BigFishAllDay
New member
Thanks. I was typing it up as you replied Fightman! Have a look. 
I found "The One", 2001 Sport Ed. TRD SC'd
- Thread starter BigFishAllDay
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fightman80
New member
Looks great man! If I could make one suggestion??? How about painting the bumper to match the color of your rig? I think it would make it look even better, if that's possible!
Kinda like this one:
Kinda like this one:
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quicksilvr
New member
If I was not jealous of your rig before (I was), then I definitely am now. It is just plain awesome.
Funny story: I flipped the laptop around to show your truck to my wife, and told her I absolutely love this 4runner. She looks at it, then says, "I like that white one you bought better".
(I have a white '97 SR5, completely stock, that I am selling). I just laughed.....she's like, "I don't like those black things on the front of all the 4runners you like"....referring to steel bumpers of course. Haha, oh well. Can't expect to know the difference between awesome and not-awesome 4Runners.
Funny story: I flipped the laptop around to show your truck to my wife, and told her I absolutely love this 4runner. She looks at it, then says, "I like that white one you bought better".
(I have a white '97 SR5, completely stock, that I am selling). I just laughed.....she's like, "I don't like those black things on the front of all the 4runners you like"....referring to steel bumpers of course. Haha, oh well. Can't expect to know the difference between awesome and not-awesome 4Runners.
BigFishAllDay
New member
Looks great man! If I could make one suggestion??? How about painting the bumper to match the color of your rig? I think it would make it look even better, if that's possible!
I thought about doing that... but my sliders are black, my wheels are black...my windows are black... so I thought eh... why? That'd be an extra $150 I'd have to drop on powdercoating and it would be strictly for cosmetics.
This front end is all about function. I do A LOT of driving in deer country. I've almost hit them several times in my '97 and I've got alot into the '01 so I'm not trying to see it totalled due to a deer hit... or because of a low speed front end collision that does major body damage. I saw my wife's old '98 go the way of the junkyard due to hit that didn't even look bad.
This is about protecting my investment more than looks.
The lights are so I can see the deer so I can try to avoid them before I turn them into deer soup... The winch is so that I can get myself out if (WHEN) I get stuck again. I've had experiences in the '97 where I got stuck in remote areas with my wife and not a soul around to bail us out. We had to get creative, but we always got out (after lots of backbreaking work). With the winch... I'll be good. No worries about going solo on remote backroads.... someday I'll get a locker too.
If you knew how many hours of work have gone into this you'd be far less jealous. Trust me. It hasn't come easy. Thank you very much for the compliments man. It's good to have someone recognize the effort.
My wife loved the bumper... she saw it and says "That's AWESOME!"... but she has owned two 3rd gens, and currently drives a 2000... and wants to put sliders on it.... and paint the flares... and so on.
PS... quicksilvr... all that's left is the URD kit and the tuning... so stay tuned, I know you wanted to see more on that.
Hepar
New member
I let my gf borrow my rig while I was out of town and her car was down for the count. When I got back she said to me, "That thing is so much fun to drive. I just want to start running over things and ram other people off the road". We got some good women!
Love seeing the ARB on there. Especially like the way you did the install. Super clean and it will definitely pay off taking the time to do it right.
BrianSD_42
New member
true. braver than I am. I am getting mine installed this wed at a local shop here in San Diego for $125.
downpour11
New member
Looks great man! If I could make one suggestion??? How about painting the bumper to match the color of your rig? I think it would make it look even better, if that's possible!
Kinda like this one:
wow, i remember neliconcepts 4runner a while back but I haven't seen that pic... amazing. Sorry bigfish for the little hijack but I needed to comment on that pic hahaha
Awesome build bigfish, your 4runner is coming along great!
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four flusher
New member
Bumper looks great!
Before I read your comment, I was thinking bet he'll need to crank up the front, still looks good, will look better
whats next?
Before I read your comment, I was thinking bet he'll need to crank up the front, still looks good, will look better
whats next?
BigFishAllDay
New member
Good to know... This winch is a nice little peice of work for the money. Keep an eye on amazon.com... I picked this up for $380 shipped, and it's the comp. model w/the synthetic line.
I'm glad to finally see it on too man.. I've learned a helluva lot about welding, metal work, etc in getting it on there. Cheers to good women, and thanks for the props!
