Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

[BigFishAllDay]

The Clear-Bra was a must! I had my tint guy install the carbon fiber, he only charged me $25 for both sides. It really cleaned up the side of the 4Runner.

For $25 I would have let a pro do it too. It was kind of time consuming to cut it, apply it, and make sure the pattern was lined up. I may look into the clear bra too, but I'm not sure if it will apply well over existing rock chips (I wonder if there would be air gaps under the clear bra where the paint has been chipped away?)

 

[Dirtco]

For $25 I would have let a pro do it too. It was kind of time consuming to cut it, apply it, and make sure the pattern was lined up. I may look into the clear bra too, but I'm not sure if it will apply well over existing rock chips (I wonder if there would be air gaps under the clear bra where the paint has been chipped away?)

I think it depends how bad the rock chips are, you should really talk to your local shop and see what they say. My entire 4Runner was repainted before I bought it (except for the tailgate, fender flares and side mirrors), and for the most part the shop that did the work did an amazing job. I had two rock chips on the hood from this winter, my tint guy asked if I had any touch up paint, but I didn't. Before he installed the Clear-Bra he stripped the wax, and used a clay-bar to get rid of any imperfections in the paint itself. Once the Clear-Bra cured it looks amazing!

He also installed it on my side mirrors that were not repainted and had some oxidation / rock chips. The mirrors looked much better after he installed the Clear-Bra.

I think it's a must have if they apply gravel to the roads where you live. It's not perfect, and like tint I've noticed a small bubble here and there, but this is a used vehicle and I would say they did the best job they could. I also have to remind myself that this is a protective coating, and it's designed to protect the paint, not make it look better. They did not have a pre-cut kit for my truck, so I had them use the largest bulk they had in stock (24"). Overall I'm happy with the results!

 

[Duhockey]

Towards the top of the trail

Heading down the back side of the trail

Man, we so need to hit up some trails!

Theory of a Deadman? thats my buddy Bens favorite band!

 

[Dirtco]

As you guys know, my ARB front locker solenoid stopped working on my Spring Creek trip. I called East Coast Gear Supply to see if they would warranty it; after a little trouble shooting to make sure I knew what I was talking about, they agreed and said ARB would send me one directly. After a couple weeks I had not seen it, so I called them to see what was going on. They couldn’t believe the part had not shown up yet, and after being on hold a couple minutes (talking to ARB I’m guessing), they said that the part got shipped but there was no delivery info. ECGS said they would try to get me a replacement as soon as possible, and apologized for the hassle.

Considering this isn’t ECGS’s fault (it’s just a faulty ARB part), and the fact that it’s been almost a year since I bought the differential, I figured it would it be a couple days before it showed up. I was just happy that they were not giving me the “You need to call the manufacture” speech. Well, the next morning at work there was a package for me; ECGS had ARB Overnight (AM) the part! That’s pretty awesome if you ask me; things got messed up, but they did everything they could to make it right.

 

[Dirtco]

After replacing the part (quick and easy) the only thing left to do was to take the 4Runner out and make sure it works the way it should.

I went up Georgia Pass first; I made it to the top a couple months ago, but that was when the snow was still packed down and hard from all the snowmobiles. I got to the last hill climb and the snow was too soft/slushy and the terrain was too steep/off camber to make further progress.

So I went over to Middle Fork; I made it above tree line to the large hill climb before the summit but again I ran into snow. It’s crazy how little snow there is for this time of year, the conditions are like the end of July but these pictures were taken June 1st!

I don’t take pictures of the whole “flex” thing very often, but every time I pass this rock I have to!

 

[Dirtco]

I headed back down the trail…

“That’s not where I parked my car!”

Then I made my up S.O.B. Hill…

And that led to the first real scratch on the 4Runner. It’s not that bad, and it’s on the door cladding so it’s easy to fix down the road. My buddy owns a body shop; he offered to fix it for free (the door cladding and flares are nice because you can pop them off, or get replacements, and still drive the vehicle while it’s getting fixed) but I’m going to hold off until the end of summer and see how it looks. I don’t want him to fix it, only to scratch it up again the following weekend.

 

[Dirtco]

The following day I went up Chihuahua Gulch, the trail was clear and I made it to the end.

On the way down it stared hailing and the surrounding peaks got some snow (or a lot of hail).

 

[quicksilvr]

Scratch? I don't see any scratch. Just a wee little character mark.....

Great pictures, the trail that gave you the "character" looks like fun. Can't wait till my truck can run stuff like that.

 

[Dirtco]

I check out another trail in the area but it was still snowed in, so I decided to head up Sante Fe Peak. I made it up to the first “Summit” area, but I hit snow after that.

Here’s the snow bank…

I started to break trail, but after looking through the window I decided that was a bad idea. The back end kept breaking loose and wanted to slide off the road. It was a long way down!

 

[Dirtco]

And a couple pictures on the way down…

 

[SCRunner12]

Awesome pics Dirtco. Between yours and BigFish's pics these last two days I'm wanting to move to Colorado.

How is the Flowmaster muffler working out. I'm pretty sure that will be the one I will get, but want to make sure it's not too loud, but definitely louder than stock.

