin fan clutches are available on RockAuto, Amazon, etc etc for under $100 and will help tremendously. 4 nuts to remove and that’s it. FCT-013 is the p/n you’d need, if I’m not mistaken. And I’ve replaced my radiator once in 9.5 years, only because my last one developed a leak, so that was that. But I can definitely get behind replacing it every 8-10, especially at that price point. It’s almost a no brainer. I’m trying to push my rig to reach 400K, which I think is attainable with the right attitude and as long as I stay up to date on maintenance.
brian2sun
Elite Member
I checked my fan clutch when I did the timing belt and it had good resistance still, but at least if it ever starts to go, like you said, it’s cheap and super easy to swap out. With the low miles I put on this thing per year, it’ll be a long long time before it hits 400K (it has about 233K on the chassis and only about 137K on the engine, which was a donor that I put in 10 years ago). The timing belt was done on it in ‘06 according to some records I got with it (I bought it from a member on here who rolled his 3rd gen and parted it out). Mileage-wise, the tiing belt only had about 50K on it, but it was 16 years old and my cam seal was leaking worse as time went on, so I just decided this is the year to do a bunch of stuff and make this truck happy for another 15 years!
I still plan to change the fuel filter, spark plugs and wires, and clean the throttle body/MAF/IAC (that been about 12 years too), but I need to get it smogged at the end of the year, so I figure I’ll wait to do all that stuff till right before the smog. Not that it has ever had any problem passing, but if I’m gonna smog it, might as well do it with a clean intake and new plugs!
