Easy mods under $100
- Thread starter Matthew Starr
- Start date
Matthew Starr
Banned
ok im sorry if i came off a little strong. I wasn't directing my ranting and raving at anyone in perticular. Over the last month I've been reading threads from people asking for ideas and opinions on modifications and almost every single mod thread I've read there's always a bunch of people tearing the person down and be-littling their ideas. I understand that the average 4runner owner uasually likes to use them for off-roading or a daily driver, so when some one talks about performance it just sounds stupid. I guess i just kinda got pushed over the edge and had to say something. CSL you really shouldn't remove your a/c. I did notice a difference. Not like seat of your pants difference but I could see that the motor wrapped up faster. I'm not a mechanical whiz at all. I know a decent amount but i dont have any real experience except working on my own cars, but I've been racing atv's since i was 6 and i installed auto electronics for quite a few years. From my years of racing i have developed a sense of feeling for performance, and some times modifications dont exactly add hp but increase response. I know this is gonna sound crazy and scotts probably gonna argue to the bone with me on this one but to be completely honest, in think the best modification that i have done is removed the belt driven fan and put in an electric fan. The response increased sevenfold. I wouldn't say that it increased hp but all the time from which i put the pedal to the floor to the time the engine started accelerating was amazing. I'm gonna post a thread about air intake that i just experienced last night that you all show check out.
CSL
New member
HA! Funny, I was also going to ask you to share about your Ford electric fan also, but I thought it was probably more than $100 and I know there is some info out there on the web about that one.
I'll keep the AC for now. Besides, when the wife is with me she may want it on...and I have little resistance against her will to be comfortable...
You should definitely do the rack bushings, If I could pull it off I am sure you can. They are inexpensive parts too.
I'll keep the AC for now. Besides, when the wife is with me she may want it on...and I have little resistance against her will to be comfortable...
You should definitely do the rack bushings, If I could pull it off I am sure you can. They are inexpensive parts too.
Matthew Starr
Banned
CSL said:
I actually just replaced those bushings like a month ago and in doing so found out i need to replace both of my tie rods. They're so corroded they aren't even cylindrical anymore (where rack eyelet sits). Actually the for fan came to a grand total of $45. If you go to U Pull and Pay they have more taurus's than they know what to do with. $12 for the fan. All you need is the fan and about 2' of the wires coming from it. Dont take the ford sensor you dont need it. Then go to advanced auto parts (checkers and autozone dont carry it) and buy and electric fan regulator kit $33. There is a post on yota tech i think of instructions but the guy seriously did a hack job. he pretty much destroyed his cowling. I put for holes in mine and thats it. installing the fan is easy. tell you what, ill take some pictures for you tomorrow and give you some instructions. This is a really easy to do mod that (in my opinion) makes a pretty big difference, and your motor sounds better. you dont hear all the noise the fan makes when you wrap up your motor.
CSL
New member
Thanks!
It certainly seems that if the engine is not turning the fan, the engine has less resistance against it. Electricity cost you nothing in a vehicle, and I plan on a dual battery system in the future anyway.
So why a Ford Taurus? Does it just happen to be the correct size for the 4runners? I look forward to your pics, as it may help me avoid asking too many stupid questions.
Two questions are do you keep the existing fan in place, and do you have to get a new belt that fits without going over the fan pulley? Okay, the stupid questions are starting...better wait for pics...
:
It certainly seems that if the engine is not turning the fan, the engine has less resistance against it. Electricity cost you nothing in a vehicle, and I plan on a dual battery system in the future anyway.
So why a Ford Taurus? Does it just happen to be the correct size for the 4runners? I look forward to your pics, as it may help me avoid asking too many stupid questions.
Two questions are do you keep the existing fan in place, and do you have to get a new belt that fits without going over the fan pulley? Okay, the stupid questions are starting...better wait for pics...
:
Matthew Starr
Banned
so heres some pics and instructions for an electric fan from an 89 taurus.
Ok the reason why the fan from a taurus is the fan of choice is because they are SOOOO easy to find in junk yards, it easily fits inside the 4runner cowling and if you go to a U-Pull-It the fan only costs $12.
