(BUILD) The Glorious Beater 2000 SR5 4x4

[tcbaklash]

The purpose of this build is an adventure rig. It's not nice or pretty, but it don't need to be. Every aspect of maintenance had been neglected by the previous owner, but luckily it's not too late. The suspension, brakes, transmission, and tires were annihilated when I first acquired it. The paint job is pretty much done fer, so is much of the interior.

If you're squeamish to seeing people devalue their vehicle, drill excessive holes, add questionable accessories, or abuse their paint, I suggest you look away.

I had to get rid of my wonderful '90 Ranger 4x4 last year due to my engine swap not being compliant in California. I could've cheated emissions but I got put on some sort of list that said my truck can't be smogged until I make it compliant.

I got real truck-lonely since then and I began to search for a K5 Blazer, Suburban, Bronco, or 60-series Landcruiser. Got my hands on this disaster about a month ago from my friend's brother for $1000. It has been in the transmission shop for most of that time. Now that I finally have it back, I can get to work. PS, this is the first Toyota I've ever owned.

Work done before I made this thread:
- Replaced the failing transmission. Not sure what was wrong with it, but it's in the scrapyard so whatever. The new tranny has 110k miles and just got a brand new pan gasket and filter. Also had a tranny fluid cooler slapped on at the same time.

- Removed all the worthless things like the running boards and the stock roof rack. This adds maybe 5 horsepower and 7 ft-lbs of torque.

- Spruced up the interior. Added a stereo deck, CB radio, seat covers, dashboard hula girl. Been replacing various knobs and bolts throughout. I also got rid of the cigarette smoke odor. People say it's impossible, but I just say they're lazy. I used a stain lifter, air fresheners, and some good ol' open windows.

The CB went in with the help of a jigsaw and a dremel.

- Daylight running lights absolutely would not turn off. Ever. I couldn't really figure it out so I just unplugged them.


Current Work

I ordered one of those relay/fuse boxes from Amazon and made my own wire harness for my future off-road lights and related switches. The box will be going above the pedals and from there I'll find a way to run wires to the engine bay. The CB will likely also be drawing power from here, but it already has a fuse on the power cable. I can't really figure out where to put all 5 of my switches, but I haven't put much thought into it.

Tomorrow is payday, so ordering a 3" coilover lift and LBJs will occur. Still trying to decide if I want to go Bilstein or shell out $150 more for Old Man Emu.

For tires, I'm thinking Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT since they're not too pricey but I'm not sure what size I'm going for. That's something I could def use help with after I select my lift.

I've been attempting to get it smogged but the guy at the shop said the ECU hasn't yet performed its self-emissions test even though I've driven it about 60 miles since I last unplugged the battery. Kinda stumped.

UPDATE:

Lots of stuff done, keep scrollin'.

 

[GSTMike]

I've been reading there can be a bit of a process to getting all the monitors to set to ready for Smog, I've not had to smog my main 4runner here in Cali yet but I picked up a cherry 486k old 96 ltd with full service history last week with a bad motor and decided to swap the engine out last weekend, since then I've driven it a little over 200 miles and the Evap and Catalyst monitors are still not ready.

 

[phattyduck]

I ordered one of those relay/fuse boxes from Amazon and made my own wire harness for my future off-road lights and related switches. The box will be going above the pedals and from there I'll find a way to run wires to the engine bay. The CB will likely also be drawing power from here, but it already has a fuse on the power cable. I can't really figure out where to put all 5 of my switches, but I haven't put much thought into it.

I've been attempting to get it smogged but the guy at the shop said the ECU hasn't yet performed its self-emissions test even though I've driven it about 60 miles since I last unplugged the battery. Kinda stumped.

Switch holder options from Paranoid Fabrications: https://www.paranoidfabrications.com/collections/toyota-tacoma

60 miles is often not long enough to get all the monitors to reset. Have patience - and if you can't get it to finish, search for the factory document on getting the emissions monitors ready. There is a procedure to help out.

-Charlie

 

[GSTMike]

Switch holder options from Paranoid Fabrications: https://www.paranoidfabrications.com/collections/toyota-tacoma

60 miles is often not long enough to get all the monitors to reset. Have patience - and if you can't get it to finish, search for the factory document on getting the emissions monitors ready. There is a procedure to help out.

-Charlie

Here's the procedure for anyone needing it

https://www.smogtips.com/smog-question/2664/Toyota-4Runner-Drive-Cycle-to-Set-Emission-Monitors

I want to try and smog the 96 I did the motor swap on last Saturday this Saturday so probably won't be able to get the monitors to set simply by driving so will probably park it on my dyno Friday night and do the process above using my dyno to simplify it.

 

[tcbaklash]

Here's the procedure for anyone needing it

https://www.smogtips.com/smog-question/2664/Toyota-4Runner-Drive-Cycle-to-Set-Emission-Monitors

I want to try and smog the 96 I did the motor swap on last Saturday this Saturday so probably won't be able to get the monitors to set simply by driving so will probably park it on my dyno Friday night and do the process above using my dyno to simplify it.

Oh wow. I might as well just drive it normally for the time being. There are no empty roads where I live.

 

[AntleredRuin]

Not sure if it's at all accurate, but the Torque Pro app has an 'emissions readiness' section. May or may not be helpful, vs running to the inspection place when it may or may not be ready yet.

 

[GSTMike]

Not sure if it's at all accurate, but the Torque Pro app has an 'emissions readiness' section. May or may not be helpful, vs running to the inspection place when it may or may not be ready yet.

