curryT4R's '99 2WD SR5 Build and Repair Thread

curryT4R

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https://imgur.com/a/mmnwJJ4

Finally decided to make my own thread to somewhat document my journey with my newly acquired SR5 T4R.
Started off with a bone stock 1999 2WD SR5. Engine runs perfect, transmission shifts smooth. Has some leaks and probably needs some basic maintenance.


I was driving home from work and I noticed steam coming from the engine bay. Temp gauge didn't move so I hadn't noticed it. Car died while driving so i pulled over. Looked underneath and saw coolant and then as you can see in the pictures the top radiator neck snapped off and so a lot of coolant poured out which is probably why the coolant temp sensor couldn't read anything.

No worries, got a new OEM radiator, thermostat, hoses and fan shroud (not installed yet, it was on backorder).

Next thing was replace the dry rotted tires and get some new wheels to go with it. Went with 16" American Racing AR23 wheels with 265/70R16 Cooper Discoverer ATP tires. Decent price for some mild all terrain tires.

I also noticed that the stock intake tube by the throttle body had some stress marks and looked like it could tear at any moment so I replaced it with an Airraid intake tube.

And just yesterday I replaced the lower ball joints as I've heard horror stories of them breaking while driving and I did not want that happening when my wife drives the car with the baby.
Pictures show the before and after ball joints, plus small and larger pitman arm tools i used to remove OTRE and LBJ. The old LBJ were definitely cracked and missing lots of grease. They were super loose and easy to move by hands also.

I also did an oil change with some Rotella T6 with a OEM Oil Filter to clean up the internals, then next oil change I will be using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter for regular use.

Up next i think I need to look at the suspension as I hear some metal on metal rattle noise from the rear when driving on bumpy roads. Could be nothing, but suspension probably needs and overhaul anyways.

Also I have no idea if/when the timing belt has been done, so I will be doing that along with WP, seals, and drive belts soon, as well as valve cover gaskets, transmission and power steering flush.

Thanks for looking and listening to me ramble on. I'll try to keep this thread updated when I do more work to it.
 

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https://imgur.com/a/mmnwJJ4

Finally decided to make my own thread to somewhat document my journey with my newly acquired SR5 T4R.
Started off with a bone stock 1999 2WD SR5. Engine runs perfect, transmission shifts smooth. Has some leaks and probably needs some basic maintenance.


I was driving home from work and I noticed steam coming from the engine bay. Temp gauge didn't move so I hadn't noticed it. Car died while driving so i pulled over. Looked underneath and saw coolant and then as you can see in the pictures the top radiator neck snapped off and so a lot of coolant poured out which is probably why the coolant temp sensor couldn't read anything.

No worries, got a new OEM radiator, thermostat, hoses and fan shroud (not installed yet, it was on backorder).

Next thing was replace the dry rotted tires and get some new wheels to go with it. Went with 16" American Racing AR23 wheels with 265/70R16 Cooper Discoverer ATP tires. Decent price for some mild all terrain tires.

I also noticed that the stock intake tube by the throttle body had some stress marks and looked like it could tear at any moment so I replaced it with an Airraid intake tube.

And just yesterday I replaced the lower ball joints as I've heard horror stories of them breaking while driving and I did not want that happening when my wife drives the car with the baby.
Pictures show the before and after ball joints, plus small and larger pitman arm tools i used to remove OTRE and LBJ. The old LBJ were definitely cracked and missing lots of grease. They were super loose and easy to move by hands also.

I also did an oil change with some Rotella T6 with a OEM Oil Filter to clean up the internals, then next oil change I will be using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter for regular use.

Up next i think I need to look at the suspension as I hear some metal on metal rattle noise from the rear when driving on bumpy roads. Could be nothing, but suspension probably needs and overhaul anyways.

Also I have no idea if/when the timing belt has been done, so I will be doing that along with WP, seals, and drive belts soon, as well as valve cover gaskets, transmission and power steering flush.

Thanks for looking and listening to me ramble on. I'll try to keep this thread updated when I do more work to it.

ah welcome fellow 2wd and texan! ditch the flares and the boards! it was the first thing i did to mine
 
ah welcome fellow 2wd and texan! ditch the flares and the boards! it was the first thing i did to mine

Thank you!

Yeah I don't like the small chrome strips on the fenders lol my wife hates all the chrome too. I need to find some all black front and rear bumpers also.

As far as the boards, my wife drives this car and she is short so she needs them :rofl:
 
Thank you!

Yeah I don't like the small chrome strips on the fenders lol my wife hates all the chrome too. I need to find some all black front and rear bumpers also.

As far as the boards, my wife drives this car and she is short so she needs them :rofl:

lol yeah i took my chrome ones off even though my wife needs them and my daughter well shes 9 and almost her height lol
 
Took the truck on our first road trip with it. Roughly 500 miles round trip. It drove like a dream! No weird vibrations or sounds (except some rattles underneath but probably just a engine shield).
Cruising at 80mph rpms were sitting right at 2500 which is actually 500rpm less than my Corolla! Averaged about 20mpg.

The only thing I can say is annoying is the very small tank. I filled up at the 1/4 mark and only got about 11-11.5 gallons in it and roughly 220-240 miles on the tank. But doing a quick search on here it seems like we just kinda have to deal with this eh?
 
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