Tools and Parts: 10mm socket or wrench, zip ties and wire liner, drill. jig-saw or dremel, Electric fan, EF regulator module, 4: 1/4"nuts and bolts and according socket or wrench, 8: washers, 2: 1/2" spacers and 2: 1/4" spacers (nylon or aluminum. I used nylon)
To start off this is how it looks when its done
Start by removing your belt driven fan. I dont have any pics of the belt driven fan but these are the nuts you have to remove to take it off. note: MAKE SURE TO REMOVE FAN CLUTCH. If it doesn't look like this, you did it wrong. Keep the nuts and put them back on to hold your pully on. At this time remove your plastic fan shroud too. Sorry no pics of that. It's only 4 bolts on the sides of the shroud
Next, cut off just the edge of the taurus's cowling. Make sure not to cut into where the shroud covers the fan blade.
Then mount the electric fan to your OEM fan shroud using your 4 nuts and bolts. You'll want to use your spacers to hold the new fan away from everything. The Toyota shroud doesn't need to be cut at all. Just drill 4 holes for the nuts and bolts
Here's the spacers. The 4runner's fan shroud isnt even. you can see here on 2. 1, is where you want to use the 1/2"spacer (in pic I used 2, 1/4"). 3, is where you want to use you 1/4"spacer.
Here's an outside look of the mounting bollts on the shroud
Next is the fan regulator. It come with the instructions on wiring instructions, but heres where I mounted it and where the radiator thermometer goes.
This is the radiator thermometer
Have your dog check your work and if he/she says it looks good, you're done lol
Ok the reason why the fan from a taurus is the fan of choice is because they are SOOOO easy to find in junk yards, it easily fits inside the 4runner cowling and if you go to a U-Pull-It the fan only costs $12.
Tools and Parts: 10mm socket or wrench, zip ties and wire liner, drill. jig-saw or dremel, Electric fan, EF regulator module, 4: 1/4"nuts and bolts and according socket or wrench, 8: washers, 2: 1/2" spacers and 2: 1/4" spacers (nylon or aluminum. I used nylon)
To start off this is how it looks when its done
Start by removing your belt driven fan. I dont have any pics of the belt driven fan but these are the nuts you have to remove to take it off. note: MAKE SURE TO REMOVE FAN CLUTCH. If it doesn't look like this, you did it wrong. Keep the nuts and put them back on to hold your pully on. At this time remove your plastic fan shroud too. Sorry no pics of that. It's only 4 bolts on the sides of the shroud
Next, cut off just the edge of the taurus's cowling. Make sure not to cut into where the shroud covers the fan blade.
Then mount the electric fan to your OEM fan shroud using your 4 nuts and bolts. You'll want to use your spacers to hold the new fan away from everything. The Toyota shroud doesn't need to be cut at all. Just drill 4 holes for the nuts and bolts
Here's the spacers. The 4runner's fan shroud isnt even. you can see here on 2. 1, is where you want to use the 1/2"spacer (in pic I used 2, 1/4"). 3, is where you want to use you 1/4"spacer.
Here's an outside look of the mounting bollts on the shroud
Next is the fan regulator. It come with the instructions on wiring instructions, but heres where I mounted it and where the radiator thermometer goes.
This is the radiator thermometer
Have your dog check your work and if he/she says it looks good, you're done lol
CSL
New member
Wow! thanks for the effort in the post.
One thing I have been thinking of about this mod, is while it may add some power to the axle, it seems less reliable for backcountry purposes.
The pulley driven fan does not rely on an electric motor, thus it seems less likely to fail. Since my rig is primarily for camping, I have to consider reliablity as a top priority. Just something I am thinking of. At low offroad speeds, how bad would it be to drive it back to the highway with no fan at all? I imagine it would be bad. I wonder if there is a way to keep the old fan in as a backup and I wonder if at that point the mod would even be worth it?
I see your steel pipe for the ISR in the photo. I am still suprised about the results discussed in your other thread.
One thing I have been thinking of about this mod, is while it may add some power to the axle, it seems less reliable for backcountry purposes.
The pulley driven fan does not rely on an electric motor, thus it seems less likely to fail. Since my rig is primarily for camping, I have to consider reliablity as a top priority. Just something I am thinking of. At low offroad speeds, how bad would it be to drive it back to the highway with no fan at all? I imagine it would be bad. I wonder if there is a way to keep the old fan in as a backup and I wonder if at that point the mod would even be worth it?
I see your steel pipe for the ISR in the photo. I am still suprised about the results discussed in your other thread.
