HELP! Newbie needs advice: rehabbing '99 SR5

[PDinMT]

hi all,

great forum. thanks.

BIG Q's regarding rehabbing a '99 Runner that i bought in '04 with 90k on the clock. it was almost perfect. i love it, really. and i love no car payment, though i would love a gen4 runner too.

it has 150k on it now, and needed a little work. i was debating how much to put into it, and then we had a mega-hailstorm the other day. it hammered the hood and roof. the ins co. is gonna total it, but it's cosmetic damage mainly. i can live with the roof, and the hood can be replaced with a new one or get PDR done to it.

in trying to decide whether to take the $5k the ins co. is gonna give me (and keep the truck) and put it back into the truck and keep driving it, i took it to the dealer. it needs a new rear main seal, maybe a new oil pan gasket, new brakes, full tuneup and flushes, new shocks (suspension solid otherwise they said), and a few smaller things.

if i don't need the oil pan gasket, the list will cost about $2500, but i have a trusted mechanic to do the work. ideally, everything will cost me about 3000-3500 including new tires, and i'll pay my insurance for a year with the balance, and have money in reserve for maintenance.


I am thinking of doing this:

--main seal (and oil pan gaskets if i have to).

--upgrading the brakes, using either brembo or napa premium rotors, or '06 tundra brakes. thoughts? i read about these options here. my rotors are definitely warped.

--new shocks, but i want bilsteins or something better than the oem units if i can. THOUGHTS?

--maybe, maybe a 1" lift, but know nothing about that

-- roof rack truck does not have a factory rack. doesn't even have the channels...just the plastic placeholder strips. i don't really want the yakima clamp mounts AND RACKS, and have searched all over for a CARGO rack that would bolt directly to the mounting bolts where the rack channel would attach. IDEAS/SOLUTIONS ARE WELCOME. i like ARB, surco, and some others i have seen, but mounting is the problem. HELP!!!! I have also looked at roof tents and love them [ AutoHome Columbus—the roof top car tent for any vehicle ] but they are expensive!! thoughts?

-- Wheels the factory alloys have lost most of their clearcoat, thanks to etching by road chems in winter. Can i bead blast and re-clearcoat them? good alternate choice? i was gonna stick with the stock wheel size.

-- the truck sags in the rear, and i read that sticky. 99s don't have a recall that i see. is there a way to inexpensively reduce/eliminate that sagging.? thanks
i offroad lightly-- camping, hunting, and just knocking about. i don't beat my truck up, so it doesn't have to me nor do i need a rockcrawler. i am just trying to bring the suspension and brakes to better than new performance, and the powertrain is still strong i hope if all goes well, i can put another 50k on this truck and give it to my daughter in 4 years when she starts driving.

THANKS FOR ANY HELP. YOU CAN POST THOUGHTS, LINKS TO THREADS ETC. I AM A BLIND MAN IN A DEPARTMENT STORE HERE, ROOTING AROUND.

jpatrickdowns (at) yahoo DOT com

 

[XJeepguy]

They only gave you 5 grand for it ??? An acquaintance of ours had his 00' totaled a few weeks ago and they got 10,150.00 for it . It was in great shape and was a LTD though. Idiot ran a red light and t-boned them and have to say that runner looked great but the other vehicle was low and ended up breaking the runners frame rail . Pitty .

 

[PDinMT]

I net 5k, but they gave me 7500 gross, which seems about right. after the deductible of 750 and the salvage value, i net 5k and keep the truck. seems a good deal to me and other friends... if you don't look at the hood and roof, it looks the same. so after i spend about 3k, it will be better than before and i'll have money left over! so far, i am liking the idea, but it someone here thinks i've miscalculated let me know. thanks :boink:

 

[Duhockey]

Wow, thats a ton of questions,

if its sagging in the rear, then the suspension needs more than just shocks, you are also looking at rear coils at least.

as far as the wheels, prob be cheaper to sand down and paint your wheels, mine were horrible, I made sure I bought powdercoated wheels the 2nd time. but was able to nicely rehab the stock wheels with sandpaper and some cheap bottles of Krylon from walmart

if you are warping rotors then going with the Tundra conversion is prob the smart thing, seems to be right around what you would pay for a brake job at the dealer anyways.

I would def do the oil pan gasket if it needs it.

150k is just starting on a 4runner, I didnt even lift mine til about 185k

 

[PDinMT]

tundra brakes on 4Runner

re Tundra brakes...

i was thinking that, unless the Brembo rotors work well and resist warping.

is adding the tundra brakes a bolt-on, or is their a kit or other mods you have to do to install them? can i just order a set of tundra factory brakes?

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[topdown4runner]

I'd keep it and fix it up, lift it, etc...
but I thought $2,500 was a bit steep for some relatively simple maintainance items.
Just my thoughts though. I'd price around, or just invest in a Toyota shop manual and do most of the work myself. Save a ton of money and learn some stuff too. Heck, bring the daughter out an teach her while you are at it. If she will be driving in a couple of years, tell her she is working on HER truck

Good luck :beer:

 

[PDinMT]

I wish i had the time, tools (inlcuding jacks/lift), and most of all, expertise to do things like rear main seal. I worked on my motorcycles for a loing time, but cars are a bit beyond me. I'd love to learn though!