ibob's '99 SR5 "Overland-Lite" Build Thread

[ibob4tacoz]

Howdy y'all, just thought I'd put together a build thread for my new-to-me '99 4R SR5 5spd 4WD w/ e-locker. I got it a couple of weeks ago during a little road trip to Colorado and drove it back down to LA. This is my first 4Runner and I'm coming from a '90 BMW 535i, so I thought I'd hop on here and hopefully gather the connections and resources to know what the f- I'm doing with these things.

I don't have anything terribly crazy planned for this thing, just want to use it as a road trip/camping vehicle, hence the "overland-lite" title.

Some plans:
- Get the car to a "comfy" level of maintenance
- Camper Platform
- Tundra Brakes
- Small solar setup
- Possibly <2" lift
- Some armor (front skid plate, maybe some rock sliders)

So far, it seems the previous owners kept this thing stock and did most, if not all, of the maint. work at shops. The wheels and bumpers were powdered/painted black at some point, and there is an unbranded light bar on the front. Aside from that and some beefier tires (General Grabber A/T 265/75/16, I believe), it's a blank canvas. I hope some of you join in on my journey and maybe give me some help too, haha. Thanks!

Photos:

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Gonna separate these posts so it isn't one long intro post.

So I bought the truck on Aug 1 in Colorado Springs and drove it to our AirBNB in Denver without a hitch. Two days later I had some spare time and didn't want to drive it across 3 states without a plate, so I tried to take it to the DMV for a temp tag... but the clutch pedal just flopped to the floor. Turns out either the slave or master cylinder decided to kaput themselves overnight, so I drove to an AutoZone that had a Sachs master and Duralast slave in stock. AirBNB host was very nice and let me work on the car underneath one of his shade trees. My guess was that this was the original clutch hydraulic setup and a seal inside the master failed. The fluid was absolutely disgusting:

Took me about 4-5 hours with trips to and from Napa for a couple of extra bits.

I'm thinking I should rebleed now that I'm home and also replace the soft line between the master and slave because the pedal still feels a little spongey. A clutch pedal rebuild is also on the list, as the thing squeaks whenever I let off of it.

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Pretty mundane update, but thought I'd post for the sake of keeping a log:

Went to the junkyard a couple days ago and snagged some pieces for my interior. Got to replace the nasty drift-stitched storage panel and found a sunglass holder! The dome light assembly I got it off of even had the little nubs and sticky velcro pad still in it, and I swiped the nub set. Also managed to find the correct license plate bezel to replace my ultra-faded and cracked one. One of the POs also seemed to have broken the mount for the key tumbler because it looks haphazardly JB welded in place, shown in my initial post.

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Last one, I swear.

LBJs yesterday. Replaced with OEM and Toyota black bolts (thanks Spiker!).
I have a strong feeling these are original and I have about 264k on the clock.

Also, I think my transfer case is leaking. Pretty thin oil is coating this plate and it's reaching the ground. Planning to take it off and clean everything to track it down. Any usual culprits in that area?

 

[phattyduck]

Also, I think my transfer case is leaking. Pretty thin oil is coating this plate and it's reaching the ground. Planning to take it off and clean everything to track it down. Any usual culprits in that area?

Just look forward of that - that's the gas tank skid.

TC output seal(s), engine, power steering, etc. can all cover that with oil.

-Charlie

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Just look forward of that - that's the gas tank skid.

TC output seal(s), engine, power steering, etc. can all cover that with oil.

-Charlie

This is a good point. Didn't even think of the spray pattern. Thanks!

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Been awhile since my last update, got around to a decent number of things in the span of time.

Firstly, I replaced the janky license plate bezel. The old one had the tumbler epoxied into place all funky, which looked terrible and made it really hard to use the key. It also took a ton of force to get the hatch to unlatch and open.

One of the POs used some epoxy or filler to keep the tumbler in place.

The posts were broken on the junkyard replacement, so I used some screws and JB weld to secure it in place.

Finished product. Helps make this thing look less clapped.

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Secondly, I swapped in one of the generic Toyota fog light switches for my light bar. Original switch was some tiny clicky thing on an exposed PCB with a couple LEDs on it. It was tucked behind the fuse kick panel and I found it super annoying to use.

Took me a few tries to figure out which pin was what polarity. Heat shrink because it looks nicer.

 

[ibob4tacoz]

Next was the swapping in a linear clutch spring. I was getting real tired of the squeaking the pedal was making.
The mod got rid of the squeaking for a short period of time. I think I need to re-lube or maybe try a different lube, I used a multi-purpose from PB Blaster that comes in a black/white tube with grey grease). Outside of that, it was well worth it. It made the pedal much more firm/less vague and I definitely got a better idea of how the clutch was grabbing.

Assembly fresh out of the footwell.

Was super grimy, I bet no one has cleaned up there since the car left the factory.

Fresh bits and chopped a bit off the top.

In.

Also swapped the original knob to some Amazon cheapy-boi.