CBlock's 98 Limited Build/Maintenance Thread

[cblock406]

That 328i makes me :wow2:

Thanks man! Your 4runner makes me :wow2:

add me to your club. same color of 4runner. and like the bmws. i have a 96 328i and 07 530xi. 328i will now be my son's car, 19 years old and just last week got a permit. the 530xi is my daily driver. got it a few years ago when i had a live in gf and her daughter living with me and my son. way more car than i need now. thought of trading it in on a newer 3 series but i've just been lazy about it.

Thanks! That 328i will be a sweet car for your son. They drive great, are easy to work on, relatively cheap, great gas mileage etc.

Wow man you really handled all of this well.

I can only imagine how messed up the piece of s*** thieving
scumbag was to do those nutbob, methbilly mods w/ the stereo
and steering wheel. Hope he's face down in a ditch by now.

You're attention to detail is remarkable and that engine bay is
amazing. Well done!

Thank you! Luckily the guy that stole it got caught and arrested so I suppose it worked out. The idiot had it parked across the street from a police department in a crummy hotel parking lot a couple towns away from where I live. :der: An officer thought it looked sketchy, ran the vin and the rest is history.

 

[cblock406]

I replaced all of the belts when I did the timing belt; now that the weather has gotten colder I developed a LOUD belt squeal. The alternator belt was way too loose.

I pulled off the skid plate to get more access to the tensioner, I took a pic in case anyone has the same problem and isn't intimate with how the tensioner system works.

Also gave it an oil change; I got an OEM filter with my timing belt kit. Always use a new crush washer. Normally I wouldn't document this but it's the first oil of change of 2017 and the first since it got stolen!

 

[cblock406]

Got the rear diff fluid changed today, ran out of time to get the front and transfer case.

Whoever changed it last torqued the drain plug WAY too tight.

Drain plug looked normal, no big chunks of metal or anything.

Redline is always my go to for gear oil.

I used this kit for all of the crush washers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017V4BAXI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jb10]

Thanks! That 328i will be a sweet car for your son. They drive great, are easy to work on, relatively cheap, great gas mileage etc.

yeah! just took him 3+ years to figure that out himself. it is a fun little car to drive. and quick. great gas mileage. 33mpg if you don't drive like an *******. but he'll probably get closer to 27

 

[meeceboy78]

Man, your thread is amazing! i love the story as well. i just got myself a 3rd gen and will be referencing this thread for sure!! your attention to detail is awesome.
i am also a BMW fan as well. i have a classic in in the middle of doing a semi resto on.

 

[cblock406]

Man, your thread is amazing! i love the story as well. i just got myself a 3rd gen and will be referencing this thread for sure!! your attention to detail is awesome.
i am also a BMW fan as well. i have a classic in in the middle of doing a semi resto on.

Thanks! Congrats, they are awesome rigs for sure.

I'm getting married this Saturday and have the week off so yesterday when my fiance was running around with her family I tackled the backup camera install.

The install is pretty easy; if you know how to wire a stereo you can definitely tackle this.

I ended up mounting it in the license plate frame which did require drilling a hole behind the license plate. I drilled out an old frame I had in the garage but plan on making something nicer and Toyota related.

Ran the wires through the tailgate and through the factory harness.

I couldn't get the wires through the rubber harness no matter what I tried so ended up running it separate. Not perfect but good enough.

It works! Not really necessary as it's pretty easy to park anyway but kinda cool for how cheap and easy it is.

 

[bheltzel]

I just came across your thread here and had to share my experience because it is eerily similar. I'm down in SF but had my 4Runner stolen back in July for a couple days. Druggies living in it, doing strange things like cutting random wires and jamming the trunk, and also managed to metallic sharpie the steering wheel... very very strange. Glad to hear you got yours back - looking great!

A few pics of mine after recovery and the stuff I pulled out of the jammed trunk.
https://imgur.com/a/6OjuT

 

[cblock406]

I just came across your thread here and had to share my experience because it is eerily similar. I'm down in SF but had my 4Runner stolen back in July for a couple days. Druggies living in it, doing strange things like cutting random wires and jamming the trunk, and also managed to metallic sharpie the steering wheel... very very strange. Glad to hear you got yours back - looking great!

A few pics of mine after recovery and the stuff I pulled out of the jammed trunk.
https://imgur.com/a/6OjuT

Wow that is eerily similar! Tweakers Man, they do some weird stuff! Glad you got yours back too.

 

[Kotrin]

Glad you got it back and making it yours again. I've had a vehicle stolen back when my son was born, got it back but it was never the same..though it wasn't a 4Runner

 

[cblock406]

Glad you got it back and making it yours again. I've had a vehicle stolen back when my son was born, got it back but it was never the same..though it wasn't a 4Runner

Thanks! As awful as it was it's been fun fixing it up.

