Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

[BigFishAllDay]

How far away are you from Gila, NM?

I don't want to go too far off topic in Dirtco's thread, so I sent you a PM.

 

[Dirtco]

Wow, that is crazy for this time of year. Only good thing about less snow is that mud season will be shorter.

I'm going to be in Lake City the first week of June, and it looks like the passes will definitely be open by then. Hopefully be able to take the 4runner over Engineer and Cinnamon with the wife...she's never been to Colorado, let alone on a jeep road. lol

Here's another logo that looks cool, and is kind of applicable. Plus it has just enough mystique to it....not everyone will know what it is, but some will. Just the logo (not wording) would look pretty cool.

Yeah it's bad, the main concern is the fire danger. If we don't get rain or more snow it's going to be a bad year, we have the same conditions as 2002 when there was the big Haymen fire. Here is a picture from May 6th, 2009 at the beginning of the trail (about 1/2 a mile in), for caparison!

What route are taking through Colorado? I doubt your taking I-70, but if you do let me know and maybe we can grab lunch or a beer? Your wife is going to love Colorado, it's an amazing place!

I forgot about that Toyota logo, I like it and it would be a better fit than the other logo's. Thanks!

I can't believe you made it up that high this early in the season. That's crazy. I'm always a little jealous when I see the places that you have access to for an afternoon of wheeling. I've got a 3-3.5 hour drive in front of me to find snow/mountains like that.

This warm weather this spring has been really unusual. I'm planning my first high lake trip for the 1st week of May. Even @ 11,000 feet, I'm pretty sure the lake will be free of ice by then w/this weather.

Oh yeah, RE the skull, I don't think it looks bad. I'd probably just leave the panel plain black if it were me.

It's crazy, I got to the top of the trail and it was a huge "WTF"!

Your right, sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in a place like this; the trailhead is only about 20-30 minutes from my house and I can actually see the area from my deck. I'm just waiting for the rest of the gates in the area to open.

Do you ever make it to the Blanca Peak/Great Sand Dunes area? I have a buddy that lives in Pueblo and runs Blanca once or twice a year. I really want to run Blanca, and check out the surrounding trails. If your interested I'll let you know when/if I make it down there. It seems like a cool area with a good amount of trails to explore.

The rear bumper panel looked out of place because it's the only section of flat plate steel on the truck, and the color didn't match the body. The skull is pretty much just a sticker that's spot welded in place, but it does help to break up the panel. It's growing on me, but if I change my mind it's easy to remove them.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

We did the Great Sand Dunes last year in the fall. I took the '97 and we drove way back in there, trying to make it to the top of Medano Pass. We came to a beaver pond back there about 40 feet across that we had to cross to continue on to the pass. The water was off color and I couldn't gauge the depth. No winch, no snorkel, and no help in case I sunk the rig.

I gave it a try, but the water quickly reached the grille and was only getting deeper. I decided it was time to turn around.

I've ALWAYS wanted to do Blanca. Getting up that trail has been kind of a goal for my truck that always resides in the back of my mind. Whether I make it to the top or not, I'd love to have some company in attempting it, so definitely drop me a line if/when the time comes.

 

[madbomber08]

First off, awesome build. I wish I could do half of the things you do. Did I read it right on the first page about you only have one spot to park where you live, thus you only have one vehicle and use this one vehicle as your dd? If so man props, and I don't know what says 4runner toughness more than a lifted locked 3rd gen on 35s wheeling monster, AS WELL AS A DD! :trophy:

 

[quicksilvr]

Yeah it's bad, the main concern is the fire danger. If we don't get rain or more snow it's going to be a bad year, we have the same conditions as 2002 when there was the big Haymen fire. Here is a picture from May 6th, 2009 at the beginning of the trail (about 1/2 a mile in), for caparison!

What route are taking through Colorado? I doubt your taking I-70, but if you do let me know and maybe we can grab lunch or a beer? Your wife is going to love Colorado, it's an amazing place!

I forgot about that Toyota logo, I like it and it would be a better fit than the other logo's. Thanks!

Yeah, we won't be on I-70, except maybe to Limon. Thanks for the offer though! I've gone that way before, but I usually come all the way across on 50. Pro's and cons to every route: staying on 70 through KS is nice....sometimes I've even gone way south, hitting Route 10 between La Junta and Walsenburg (loneliest road EVER), and then running up to see the sand dunes if there is time. We'll have the kids though, so I'm guessing it's going to be a "mission" style drive. Mission: GET THERE. So it is with a 3 year old and 1 year old. Maybe in a couple years we'll have time to adventure. Maybe in a couple years my rig could handle Blanca. :naughty:

Yesterday my wife was fed up with work and said, "maybe we should just move". I said, "Colorado? Yes?". :trophy: Won't happen, but nice to think about.

 

[Dirtco]

We did the Great Sand Dunes last year in the fall. I took the '97 and we drove way back in there, trying to make it to the top of Medano Pass. We came to a beaver pond back there about 40 feet across that we had to cross to continue on to the pass. The water was off color and I couldn't gauge the depth. No winch, no snorkel, and no help in case I sunk the rig.

