Henlybenderson’s 99 limited, 4wd, SC build/maintenance/tinkering thread

[henlybenderson]

This is my second gen3, first one got totaled out after I rear-ended someone... Decided to go for a supercharger and 99-00 to get the center and rear locking diffs. Found one about a month ago (10/28/19) and road-tripped it back to Long Beach from Seattle which was fun and comical, just wish I had had more time in Seattle!

As purchased:

To do:

• 5star wheel repaint
• Emblem repaint
• Sonoran steel 1.2 lift, 2.5” 650lb springs and lower ball joints at the same time
• Complete bushing replacement Energy Suspension 8.18116
• Transgo shift kit, solenoids, filter, etc.
• Stereo and noise deadening
• Short rear storage and sleeping platform. Probably build a subwoofer into it (have a JL 12TW5 sitting around)
• DS seat reupholstery and the stupid lumbar switch clips
• URD SC 7th injector and smaller pulley
• Misc rust remediation
• Leak fixing - power steering high pressure line. Transmission pan gasket? Valve covers
• Engine compartment detail
• Shrockworks bumper someday
• New wipers
• Flush/replace all fluids
• Transmission cooler
• Ebrake handle cable(?) rattle goes away when latched one click
• Antenna delete
• Hood chip rust fix, raptor liner the front edge maybe?
• Actually go camping
• Figure out some cabin air filtration?
• PS mirror crack
• Check sunroof drains
• Steering wheel finish/fix
• Tundra brake mod
• Pinion side ujoint replacement, regrease slip joint
• Rear hatch inside release, lock/unlock switch, window switch

In progress/up next:

• Steering rack bushings - lots of movement, intermittent wobble at hwy speed, not fun!
• Satoshi grill mod
• HELLA 922000731 Sharptone Amazon link

Complete:

• Center console bulbs
• Airbox intake duct removal
• MAF cleaning
• Headlights replaced
• Weathertech rain guards
• ECT fixed (Unplugged it, plugged it back in... Seriously, not sure why its working now.)
• Borla muffler 400483
• Honda Odyssey windshield sprayers T4R post

 

[henlybenderson]

So I had been looking for a new 4runner for a month before I found this one. I was out of town for a friends wedding so planning got entertaining. I flew back from the wedding, and turned around the next morning to hop on a plane to Seattle, with a detour to the bank, all in all I had barely enough time to get from bank to airport in time to board the plane... I've wanted to go to Seattle for a while so having an excuse to get up there even for one night was fun.

Pics from the craigslist ad:

Free beer! Previous owner works for Fremont brewing and hooked me up

Got to see a little bit of Seattle and went ahead and hit Fremont brewing's taproom while I was there.

Had a flight of all of the Dark Star variants, turns out my trip timing was perfect! Haha!

Managed to find a good spot to watch the sunset, West Point Lighthouse:

Spent the night in downtown Seattle, had dinner and some scotch at a Radiator Whiskey. The next day I hopped on the road and headed south. Overall the 4runner drives pretty well, there is a wobble at 65-75 mph that is a little disconcerting, the whole vehicle starts to wobble/zig-zag back and forth, holding the steering wheel tightly and doing some sharp cranks on the wheel generally stops this happened, if not then slowing down usually does too. After some digging I think its the steer rack bushings, the rack moves significantly so I think its following ridges/wear in the road and causing the whole vehicle steer back and forth slightly.

Unbelievably, I forgot to grab a picture of the 4runner until this second night:

My plan had been to spend the night in Redding, Ca but when I got there at 9pm I found out that everything was booked out because the Kincade fire had just started... So I ended up camping in the back at the next rest stop, good times!

 

[henlybenderson]

Bought the 4R knowing that it would need a new muffler. Debated between the Flowmaster 942451, the Magnaflow 12255/12286, and the Borla 400483, ultimately decided on the Borla, YouTube videos and reviews made it seem like the way to go but I don’t have anything specific to point to for that decision...

