BeardedUnicorn
New member
Your Rig looks great. Good to see another 4runner going fishing! 68W 4life!!
Build Thread: Mothra, the (blown) budget camping rig
- Thread starter Renegade_Medic
- Start date
- Status
2ndhandyotaman
Member
Your fishing spot looks like an enjoyable way to spend a weekend. I've had black drum caught out of the lower Chesapeake Bay ( closer to VA waters ) and enjoyed every bite of them !
Renegade_Medic
New member
I had some paint peeling from the calipers and I wanted to make sure that I had my 4Runner looking fly, so I decided to repaint them. I brushed it on this time vs spray paint. It seems much thicker so maybe it will last longer.
I also replaced my LED front turn signals. I've been searching for an alternative way of doing them, I wasn't happy with the LED boxes I had before.
They are bright, much brighter than what I had before. I got them from Dark Illusions Fabrication .
I also replaced my LED front turn signals. I've been searching for an alternative way of doing them, I wasn't happy with the LED boxes I had before.
They are bright, much brighter than what I had before. I got them from Dark Illusions Fabrication .
Renegade_Medic
New member
Thanks, just trying to contribute to help other people on the way to building their own dream vehicles.
Renegade_Medic
New member
Lower Control Arm Bushings
I have had some Whiteline LCA bushings in the freezer for a while and finally had some time to get them done. They weren't that hard to do, honestly, other than that I had to cut a cam out of the first one I tried to pull off, which made me a little nervous about the rest. I had no issues with the rest. I took the rack bolts off and it made life easy. The old bushings were completely smoked, one was just floating inside which made removing the old bushing fun. To put them in, I used a torch to heat up the LCA housing and then quickly grabbed the frozen bushing and slammed it in and hit it with a 3 pound hammer. No issues do it that way and it was FAST!
I also went to the Junkyard to get some parts for my dad's newest 4Runner, a 96 4WD in Anthracite. I saw a destroyed third member and a completely incinerated first gen. Cool stuff.
Sometimes I don't believe what's written on them at the yard.
I have had some Whiteline LCA bushings in the freezer for a while and finally had some time to get them done. They weren't that hard to do, honestly, other than that I had to cut a cam out of the first one I tried to pull off, which made me a little nervous about the rest. I had no issues with the rest. I took the rack bolts off and it made life easy. The old bushings were completely smoked, one was just floating inside which made removing the old bushing fun. To put them in, I used a torch to heat up the LCA housing and then quickly grabbed the frozen bushing and slammed it in and hit it with a 3 pound hammer. No issues do it that way and it was FAST!
I also went to the Junkyard to get some parts for my dad's newest 4Runner, a 96 4WD in Anthracite. I saw a destroyed third member and a completely incinerated first gen. Cool stuff.
Sometimes I don't believe what's written on them at the yard.
huntsonora
Member
This build is amazing! Just picked up a 97 with the 5 speed with the rear e locker and am planning on doing the body in raptor liner. I raptor lined the rockers on my 98 Dodge diesel and it’s held up amazingly well. Trying to decide if I should go with the sand/tan color or a grey color. Both would look great but I’m leaning towards the tan
Can’t wait to see what else you do
Can’t wait to see what else you do
Renegade_Medic
New member
Keeping the theme with the updated title
So, I've been kind of disappointed with the expected performance of the new motor. It's definitely better, but not quite was expecting. I am happy with it, but its lacking a bit. So after talking with a few off road shops in the area, it sounds like for my wants and needs, a regear isn't going to get me where I want to be performance wise. The truck simply weighs too much and lacks the power to move it's own ass around. Getting significantly lighter isn't likely to happen-
Soooo I've decided to add a bit of power. I placed an order a while back and have been waiting very impatiently, but got the email tonight.
I spoke with Gadget at URD at length about what I wanted to do and decided to get the supercharger and 7th injector kit. I also ordered a Transgo shift kit and will be installing that first, then the supercharger, then the 7th injector kit, to really compare and contrast each step.
What started as a budget build has now completely gone beyond what I'd ever thought it would be. I didn't even intend to daily this truck and now I can't get enough of it!
Also, props to my wonderful wife for basically letting me do whatever I want to the truck as long as I dont "put a snorkel on it". Ok, well if that's all she cares about...