I've been running around with that in both of my 4runners and from the readiness monitors stand point it seems to be dead on with my stupidly expensive Strap-On diagnostics here at my shop

 

[AntleredRuin]

I've been running around with that in both of my 4runners and from the readiness monitors stand point it seems to be dead on with my stupidly expensive Strap-On diagnostics here at my shop

Then +1

Especially for the strap-on:guitar2:

 

[Flemster]

I can tell this going to be a cool build. The wiring harness is already making me think the attention to detail will be high. As far as tires and size as well as lift, if you go with a 3" lift, the best size for it with minimum work is a 285/75r16 (33"ish tire). Depending how much time you spend on road vs. offroad you may wanna shell a little more cash for the Duratrac. People seem to really love that tire, and as a more aggressive all-terrain, the on-road ability would still be quite good. Another awesome tire to check out is the BFG KO2, I loved my old set of those even though they did not last as long as I had hoped. Everyone else who ran them while I did had theirs last a whole lot longer.
Excited to see where this build goes!

 

[GSTMike]

For reference my beater 96 had all monitors set ready for smog yesterday at 280 miles since I had the battery off for the engine swap last weekend. Passed with flying colors yesterday morning!

 

[tcbaklash]

I can tell this going to be a cool build. The wiring harness is already making me think the attention to detail will be high. As far as tires and size as well as lift, if you go with a 3" lift, the best size for it with minimum work is a 285/75r16 (33"ish tire). Depending how much time you spend on road vs. offroad you may wanna shell a little more cash for the Duratrac. People seem to really love that tire, and as a more aggressive all-terrain, the on-road ability would still be quite good. Another awesome tire to check out is the BFG KO2, I loved my old set of those even though they did not last as long as I had hoped. Everyone else who ran them while I did had theirs last a whole lot longer.
Excited to see where this build goes!

Thanks for the props, bud!

Honestly I was embarrassed to upload that picture of the relay box because the harness is being held together with electrical tape until I label all the wires and zip tie everything. Dual battery setup will come along with it. I'm an electrical worker in the real life, so this is about the only thing I'm good at when it comes to cars.

I had BFG AT KO1s on my Ranger, and I found them to be great at rocky terrain, sand, and snow, but abysmal in the mud. However I did have open diffs, which is another thing I want to address in this build. I checked the tire size you mentioned and found the BFGs to be similarly priced to the Goodyear Wranglers, so I think I'll go with 'em. If I were to go any larger on the tire, what do I need to modify?

 

[Flemster]

If I were to go any larger on the tire, what do I need to modify?

Wiring is where my build greatly lacks, but one day I'll spend some time on it. So anything bigger than 33's will need you to trim your pinch weld and add a body lift, or tub your firewall and trim your fenders. Most people try to avoid it, but for some, it is worth it. I'm currently in the works of making 35's fit on no Body lift so basically 35's at ride height once all the travel is usable.

 

[tcbaklash]

Yeah I'll stick with 33"s. Just gotta get it roadworthy by August.

Ball joints, fuses, horns, terminal blocks, and a big box of wire connectors just arrived. Outer tie rod ends coming in this week.

This is the lift I have decided on and will be ordering. Might go with a better load bearing setup later on, but I don't plan on doing bumpers, racks, winch, etc. for a long time.
https://bilsteinlifts.com/shop/toyota-4runner/1996-2002/lift-kits-96-02/3-lift-kit-with-bilstein-shocks-for-1996-2002-toyota-4runner/

 

[tcbaklash]

Yo it's been a while with no updates, but I'm basically done with phase one of the build.

This is a picture of what it sorta looks like now. I have since made a few body modifications but it's a good representation.

Suspension:
I went in and did my lower ball joints, inner/outer tie rods. In the past couple months I saw two Tacomas with LBJ failures and decided it can't wait. I purchased the Bilstein/Toytec 3" coilover lift from bilsteinlifts.com and I'm pretty freakin' satisfied. Feels driveable unlike before with the blown out suspension.

Wheels/Tires:
No more high speed vibration, as I had guessed the old tires were not balanced correctly and the previous owner just didn't care. I'm now running BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires, size 285/75r16 on stock wheels. I found out the stock wheels were a mistake when the tires started rubbing against my upper control arms so I bought a pair of Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers that eliminated the issue. To prevent rubbing when the suspension is compressed, I removed part of the front fender flares and cut a notch in the lower valence until I get a winch bumper.

Electrical:
That electrical box I wired up went behind the dashboard. I fabricated a metal bracket where it could bolt onto some existing hardware. I then drilled a large hole through the firewall and installed a 3/4" conduit cord grip to run all my wires through. I mounted a small LED light bar on the front bumper and two LED pods on the rear bumper. I had some leftover LED light strips so I put those over the cargo area for when I need some extra bright lighting. All the dome lights were replaced with warm white LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com which are all really bright and retain the stock look. I finally put in my 4ft. Firestik antenna (still haven't wired up my CB for power yet) and it's honestly too big but whatever man. All my switches are installed in a black painted DIN switch plate from paranoidfabrications.com. There is a third switch I added for the interior LED strip lights and the device on the far right is a voltmeter/dual USB charger.

Over the weekend I took it for a spin on Old Coast Road in Big Sur to do a little rough road testing and I ran into a 4Runner convoy. There was a grey 2nd gen with a CB whip, a white 3rd gen Limited with a CB whip and cargo strapped to the roof, and a silver 4th gen with a pop-top tent on the roof. Dunno if you guys are from this forum, but if you see this and were wondering who was in the black 3rd gen that got stuck in traffic with them on Highway 1, it's me.

Future:
Next phase is doing some preventative maintenance. Gonna do all belts, water pump, radiator/hoses, thermostat, maybe the alternator too. There's a guy in Chico, CA who does full-length roof racks and I'm going to get one of 'em. Also gonna do a rooftop tent. I got a free hookup on government-retired Warn winches but I don't think I'll attach one for a while.