Had it installed today. When I bought it I thought I’d be able to just slip it over the exhaust lines after cutting out the old muffler, calipers showed it wasn’t going to be that simple, there was about .06” interference. Some sanding could probably have brought that down but unfortunately I didn’t have time for anything other than a quick swap... Sound wise there is some droning at around 2200rpm, haven’t had it on the freeway yet, but so far I like it.

 

[henlybenderson]

So first major project is to sort out the wobbling, its borderline dangerous. I purchased the Energy Suspension full bushing kit so I'm just using the requisite parts from that. I'll be replacing the sway bar bushings as well since I"ll be removing it to access the rack.

Energy Suspension 8.10103G

Energy Suspension 8.5141G

Step #1 was getting the rear skidplate section off which turned into quite the hassle, one of the bolt heads was rounded off, I had to drill it out to get the plate off, its never easy!

Replaced the steering rack bushings, turned out to be a huge pain in the butt! I had to go buy a breaker bar to get the bolts loose. I also couldn’t get the bolts holding the sway bar brackets on so I had to do the entire job without removing it, which it turns out is possible, just had to swivel it up and down depending on which part of the rack I was working on.

I was also lazy and didn’t pull the tierod off, this is only possible if you lift the wheels off the ground so you can move them around. I also F-d up and put the D-mount thing on backwards so the shorter spacer was down. Pretty sure I broke the welded on nut that holds the lower stud on, most likely because the stud ran out of threads. It seems tight but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough to keep the rack held well enough.

Also replaced the sway bar end link bushings, was going to do the chassis bushings too but that went out the window when I couldn’t get the brackets off...

While under there I did some general degreasing and figured out that I really need to redo the valve cover gaskets. Tightening up the bolts a bit hasn't sorted out the problem.

 

[henlybenderson]

I really like the look of the Satoshi Grill mod so I'm working on one of my own... Fortunately the grill from my previous 97 4r survived the accident mostly intact so I didn't have to buy one to start.

I started by peeling all the chrome off the plastic. I used some small flat blade pliers and a razor blade to help pry it off the plastic. Once I had peeled the chrome covering off I cut out the middle pieces and started filling in the gaps that were left since I'm doing the deep mod.

Using masking tape to keep the filler dammed up makes a big difference, it doesn't adhere to the adhesive so it works well to keep stuff where its supposed to be.

I used JB Weld plastic bonder it works pretty well and the kick off time is about right for working in to the gaps and cracks. I had to fix some cracks from the accident as well as fill in the gaps from cutting out the middle pieces. I went overboard on filling stuff in, mix less than you think you need and just fill in stages, its a pain to sand it down!

Found a new emblem on Ebay for an old FJ:

Lots of sanding, and then some priming, and then more sanding to come.... I'm planning on using the same graphite paint I'm going to use for the wheels.

 

[henlybenderson]

Wheels! So the wheels need some work, 301k miles and lots of winters have taken their toll on the finish of the wheels:

I'll be updating this spot as I go.

 

[henlybenderson]

Hella Sharptone install

Did however much research you can on youtube about how different horns sound. I think I like the PIAA Superior bass horns the most but at $55 they are more than I want to spend at this point. So I went with the Hella sharptones for $25...

Install pics to come (maybe tomorrow)

 

[henlybenderson]

Odyssey Washer install

I've disliked the washer nozzles for years, when I ran across the odyssey mod a few days ago I knew I needed to have it. Post: https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3382280-post26.html

Install is super easy, pop the old ones out and then pop the new ones in. I used some long nose pliers to pinch the clips to get the old ones out of the hood, wiped down the hood around the holes, and then installed the Odyssey ones. The Odyssey ones are a little wider so you have to rotate them 90deg to get through and then spin back into position and clip in place.

If you haven't done this mod already now is the time. It took 5 mins, and its pretty cheap!