Introduction, and eventualy upgrade thread......

[Stick Figure]

Introduction, and now some upgrades!

Just wanted to post a few pics of my new toy, some w/ one of the older toys, and say hi to everyone.


this is my latest purchase ... 00 SR5 Highlander package, factory locker, etc ... you probably all know more about it than i do right now .....

and a shot w/ my other running vehicle ...

I've got a couple other's as well, but they are in pieces, so you won't see them in any pics for a while!

The 4Runner is stock right now, picked up a week ago, and have only had a chance to clean it, and do some mild maintenance things. I purchased it mainly for the ability to haul things, both inside and on a car trailer, so it will probably never see a lift or too much off road fun, but if anyone in the so cal area is going on some easy trails, i would love to give it a shot, feel free to PM me.

First few mods will be some things to help the gas millage w/ it, and of course pick up a few horse power. I'll post a bit more when i have some more time to start playing w/ it.

and if you want a couple other pics .... http://s524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/StickFigurePerformance/

 

[shootmymime]

one question, well really two

1, are your windows tinted? they look really dark


2, do you like silver?


well welcome to the fourm

 

[trd_4runnin]

Both the 4Runner and the IS look great. Looking forward to seeing you around.

 

[Stick Figure]

The IS is tinted on the darker side .... law enforcement reminds me of this once and a while lol .... the 4runner is just factory windows .... no aftermarket tint. .. not yet anyway, i'm undecided on what i want to do there.

as far as the MSM (silver) ... well the IS, is what i found near me at the time that was a manual trans, so i got it. having three pedals in that car was far more important to me than the color. I figured if the 4Runner was available in that color, then why not be a dork and have matching cars for what its worth my other ones are white and red, so they will throw off the whole "theme" The 4runner also had all the options i wanted/didn't want and again was close and a decent price, so i can't complain.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Welcome to the forums and nice vehicles too.

 

[jasonran]

This is almost my exact combo as well- 97 runner and 03 IS300 Sportcross!

 

[Ron Helmuth]

drool drool

I had not seen that color combination on a Highlander model - that is a gorgeous look on a Runner.

Love the body colored bumpers, and body colored fender flares, and the coveted hood scoop. drool drool drool


Clear corners and tails and turn signal lenses for the Runner would really complement the IS "twin" .


thanks for posting up those sweet photos and welcome to T4R. We will have you modding and upgrading in no time.

You Cali guys really keep your cars washed and waxed.

 

[Stick Figure]

Ron: clear corners will most likely find there way on the 4R, but not top priority right now.

So far i've done the normal tune up stuff, i still need to do the full fluid change to make sure i get some quality synthetics in there (most likely redline).

The other thing i have done is some datalogging, and found that the timing curve is pretty flat on this thing, so i will probably be throwing an emanage ultimate on it to be able to do some minor NA tuning while i'm hunting for a good used supercharger set up. Thats getting a bit ahead of myself though.... the other thing i want to do is since the emanage can control an electric fan turn on, i want to get rid of the clutch fan, and see if i can gain a few MPG w/ the E fan. Right now i'm at 16mph w/ AC on 100% of the time, so we will see what happens.

 

[Stick Figure]

Figured it was time to do a little update on the truck..... i have gotten a few things done ... some minor like getting the Alpine in it w/ aux input, and the viper alarm/remote start, the HID's etc.

The most recent additions are where i snapped a few pics:

New fan shroud on the radiator ready to be installed. I did most of this work at home, so quality isn't quite what it could be, but overall i'm super happy and fitment is good.

Fan bracket after meeting my chop saw. Not the safest way to cut this thing down, but it had to be cut down, so i did what i had to!

1" freeze plug sealed it back up after i gutted the center of the bearings out. I would like a cleaner finish on this, but it will have to wait. Right now its functional, but just not as pretty as i would like. The other problem is that w/ the new belt routing it runs the alternator belt too close to one of the bolts that mounts this, so at some point i need to machine the corner down to countersink the bolt.

First attempt at triggering the fan..... the switch wasn't working, and it wanted to leak. I knew it was a bit risky going into such a thing piece, but i was hope full. No such luck just wanted to leak! I tried a couple of solutions, but at the end of the day i took a brass bushing in the 1/2 x 3/8 NPT, and threaded it in then brazed it. to keep it from leaking. The switch itself i ended up switching to a Honda unit from the 80-early 90's era. Works great so far!

