Dropzone's 1994 4Runner Expedition/Overland Build

[Dropzone]

Some may remember that I bought a few of the Rigid tool/storage boxes from Home Depot.**
they are great quality for the money, stackable, dust and water tight

They also have a crate available.* You can stack a box on top of it but I thought it would be nice to have a stand alone lid.
had some scrap 3/4" plywood so I made a couple of lids*
fugly but functional*
Having uniform size storage junk makes organizing much easier

 

[Diver brian]

Awesome runner! Been following this thread for a while and love the truck. Starting my own build on a 1993 with a 1kz-te diesel swap. Should be fun!

 

[Dropzone]

Awesome runner! Been following this thread for a while and love the truck. Starting my own build on a 1993 with a 1kz-te diesel swap. Should be fun!

Thanks ! I appreciate it
A 1kz-te would be cool!


So this morning there was a thread in the 3rd gen folder about needing more room in the back for more room when sleeping.
If I ever get this POS out on the trail the plan is to be a le to explore and crash in the back .
Someone posted a set of $75 wing bolts that allow you to replace the factory bolts the hold down the bottom seat cushion and remove them easily for more room .
I thought wholly crap there is a market for $75 wing bolts..so like a dog that sees a squirrel I got side tracked and hit my local Ace Harware for some M8x1.25 nuts and bolts. $8-9 in nuts and bolts I headed home
A little quality time with a grinder I ended up with this stuff. Sure not as pretty as the pro shop built but they work and are in a location nobody see them anyway

 

[Dropzone]

wINDOW Regulators and GPS Mounts

knocked out a few miscellaneous projects yesterday.
The rear view mirror* map lights slowly died, it wasn't the bulbs, it finally quit coming on with the doors.* *my interior is grey so swapped the mirror and fascia over to the new to me mirror housing.* It is nice having working lights again, as the days grow shorter and the nights are getting longer it was a feature* I had been missing

Another electric item that was crapping out was the rear passenger window.* The grandminion loved opening and closing the window.
It would go down fine but barely close, got to the point of having to pull it up manually
the supply of 2nd gen 4runners at the local pick n pulls seems to have dried up so again I turned to ebay.* Found one reasonably priced that was guaranteed to work.
Cleaned it up, coated moving parts with lithium grease and threw it in the door

Thing goes up and down faster than ever now
Video
VID_45710222_140424_092 (1) by ocdropzone, on Flickr

decided to start driving for Uber and Lift and you can't get lost so added some junk to keep me from getting lost at the mall:hillbill:

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actually just been buying and selling GPS's on ebay to help fund this project
I added a 2nd ram mount for the phone

 

[Dropzone]

was looking for an easy way to mount a fire extinguisher with in reach up front but not take up a lot of room. No body but the grandkid seems to ride in the back so I decided to try a MOLLE Hydroflask pouch out.
Just popped out the headrest and voila. It actually seems to be in there pretty tight with using the draw string to keep it tight.

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[okienomads]

Love the amber combo light bar! Where did you pick it up?

 

[Dropzone]

Love the amber combo light bar! Where did you pick it up?

Thanks! I picked it up on ebay when they had a 20% off coupon in the spring

The 4runner actually fits in the garage with 4" to spare. *Top of the roofrack is 76". If I had gone with my original stock crossbars and a generic roof basket no way it would have fit.
At least now I know I can get my dual cases installed over the winter and do some other stuff like rear bearings with out getting soaked.

 

[Dropzone]

Love finding stripped screws or bolts that are hidden away. Had to use the little grinder to make a groove to get the screw out. I will find a new pillar grab bar sometime
Little GPS because I have gadgetitis and I can pull it quickly

 

[okienomads]

We have the same tastes. We are shopping for that same bumper for our 1st gen and mounting a nearly identical garmin in the cockpit. Love it!

 

[Dropzone]

We have the same tastes. We are shopping for that same bumper for our 1st gen and mounting a nearly identical garmin in the cockpit. Love it!

Thanks! Check Summit and 4 wheel parts. They may be priced better and have free shipping sometimes on the bumpers.