I gave it a try, but the water quickly reached the grille and was only getting deeper. I decided it was time to turn around.

I've ALWAYS wanted to do Blanca. Getting up that trail has been kind of a goal for my truck that always resides in the back of my mind. Whether I make it to the top or not, I'd love to have some company in attempting it, so definitely drop me a line if/when the time comes.

Blanca has been on my list for a while too, I have not heard of any dates yet, but when the time comes I'll let you know.

First off, awesome build. I wish I could do half of the things you do. Did I read it right on the first page about you only have one spot to park where you live, thus you only have one vehicle and use this one vehicle as your dd? If so man props, and I don't know what says 4runner toughness more than a lifted locked 3rd gen on 35s wheeling monster, AS WELL AS A DD! :trophy:

Thanks man! Yes, this is my daily driver. That's why I made certain choices like the ARB locker in the front and the E-locker in the rear. It handles great on the street, and keeps up with interstate traffic without a problem.

Yeah, we won't be on I-70, except maybe to Limon. Thanks for the offer though! I've gone that way before, but I usually come all the way across on 50. Pro's and cons to every route: staying on 70 through KS is nice....sometimes I've even gone way south, hitting Route 10 between La Junta and Walsenburg (loneliest road EVER), and then running up to see the sand dunes if there is time. We'll have the kids though, so I'm guessing it's going to be a "mission" style drive. Mission: GET THERE. So it is with a 3 year old and 1 year old. Maybe in a couple years we'll have time to adventure. Maybe in a couple years my rig could handle Blanca. :naughty:

Yesterday my wife was fed up with work and said, "maybe we should just move". I said, "Colorado? Yes?". :trophy: Won't happen, but nice to think about.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Have a fun trip!

 

[Dirtco]

I have taken the 4Runner rock crawling once; and on that one trip the Budbuilt belly pan, along with the Lil’ Skip gas tank skid plate, saw their fair share of rocks. The gas tank skid plate held up great, but I noticed that the belly pan had started to deform a little. This is a fairly common issue and I had thought about bracing it before I ever installed it, but I gave it a chance. It was obvious the belly pan skid plate needed to come back off and get some additional bracing before I really bent it up.

While I had the skid plates off I decided to take care of a couple other things. First, I changed the oil. It was time, and I would rather not make a mess in the skid plates if I didn’t have to.

Next, I was reading through COB’s build thread (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/61636-cobs-4runner-timeline-pic-heavy-57.html#post1019539) and saw he bent the tabs for his front alignment cams. I’ve seen this before (especially on long travel trucks, I think Total Chaos even has a repair kit), but I spaced it out. While the skid plates were out of the way I decided to weld them up and prevent any future damage. I welded three of the four cams per side, the only ones I didn’t weld were back behind the steering rack tie rod boots (there wasn’t much room, and I didn’t want to burn a hole in the boots). If three of them are welded I don’t see the forth bending.

COB’s damage (I hope you don’t me posting your picture )

Here is a picture after I welded mine

The back side of the front mount was a little tricky. I couldn’t get a good weld the way it was positioned, so I welded in a small section of ¼” round rod to prevent the tab from bending. It should do the same thing as welding it solid.

 

[Dirtco]

Next, I replaced the transmission mount; the old one was getting soft, saggy and was showing stress cracks everywhere. I’ve had issues with these on my old 4Runners so I decided to replace it and save the old one as a trail spare. The picture also shows the 3/16” spacers I made to gain a little room between the t-case and skid plate, they have holes drilled in them, and I used longer bolts to get full thread engagement. The spacer gives me a little over an extra ¼” of room under the t-case. (The grease is from my driveshaft slip).

Then it was time to take care of that skid plate. I welded three strips of ½” x ½” solid steel to the long t-case section of the skid plate, it’s the longest unsupported section of the skid plate and the area that had the most rock rash. If I hit it hard enough it will still bend, but the cross members that hold it are only stamped sheet metal (maybe 1/8”?). I would rather bend the skid plate a little than smash the cross members apart; this should be a good compromise.

The rubber pad on the skid plate is the original isolator that was under the stock mini skid plate. It’s soft rubber, and will keep the t-case from hitting the skid plate when the drivetrain is bouncing around. I used weatherstrip adhesive to glue it in place, so far it has held up great and done its job.

 

[quicksilvr]

Thanks, we will. I'm looking forward to having the supercharger for the passes...




Awesome welding fixes! Great idea, and well executed. And the belly pan bracing looks perfect. Like you said, you have to compromise a little...better to bend a skid than tweak the truck.

The t-case hitting the skid is definitely a problem....it bugged the crap out of me on my old rig. If I drove over railroad tracks at 45mph, it would clang around pretty good. I never put a pad on it, because I was going to leave the whole skid off if I kept the truck.

 

[Dirtco]

I also adjusted the the rear brakes. I had a soft brake pedal after the Tundra swap, and I've had past experiences with the rear brakes being out of adjustment. It took 12 "Clicks" today (each step on the star wheel) to get them in adjustment (and I adjusted them 8 clicks when I installed the brakes), but the brakes feel great now! I figured Toyota would have worked that out between 85' and 99', but I guess not . I will now be adjusting them manually on a normal basis; the vehicle stops much better and the pedal feels great. I'm sure it will wear through the shoe's faster but I'll take that trade off any day!