So, I've been kind of disappointed with the expected performance of the new motor. It's definitely better, but not quite was expecting. I am happy with it, but its lacking a bit. So after talking with a few off road shops in the area, it sounds like for my wants and needs, a regear isn't going to get me where I want to be performance wise. The truck simply weighs too much and lacks the power to move it's own ass around. Getting significantly lighter isn't likely to happen-
Soooo I've decided to add a bit of power. I placed an order a while back and have been waiting very impatiently, but got the email tonight.
I spoke with Gadget at URD at length about what I wanted to do and decided to get the supercharger and 7th injector kit. I also ordered a Transgo shift kit and will be installing that first, then the supercharger, then the 7th injector kit, to really compare and contrast each step.
What started as a budget build has now completely gone beyond what I'd ever thought it would be. I didn't even intend to daily this truck and now I can't get enough of it!
Also, props to my wonderful wife for basically letting me do whatever I want to the truck as long as I dont "put a snorkel on it". Ok, well if that's all she cares about...
Last edited:
Renegade_Medic
New member
Transmission Shift Kit
Last week I did a shift kit on the valve body. From my research this is essentially what the major name places do for about $500, but you still do all the labor of removing the valve body and sending it off. I spent about $125, including 2 gallons of ATF, and around 4 hours doing it. It was not all that bad once you get over the anxiety of messing with a magic Voodoo machine. This is the third shift kit I've put in and it was fairly straightforward. I'd highly recommend the Transgo 340-HD2 kit.
I used the "truck" shift firmness, but wish I would have used either the "Hotrod" or found a drill bit in between the 2 sizes for setting the firmness. It's still kind of soft, but definitely an improvement over the stock shifts which I thought were OK until I did the kit and really paid attention to how it drove before and after.
The 99 A340F in my 4runner used the "Type 1" Valve body per Transgo.
Transmission temps are around the same, but it just feels a hell of a lot better. I reused all the gaskets, I did not damage the old ones or even buy new ones, for those wondering if you can do that, I've never used new valve body gaskets.
Last week I did a shift kit on the valve body. From my research this is essentially what the major name places do for about $500, but you still do all the labor of removing the valve body and sending it off. I spent about $125, including 2 gallons of ATF, and around 4 hours doing it. It was not all that bad once you get over the anxiety of messing with a magic Voodoo machine. This is the third shift kit I've put in and it was fairly straightforward. I'd highly recommend the Transgo 340-HD2 kit.
I used the "truck" shift firmness, but wish I would have used either the "Hotrod" or found a drill bit in between the 2 sizes for setting the firmness. It's still kind of soft, but definitely an improvement over the stock shifts which I thought were OK until I did the kit and really paid attention to how it drove before and after.
The 99 A340F in my 4runner used the "Type 1" Valve body per Transgo.
Transmission temps are around the same, but it just feels a hell of a lot better. I reused all the gaskets, I did not damage the old ones or even buy new ones, for those wondering if you can do that, I've never used new valve body gaskets.
Renegade_Medic
New member
The day I've been waiting for...
So my supercharger wasn't delivered last week as was the scheduled time, but finally arrived today. Every time I get something delivered by FedEx there's something like this. Anyway, I spent the morning tearing down and preparing the engine.
The last time this engine will look this way...
Then the mystery package arrived.
Literally made for my order, after it was placed. Thought that was cool.
I actually just used a razor blade to cut the timing belt cover, it was easier than a saw, albeit probably significantly more dangerous.
And it works!
First test drive left me feeling kind of disappointed. I guess it took the computer a few minutes to figure out what was going on. Also, I had the cables all jacked up, so after tightening the crap out of the throttle cable and loosening the Trans cable it ran a hell of a lot better. Definitely how this truck should have left the factory, both the supercharger and shift kit worked very well and driving this thing is a pleasure!
I did try some different throttle loading to see if I could get it to ping and OH BOY DOES IT KNOCK!!!
In third gear going up a moderate hill at around 50% throttle I had to let off off because it was pinging so hard. Even my wife heard it and asked what the sound was. I also got it to knock on the highly at around 75 with ~30% throttle in 4th gear. So to all the people that say just throw it on and you don't need extra fuel or standalone engine management; you are wrong.
Maybe in high altitude or at cold temps its ok, but here today it was a typical spring day, 88 degrees and humid. Not hot yet, but not comfortable either.