Iconic. So true. It's like the John Wayne of plate bumpers. Maybe it looks a little old, but you sure wouldn't start a bar fight with it. Thanks though, it took a little while to grow the balls.
Do it yourself man!!! Find a guy who'll take the time to weld with you and go for it!
Hijack forgiven... thanks downpour!
Next... I have to buck up and throw on the URD kit. Then I've got to find the gumption to pull the valve body and have that upgraded. The splashguards aren't going to work, the tires will eat them to death. Outside of that it's almost done. I need some skids, and now as you noticed, I get to look forward to re-doing the front suspension.
Thanks 01KY4R.... but it is not, however, too pretty to take off road. I discovered that fact today when I took it out for it's inaugural run.
A few shots of my 'Runner with 4-Ripcord's 4Runner....Brothers of the Yota Clan!!!
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BigFishAllDay
New member
No problem man. That's why I put it all in the build.. for future reference. You just reminded me that I need to update this thing w/some pics of the blacked out emblems, but I think I'll wait until I get the front setup finished up (I was feeling lazy today, so I didn't finish it) and take some pics of the process of knocking down the pinch weld.
BigFishAllDay
New member
Once you pop the shifter cover off, you'll see that there are 2 (I think, maybe 3) harnesses sitting off to the left of the shifter itself. These harnesses are what caused the clearance issue on mine. If you look at them, there is an opaque, white peice of plastic that the harnesses are mounted to. It has some sticky backed foam on it in a few places to cushion things.
I disconnected all the harnesses, removed that opaque white peice of plastic that they mounted to and re-routed all of them closer to the shifter assembly to open up the space where the gauge needs to go. I had to use some zip ties to make sure everything stayed in place when I was done. I also hit the shift lock button and moved the shifter through all it's positions to make sure I wasn't going to pinch a wire or bind up the shifter.
It was kind of a PITA. I'll take a picture of that white peice for you so you know what to look for. I need to pull the shifter cover to get at the IPOD cable coming off my deck too, so I might be able to get a pic of the final setup under the cover for you as well.
I disconnected all the harnesses, removed that opaque white peice of plastic that they mounted to and re-routed all of them closer to the shifter assembly to open up the space where the gauge needs to go. I had to use some zip ties to make sure everything stayed in place when I was done. I also hit the shift lock button and moved the shifter through all it's positions to make sure I wasn't going to pinch a wire or bind up the shifter.
It was kind of a PITA. I'll take a picture of that white peice for you so you know what to look for. I need to pull the shifter cover to get at the IPOD cable coming off my deck too, so I might be able to get a pic of the final setup under the cover for you as well.
KellyJ
New member
BigFish, amazing work on your truck. I read through these pages weekly looking for you to want to upgrade to an '02 :cowboy: And since that'll never happen, as you've mentioned, it gives me some good ideas as to where I want to take my truck next modification-wise, and your attention to detail with the engine modifications has really gotten me hooked. Before I start tearing apart my drivetrain for lockers and 4.88's and what not, I'm going to go the route your truck's PO and go to town on the engine with a supercharger. I've been researching how to tune these 5VZ's and it's quite interesting really. My only concern is the mileage I've racked up so far (currently at 156k) and what the added stress of all those mods has on the engine internals. Do you plan on reinforcing any of the internals on your engine? As far as I've read, you've had no problems so far with how it's been running for the last 116k since it's been installed, and I can only assume it's performance has improved since you've gotten a hold of it. I absolutely love my 4Runner, and will drive it until the wheels fall off or the engine drops out of the bay, I just don't want to expedite that process with a S/C. You seem to have done your research on every aspect of the engine and the ECU, and would love to hear what you think about modifying a regularly maintained and never abused engine. Thanks for any input in advance.
BigFishAllDay
New member
Kelly,
Here is my understanding and opinion on adding forced induction to an otherwise factory engine. If anyone disagrees, just quote me and start a new thread... I don't want to clutter up the build with a debate.
First, the most important factors in whether or not an engine is going to run safely and reliably are 1. having the proper air/fuel mixture so that the engine is not running overly rich or lean, and 2. proper ignition timing.
