Complete 2000 4wd, manual, v6 swap into 2wd auto 1999 build/project

[phattyduck]

Check for bulges in the 3 rubber hoses (though that is rare in California), and make sure the rear drums are *just* dragging on the shoes. If the parking brake isn't used regularly, the rear drums will get out of adjustment.

-Charlie

 

[JMat]

Right rear door was showing open light on dash when closed...no light when open. Messed with the latch with my finger and now it says open all the time. Maybe there's a switch inside?

I've had the same issue on my '98 doors. For a long time I would just press the little switch right below the striker plate on the pillars a few times and they would start working right again. I eventually caved and bought all new switches when the one on the drivers side front door wasn't working right and I ran my battery down a few times because I didn't realize I had left the headlights on and the warning buzzer didn't go off because the door switch wasn't working right..

 

[deanx2009]

Did you bleed the brakes with the vehicle running? Are you still using rubber soft lines? Have you verified that your rear drums are adjusted correctly? Did you buy rebuilt/remanufactured calipers or source them from a tundra?

I did some bleeding running but most off. Il do another procedure rear to front in the correct order with it running. Also, I have not verified rear adjustment . Calipers are from a tundra, not rebuilt but were in good condition. (No corrosion, leaking, etc).

 

[deanx2009]

I've had the same issue on my '98 doors. For a long time I would just press the little switch right below the striker plate on the pillars a few times and they would start working right again. I eventually caved and bought all new switches when the one on the drivers side front door wasn't working right and I ran my battery down a few times because I didn't realize I had left the headlights on and the warning buzzer didn't go off because the door switch wasn't working right..

Check for bulges in the 3 rubber hoses (though that is rare in California), and make sure the rear drums are *just* dragging on the shoes. If the parking brake isn't used regularly, the rear drums will get out of adjustment.

-Charlie

Yeah I messed with the rear door switch with my finger and got it to work. Definitely going to steal 4 of em from the spare parts truck!

And Charlie, il check but I replaced the lowers with SS and the rubber had no bulging that I saw. Il check again when I'm home .

 

[sleepydad]

Yeah I messed with the rear door switch with my finger and got it to work. Definitely going to steal 4 of em from the spare parts truck!

And Charlie, il check but I replaced the lowers with SS and the rubber had no bulging that I saw. Il check again when I'm home .

I had the door switch issue with my 97 rust bucket.

turned out that both the door switch and wire were messed up.

pick'n'pull door switch fixed that part but... all the salt had eaten the wire thru for the switch to plug on the drivers door switch. It was kind of intermittent but once I touched the wire it just broke. seriously you can see how far gone my truck is in this shot.

<a href="https://imgur.com/L2wanl1"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/L2wanl1l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

however, I spliced in a good length of wire... so now my dome light functions, the key ring light works again and I was able to program a keyfob.

<a href="https://imgur.com/Y3waxnj"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Y3waxnjl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

 

[phattyduck]

And Charlie, il check but I replaced the lowers with SS and the rubber had no bulging that I saw. Il check again when I'm home .

Good that you changed to stainless lines.

Many people have had problems bleeding the brakes after the Tundra upgrade. I have a pet theory that most of the complaints about mushy brakes after the upgrade is that there is still some air left in the system somewhere (maybe at the ABS actuator).

-Charlie

 

[STI_MECE]

Now that I have an engine that is worth a flip. You have given me an idea for my next project but ill skip the manual swap lol the toyota is the only automatic i have ever owned so ill keep that lol

But def. a 2wd to 4wd conversion. great work.

 

[deanx2009]

I had the door switch issue with my 97 rust bucket.

turned out that both the door switch and wire were messed up.

pick'n'pull door switch fixed that part but... all the salt had eaten the wire thru for the switch to plug on the drivers door switch. It was kind of intermittent but once I touched the wire it just broke. seriously you can see how far gone my truck is in this shot.

<a href="https://imgur.com/L2wanl1"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/L2wanl1l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

however, I spliced in a good length of wire... so now my dome light functions, the key ring light works again and I was able to program a keyfob.

<a href="https://imgur.com/Y3waxnj"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Y3waxnjl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

The amount of rust in this photo haunts me an the fact that i saw it on this Friday the 13th is very fitting. Mine was just a sensor, wires were all good. You dont have much metal left there!!

Good that you changed to stainless lines.

Many people have had problems bleeding the brakes after the Tundra upgrade. I have a pet theory that most of the complaints about mushy brakes after the upgrade is that there is still some air left in the system somewhere (maybe at the ABS actuator).