I'll have to snap a few pics of the final install. as well as some from the up coming trip from the west coast to the miswest.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

Where in SoCal are you? It seems more and more are 4Runners are showing up here lately, that looks like this photo could be in Trabuco Canyon...

Welcome to the 4Runner life!

 

[Stick Figure]

i'm currently in the rancho cucamonga/ontario area ... pics were taken on the way up Mt baldy.


I should also mention the reason for such an extreme change when going to the electric fans is that the bearings in the fan bracket were starting to make some noise. otherwise i would have left the stock sized belts on it and saved myself some work.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Looks like some nice work man.

Did you go with the Viper 5900? How do you like it?

 

[Stick Figure]

mine is technically the 791xv or something like that ... basically it was the 5900 before they cahnged the name. Same features from what i was told. As far as my review...... I still prefer the older gen 4 clifford stuff, but this isn't bad. First thing i had to do was order the "companion" remote to get rid of the big bulky battery eating LCD screen remote. The concept behind that remote is great, but i was replacing batteries in it like once a week, and i just wanted something smaller. That reminds me i still have a window module to hook up.

 

[Stick Figure]

So time to update the thread w/ a bit of new info:

after breaking a belt in one of the cheap Remington tires that were on the truck when i bought it, an upgrade was needed.

265/70/17, got them used w/ the wheels for a good price. The wheels fit pretty well, they seem to sit a little farther in than stock, and will rub a bit on full lock, but nothing to major. I will probably try some wheel spacers in the near future.

The next problem of course was that the tire was an 1 taller, but the truck was not, meaning it was time for at least a little lift.

I ended up going w/ the 99 "tall" springs.

part numbers:
FR Springs - Blue / Yellow (48131-35400) Passenger Side
FL Springs - Blue / Pink (48131 - 35350) Driver Side
REAR Sprigs - Yellow / Red (48231 - 35210)

I got the fronts used off of yotatech for a good price, and the rear i got for free from sikhiluxsurf. I'm guessing these springs had spacers on them at one time because they felt a little loose. The gesture was much appreciated, but i ended up getting a new set from Carson Toyota for $65 each. If anyone else wants to try these rears in their 4runner, they are up for grabs.

I topped off the set up w/ some new bilstein shocks.

I am supper happy w/ the end result, i can still get in and out w/ out having any steps or sliders yet, and it has pretty good clearance for off road fun. The ride on pavement is perfect for me, but then my cars are set up w/ pretty stiff "race" suspension, so if you are looking for a soft ride, don't take my advice.

Now for the important part: in trying to decide what to do for a new suspension, i did a lot of research.

and of course figured i would share my research:

removed because its old and broken

this database is in just word format, but i can upload the original that was done in the Lotus 123 program if anyone needs it. I would like to continue this database to help others and probably myself when i inevitably want to upgrade again, so if you have anything to ad, or a correction to the info i have please let me know.

and to finish this off i'll throw up some current pics of the 4runner from today ........

 

[kellogg]

looks good Brandon!

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Looking good.

Do you know what the total lift the '99 springs gave you was?

I've heard that there were two springs for '99's, one was regular height and then one that was obviously taller. Would I need to ask for a specific type?

 

[Stick Figure]

total lift will depend what you start off w/ which was the biggest problem i had trying to figure out what the end result would be. i got very tired of 2" lift advertisements, when nobody seems to know what its 2"s taller than. I put my end result heights in the spreadsheet, along w/ the before, and a few others as well. Just open the document that i have linked there, and that should hopefully answer all of your questions regarding different heights. As far as which ones to order, if you want to order direct from the toyota dealer, i have the part numbers listed, or sonoran steel offers them in a set. I tried to buy just the rears from sonoran, but they refused to sell only a pair, which is when i just got them from carson toyota. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214915

 

[delta265]

Did you end up gaining any MPG from doing the e-fan conversion?

 

[Sloan]

i love the way your truck looks with the rims and tires.

 

[Stick Figure]

Did you end up gaining any MPG from doing the e-fan conversion?

i did, but some of that was probably the fact that i had the bearing going out in that water pump look alike idler pulley. It would be nice to be able to do an actual comparison on a good stock setup to the E fan. are you thinking of doing the conversion?


sloan thanks for the compliment