Second, an engine's bottom end is really pretty simple. You have the crank, which is very stout, you have the main bearings & rod bearings, you have the rods & caps & associated bolts, and the pistons/piston rings/wrist pins. The most common failure I have seen/heard of regarding the block side of engines is spun bearings & thrown rods. Spun bearings lead to thrown rods. The bearing gets worn, you end up with rod knock, the cap separates from the rod and the rod gets punched out the block.... or alternately, misfiring and pinging can bend a rod and get you the same result.
How do you avoid bottom end failure? Proper lubrication, proper fueling, and proper timing. That's all. Add to that, Toyota overbuilds their engines with very stout bottom ends. Supra owners regularly add 300-400 horsepower to 2JZ motors with stock bottom ends. I have a friend who owns a tuning/import company and he insists that any motor can be converted to forced induction with proper fuel/timing.
From the block up, your problems come from RPM's, timing components, and gaskets. Head gasket failures, valve stem seals, broken timing belts etc. The limiting factors on RPM's are the balancing of the bottom end and the ability of the valvetrain to keep in sync at higher RPMs. Past a certain point, the valve springs cant close the valves fast enough, the valves start to float and you lose compression and the air/fuel mix goes out of whack.
How do you avoid top end failure? Proper maintenance and by not over-revving your engine.
So... to your questions... 1st, No I do not plan on re-enforcing my engine's bottom end. I'm going to run it just the way it is until it gives up, and then I'll drop a new one in.
Second, regarding modifying (supercharging) a regularly maintained and never abused engine, I'd say go for it. To answer that question I had to put myself in your shoes and consider whether or not I'd supercharge my '97 tomorrow if for instance, I came across a screaming deal on a SC. I have religiously maintained my '97 and I think it would handle it in a heartbeat.... but, I wouldn't just slap on the SC, I'd do it right with fuel/timing mods.
When you really think about it... a new engine can be had, installed, for under $3k. That's what you've got in a set of tires, your ARB, and the audio I'll bet. And that get's your 'Runner a heart transplant!!!! I don't look at it as that big of a risk I guess. Yes, it's a bit pricey, but if consider the guys dropping $35-40K on a STOCK 5th gen, if you had to drop $3k on your 3rd gen for a new motor, that's nothing. That's a couple months worth of those guys' payments.
I would venture to bet that most of the people who say SC'ing isn't worth it haven't driven a SC'd 4Runner. It's truly night and day. If I hadn't found this one, I'd have done it myself to my '97 or bought a clean 99+ and done it to that one. It was something that I had to have, and I'm so glad I found a deal on it with all the exhaust goodies and the 7th. That just saved me alot of work and money. Final advice would be to research, research, research before you jump in. I read and read for the 3 years I had my '97 before I got the '01. It has paid off in me knowing what I'm looking at when I pop the hood, and knowing what to look out for.
EDIT... I just wanted to add that when I pulled the engine apart on my supra @ 126k to do the head gasket, the cylinder walls still had the factory crosshatching. There was VERY LITTLE bottom end wear. I have since horsebeaten that poor car at 14-16lbs of boost for 70,000 miles with no additional fuel and everything has held up fine. Stock boost on the MK3 supra is 6lbs. I take that as a testament to the fortitude of toyota bottom ends.
Here is my understanding and opinion on adding forced induction to an otherwise factory engine. If anyone disagrees, just quote me and start a new thread... I don't want to clutter up the build with a debate.
First, the most important factors in whether or not an engine is going to run safely and reliably are 1. having the proper air/fuel mixture so that the engine is not running overly rich or lean, and 2. proper ignition timing.
Second, an engine's bottom end is really pretty simple. You have the crank, which is very stout, you have the main bearings & rod bearings, you have the rods & caps & associated bolts, and the pistons/piston rings/wrist pins. The most common failure I have seen/heard of regarding the block side of engines is spun bearings & thrown rods. Spun bearings lead to thrown rods. The bearing gets worn, you end up with rod knock, the cap separates from the rod and the rod gets punched out the block.... or alternately, misfiring and pinging can bend a rod and get you the same result.
How do you avoid bottom end failure? Proper lubrication, proper fueling, and proper timing. That's all. Add to that, Toyota overbuilds their engines with very stout bottom ends. Supra owners regularly add 300-400 horsepower to 2JZ motors with stock bottom ends. I have a friend who owns a tuning/import company and he insists that any motor can be converted to forced induction with proper fuel/timing.
