guitarplayer360's 98 4runner build thread

[guitarplayer360]

Ported this straight from Yotatech, so sorry if any of the time gaps seem wierd...

How it currently sits:

Got My 1998 ltd 4runner after totaling my Ford Ranger. The previous owner had it for about 8 years, drove it 131,000 and surprisingly never did anything to it.

(ok not actually mine, but looks exactly how it did. I didnt get a shot of her when I first got her, oops...)


First thing I did to my 4runner was the stereo. Put in a Pioneer head, amp, and pair of MTX 2x12 subs.

The Head Unit:

The Amp:

And, the subs....minus the wrench that was accidentally thrown through them :think:

Once Summer rolled around, I got a job and actually had money to spend, So i put on some pro-comp series 98 black steelies, just to look cool for the next few months..

after another year of being a broke student, My birthday finally rolled around and I got a new paint job, but these were taken during christmas:

Rolled around for a while until I decided to take those weird looking chrome hub caps off. Also, I decided to add some spidertrax 1-1/4 inch adapters/spacers. I have to say it looks MUCH cleaner than it did, and Im glad I made the decision to take the caps off:

Had to do a little trimming to fit the wheels with the spacers, but the lift is on it's way so soon enough I will have some clearance!

Also, I plan on doing the grey wire mod one of these next few weekends, and also plan on replacing the bulbs in the dash so I can have some bright whites instead of the ugly green ones in now.

 

[guitarplayer360]

I went with the OME 881s up front (with spacer), and 890s in the rear, and N90004/60027 shocks. Also had the 1" diff drop put on.

Rear shocks and coils (890):

Front Strut:

It looks great so far. Can't wait to have the new tires mounted. Also, planning on doing 1-2" BL once I have the time.

Here are some before/after pics:

Overall:

Before:

and after:

Some of the wheel wells:

Front (Before/After):

Rear (Before/After):

Some extras:

Just for fun, the old, stock springs and shocks:

Just received some new LED lights, will have them installed soon. Also received all the electronics for my locker, which were removed around 4 years ago, so that will also be included.

Next comes the Body Lift (if needed), and tires. Still trying to decide between 285/75s or 255/85s, and looking at the duratracs or just BFG A/Ts.

thanks!

 

[guitarplayer360]

Did the dash/ignition lights tonight. Thought a quick update was due anyways..

First had to disassemble everything... the steering wheel covers had to come off first. These were easy...

then the ignition..

and then the dash came out..

The hardest part of the entire install was having to reconnect the harnesses to the back of the dash. The wires wouldnt go out too far, so I had to feel for them, and try to plug them back in. I ended up cutting the stupid zip-tie in place for the wires, so I would plug everything in, test it, and then put the dash back. This made everything much easier.

The back of the dash. All I had to do from here was twist the little green things, and pull them out. These contained the bulbs, which I swapped with my #194 bulbs. Here's the back of the cluster:

If anybody wanted to do this project for free (without having to dish out the ENTIRE 79 cents for each bulb), you could change your green lights into a bright amber/orangish color. All you have to do is take the little green sleeves off of the bulbs when you take them out of the dash. You can basically just peel them off.

Bulb with green sleeve:

without it:

This is what you get by removing the green sleeves:

However, I wanted mine to be white. I put my new bulbs in.

Here is the before shot:

and after:

I also did the ignition blue. Forgot to take pictures of this one, but it wasnt hard at all. Here it is:

Ignition before:

after:

I am very pleased with the results, and thought this was an extremely simple and easy project. Special thanks to wyorunner for posting the write-up. I had it on my laptop with me in my car while doing this...i strongly recommend following his write-up. Mine was a little easier, but mine is a 98 and his was an 02. I didnt need to remove anything off of the back of my cluster.

His write-up is here:

LED Guage Light Install How-To - YotaTech Forums

 

[blcktpgsr]

Looking good! I have the same spring set up as yours, but with the older version shocks and struts.....that's a a nice touch with that blueish ignition ring light.:thumb3:

 

[fightman80]

Looking good man! I like your take on the dash lights! Why spend money on LED's?? HA HA HA! That worked out beautifully! Good job man!