NateMob
New member
3rd Gen Taco still has drum brakes.
Jeremiah, cant wait to see this beast next week at Jambo. We're all pulling for you to finish everything up in time!
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Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build
- Thread starter Dirtco
- Start date
3rd Gen Taco still has drum brakes.
Jeremiah, cant wait to see this beast next week at Jambo. We're all pulling for you to finish everything up in time!
Dirtco
New member
A quick update
I got the rear axle assembled and made some new brake lines
The front skid plate was hammered and wouldn't bolt back up to the truck, so it needed some work. I started by cutting the leading edge off the skid plate and making a relieve cut on the lower front section of the skid. I added a section of tubing to the engine oil drain hole to keep oil from running down the skid, and I added some extra bracing to the lower leading edge of the skid where it seems to take the hardest hits.
Then I welded the the skid back together where I made the relieve cut
Instead of having the front of the skid plate mount to the stock flimsy crossmember I relocated it to the main structure of the front bumper. I had to extend the skid plate a little so I used some 3/8" plate, it's total overkill but I needed something that was solid enough to reform the 3/16" skid plate back to straight.
And here are a couple crappy pictures of it installed and done, I'll take some better pictures when I get time.
I got the rear axle assembled and made some new brake lines
The front skid plate was hammered and wouldn't bolt back up to the truck, so it needed some work. I started by cutting the leading edge off the skid plate and making a relieve cut on the lower front section of the skid. I added a section of tubing to the engine oil drain hole to keep oil from running down the skid, and I added some extra bracing to the lower leading edge of the skid where it seems to take the hardest hits.
Then I welded the the skid back together where I made the relieve cut
Instead of having the front of the skid plate mount to the stock flimsy crossmember I relocated it to the main structure of the front bumper. I had to extend the skid plate a little so I used some 3/8" plate, it's total overkill but I needed something that was solid enough to reform the 3/16" skid plate back to straight.
And here are a couple crappy pictures of it installed and done, I'll take some better pictures when I get time.
Dirtco
New member
I use sticky weights, they seem to work the best for me. All the off-road tires I've had in the past needed to rebalanced a couple times a year. The MTR's w/kevlar were the worst and needed constant rebalancing to keep them drivable.
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Dirtco
New member
Thanks for the support Nathan! It makes me happy to say that the 4Runner is ready for the Jamboree! I worked some long nights this last weekend and was able to knock out the larger projects that needed to be completed before the trip; there's still some little stuff left, but nothing that would keep me from wheeling it.
Dirtco
New member
First of all thank you for the kind words, I truly appreciate the compliment! I never intended this build thread to get so long and it takes some serious dedication to sit down and read the whole thing!
I've heard of the Wheeler geologic area and I've seen a few pictures, but I've never been there. I'll have to add it to my list of new places to check out.
TCMach
New member
This is the best news I've heard all week! Looking forward to finally seeing this masterpiece.
I can imagine looking at your junk around other guys would be quite embarrassing.
Dropzone
New member
And here it is all painted and ready to be installed under the 4Runner
shipped price to Portland, Oregon:frog:
URBAN ASSAULT
New member
The video is a little grainy from trying to zoom in from 3 or 4 rigs back. Though, you can see your 1 wheel stand at the front of the group.
http://vid1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/htflds/medium_zpspoe6hug4.mp4
Edit: New to the photo bucket video thing, so posted all applicable links.
http://vid1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/htflds/medium_zpspoe6hug4.mp4
Edit: New to the photo bucket video thing, so posted all applicable links.
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Dirtco
New member
The video is a little grainy from trying to zoom in from 3 or 4 rigs back. Though, you can see your 1 wheel stand at the front of the group.
http://vid1048.photobucket.com/albums/s380/htflds/medium_zpspoe6hug4.mp4
Edit: New to the photo bucket video thing, so posted all applicable links.
Thanks for the video Steve! I got off the line and struggled to get back to where I needed to be, I was doing some major wheel stands in the process. Too bad there wasn't a camera right there to catch all the action!
Dirtco
New member
As some of you may have noticed I haven’t been around the site, or made any updates in a while. There is a good reason for this, but I’ll get to that in a little bit.
In my last post I was just getting ready for the Colorado Toyota Jamboree, well I made it and as usual it did not disappoint! This is the one time a year I get to see all my friends together in one place, and every year I walk away with more. It was great to finally put some faces to several of the user names that frequent the site and made it out to the event!
Normally I meet up with everyone at the trailhead Friday morning, but this year I decided to get to camp a little early and I left mid-morning Thursday. On the way down to Salida I hit a couple trails in the 4 Mile area with the trailer in tow. It was a great way to kill off a couple hours and get a little dirt under the tires.
In my last post I was just getting ready for the Colorado Toyota Jamboree, well I made it and as usual it did not disappoint! This is the one time a year I get to see all my friends together in one place, and every year I walk away with more. It was great to finally put some faces to several of the user names that frequent the site and made it out to the event!