From the block up, your problems come from RPM's, timing components, and gaskets. Head gasket failures, valve stem seals, broken timing belts etc. The limiting factors on RPM's are the balancing of the bottom end and the ability of the valvetrain to keep in sync at higher RPMs. Past a certain point, the valve springs cant close the valves fast enough, the valves start to float and you lose compression and the air/fuel mix goes out of whack.
How do you avoid top end failure? Proper maintenance and by not over-revving your engine.
So... to your questions... 1st, No I do not plan on re-enforcing my engine's bottom end. I'm going to run it just the way it is until it gives up, and then I'll drop a new one in.
Second, regarding modifying (supercharging) a regularly maintained and never abused engine, I'd say go for it. To answer that question I had to put myself in your shoes and consider whether or not I'd supercharge my '97 tomorrow if for instance, I came across a screaming deal on a SC. I have religiously maintained my '97 and I think it would handle it in a heartbeat.... but, I wouldn't just slap on the SC, I'd do it right with fuel/timing mods.
When you really think about it... a new engine can be had, installed, for under $3k. That's what you've got in a set of tires, your ARB, and the audio I'll bet. And that get's your 'Runner a heart transplant!!!! I don't look at it as that big of a risk I guess. Yes, it's a bit pricey, but if consider the guys dropping $35-40K on a STOCK 5th gen, if you had to drop $3k on your 3rd gen for a new motor, that's nothing. That's a couple months worth of those guys' payments.
I would venture to bet that most of the people who say SC'ing isn't worth it haven't driven a SC'd 4Runner. It's truly night and day. If I hadn't found this one, I'd have done it myself to my '97 or bought a clean 99+ and done it to that one. It was something that I had to have, and I'm so glad I found a deal on it with all the exhaust goodies and the 7th. That just saved me alot of work and money. Final advice would be to research, research, research before you jump in. I read and read for the 3 years I had my '97 before I got the '01. It has paid off in me knowing what I'm looking at when I pop the hood, and knowing what to look out for.
EDIT... I just wanted to add that when I pulled the engine apart on my supra @ 126k to do the head gasket, the cylinder walls still had the factory crosshatching. There was VERY LITTLE bottom end wear. I have since horsebeaten that poor car at 14-16lbs of boost for 70,000 miles with no additional fuel and everything has held up fine. Stock boost on the MK3 supra is 6lbs. I take that as a testament to the fortitude of toyota bottom ends.
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BigFishAllDay
New member
Blacked out rear emblems...
So I got a little more work done on the ‘Runner over the last few weeks. The first thing that got knocked out was blacking out the emblems on the hatch. This was kind of an impulse mod. The day that 4-Ripcord came over it turned out I had a couple cans of Plasti-Dip, so I figured what the hell, let’s go for it. :shrug:
I got kinda nervous spraying that ish on my paint….
I probably didn’t wait long enough to start peeling, but I couldn’t wait to go wheeling… I messed up on the center Toyota emblem (I’ll redo it later), but the others came out great. Thanks to Ripcord for helping me peel & trim those things… it’s a chore.
And here’s some before and after shots of my rear hatch game…
Before… with the small TOYOTA still installed on the lower right…
After… with the blacked out emblems, license plate frame, removed TOYOTA emblem, and stickers on the back window… Just imagine the oval Toyota logo is black too!
So I got a little more work done on the ‘Runner over the last few weeks. The first thing that got knocked out was blacking out the emblems on the hatch. This was kind of an impulse mod. The day that 4-Ripcord came over it turned out I had a couple cans of Plasti-Dip, so I figured what the hell, let’s go for it. :shrug:
I got kinda nervous spraying that ish on my paint….
I probably didn’t wait long enough to start peeling, but I couldn’t wait to go wheeling… I messed up on the center Toyota emblem (I’ll redo it later), but the others came out great. Thanks to Ripcord for helping me peel & trim those things… it’s a chore.
And here’s some before and after shots of my rear hatch game…
Before… with the small TOYOTA still installed on the lower right…
After… with the blacked out emblems, license plate frame, removed TOYOTA emblem, and stickers on the back window… Just imagine the oval Toyota logo is black too!
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