So the alternator took a dump last Thursday as I was leaving for the airport to pick up my mom and grandma for the wedding...Great. It happened in a super busy intersection too so a cop had to push me a ways to get me off the street.

So, the rear bumper that I already replaced once is now dented. At least it matches the front bumper.

Ordered a remanufactured Denso unit off Amazon so I could get it here quick.

Buttoned up and running like a champ!

 

[cblock406]

Small and frustrating update:

Last Friday I changed the front diff fluid and ended up stripping the drain plug :redbrick:

I was able to break the fill plug loose so ended up vacuuming as much fluid out as I could and refilled with Redline 75w90.

Stripped plug, will save this battle for another day.

The fluid I sucked out actually looked really clean so I'm guessing at least it must have been changed somewhat recently before I bought the truck.

Since this is the worst thing that has happened with all of the work I've done this year I'm not too upset but still kind of frustrating.

 

[cblock406]

I took apart the the window switches and the ECT switches to swap LED's into them. Neither of these take a plug in bulb, the LED has to be soldered to the board on both.

Window switches taken apart:

Old bulb that needs to be cut off:

Here is the LED soldered into place; not the prettiest job but it works:

You can see them both lit up bright on the left side:

I just need to figure out the defrost switch and hazard switch to finish the whole conversion. I bought the wrong bulbs for those(they look right?) and took out the brake light fuse last night. Whoops. I ordered a few different LED's today so I'll post what the correct bulb is once I figure it out.

I also ordered an outside temperature sensor to replace the stupid effing clock with. No matter what I do to the damn thing it still works intermittently.

One last thing, I was curious what my coolant temps have been after overhauling the cooling system when I did the timing belt. Bought a cheap OBDII reader and am happy to report I haven't seen them go any higher than 192 :thumb3:

 

[cblock406]

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

I messed around with the 4Runner today and installed LED's in the two dome lights and map lights. It is BRIGHT with them all lit up.

I also put LED's in the reverse lights to see the reverse camera better at night.

These are also very bright!

Much better.

 

[jbrentd]

Nice build! Hate to hear it was stolen, but glad you got it back with little damage.

On the center console swap, did you swap in an e-brake handle from a 99+ or use your old one? And what's the name of the OBD2 reader you use? I've been wanting to get one.

 

[cblock406]

Nice build! Hate to hear it was stolen, but glad you got it back with little damage.

On the center console swap, did you swap in an e-brake handle from a 99+ or use your old one? And what's the name of the OBD2 reader you use? I've been wanting to get one.

Thanks!

When I swapped the console I used the e-brake from the 99 as well. The mount for it that bolts to floor didn't fit the hole in the floor. I used an angle grinder to put a small notch into the floor pan and it bolted right in after that.

This is the code reader I bought. I'm happy with it, I've used it in a couple other cars and it reads/clears codes just fine and has done everything I've wanted it to.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071YC1J7R/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[cblock406]

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Finally bought some car parts that aren't strictly maintenance related so it's getting there! Got a retrofit kit from The Retrofit Source. I have some time off over Christmas so will be getting this done as well as finally doing the transmission service and transmission cooler.

 

[cblock406]

I installed the transmission cooler and changed the transmission fluid yesterday. I used the supplied pushpins to install it rather than the brackets, mostly due to laziness but it is definitely secure and not going anywhere.

I took out a total of 10 quarts of fluid, flushing a quart at a time and then refilling after each discharge. The fluid was pretty dark, overdue to be changed for sure.

Got a little over three quarts from the transmission drain plug.

Here is where I mounted it. I installed after the radiator cooler so it is in series after the radiator, I wasn't comfortable bypassing it.

And a current pic, I love this thing!

 

[cblock406]

I forgot to give props to [MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] for his transmission video, I pretty much did the same thing changing the tranny fluid, so big thanks Tim!

Also, this commemorates the very last piece of maintenance I said I was going to do this year. I can't wait to start working on the suspension/lift/wheels tires etc.!

 

[jbrentd]

I forgot to give props to [MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] for his transmission video, I pretty much did the same thing changing the tranny fluid, so big thanks Tim!

Also, this commemorates the very last piece of maintenance I said I was going to do this year. I work slow so it felt great to get this done, every single mechanical system that is serviceable has been done now. I can't wait to start working on the suspension/lift/wheels tires etc.!

I know I shouldn’t, but I work in the reverse order. I went straight to the lift.

 

[cblock406]

I know I shouldn’t, but I work in the reverse order. I went straight to the lift.

That's okay, looks like you are well on your way of getting yours sorted out anyway. And the lift looks great!