Normally I meet up with everyone at the trailhead Friday morning, but this year I decided to get to camp a little early and I left mid-morning Thursday. On the way down to Salida I hit a couple trails in the 4 Mile area with the trailer in tow. It was a great way to kill off a couple hours and get a little dirt under the tires.
Chuckles89
New member
Your 4Runner is so beautiful :hail:
Dirtco
New member
The trail for Friday was Iron Chest, it’s an all around fun trail with a rock garden at the beginning, followed by a shelf road that leads to some old mine relics. The views from the top are amazing and overall its the perfect example of a Colorado trail.
We had a large group heading up the trail when we hit another large group coming down, it made for an interesting situation and it took some time to get everyone situated. Because of this I didn’t take any pictures, but there are some pictures in the Colorado Toyota Jamboree thread, along with everyones account of the weekend.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-r...amboree-august-7-9-2015-a-10.html#post2091635
Saturday I ran Chinaman’s with a small group of people, everything was going good until Steve broke what ended up being a rear axle shaft on the first major obstacle. He started to head back to camp but didn’t make it far before the whole rear hub let loose and he was stuck on the side of the road in need of a trailer. We ran the rest of the trail without stopping much so we could go help him out.
Here are two pictures that Aaron took, he also got a couple clips of video but I still need to upload them.
At the trailhead with Aaron and Steve
Flexing the 4Runner out coming down one of the hills on the trail
Aaron on the rock pile
We had a large group heading up the trail when we hit another large group coming down, it made for an interesting situation and it took some time to get everyone situated. Because of this I didn’t take any pictures, but there are some pictures in the Colorado Toyota Jamboree thread, along with everyones account of the weekend.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-r...amboree-august-7-9-2015-a-10.html#post2091635
Saturday I ran Chinaman’s with a small group of people, everything was going good until Steve broke what ended up being a rear axle shaft on the first major obstacle. He started to head back to camp but didn’t make it far before the whole rear hub let loose and he was stuck on the side of the road in need of a trailer. We ran the rest of the trail without stopping much so we could go help him out.
Here are two pictures that Aaron took, he also got a couple clips of video but I still need to upload them.
At the trailhead with Aaron and Steve
Flexing the 4Runner out coming down one of the hills on the trail
Aaron on the rock pile
Dirtco
New member
The following weekend I decided to take a short trip behind my house, there was a trail that I’ve never had a chance to finish and it seemed like a good time to check it out. Towards the end there were a couple down trees, one I was able to drive over and another I winched out of the way. Coming back down the trail I noticed that the 4Runner wasn’t handling right, I got out and saw this. Needless to say I wasn’t very happy!
I was able to plug the sidewall and get home; but with less than 500 miles on it, and all the work that had led up to this, I had no choice but to park the 4Runner for a few weeks and focus on other projects around the house. And, to add insult to injury my laptop met the end of it’s life a couple days later. No truck and no computer makes Jeremiah a very dull boy!
After a few weeks of hard work around the house I made the order for a replacement tire, and I waited for it to show up. Between the month that the 4Runner sat after the Jamboree, and all the time it sat last winter, the battery was on it’s last leg. I couldn’t get it to hold a charge for more than a couple days, and even at the Jamboree I had issues with the fridge shutting down due to low voltage. I had no choice but to order a new battery, especially with the amount of wheeling I do alone.
This time I went with a Yellow Top Optima, I was able to get it local and I figured I would give it a shot. I had to make a new battery hold down but that didn’t bother me as I was never that happy with the last one.
I was able to plug the sidewall and get home; but with less than 500 miles on it, and all the work that had led up to this, I had no choice but to park the 4Runner for a few weeks and focus on other projects around the house. And, to add insult to injury my laptop met the end of it’s life a couple days later. No truck and no computer makes Jeremiah a very dull boy!
After a few weeks of hard work around the house I made the order for a replacement tire, and I waited for it to show up. Between the month that the 4Runner sat after the Jamboree, and all the time it sat last winter, the battery was on it’s last leg. I couldn’t get it to hold a charge for more than a couple days, and even at the Jamboree I had issues with the fridge shutting down due to low voltage. I had no choice but to order a new battery, especially with the amount of wheeling I do alone.
This time I went with a Yellow Top Optima, I was able to get it local and I figured I would give it a shot. I had to make a new battery hold down but that didn’t bother me as I was never that happy with the last one.
Dirtco
New member
Yeah, it's been a rough summer. I guess it's just part of wheeling.
It's not the end of the world. I can patch the old tire's sidewall, run a tube, and have it as a full size spare. I've also had the old battery on the charger for the last week, it could make a good second battery for the trailer. The trailer is always plunged in, and has a solar panel. It's just outside the replacement warranty, but it's possible I might be able to get it prorated towards a new battery if I find the right store.
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