Coastal616
New member
Thanks! I totally love it, it almost looks black in the shade, then olive/gray in the sun.
El Cheapo 4Runner build
- Thread starter Coastal616
- Start date
Thanks! I totally love it, it almost looks black in the shade, then olive/gray in the sun.
fightman80
New member
Looks good man! I really like what you've done with it so far! :trophy:
Coastal616
New member
Thanks!
Took it for a second alignment....I guess high speed on a rock crawling trail pushed everything out of whack. I ended up with 2" toed in, camber all over the place etc. I'm going to tack weld all the alignment cams this time to make sure it doesn't move. I'm also looking into rack and pinion upgrades as I don't think the factory rack will hold up.
Coastal616
New member
A little update/review.
I've had it out for a few mild trips now, lots of logging roads, fair bit of pavement which is what I anticipated its main use to be.
The Camburg front suspension and Radflo adjustable coilovers are incredible. I am SOOO glad Matt @ BCC talked me into the adjustable shocks. Basically I close the compression all the way for street driving, with that tight and the rear sway bar installed the 4runner handles like a car again. I came home on the sea to sky highway (very curvy) from doing Harrison to Pemberton trail and was able to pass everyone in the curves, it didn't matter, the 4runner was very stable.
As far as the gravel, lighten the compression and it just rips comfortably on logging roads. I had my wife and 4 month old boy on this last trip, he slept the whole way and she didn't complain. Amazing.
The rear suspension is the limiting factor now for going faster on gravel/rough roads. I think a shock and spring upgrade will do the trick. Currently it's running cheapo Bilsteins, but I'm hitting the bumpstops early causing a bit of a harsh bump in the rear.
Likely I will go with the same shocks as the front, possibly in a 2.0 since the motion ratio is basically 1:1.
I've had a few steering issues with the stock rack, the inner tie rod guide has loosened off, it seems to be holding fine now. The first trip out all of the alignment cams moved, now they are all tack welded in place.
Overall I really dig this SUV, it's got a few more things to go until I am "finished" with it, but it's serving its purpose well.
Couple shots from last weekend
looking through the church steeple
I've had it out for a few mild trips now, lots of logging roads, fair bit of pavement which is what I anticipated its main use to be.
The Camburg front suspension and Radflo adjustable coilovers are incredible. I am SOOO glad Matt @ BCC talked me into the adjustable shocks. Basically I close the compression all the way for street driving, with that tight and the rear sway bar installed the 4runner handles like a car again. I came home on the sea to sky highway (very curvy) from doing Harrison to Pemberton trail and was able to pass everyone in the curves, it didn't matter, the 4runner was very stable.
As far as the gravel, lighten the compression and it just rips comfortably on logging roads. I had my wife and 4 month old boy on this last trip, he slept the whole way and she didn't complain. Amazing.
The rear suspension is the limiting factor now for going faster on gravel/rough roads. I think a shock and spring upgrade will do the trick. Currently it's running cheapo Bilsteins, but I'm hitting the bumpstops early causing a bit of a harsh bump in the rear.
Likely I will go with the same shocks as the front, possibly in a 2.0 since the motion ratio is basically 1:1.
I've had a few steering issues with the stock rack, the inner tie rod guide has loosened off, it seems to be holding fine now. The first trip out all of the alignment cams moved, now they are all tack welded in place.
Overall I really dig this SUV, it's got a few more things to go until I am "finished" with it, but it's serving its purpose well.
Couple shots from last weekend
looking through the church steeple
Kurtis
New member
Thanks, Main reason for Camburg, uniballs instead of bushings, price, and boxed arms.
I actually got the wrong fenders, they are for 97-99 tacomas, apparently they make a 96-97 fender too, I think the early ones would have fit better and possibly used the stock corner lights.
Tundra front diff with a 9" ring gear, I had it narrowed to fit.
I don't know how I didn't see this before. This here ^^ is the shit. Looking for more information on this. How much did you have to shorten the diff? Did you use Tundra axles? RCVs axles?
Coastal616
New member
Haha, ya nobody really seems to grasp the awesome of this mod when I get around to it. You can see the OEM aluminum piece that was just off in one pic. My friend made me the steel bolt on piece that holds the seals and bearing and being steel it will be easy to weld to to mount the diff.
I havent decided on spindles yet, I could run the stock stuff, with RCV shafts and probably be fine, I did buy F350 Unit bearing to build a beefy custom spindle with locking hubs, or I could go with Tundra spindles modified and use stock tundra shafts which are pretty beefy, but the only problem is tundras are 5 lug.
Lots of options, just depends on how much time and money I want to invest. Once its done, I will have a bomb proof IFS front end that I don't have to worry about.
Coastal616
New member
Took my daughter out on a trip this weekend, hit up some hot springs, and a whole lot of high speed Forest Service Roads. 
Shes a big fan of the Espar heater!
Shes a big fan of the Espar heater!
Coastal616
New member
Thanks!
NateMob
New member
Badass build dude, Looking forward to what you decide on for the rear and if you keep the outboard setup.
Could you sneak a picture of how you have the alignment cams tacked? Ive heard of people doing that but never seen how it looks, do you take the bolt to the big washer or the washer to the frame? Or am I in left field and totally wrong?
Nathan
Could you sneak a picture of how you have the alignment cams tacked? Ive heard of people doing that but never seen how it looks, do you take the bolt to the big washer or the washer to the frame? Or am I in left field and totally wrong?
Nathan
Coastal616
New member
This is what I did, it hasn't budged and I was hitting 70mph on some rough pot holed roads.
So you used the center diff from a 07 and up Tundra?
Coastal616
New member
I think some 2.0 adjustable Radflo or other higher end brand of shocks along with hydro/air bumps would work really well.
I love this thing, still amazes me how fast I can go comfortably on rough roads.
Coastal616
New member
Yes, it's not in yet as I've been using the 4runner quite a bit and don't really feel like tearing it apart just yet.
Coastal616
New member
Not really, went snow wheeling camping to some natural hot springs this weekend, ran kerosene in the Espar heater and it runs super clean compared to diesel. Makes the 4runner the coziest sleeping platform ever. Broke my spare tire rack trying to drive like a jackass through some mini sand dunes. 
lol
[MENTION=89552]Jedrattle[/MENTION]
Broke my spare tire rack trying to drive like a jackass through some mini sand dunes. lol[MENTION=89552]Jedrattle[/MENTION]
Last edited:
Nardling
New member
A few updates....
BCC got me some shocks for the front
Everything Installed
Tacoma fiberglass fenders
outboarded rear shocks for now
And time to lose the old chinese man colour
Amazing build! I'm curious as to where you picked up the fenders and rims