The 7th injector comes in later this week and I will put that in and see how that works out for me, hopefully it should eliminate most of those problems.
As for the feel:
It isn't V8 power. It's damn sure better than it was before, but it definitely isn't a 2UZ or V8. The part throttle cruise and mid-throttle response is vastly improved, which is exactly what I wanted. I will probably do the 2.2" Pulley down the road as well, I just worry about in my climate overheating the air, since there is no charge air cooling.
Anyway, here is a video of before and after. Same stretch of road in all 3 clips, first 2 are going one way and the 3rd is coming back. As you can see there is a slight incline, but for where I'm at that's about as flat as it gets.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RE691f6AR34?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
From the clips: Stock 0-60: 11 seconds, Supercharged: Just under 8 seconds.
So my supercharger wasn't delivered last week as was the scheduled time, but finally arrived today. Every time I get something delivered by FedEx there's something like this. Anyway, I spent the morning tearing down and preparing the engine.
The last time this engine will look this way...
Then the mystery package arrived.
Literally made for my order, after it was placed. Thought that was cool.
I actually just used a razor blade to cut the timing belt cover, it was easier than a saw, albeit probably significantly more dangerous.
And it works!
First test drive left me feeling kind of disappointed. I guess it took the computer a few minutes to figure out what was going on. Also, I had the cables all jacked up, so after tightening the crap out of the throttle cable and loosening the Trans cable it ran a hell of a lot better. Definitely how this truck should have left the factory, both the supercharger and shift kit worked very well and driving this thing is a pleasure!
I did try some different throttle loading to see if I could get it to ping and OH BOY DOES IT KNOCK!!!
In third gear going up a moderate hill at around 50% throttle I had to let off off because it was pinging so hard. Even my wife heard it and asked what the sound was. I also got it to knock on the highly at around 75 with ~30% throttle in 4th gear. So to all the people that say just throw it on and you don't need extra fuel or standalone engine management; you are wrong.
Maybe in high altitude or at cold temps its ok, but here today it was a typical spring day, 88 degrees and humid. Not hot yet, but not comfortable either.
The 7th injector comes in later this week and I will put that in and see how that works out for me, hopefully it should eliminate most of those problems.
As for the feel:
It isn't V8 power. It's damn sure better than it was before, but it definitely isn't a 2UZ or V8. The part throttle cruise and mid-throttle response is vastly improved, which is exactly what I wanted. I will probably do the 2.2" Pulley down the road as well, I just worry about in my climate overheating the air, since there is no charge air cooling.
Anyway, here is a video of before and after. Same stretch of road in all 3 clips, first 2 are going one way and the 3rd is coming back. As you can see there is a slight incline, but for where I'm at that's about as flat as it gets.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RE691f6AR34?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
From the clips: Stock 0-60: 11 seconds, Supercharged: Just under 8 seconds.
Renegade_Medic
New member
7th injector going on
My 7th Injector showed up and I got it installed, except the fuel tank is too full to drop it and do the pump, so I just did the rest of it. This install is definitely not for the faint of heart...
I found it was easiest to pull the harness through the firewall and work in the engine bay with lots of room. Overall, no hickups with the install, it's pretty straightforward, just kind of difficult and nerve racking to cut into the wiring for the computer.
Driving it afterwards, it needs to be tuned for sure, it has some hesitation in the mid throttle, Mid-RPM range, but at WOT it screams. It feels like it's probably pulling too much timing at mid throttle. I don't really want to mess with it too much until I can get the fuel pump put in, as that may be part of the problem.
Also ordered a boost gauge, AFR gauge, and a tan gauge pod from Lo-Tek.
My 7th Injector showed up and I got it installed, except the fuel tank is too full to drop it and do the pump, so I just did the rest of it. This install is definitely not for the faint of heart...
I found it was easiest to pull the harness through the firewall and work in the engine bay with lots of room. Overall, no hickups with the install, it's pretty straightforward, just kind of difficult and nerve racking to cut into the wiring for the computer.
Driving it afterwards, it needs to be tuned for sure, it has some hesitation in the mid throttle, Mid-RPM range, but at WOT it screams. It feels like it's probably pulling too much timing at mid throttle. I don't really want to mess with it too much until I can get the fuel pump put in, as that may be part of the problem.