 

[Dirtco]

The t-case hitting the skid is definitely a problem....it bugged the crap out of me on my old rig. If I drove over railroad tracks at 45mph, it would clang around pretty good. I never put a pad on it, because I was going to leave the whole skid off if I kept the truck.

It's really nice to hear that response (sorry, that sounds bad); I thought I was being OCD about the whole clearance thing but I really felt the t-case was going to hit the skid plate when I first installed it, so I made the spacers and installed the pad.

 

[quicksilvr]

I'm sure it will wear through the shoe's faster but I'll take that trade off any day!

lol...considering normal wear with poor adjustment takes OVER 100k to wear a set of shoes out....I'm going to start adjusting mine every time I change the oil. And if I have to replace shoes every 30k....I'm fine with that.

I can't speak to the OCD comment....because some people tell me I'm OCD. lol.

 

[quicksilvr]

How do you like your Flowmaster still?

I'm thinking about getting one, and the only thing holding me back from getting that exact one is that it's just aluminized steel. I think they offer it in stainless though, I need to find the correct part number.

Ah, found it. It's 842452...instead of 942452.

 

[Dirtco]

lol...considering normal wear with poor adjustment takes OVER 100k to wear a set of shoes out....I'm going to start adjusting mine every time I change the oil. And if I have to replace shoes every 30k....I'm fine with that.

I can't speak to the OCD comment....because some people tell me I'm OCD. lol.

Yeah, I'll be adjusting them at every oil change, or whenever it's up on the lift.

How do you like your Flowmaster still?

I'm thinking about getting one, and the only thing holding me back from getting that exact one is that it's just aluminized steel. I think they offer it in stainless though, I need to find the correct part number.

Ah, found it. It's 842452...instead of 942452.

I like it a lot, the sound is perfect for me! It's not too loud, but it does have an aggressive tone and I like the increase in ground clearance.

I ordered the stainless muffler the first time, but I got confused and ordered the wrong configuration. I returned it, and had them send me the correct configuration, but the replacement was aluminized. I didn't want to return it a second time so I just installed it. I had the 40 series aluminized steel on the old green 4Runner for years without an issue.

 

[Dirtco]

Building an all around comfortable daily driver / weekend wheeling rig is a challenge, but throwing a trailer in the mix complicates things even more. I have the SS1.2 suspension kit, which uses stock front LC coils for the rear springs. These springs have a very soft spring rate (around 160) and normally give around 4” of lift. I love these springs for low speed crawling and slow trail exploring; they ride/flex great and you hardly feel any of the small bumps that like to transmit through the suspension.

The problem is I carry a lot of gear with me, and it adds a decent amount of weight to the back of the 4Runner. The gear is always in the back of the 4Runner, and the rear suspension is noticeably softer than the front; while that’s great on the slower trails, it’s really too soft for faster trails and everyday driving, and it’s way too soft for highway driving. Adding a trailer only makes things worse. As you can see, the Sonoran Steel rear LC springs should give you about 4” of lift; I’m at about 2.5” and I have no rake at all.

Once I hooked up the empty trailer the 4Runner squatted down another good ½” at the rear wheel well (over an inch at the bumper), I’m sure it will drop even more once the trailer is loaded, and the 4Runner has some extra camping gear.

 

[Dirtco]

While I have not towed the trailer on the highway yet, on the back streets around the shop the spring rate is noticeably way too soft and the rear suspension bottoms out on even a small dip or bump. The trailer is going to see plenty of easy and moderate trails (maybe even a couple hard ones), so something needed to be done about the rear coils.

My first thought was to re-install the stock cone bump stops that are removed with the SS kit, then add one or two 10mm OME spacers; but that wouldn’t do anything about the super soft spring rate. I also thought about air bags, but I didn’t like the idea of the bags inside the coils chaffing and rubbing all the time.

My next thought was to use the OME 891’s, which have a spring rate of 210 and give about 3” of lift; this would have been my number one choice if I did not have the trailer. But, I was concerned that the weight of all my gear, plus the weight of the trailer would sag down the rear suspension to about the same level as the springs I have.

After a lot of thought, and research, I decided to use the OME 861 springs. These are a replacement for the front LC springs I have, but with a low lift (.25) and a heavy spring rate (220) that is designed for an additional 110-250 pounds of weight (on the front of a FJ80). I also believe these are a progressive rate coil spring. My main concern was getting too much lift out of them; it seems that most people get 4.5”-5.5” of lift, and that was just too much for me considering my front suspension is less than 2.5”. I crossed my fingers and got to work…

Stock LC spring on the left, OME 861 on the right

 

[Dirtco]

I installed the springs, lowered the truck, and found that it only lifted the back of the 4Runner about 1”. What a relief, I was really concerned it was going to be more!

Before

After

Outside, in better light

 

[t4r4life]

so much better!!!

 

[fightman80]

Looks good dude! That should give you all the payload you can throw at it!

 

[4-Ripcord]

Much better!