The little garmin is growing on me

 

[Dropzone]

The transmission has been shifting like crap for a few weeks so decided to suck it up and get dirty.
had a set of solenoids I bought off Ebay.*
you can get all 3 for about a third of the price of one solenoid from the dealer.
I was surprised to find they were quite a bit smaller than the stock parts but they wired up and bolted in just fine*



The middle and rear solenoids are the same, front solenoid is different as indicated by the color of where it inserts in the valve body. I replaced them one at a time and replaced the filter while I was in there.* Flushed the transmission 3x's till I got nice and new looking fluid at the drain plug.
30 mile test drive and life is good.

 

[Dropzone]

So found a unicorn at the local pick and pull today. Didn't have the cash and trying to avoid using credit cards but I should have just sucked it up and bought this thing

Get home, go to hop out and smell something burning. A second later smoke is billowing out from the map light.
I should have just popped the hood and pulled the fuse.
I had screw driver in the glove box so pop the cover and pull the 4 screws and disconnect the power.
Find an LED that is melting itself.
Amazing how much smoke one of these things can put out.
My interior smells great

 

[Dropzone]

Today was fix some stuff Friday
Ordered another map light housing and some replacement LEDS from super bright LEDs. The one that burned up was from Ebay so wanted relatively reliable stuff this time around.
New housing installed and LED's have great output


My daughter has a RAV4 that has some cool wiper nozzles with 3 squirters were side so I had always thought it would be a great upgrade. Found some last weekend at pick n pull and installed them. Had to enlarge the mounting holes.

I thought freaking great. Fire up the washers and realized I had screwed up. Only one out of three squirters hit where they would do any good.
so crap how do I unfubar this screw up.
hit the local Ace Hardware and found some 10 mm stainless fender washers that fit the stock two hole nozzles just fine.
ugly fix but at least I have functional nozzles again

 

[4Reak Show]

FYI on the squirters: each nozzle should be a ball/ socket and fully adjustable. Use a safety pin or a fine pick tool in the hole and you can move around the ball and aim the streams as you wish. Sometime they are tight to break loose but once they're loose they have significant adjustment. Good simple upgrade.

 

[Dropzone]

FYI on the squirters: each nozzle should be a ball/ socket and fully adjustable. Use a safety pin or a fine pick tool in the hole and you can move around the ball and aim the streams as you wish. Sometime they are tight to break loose but once they're loose they have significant adjustment. Good simple upgrade.

Thanks, someone pointed that out on Instagram too.
I honestly had no clue. One of them cracked when I was taking them back out. After 20 years they were brittle so I found that Dorman 47221 are replacements so ordered a couple off Amazon
Dorman 47221 Windshield Washer Nozzle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017UPF59S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_p3ZYBb5R1XP07

 

[Dropzone]

Discovered an eight legged hitchhiker looking for a ride and a free meal. Sort feel bad that his web will get destroyed when I open the tailgate

 

[Dropzone]

My left rear cargo area cover was cracked. I was looking at the bucket of left over 8020 series 10 strut I had left over from making my roof rack.
Debated about recycling it and than got to thinking about putting it to use for some rear storage. Had to creative since I didn't have a lot of long pieces. It's 34" long, 27" high and 6" deep on the bottom.
So far since I had materials I am into it for about $7 for screws. I have a bunch of plywood that has been sitting in the garage forever so I'll use 1/4 and 3/8" for the shelves and skin. I am pretty sure I have some hinges around i can use.

 

[Dropzone]

Had some time this afternoon to cut some plywood for the cargo area storage
Working around the seatbelt was sort of a pain in the butt

Definitely not a nice as the pro built stuff but I am still only into it for less than $10 using leftover junk from other projects

 

[Dropzone]

Finished up the rear storage compartment.
Well mostly finished. Had to order a set of hinges and one more compression latch.
It's not perfect but will serve it's intended purpose.
Sort of wish I had left it natural instead of painting it.

 

[Dropzone]

The last latch and set of hinges came in so finished up the driver's side storage
Wish I had remembered I had a rotozip.made the job fast and easy
Than I got sidetracked and made one for the passenger side. Cheated this time and used a cheap boat hatch: