Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

[Big John]

Very nice rig. Excellent attention to detail :bigok:

 

[quicksilvr]

Nice pictures of the rig outside. When you stuff the rear does it limit your droop on the other side, because of the tire hitting?


You wouldn't happen to be planning on painting the bumpers thundercloud metallic to match the trim? Because that would look amazing.

 

[TacticalSR5]

Im in Awe, you didn't wait around at all with this! I like the originality and the style. SUB'D!

 

[blcktpgsr]

Truck's looking good with all the tasteful mods done to it so far, I'm really impressed.:hatsoff: Can't wait to see the finished bumpers to finish off what's startin' to be a great 4Runner.

 

[BrianSD_42]

The build looks great man! I really think the copper paint is pretty cool and unique.

I also liked the mounting location of maglight to the front seat.


:beer:

 

[fightman80]

I love this truck!

 

[Dirtco]

Very nice rig. Excellent attention to detail :bigok:

Im in Awe, you didn't wait around at all with this! I like the originality and the style. SUB'D!

Truck's looking good with all the tasteful mods done to it so far, I'm really impressed.:hatsoff: Can't wait to see the finished bumpers to finish off what's startin' to be a great 4Runner.

The build looks great man! I really think the copper paint is pretty cool and unique.

I also liked the mounting location of maglight to the front seat.


:beer:

I love this truck!

Thanks for all the complements! It has been a fun project so far, and it's really comfortable for daily driving use. There's still a lot of work to do and some details to work out but overall I'm happy. I'll keep everyone updated on the progress.

 

[Dirtco]

Nice pictures of the rig outside. When you stuff the rear does it limit your droop on the other side, because of the tire hitting?

I'm not sure, but it could be. I was mainly looking at the compressed side of the suspension to figure out how bad it rubbed. It seemed like it drooped out okay but I didn't bring a tape measure to check how far of the shock piston was extended (and how much was left).

So far the front clears fine, no rubbing on the body. The tires do rub the frame a little when I'm turned all the way, but I knew that was going to happen and it's not going to hurt anything.

As for the rear, it rubs like crazy!

I need to do some trimming, but I might also have to step up to a larger body lift. Once I get my skidplates, bumpers, sliders and misc wheeling gear in the back it will set even lower. The tire is also at 30 psi, once I air down it will get shorter but it will also get wider. The width is the main problem. I don't mind trimming the lip out of the inside of the fender but I really don't want to hack the entire fender up.

As you can see in this picture the bumpstop is just starting to to touch, but it will compress a bit.

And in this picture you can see how much of the shock shaft has not been used (look at the dirt and water marks towards the top)

 

[Dirtco]

You wouldn't happen to be planning on painting the bumpers thundercloud metallic to match the trim? Because that would look amazing.

Yes, I've been planning on matching the bumpers to the trim. I'm still trying to decide the best way to do that. In the winter they put a lot of gravel down on the roads here and it really takes a toll on painted bumpers and sliders. Normally I touch them up with spray paint a couple times a couple times a year. I have a buddy that owns a body shop, so getting the paint or getting them painted is not an issue. I just don't know how well they will hold up.

I also thought about getting them powdercoated, but I need to see how close I can get the color to the trim. I would also have to see how much it would cost.

 

[quicksilvr]

Yes, I've been planning on matching the bumpers to the trim. I'm still trying to decide the best way to do that. In the winter they put a lot of gravel down on the roads here and it really takes a toll on painted bumpers and sliders. Normally I touch them up with spray paint a couple times a couple times a year. I have a buddy that owns a body shop, so getting the paint or getting them painted is not an issue. I just don't know how well they will hold up.

I also thought about getting them powdercoated, but I need to see how close I can get the color to the trim. I would also have to see how much it would cost.

I don't know how close the nearest dealer would be to you, but you should look into Ameraguard coatings. They can color match perfectly, and their coatings are the best. BigWapitiJohnny had his Armorology front and rear bumpers, as well as his sliders and flares coated with Ameraguard. I saw the truck in person, and it was awesome stuff. The quality of the coating, and the perfect color matching definitely set it apart.

Finding a dealer might be a trick though...and I don't think it's cheap. Probably at least worth a phone call to find out more though.


http://www.ameraguard.com/amera/index.php

 

[quicksilvr]

And yeah...that rear rub is pretty serious! lol. I would say some more body lift is in order, simply to make the rig that much more usable off road with those tires. The cutting modifications to the rear would be quite a bit more extensive than the nice little trick you did to the front pinch weld areas, if you don't lift the body up some more.

 

[brian2sun]

I'm going to have to lose my flares and hack that whole lip off the rear inner fenders to get my 35s to fit with my 1" BL, but I'm set on doing it. From the outside, the fenders shouldn't look any different, I don't think I'll need to do that much cutting. I don't want to change my BL mainly because my sliders and bumpers are set up for a 1", but also because I don't want my COG any higher.

Right now, If I can get everything to work with a 1" BL, I'll actually be lowering my COG because the width of the 315s "outweighs" the height difference compared to my current 255s.

I believe after researching a lot, if you want to keep your flares on, you pretty much have to do a 2" BL. The only other way you can keep your flares and get by with only a 1" BL is if you run stock wheels (or ones with ~4.5"BS). But... if you run 4.5"BS, you must have aftermarket front UCAs to clear the tires, you're gonna rub the the gas fill tube a lot, you'll still have to do a little trimming, and your COG will be higher because your track will be skinnier with more BSing.

Sorry to talk so much on your build thread, I've just been planning for my move to 35s for a while now so I thought I'd share my thoughts. There aren't a lot of guys on the forum who run 35s w/ only a 1" BL and still get full flex out of the suspension, but it can be done!!

 

[Dirtco]

I don't know how close the nearest dealer would be to you, but you should look into Ameraguard coatings. They can color match perfectly, and their coatings are the best. BigWapitiJohnny had his Armorology front and rear bumpers, as well as his sliders and flares coated with Ameraguard. I saw the truck in person, and it was awesome stuff. The quality of the coating, and the perfect color matching definitely set it apart.

Finding a dealer might be a trick though...and I don't think it's cheap. Probably at least worth a phone call to find out more though.


Ameraguard Spray On Bedliners

Thanks for the info and the link! I thought about bedliner but I'm concerned how well it would slide on rocks, and how I would touch it up once it gets tore up. I'm not building this 4Runner for rock crawling, but a few tmes a year it will see some hard trails.

Now you have me thinking...

It might work on the bumpers but the sliders would be a no go; they get way too much rock rash and I need them to slide smooth. I need to think about it for a while, thanks again for the info!

 

[Dirtco]

I'm going to have to lose my flares and hack that whole lip off the rear inner fenders to get my 35s to fit with my 1" BL, but I'm set on doing it. From the outside, the fenders shouldn't look any different, I don't think I'll need to do that much cutting. I don't want to change my BL mainly because my sliders and bumpers are set up for a 1", but also because I don't want my COG any higher.

Right now, If I can get everything to work with a 1" BL, I'll actually be lowering my COG because the width of the 315s "outweighs" the height difference compared to my current 255s.

I believe after researching a lot, if you want to keep your flares on, you pretty much have to do a 2" BL. The only other way you can keep your flares and get by with only a 1" BL is if you run stock wheels (or ones with ~4.5"BS). But... if you run 4.5"BS, you must have aftermarket front UCAs to clear the tires, you're gonna rub the the gas fill tube a lot, you'll still have to do a little trimming, and your COG will be higher because your track will be skinnier with more BSing.

Sorry to talk so much on your build thread, I've just been planning for my move to 35s for a while now so I thought I'd share my thoughts. There aren't a lot of guys on the forum who run 35s w/ only a 1" BL and still get full flex out of the suspension, but it can be done!!

Don't be sorry, that's why I posted the build over here; I want to get input and fresh idea's. We all do this for fun! Hell, my build on Yotatech has a good two pages of chit chat about my "Bling" wheels.

That's some good info and my exact thoughts! :thumb3: I have 3.5" BS wheels, they are perfect in the front, but if the rear had 4.0" I think I would be set. I've decided to stick with the 1" body lift and make it work. I'm going to trim a little and install another set of bumpstops I have. In my pictures of the truck flexing the bumpstop was just hitting, but not compressed. I have another set of bumpstops that are the same style but 1.5" taller, at full compression I should just start to rub (I hope). I will loose 1" or 2" of up travel but I'll have a lower COG, I can always build some coil spring retainers and cut down the lower shock mounts to regain that travel in droop.

 

[Dirtco]

Adding to the above post... There was a lot of pro's and con's for each, but I decided to stick with the 1" body lift and to make it work.

I figure the front should drop 1/2"-3/4" with the bumper, winch and skid plates. I didn't know what to think about rear, so I loaded it with sand bags and took some measurements.

Before

And after 300 pounds of sand bags

It dropped a full inch at the wheelwell and 1 1/2" at the tailgate. The weight is on the high side, but it's close. I figure the bumper will be close to a 100 pounds, CO2 tank is about 50 pounds, figure 30-40 pounds for the 1st gen roll bar and CO2 tank holder. I also have my recovery gear, cooler and possibly a small rear winch.