-Charlie

I think there might be some somewhere. I bled it two more times and ran it to the dirt where it went through some antilock cycles. Then bled it again. I can now chirp the tires on pavement when depressing the brakes fully (almost to the floor) but it's still not an oem feel. Il probably keep playing this bleeding game until it seems right..

Now that I have an engine that is worth a flip. You have given me an idea for my next project but ill skip the manual swap lol the toyota is the only automatic i have ever owned so ill keep that lol

But def. a 2wd to 4wd conversion. great work.

Much less work involved for that, and the big mechanical stuff isn't too bad. Hard part is just all of the lil parts involved!

Cleaned up the front interior, swapped out the center console for the clean one, got the lower dash all buttoned up and the heat valve working. Also as a bonus, the center console I put in has the dual cupholder for the rear. Sweet!

 

[mesooohoppy]

Many people have had problems bleeding the brakes after the Tundra upgrade. I have a pet theory that most of the complaints about mushy brakes after the upgrade is that there is still some air left in the system somewhere (maybe at the ABS actuator).

i have said it in the tundra upgrade thread, but i seriously suspect users who have issues with the pedal feel post swap either starved the ABS pump or just didnt bleed it well enough (or a combo of the two). mostly being the ABS pump.

i came from the lexus IS world before i bought my 4runner and it was the same case for everyone doing BBKs. they would bleed the sides and starve the abs pump. once you do this its easier to just take to a dealer and let them properly bleed it as most didnt have the vacuum tool to do it.

OP, you can bleed the traditional way and spend your entire life savings on DOT fluid and it wont change a thing because you may have air in the ABS pump. did you by chance try to bleed that? at any point did you starve it?

 

[sleepydad]

i have said it in the tundra upgrade thread, but i seriously suspect users who have issues with the pedal feel post swap either starved the ABS pump or just didnt bleed it well enough (or a combo of the two). mostly being the ABS pump.

i came from the lexus IS world before i bought my 4runner and it was the same case for everyone doing BBKs. they would bleed the sides and starve the abs pump. once you do this its easier to just take to a dealer and let them properly bleed it as most didnt have the vacuum tool to do it.

OP, you can bleed the traditional way and spend your entire life savings on DOT fluid and it wont change a thing because you may have air in the ABS pump. did you by chance try to bleed that? at any point did you starve it?

After putting in a totally braking system on my frame swap project and running 3 jugs of brand new brake fluid thru the entire sytem and having the tundra brakes my pedal is nice and firm.

I'm going to run a couple of jugs thru my other truck next spring. It took that much to get the entire system filled back up.

I think people have 20 year old brake fluid in their system and it's what's causing some of the issues. I don't think it's one big thing but a combination of air and old fluid.

this is my latest theory.

 

[mesooohoppy]

I think people have 20 year old brake fluid in their system and it's what's causing some of the issues. I don't think it's one big thing but a combination of air and old fluid.

this is my latest theory.

Good theory. I concur. Old, contaminated fluid probably doesn't help.

 

[deanx2009]

i have said it in the tundra upgrade thread, but i seriously suspect users who have issues with the pedal feel post swap either starved the ABS pump or just didnt bleed it well enough (or a combo of the two). mostly being the ABS pump.

i came from the lexus IS world before i bought my 4runner and it was the same case for everyone doing BBKs. they would bleed the sides and starve the abs pump. once you do this its easier to just take to a dealer and let them properly bleed it as most didnt have the vacuum tool to do it.

OP, you can bleed the traditional way and spend your entire life savings on DOT fluid and it wont change a thing because you may have air in the ABS pump. did you by chance try to bleed that? at any point did you starve it?

After putting in a totally braking system on my frame swap project and running 3 jugs of brand new brake fluid thru the entire sytem and having the tundra brakes my pedal is nice and firm.

I'm going to run a couple of jugs thru my other truck next spring. It took that much to get the entire system filled back up.

I think people have 20 year old brake fluid in their system and it's what's causing some of the issues. I don't think it's one big thing but a combination of air and old fluid.

this is my latest theory.

Very possible. I definitely bled it enough. I've bled brakes on Toyotas, BMWs, gmcs and motorcycles, never had an issue with incorrect brake bleeding.

The abs pump could have gotten air in it from being open to the elements for so long. Il have to check the manual for the abs bleed procedure. It's pretty much the high point In the system correct? It would make sense if air trapped there is causing the issue.

In other news, found some clips that almost were a perfect fit at Ace hardware for the mounting of the rear flares. The flare clip tab was just too thick for the clips, causing the retaining portion to break when I pushed them into place. I used a screw driver and removed the middle portion of the retaining clip and I was able to get a pretty good fit. I added some gorilla glue construction adhesive to give the clips a little more strength against vibration and pressure.

