FrankenYota Build Thread

[hoodlm]

I don't even know where to begin. I bought this truck in January 2012. I owned a '99 for a couple months back in 2008 but had to let it go before I took the scalpel to it. I found this charm and bought it off a friend's son. It was all stock minus a 3" spacer lift, the cheap brush guard and the running boards removed. I drove it like that for about 8 months before I started playing with it. Here's how it looked when I bought it.

 

[hoodlm]

PlastiDip and Mods

The first thing I did was buy a set of tires since the ones on it were about bald. I went with General Grabber AT2s. They were fantastic tires! I got almost 60,000 miles out of them before I upgraded. They saw lots of dirt and mud. I can't say enough great things about them. Then, I moved onto the simple and inexpensive stuff. I bought a few cans of PlastiDip and went to town. I hit the emblems first then moved on to the wheels. After that, I did the Deck Plate MOD and Silencer Removal MOD. My boys and I were in the woods hittin' some trails one day and one of the fender flares got caught on the limb and ripped off. Then I got to thinking, "I wonder what it would look like if I ripped all them off"? So, I did. After that, I went ahead and sprayed PlastiDip where the cladding was.

 

[hoodlm]

Lift Time!!

I ran my truck like that for a while but I was saving up to add some lift and improve off-road capability. So, I went to Wheeler's Off-Road and bought Biltstein 5100s for the front and rear and OME 891 coils. That made quite a bit of difference!!

 

[hoodlm]

Bumper Time

I found a newer off-road fab/mechanic shop in town. I went in, introduced myself and the rest is history. They mainly do Jeeps but have messed with a couple Yotas. I was determined to stick around and give them all my business. They built my front and rear bumpers for me and installed my new winch. I was very happy with the results. It's still a work in progress, though. We still have to add some skid plates but all in due time. If you're ever in my neck of the woods, Off-Road Kustoms is a fantastic shop for work.

 

[hoodlm]

Now For the Tires

I did TONs of research on tires, spacers, etc. After reading a lot about the Overland folks, I decided to go with "Tall/Skinnies". Around here, I need more dig than float. Plus, I didn't want to go with spacers. After seeing and reading about Lower Ball Joint failures I came to the conclusion that spacers are a large reason for that. So, I bought a set of Maxxis Big Horn 255/85R16s. Maxxis has a great name on the racing circuit and the tires were less money than other tires in that size. Shortly after purchasing the tires I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a light bar and some cube lights too. I found the light bar on Amazon for pretty cheap. It's a little wider than I wanted but just kept it and slapped in on. The wiring sucked but I got it. I installed a set of cubes behind the bumper up front and on the roof rack in the rear. I spliced the wires for the rear lights into my reverse lights. Since I have the windows done for my business, it's hard to see those weak factory reverse lights at night. Not anymore. Oh yeah, I bought a roof rack too. I've actually used it more than I thought I would. I went with the cheap one off Amazon. I think it's called Highlander. Works great!!

 

[hoodlm]

Rearended

On December 4th, 2015, some dude rearended me. His car ran right up underneath me. I was pretty bummed since my Yote is my girl and it was not operational. He hit my rear axle bending my P/S lower link and bending the axle. The insurance company totaled my truck. After spending all this time and money building this thing, I wasn't ready for them to haul her off. So, I bought it back with a salvage title. Back to Off-Road Kustoms I go. They fixed the bent bracket on the frame and I replaced the rear axle with one from the salvage yard. In the meantime, I got a check from the insurance company. With that money I bought the following:
ToyTec
2" Body Lift
Adjustable Lower Links
Adjustable Panhard
Total Chaos UCAs

4x Innovations Rock Sliders
Hilux 167 Series Snorkel

And some other goodies that don't really apply here. I gotta say, with the addition of the panhard, UCAs and lower links I've gained quite a bit more articulation. I still have all the sway bar attached too, since this is my daily driver.

I also forgot to mention that I added the Gen 2 rear sway bar links a while back to compensate for the lift. I believe it helps take some stress off the sway bar.

 

[hoodlm]

Conclusion...Not Really

I've had a lot of fun building this truck up. I'm far from done, too. Now I need to focus on some engine stuff. Need to change timing belt, water pump, power steering pump, etc, etc. Not sure if I'll ever straight axle shaft the front. I plan to get as much out of the IFS as possible. The kids and I enjoy off-roading and hitting trails. If you see me out on the road here in Southwest Missouri, give me wave. Also, if you're in the area, join our Facebook group "417 Runners and Cruisers". We'd love to hit the trails with ya. Happy wheeling!!

 

[infamousRNR]

what happened to your limited flares??? did you sell them?

 

[berlysario]

I was saving up to add some lift and improve off-road capability

 

[michaelj]

This is a great looking rig. So glad you didn't lose it to salvage and resurrected it. Love those tires!

 

[hoodlm]

what happened to your limited flares??? did you sell them?

Nope. I still have the factory bumpers, hitch, flares and axle to pull from if needed. My garage is starting to look like a salvage yard. Need to build a shop.

 

[hoodlm]

This is a great looking rig. So glad you didn't lose it to salvage and resurrected it. Love those tires!

Thanks. Hence the name, "FrankenYota". Back from the dead with some stitches.

 

[hoodlm]

Berlysario

I was saving up to add some lift and improve off-road capability

The Bilstein shocks, with factory coils in the front, OME 891s and bushings literally cost me about $550 shipped to my house from Wheeler's Off-Road. There are a LOT of ways to lift these things and you'll get all kinds of opinions. I'm happy with the way I went vs spending a grand or so. The ToyTec Boss system is great but, in my opinion, what I have is just as good. You can dig thru junk yards for LC coils or whatever but I wanted new stuff but still keep it affordable.

 

[infamousRNR]

Nope. I still have the factory bumpers, hitch, flares and axle to pull from if needed. My garage is starting to look like a salvage yard. Need to build a shop.

let me know if you ever want to sell those

 

[hoodlm]

let me know if you ever want to sell those

Will do. I may put them back on some day. My son has a Runner too. So, who knows.

 

[habanero]

Nice more than start. If I ever see you when down that way I'll wave so if you see some old chick in a bright light blue lifted 4Runner don't worry, it's not you I'm eyeballin', it's your truck!

 

[hoodlm]

Nice more than start. If I ever see you when down that way I'll wave so if you see some old chick in a bright light blue lifted 4Runner don't worry, it's not you I'm eyeballin', it's your truck!

Roger that! I'll be up in St. Charles next weekend.

 

[hoodlm]

Tundra Brake Upgrade

 

[Dropzone]

Just curious if you have done a hard pull using your winch?
How many mounting points on the mount? Looks like they used some universal flanges that don't go to anything.

Tundra brakes are a great upgrade

 

[hoodlm]

Just curious if you have done a hard pull using your winch?
How many mounting points on the mount? Looks like they used some universal flanges that don't go to anything.

Tundra brakes are a great upgrade

I've pulled all sorts of stuff with my winch. Best investment and most functional piece of equipment. Large tree that I've cut down, used winch to help pull trees down, pulled another 4Runner buried in a river and other things around our property. Love it.