Also ordered a boost gauge, AFR gauge, and a tan gauge pod from Lo-Tek.
hoseman1451
New member
are you full time or part time fd? a couple of us from my fd (full time) just started building our runners
theesotericone
New member
Running out 2nd gear to 5000 RPM. I thought I was the only one who did that. Nice.
I wonder what would happen if we took your supercharger, my 5.29 gears and combined them? I'm guessing we could crush the 8 second 0-60 mark.
Thanks for making me want SC even more now. lol
Renegade_Medic
New member
I was a full-time FF/Medic. I started a craze at our department too. There are 5 runners there now, and an 80 series LC.
Renegade_Medic
New member
5.29s would be way overkill, but it would snap your head back for sure! I need to post up another video now that I have a 2.2" pulley and have the tuning dialed in, it definitely crushes the 8 second mark.
Renegade_Medic
New member
It's been a while since I posted anything, but I've done a little work since the last post.
First, I installed a 2.20" pulley from URD. I picked up the pulley from a member on a Facebook group. The install is simple and it did make a difference, but not quite as much as I was expecting. It's more noticeable as part throttle than WOT, at least until you go over 4000 RPM.
I then had some pretty significant issues tuning my 7th injector. The truck was running at full Fuel Trim all the time and running super rich.
I initially thought this was related to the 7th Injector controller. I was getting a P1133 code, so I replaced the front Air/Fuel sensor and the code went away for a while and then came back after about 50 miles. I then removed an O2 sensor "extension", or a MIL eliminator/spark plug non-fowler. I was getting a P0420 code so I used this device to make the computer think the cat was working properly. Apparently, the rear O2 sensor actually also calibrates the front sensor and was causing all sorts of issues. You can see how much soot is on this thing from only a few hundred miles.
Once I got that all sorted out, I tuned the 7th injector and it runs like a champ.
I ordered a gauge pod from Lo-Tek, it looks great and the fit is really good. I am using an AEM Wideband O2 sensor and a Glowshift Boost Gauge. It all installed fairly easily and I put the 7th Injector controller behind the radio, where the factory amp was at. I zip tied it to the Airbag controller, so hope that doesn't cause a problem...
Here's another video of the same 0-80 after doing the 2.2" pulley and tuning it. Not too shabby. It really runs great.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OpgmK-ZJHwU" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
First, I installed a 2.20" pulley from URD. I picked up the pulley from a member on a Facebook group. The install is simple and it did make a difference, but not quite as much as I was expecting. It's more noticeable as part throttle than WOT, at least until you go over 4000 RPM.
I then had some pretty significant issues tuning my 7th injector. The truck was running at full Fuel Trim all the time and running super rich.
I initially thought this was related to the 7th Injector controller. I was getting a P1133 code, so I replaced the front Air/Fuel sensor and the code went away for a while and then came back after about 50 miles. I then removed an O2 sensor "extension", or a MIL eliminator/spark plug non-fowler. I was getting a P0420 code so I used this device to make the computer think the cat was working properly. Apparently, the rear O2 sensor actually also calibrates the front sensor and was causing all sorts of issues. You can see how much soot is on this thing from only a few hundred miles.
Once I got that all sorted out, I tuned the 7th injector and it runs like a champ.
I ordered a gauge pod from Lo-Tek, it looks great and the fit is really good. I am using an AEM Wideband O2 sensor and a Glowshift Boost Gauge. It all installed fairly easily and I put the 7th Injector controller behind the radio, where the factory amp was at. I zip tied it to the Airbag controller, so hope that doesn't cause a problem...
Here's another video of the same 0-80 after doing the 2.2" pulley and tuning it. Not too shabby. It really runs great.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OpgmK-ZJHwU" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Last edited:
PrinceValorum
New member
This was a really fun thread to read! Awesome work, great attention to detail, and solid execution.
My buddy had a 4th gen with that 4.7 and I salivated at the thought of a SC giving me that kind of power, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the inevitable complications of forced induction. I had a used higher mileage Mazdaspeed6 and it was not a confidence-inspiring experience, lol.
My buddy had a 4th gen with that 4.7 and I salivated at the thought of a SC giving me that kind of power, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the inevitable complications of forced induction. I had a used higher mileage Mazdaspeed6 and it was not a confidence-inspiring experience, lol.
- Status