I then made a template from cardboard by punching holes through where the holes were on the other 4runner. After that, marked the truck up. I used red locktite on the tip of the clips to make sure the positioning of the holes matched with the template. All was good and I drilled 4 pilot holes for the larger 5/16th bit. Once the holes were drilled, I cleaned it up and added rtv to the clips to weather seal the holes and keep it from rusting too easily.

Took about 2 hours. To do that...while I was doing it I decided to remove the running boards and paint the points that were welded for the trans mount.

Spent the rest of the day cleaning the garage up. Got it looking pretty good minus the engine and crane...gotta get rid of that. Purple power on the floor and a quick rinse with a squeegee and most of the oil and dirt lifted up.

 

[deanx2009]

Took it in for a smog check to get it registered this week. Drove about 5 min to warm it up and dropped it by. Got a pass, no issues.

 

[JMat]

Great job.

 

[deanx2009]

Did some work on the trailer...found some cheap 265/75/16s for 80 a pair with about 60 percent tread, and bought some steel wheels from summit for 90 each. Needed spacers because of the offset, but il extend the axle at a later date. The trailer looks like I wanted it to when I originally fabd it up. Throwing the new hardshell rtt on it and need to make a mount for the awning I bought on Black Friday. The 4runner will be paired with this for all my camping trips!

 

[deanx2009]

New hardshell CVT tent mounted up. Now that the trailer is almost done (need to mount the awning) il probably take a week or more off then resume work on the 4runner. I think I may temporarily mount the OEM front bumper on it.

All that's left as mentioned before are the two wires for ADD activation, and getting the brakes sorted. I also need to check on the cvs and driveshaft as at around 65-75 mph there is a reasonable driveline vibration that is only present when maintaining speed or accelerating. The vibration seems to be isolated to 5th gear, but it could just be the specific rpm of the driveshaft at that speed. It could simply be unbalanced, but I thought I remembered seeing weights.

The vibration feels like when you've got a rear tire slightly out of balance. The steering doesn't possess much of the vibration, but it is felt pretty well through the shifter. The new trans and engine mounts are probably helping to keep the vibe transfer down, but it's also probably going to wear them out prematurely over time. Any input on that issue is appreciated...I've read a few threads that point to all sorts of issues.....I'm not comitted to dropping thousand of dollars to get it remedied, but anything that's a quick diy is worth it.

 

[phattyduck]

It is pretty unlikely that the vibration is coming from the front driveline at all. If it is that 'BZZZZZ' vibration, it is something with the rear drive - TC output bearing, rear driveshaft or pinion bearing.

Have you hit the the whole driveshaft with grease? If that changes the vibration, you have your culprit.

Check for play in the TC output flange and the rear diff pinion flange. Check the rear u-joint and front double-cardan for smooth/tight operation with no loose spots.

Did you put in the 4WD rear upper links?

-Charlie

 

[deanx2009]

It is pretty unlikely that the vibration is coming from the front driveline at all. If it is that 'BZZZZZ' vibration, it is something with the rear drive - TC output bearing, rear driveshaft or pinion bearing.

Have you hit the the whole driveshaft with grease? If that changes the vibration, you have your culprit.

Check for play in the TC output flange and the rear diff pinion flange. Check the rear u-joint and front double-cardan for smooth/tight operation with no loose spots.

Did you put in the 4WD rear upper links?

-Charlie

Hey Charlie, thanks for the input as usual. I haven't put in the 4wd rear uppers yet-probably will do that in a month or so. I just greased the two points at the driveshaft today...front came out almost instantly, rear took several pumps before I even heard and grease seeping out. Il take it for a drive tomorrow and see what it does.

I supposed it's more of a BBZZZZ sound ...il have to try and copy the sound in my mind tomorrow. Lol.

 

[phattyduck]

Hey Charlie, thanks for the input as usual. I haven't put in the 4wd rear uppers yet-probably will do that in a month or so.

The pinion angle will be off with the wrong rear upper links, and they may be making the issue worse.

Avoid driving at speeds that make the vibration as much as you can until you find the fix, otherwise you will be wearing out other components too.

-Charlie

 

[deanx2009]

The pinion angle will be off with the wrong rear upper links, and they may be making the issue worse.

Avoid driving at speeds that make the vibration as much as you can until you find the fix, otherwise you will be wearing out other components too.

-Charlie

That makes a lot of sense that it would change under acceleration as well...torque with the wrong pinion angle probably twists the rear axle further out of alignment, worse vibration. I'm going to get the parts in the next week or so and make it a priority. Luckily this is my "fun" vehicle, so I have a DD to drive in the meantime!