 

[SgtAbn]

Do you remember where you bought your brackets for your flashlight? I can only find metal ones which will scratch the sh-t out of the flashlight. Thanks.

 

[brian2sun]

Awesome pics Dirtco! I like the old cabins too, very cool!

 

[Dirtco]

Scratch? I don't see any scratch. Just a wee little character mark.....

Great pictures, the trail that gave you the "character" looks like fun. Can't wait till my truck can run stuff like that.

Thanks man! Yeah, it's not that bad and luckily it got the cladding and not the door itself. The flares and cladding at this point are a write off, if they get scratched I'll deal with it until I decide to fix them.

Awesome pics Dirtco. Between yours and BigFish's pics these last two days I'm wanting to move to Colorado.

How is the Flowmaster muffler working out. I'm pretty sure that will be the one I will get, but want to make sure it's not too loud, but definitely louder than stock.

Thanks! Colorado is Awesome; I have to remind myself how lucky I am to live 20 minutes from these trails, and see all these mountains out my window everyday.

The Flowmaster is working out great! I have yet to hit it on any rocks and the sound is perfect for a daily driver, louder than stock but not too loud.

Do you remember where you bought your brackets for your flashlight? I can only find metal ones which will scratch the sh-t out of the flashlight. Thanks.

I bought them from my local hardware shop. Here is a link to them on Amazon, but the shipping might be more than the clips themselves. Amazon.com: MAGLITE ASXD026 D-Cell Flashlight Mounting Bracket: Home Improvement

Awesome pics Dirtco! I like the old cabins too, very cool!

Thanks man! You would love it out here; there are tons of old cabins, mines and cars/trucks. Not to mention the trails and views!

You can actually stay in a lot of the cabins around here, they have working stoves, stocked firewood, and basic supplies. It's usually a C.F. of stuff people have left, but it's still fun to check it out.

Edit: If you like those pictures, and the old cabins, you will like this album. http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff278/dirtco/StJohn/

 

[Dirtco]

Well, it was a busy and eventful weekend!

I made a trip over to Holy Cross (Link) for some wheeling and camping. It’s one of my favorite trails, and probably one of the hardest Colorado trails (besides maybe Blanca) I plan on running in the 4Runner. It was also going to be the first trip for the trailer, which was very exciting.

While the trailer was not completely done, it was close enough to take it out on a shake down run. I’ve been working on it for over a year and a half, and I just wanted to take it out and use it. It was actually surreal loading it up and leaving town for a couple days. I went up Vail Pass and then cut over Shrine Pass (Link) into Red Cliff.

The trailer handled great, on the highway and on Shrine Pass (easy dirt road with some steep sections, washboard and potholes). There are a couple small issues’ I need to work out with the trailer; and I need to watch the ATF temp pulling the passes, but all of that is normal stuff. I was in hurry to set up camp before dark so I forgot to take pictures of the truck and trailer, but these pictures I took a couple days ago explains everything.

 

[Dirtco]

We woke up early Saturday to beat the crowds and started up the trail. Again, I was kind of slacking in the picture department so I stole some of them from others in the group. We had a total of 10 rigs in our group, all of them built; I was the least built out of the whole group.

 

[Dirtco]

We drove through all the smaller obstacles without stopping much and made our way to the first real challenge, the ledge before French Creek. I’ve gone up it several times in my old rigs, this rig sets a lot lower but I still made it up on my first try.

 

[Dirtco]

The main obstacle on the trail is French Creek, and it is getting nasty! Every year it gets worse and this season is no different. Here are a couple rigs that ran the creek before I did…

 

[Dirtco]

Then it was my turn…

I knew I was in over my head; it was taking the built rigs some time to get through and a few of them had to winch. Also, the rig in front of me flipped one of the boulders up into line and made it even rougher (the boulder under the rocker panel of the red Rubicon). If it wasn’t for that stupid boulder I think I would have made it, or at least been in good position to winch. I made it through the creek without an issue, but then I hit that nasty spot right after the creek. I didn’t have the clearance and the only line I could take was far right; there was a two-foot (or more) under cut slab and in the process of climbing it I blew up my passenger side CV joint.

My buddy thought he was taking GoPro video, but the camera was only set to still shots. Here are a couple of the pictures, I have some more video but I need to edit it.

 

[Dirtco]

I backed out of the creek and found a nice level, shady spot to change out the CV. My buddy Aaron with the orange 1st gen 4Runner on 40’s stayed to help, I told him to keep going but he refused. We swapped it out in about 30-45 minutes, most of that was unloading all the tools/spare, talking about random crap and fighting with the Hi-Lift jack. I wasn’t in a hurry since I was blocked in, and I was waiting for the rest of the group to come back down. I bet I could swap one out in around 20 minutes (or less) if I needed to.

We grilled some brats and ate lunch while waiting for the groups behind us to get through, after the crowds cleared out Aaron decided to play around in the creek and his good karma was repaid. He ran the creek the smoothest I saw all day, first try, and I got it on video! I’ll post it up once I get a chance to download it to Youtube.