Jbot's Maintenance / Build Thread

[Jbot]

Well its finally time for me to start a build and maintenance thread. This thread is to keep an up to date log on what i have done. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

1999 2.7L 4 Cylinder
2WD
Bought in Feb of 2013
180,000 miles on the clock
Grey Interior


MODS

Interior
Custom Dash Mat
JVC Head Unit + Din pocket
Coverking Seat covers
Steering wheel cover
LED map and dome lights
LED Dash + key light ring Conversion (Red)
LED HVAC Conversion (Red)
LED in din pocket

Exterior
Removed running boards
Plasti dipped emblems
T4R decal
Bull bar
AVS Bug Deflector
Plasti dipped rear hatch trim

Wheels and Tires
Plasti dipped OEM Center Caps


Lights and Accessories
5" KC Driving lights
LED license plate lights



First a little back story: After i got my drivers permit in November, i immediately started scouring everywhere, looking for a 4runner. I have known for a while that this was the perfect truck for me, i knew it wouldn't be perfect, but it would be mine.
I found her at a tow yard. I looked her over and i knew this was a good truck that fit into my budget.

After i got her home i looked deeper into (and under) the truck and found that the engine and transmission had been rebuilt not long ago, which was an obvious plus. The ball joints were also replaced.

I started out with some regular maintenance: replacing spark plugs and wires, brake pads and shoes.

This is the day i brought her home:

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First thing i did was replace the factory head unit with a JVC

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And take off the running boards

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I live in a small town, with a lot of older people so i wanted a little more protection up front so i found a bull bar and threw it on. I also got some KC lights and wired them up to a Contura II switch

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The front seats were really worn and the drivers seat had a huge tear in it, so i purchased some seat covers. Really liked how they look and they fit real tight.

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I hated the OEM lighting so i found some plug 'n play LEDs on ebay. Love the output now. Sorry about the crappy pics but you get the idea.

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So personally i think the front looked a little naked so i got a AVS Bug Deflector and put it on the front.

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I have been noticing how faded the plastic trim on the back bumper is getting and not liking the grayish color. So i masked it up and broke out the Plasti-dip.

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This has all been done over the period of a few months. Summer is here and as more money comes in, more mods will happen. I will be updating as they happen. Thanks for looking!

 

[Bad Obsession]

Off to a great start. Clean looking truck. Do you have anything in mind for the tires/wheels?

 

[Jbot]

Do you have anything in mind for the tires/wheels?

Yeah i really want to get sequoia/tunda wheels and some BFG all terrains, but i cant justify the cost while i still have decent tread left on these. Theses are 15x7 wheels. So i think that in the near future im gunna paint these either graphite or black until i can justify new ones.

 

[Jbot]

Lights

With help from some of the numerous LED threads floating about, i did the LED conversion mod.
I don't have before pics, but it looks way better than the green that was there. Red to match my JVC head unit.
Its a crappy pic since i took it with my iphone,
which brought out the hotspots. you dont even see them in person.

I picked up some little LED lights from Walmart the other day, so i installed them into the din pocket below the radio. I ran the wires through the dash, and connected it to my aux light switch. I love it. simple but effective.

Daytime

Night

 

[Jbot]

Pics of the new front rotor install

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[Jbot]

Yikes

Truck wouldn't start up this morning... i look under the hood and the connection to the positive side of the battery was completely worn/rotted through. There was not enough metal contact to get a charge.

So i used my moms van to run down to Napa to get a new connector.
After replacing it, she started up like a dream.

The old Connector...

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[Jbot]

Maintenance so far:
May 2013: Replaced Brakes (shoes and pads) 182,800
New Spark plugs and plug wires
June 2013: Oil Change 183k miles
Aug 2013: Replaced Rotors 183,200

 

[Jbot]

Its been a while

Been a while since ive had time to post any updates.
Lately, ive replaced the battery since the old one wouldn't hold a charge.
Taken apart and cleaned all brakes (185,800 Miles)
Oil Change (185,800 miles)
New tires, AT3 Cooper Discoverys 235/75/15s (unfortunatly) hwell:
Also replaced broken automatic antenna http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/174388-metro-manual-antenna-review-write-up.html#post1781390

 

[T4R2014]

Those are some rare Bushwacker fender flares from back in the day. They made flares that looked like Limited trim flares. Nice build you have going so far.

 

[Supra725]

hey bud..

nice rig you have going on..

keep it up..

hopefully I see you around Davis one of these days.

 

[Jbot]

hey bud..

nice rig you have going on..

keep it up..

hopefully I see you around Davis one of these days.

Thanks, hopefully we will soon enough

 

[Jbot]

Mpg

Just completed a 500 mile trip from socal to norcal.

Only had to fill up once on the way and after i calculated my MPG

I found that i averaged 23.32 MPG, Which i thought was really fantastic for an almost 15 year old truck.

The trip also rolled my Odo over the 186,200 mark!

 

[Supra725]

hey bud.

do you have the link of where the leds are brought from for the gauges?

thanks.