Matthew Starr
Banned
CSL said:
ya i left the isr on but i closed up the air box. no elbow but no giant hole in the front. I actually just went up to Vail the other day which is why its so wet and dirty. There was so much water in my engine bay that i had to but the intake silencer back on cause the steel pipe i had mad was just a bit too small and a little bit of water seeped into my intake. i had it fixed the pipe fixed the sec. i got back to denver. so if theres enough water coming into my engine bay that it got into my intake im pretty sure it got all over the fan. not to mention every front wheel drive vehicle has electric fans and they have to deal with the elements. Water wouldnt effect it. its built to handle that. second, i discovered that cooling fans (with the exception of high performance cars) are really only meant for idle. when you are moving the going into the front of your car cools your radiator. Ive my electric fan for 2 months now and its only turned on like 3 times. and i actually ran my runner with no fan for about a month. Thankfully it was cold enough outside that it stayed cool while idling. Honestly i think you should do it. Its an awesome thing to have and there are absolutely no negatives (that ive come across anyway). And though it may sound like my runner is a pavement princess i do take it into the mountains and off road a lot, just not on as intense trails as i used to take my tacoma on.
shootmymime
New member
where did you get the parts for wiring the fan?
Matthew Starr
Banned
shootmymime said:
I actually got it at advanced auto parts. every auto parts store i went to i swear they had idiots working there, even the specialty stores were idiots. Its in the wiring and electrical section and its like $35. I'll figure out the band and tell you later.
shootmymime
New member
is the fan running 24-7 or only at a specific temp and above?
Matthew Starr
Banned
shootmymime said:
it onlly comes on if the temperature exeeds 180 degrees f.
Matthew Starr
Banned
does anyone know if high performance fuel filters and fuel pumps are worth it. I bought a high perf. fuel filter and im debating taking it back cause im not sure it will really make that much of a difference. Its was $30 and the oem one is only $17. I do need to replace soon. Which one should I get (with performance in mind)?
beallen21
New member
it's only 13 bucks, just dont eat fast food twice and you will make up for it, if you are wanting to try to make you Frunner faster you may as well use it
on a side note, as my internship in college i worked in a liquid filtration test lab for almost 5 years, we tested competitor and filters we produced on site, alot of the big brands and between you me and the wall there isn't that much difference in the auto zone brand and the name brands out there, alot of time autozone will buy a run of another kind of filter before it is packaged and just put it in their box
on a side note, as my internship in college i worked in a liquid filtration test lab for almost 5 years, we tested competitor and filters we produced on site, alot of the big brands and between you me and the wall there isn't that much difference in the auto zone brand and the name brands out there, alot of time autozone will buy a run of another kind of filter before it is packaged and just put it in their box
scotts97T4Rltd
New member
Matthew Starr said:
If you are going to be putting the supercharger on, you will need to run an upgraded fuel pump at some time. I have a fuel pump out of a 3rd gen rx7 i am putting in. You can buy a walbro for around $85, but they are not very reliable. the 3rd Gen rx7 fuel pump is a denso, and identical to the supra fuel pump, it just flows a little less. You can pick up a 3rd gen rx7 fuel pump for around $30. I dont see the need for a HP fuel filter, you are not going to be flowing 600lph through it. I have always run stock fuel filters in all of my high HP cars.
Last edited:
new mod !
Just thinking you could do the throttle body by pass mod 15.00 bucks. This mod is only recommended for summer use! or warm weather driving if its gets 32 or below which it i know it dose in Colorado. Basically you disconnect the coolant lines that run through the TB and connect them together. in theory this lets the air coming into the engine to not get heated up from the hot TB. the TB is hot because of the very hot coolant running through it. The hot coolant running through The TB helps the TB run smooth in cold weather. Hence a summer time mod or if you live where it stays warm year round. This mod makes since why put a cold air intake on your truck only to heat the air up before it goes in your engine. You can check out dyno runs on car with this mod done to them, some cars have got 8 to 15 hp from this mod alone.bold claims I know but for 15 bucks why not every little bit helps! the company's web site is (GoFastPerformance.com) I have a extra one lying around somewhere i will try and find it.
Just thinking you could do the throttle body by pass mod 15.00 bucks. This mod is only recommended for summer use! or warm weather driving if its gets 32 or below which it i know it dose in Colorado. Basically you disconnect the coolant lines that run through the TB and connect them together. in theory this lets the air coming into the engine to not get heated up from the hot TB. the TB is hot because of the very hot coolant running through it. The hot coolant running through The TB helps the TB run smooth in cold weather. Hence a summer time mod or if you live where it stays warm year round. This mod makes since why put a cold air intake on your truck only to heat the air up before it goes in your engine. You can check out dyno runs on car with this mod done to them, some cars have got 8 to 15 hp from this mod alone.bold claims I know but for 15 bucks why not every little bit helps! the company's web site is (GoFastPerformance.com) I have a extra one lying around somewhere i will try and find it.
