cencalifoothill15's simple build thread

[CenCalifoothill15]

cencalifoothill15's simple build thread- & Pics*

BLACK 1998 LTD 4x4 3.4L auto w/factory E-Locker 224,000+ miles (5th owner)




The following list includes maintenance/Mods/upgrades:

Under the hood/drivetrain maintenance:
-K&N high flow air filter (back to paper filters)
-Toyota/Denso plugs. (4-6-2015)
-KOYO Radiator & new cap w/Toyota Red coolant (12-8-2015)
-AISIN Fan clutch (12-8-2013)
-OEM Thermostat
-Tranny serviced/flushed/new filter (7-23-2014)
-LUCAS Syn tranny oil/engine additives
-New Alternator (3-22-2013)
-New Battery (Duralast Gold) 750cca (1-1-2015)
-Hayden 678 Transmission cooler (Radiator bypassed)
-Hilux 167 Snorkel


Interior/Audio--upgrades/mods:

- KENWOOD KDC-108 headunit
- INFINITY MIDS on all doors w/stock Toyota tweeters
- 12" sub Addictive Audio Kevlar stage 3 in a sealed box
- Massive Audio 1000W mono
- repaired torn FP leather seat. (torn again!)
- x2 TILT gauges, dash & side pillar
- mini compass in gauge cluster
- OEM car seat anchor added
- battery meter
- Cobra CB radio 19 Ultra III
- Torque Pro (Android)


Exterior Mods
-ARB Front Bumper (Tacoma/Deluxe Bull Bar)
-32" Cree Light-bar on roof rack
-4" GENSSI LED Fog lights (27w) 60*degree flood
-99 OEM Headlights
-Painted OEM wheels (3-spoke) Rustoleum Brass Metallic
-Rola Roof Rack w/extension & custom mounts
-Tuff-Stuff high volume air compressor 150 PSI (on board air)
-TG DOM 67" Rock Sliders (welded on)
-3' Firestik CB antenna w/Firestik mount
-48" Hi-Lift
-Amber LED eagle eye's (aux turn signals)
-Ditch-lights with CBI brackets


SUSPENSION/TIRES:

FRONT: (3") Eibach/Toytec coils with Eibach adjustables struts.

REAR: (3.5") TOYTEC SuperFlex coils, w/RC extended travel shocks.

-285/75/16 (E) GoodYear Duratracs
-G2 1.25" Wheel spacers (Hub Centric)
-Tundra 231 Brake upgrade.



THANKS FOR CHECKING OUT MY RIG. :wave:

CHECK OUT MY ALBUMS FOR MORE PICS!



FROM STOCK TO CURRENT PICS-

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

update

Got the 285/75/16 Goodyear Duratracs on last week, very happy with the look & feel. They Handle very well on road and off, i was very hard on them on my recent trip to Bald Mt. and they performed good. I did rip small chunks off the tread blocks but very minor. They did rub quite a bit in some gnarly areas, especially when i 3 wheelin/tippin. before the trip i did lots of trimming of the fender wall/lower valance and pinch weld.

*Also did the 99 headlight upgrade, what a big improvement with night time driving, much more light than my stock 98's. My Rig looks new again!:bluejump:.

I Got my 1.5" wheel spacers in from AllPro, i should install them sometime this week.

need to eliminate the rubbing, till then........







*Check out my albums for more photoshttp://www.toyota-4runner.org/members/cencalifoothill15.html

 

[Slow_T4R]

Nice pics man! Was there any snow up there at all? The truck looks awesome btw.

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

Nice pics man! Was there any snow up there at all? The truck looks awesome btw.

Thanks Man! No snow at all... actually that would have been perfect if there was.. really dry and dusty out there, I've got a layer of silt covering my entire interior!

 

[Cali4Runnea]

Looks really good! Will be keeping an eye on your thread for future mods and off-roading pics!

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

Update- installed 1.5" wheel spacers

Well finally got around to installing my AllPro 1.5" wheel spacers, and i really love the stance of my rig now. My wheels actually clear my Limited fender flares, I could really feel the difference when making fast sharp turns, the lean/sway has been minimized, the wider stance looks good and feels a lot better with handling.:thumb3

*But before i was able to enjoy this set-up, i did a lot of trimming/cutting of the front/back inner fenders, hack-sawed the pinch-weld as much as possible, then beat the crap out of the remaining pinch-weld metal. Sort of rolled in, then pounded it with a sledge hammer, roll-it some more, etc. then i got a grinder and smoothed out all the rough/jagged edges. I gained all the clearance i needed to turn fully locked in both directions. Now i can do a U-Turn without any rubbing at all! I then spray painted the areas where cut/grinded... looks clean. Here are some driveway shots of some test flexing. Today i picked up some new lug nuts (extented thread) from 4WheelParts, Just to be safe. the rear nuts are fine, however the front studs are shorter, with the extended thread lug nuts I'll be able to get more bite, at least 3-4 more threads. I did use locktite for all wheels.

I'll post more pics later of my hack job.....:bump2:

 

[tx4r3g]

subscribed

 

[NateMob]

Nice start man, i would really like to see how you clearenced your firewall/pinch weld area.

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

My Pinch weld mod & inner fender trimming

Nice start man, i would really like to see how you clearenced your firewall/pinch weld area.

Thanks NateMob! Here's some pictures i took (all after) sorry i now realized that I should have taken some pictures before, during, and after, oh well i'm sure you get the jist of the project. I did cut at least a 3-4 long x 1-2 inches wide strip off the pinch-weld. I took the best pics possible w/my camera.

*Also removed the inner bolt on the inner fender (closest to firewall) on both sides, i did cut out a lot of plastic also.

Here's a close up shot of my pinch welds, I'm going to re-grind some of the edges once i get a proper grinder. I made it happen with what i had, and will probably hit it with a better paint job. You really can't tell that much, i think it came out OKAY considering the limited tools i've have at my disposal. The driver-side came out better than the Passenger side.:surfer:

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

More Pics

Here a pic of the Passenger side pinch weld, i forgot to include. Enjoy!:thumb:

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

Back to Black-

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

Removed 1.5" spacers/installed g2 1.25" spacers

SPACER UPDATE:

*After having these 1.5" (LUG CENTRIC) spacers on now for a week, i realized i made a rookie mistake in buying "Lug centric" spacers. At first I loved the look of them, they really widened the stance, and for in town driving (small town) they handled well, however after taking a recent trip on the freeway i noticed lots a vibration and intense bouncing, once went over 55-65 mph I was not so happy anymore! :faint: After my brief trip on the freeway I did not feel so safe, so i turned back and headed home to get my other car. pretty pissed at my self...

*The next day i went to 4WHEEL parts (couldn't wait for online order) to look for Spidertrax 1.25" (hub centric) but they were out of stock!! :doh: The guy helping me asked if i'd be interested in their "G2" product. $89.99 a pair for 1.25" spacers Black Anodized aluminum (hub centric of course) so i took these home instead. The G2 line seems to be a quality product. Please chime in if you have heard or experienced anything with this product.*

I removed my 1.5" spacers the same day, and installed the G2's... Here's some shots i took during the installation. I also used lots of Lock-tite.

After installing the new spacers, I went back on the freeway and NO MORE SHAKING OR BOUNCING! So happy now, and i'm still pleased with the stance of my Rig. the G2's did the job! They look good too with my Black wheels!

Just make sure when using stock wheels that ya'll get "HUB CENTRIC" spacers! My wheels are centered perfectly-


:girl: this is the only bouncing i like!!

LUG-NUT UPDATE:

^^^do not use acorn style lug-nuts (gorilla extended thread) with stock toyota wheels! unless you have aftermarket rims.

stick with stock lug-nuts because the the lug-ends are thicker and fill in the space around the stud and wheel-hole which helps to center the wheels. also the washers on the stock lugs act as another crimping force as apposed to the acorn style round sides holding the wheel on.
i made the mistake of using these acorn style lug-nuts, because over time they slowly wallowed out the stud holes in my wheels as you can see in the pics. there was metal shavings in and around the stud holes from it rubbing against the acorn lugs. i recently noticed this when i rotated my tires, and caught it in time without ruining my rims.
i thought i needed extended thread lugs while running wheel spacers, which isn't true, in fact my wheels feel solid & centered again. Toyota designed these with a purpose, so when in doubt stick with OEM! *feel free to add any input-

vvv the last pics shows how the acorn lugs started to wallow out the stud holes...

 

[tx4r3g]

Rims look great david. Glade the g2 wheel spacers worked out that was a great price for them. Did yhou put them on the back as well. I will be painting my wheels soon. How many cans of paint did you use in all?

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

$10 dollar project

Hey Bill thanks man, appreciate it

I did all 4 corners w/the G2's , as soon as I mounted them on, I could tell that there was a better "connection" w/these adapters/spacers. Its solid now... $195 for the set

I only used 2 cans... killed both cans -did 4 coats on each wheel.

wheels were a $10 dollar project.

-Rustoleum Matte Black paint can: $6 bucks (Home Depot)
-Quick Color all purpose Flat Black spray paint: $1 buck (Home Depot)
-4x6 index cards got 3 packs for a $1 buck ea. (Dollar Tree)

*already had masking tape and sand paper. Although u can buy this at the dollar store if you don't have it. So maybe a $12 project? Ha ha... I just make things happen one way or another... just glad im not a perfectionist! *post some pictures when you're done painting your wheels I'd like to see them

 

[tx4r3g]

thanks for the info. i will post pics when done. i plan to murder mine out, i love the white on black look. after looking at your build thread you got my mod bug a itching... so i blacked out my grill.. have pics in my profile cant get them to load on the thread...

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

Most current pic

Did a little wheelin w/my wife..... it was her 1st time! She was really nervous at 1st then she found it Exciting!! And if you have a dirty mind... that could go either way! Great view at the top. :bigok:

*These photos were taken at Wonder Valley, CA around my Folks property!

many fun places to wheel!!! I used to live here but didn't have my 4runner back then... miss it out here... although it's only a 15 min drive away! :bolt:

anyway enjoy the pics...... :frog:

Check out my albums for more pics

 

[tre9er]

How do you like the RC shocks now that you've had them a while? They are a much cheaper option, but some have said they wear out very quickly. Also, how do they ride compared to stock or other lift setups you've had/been in?

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

so far.. so good. ..

Compared to stock it's a dream. Good for the money! If they ever go out, I'd like to try the Bilsteins. However I have NO complaints at all. In fact WHEELERS recently upgraded the RC rear (extended travel)Nitros series. To the N.20's I believe that they are stronger than the 9000' series. Only $89.99 a pair. Not bad

 

[tre9er]

Compared to stock it's a dream. Good for the money! If they ever go out, I'd like to try the Bilsteins. However I have NO complaints at all. In fact WHEELERS recently upgraded the RC rear (extended travel)Nitros series. To the N.20's I believe that they are stronger than the 9000' series. Only $89.99 a pair. Not bad

I don't mean to thread-jack, mind if I ask though how many miles you've put on the RC rears and what amount of wheeling you've done on them? Sorry, again, and TIA.

 

[CenCalifoothill15]

no prob....

No worries man! So I've only had them on for 5-6000 miles now and they have settled nicely front & back. IMO they work well w/881's in front. And the rears honestly perform good! I've been on a dozen or so light wheelin trips, & 2 hardcore crawlin runs. I think my rig is comfortable w/these. Maybe it's the Superflex coils helping too? Hmmm...

I'll post updates as time goes on.