 

[Dirtco]

Normally when I build a rig I still take it out wheeling when I can. When I'm waiting on parts or when I'm burnt out, it's the perfect time to familiarize myself with the vehicle and get to know it. Well, not this one …

I’m a newbie when it comes to IFS. The first time I took it off road I noticed some noises that didn’t seem right. I figured it was a new truck and the suspension, along with everything else was settling in. The second time it was even worse, so I took a good look at the truck and found that the front spindles were contacting the springs at full droop.

Here is close to full droop

And full droop

Look at the paint missing from the coils, the spindles hit the coils hard! It’s also overstressing the upper ball joints.

I called Steve at Sororan Steel and after multiple conversations he thinks my truck sits too high without the front bumper and skidplate. He assembled the struts before he sent them to me and set them at the 2 ½” setting, which is for an aftermarket front bumper and skidplate. I could take it all apart and reset it at the 2” setting but that’s a lot of work, and I would have to reset it back to 2 ½” once I get my stuff installed. So all wheeling is on hold until I get some more weight on the truck.

I hope that once I get my Budbuilt skid plates on, and some rock sliders built, there will be enough weight to solve the problem. I still have a few things I need to take care of before I can install the skid plates.

-Install IPT transmission valve body and new ATF filter
-Install Poly steering rack bushings
-Install Poly sway bar bushings (front and rear)
-Install new muffler (I might be able to do this with the belly skid in place)

I do have two questions for people running the front Budbuilt skid plate. First, can you get an alignment with the skid in place or does it need to be removed to access the alignment cams? Next, can you replace CV’s with the skid plate in place? I have holes on both sides right where the CV’s would be, I’m pretty sure they are pry bar access holes but will the CV come all the way out without hitting the raised section?

 

[quicksilvr]

I hope that once I get my Budbuilt skid plates on, and some rock sliders built, there will be enough weight to solve the problem. I still have a few things I need to take care of before I can install the skid plates.

-Install IPT transmission valve body and new ATF filter
-Install Poly steering rack bushings
-Install Poly sway bar bushings (front and rear)
-Install new muffler (I might be able to do this with the belly skid in place)

I do have two questions for people running the front Budbuilt skid plate. First, can you get an alignment with the skid in place or does it need to be removed to access the alignment cams? Next, can you replace CV’s with the skid plate in place? I have holes on both sides right where the CV’s would be, I’m pretty sure they are pry bar access holes but will the CV come all the way out without hitting the raised section?

First, do everything you possibly can with the skids off, even the muffler. They cover up so much...and they're high and tight, so everything is basically off limits.

Nope, for an alignment the skid needs to be off. I always take mine off...I think the alignment shop would hate me if I took it to them with it on. lol

I've never done a CV replacement with the skids on, but I think it wouldn't be a problem. Especially since it's a common trail side repair...I hope Bud makes them user-friendly that way.

 

[Dirtco]

First, do everything you possibly can with the skids off, even the muffler. They cover up so much...and they're high and tight, so everything is basically off limits.

Nope, for an alignment the skid needs to be off. I always take mine off...I think the alignment shop would hate me if I took it to them with it on. lol

I've never done a CV replacement with the skids on, but I think it wouldn't be a problem. Especially since it's a common trail side repair...I hope Bud makes them user-friendly that way.

Thanks for the info! Looks like the skidplates are now towards the bottom of the list.

 

[quicksilvr]

I have to add some info to my previous comment on the CV's/skid relationship.

I was looking through glenyoshida's mod list, and "to-do" list...and even though it was an old list....I think the point is still valid.



...from his "to-do" list: "Cut access holes in the skid for CV removal."


I'm pretty sure this is in reference to the Budbuilt front skid. I know that's the skid he currently has, and assume it's the one he was refering to when he made the comment in 2010.

 

[Dirtco]

I have to add some info to my previous comment on the CV's/skid relationship.

I was looking through glenyoshida's mod list, and "to-do" list...and even though it was an old list....I think the point is still valid.



...from his "to-do" list: "Cut access holes in the skid for CV removal."


I'm pretty sure this is in reference to the Budbuilt front skid. I know that's the skid he currently has, and assume it's the one he was refering to when he made the comment in 2010.

Thanks for looking into that! Here is a picture of the skidplate, I'm pretty sure it has the access holes for a prybar. I guess I need to make sure my prybar fits in the access hole, that would really suck.