Jidaran’s Build(?) Thread

[Jidaran]

Just bought my first 4Runner - an 02 Limited in Thundercloud with 191k on the clock. Here is is at the Speedy Tag and Title.

First off - I wanna give a shout out to everyone on this forum who answered my annoying questions over my last year of searching, with special thanks to Ripcord and his buyer's guide, which was immensely useful.


When I saw the ad on CL, I thought it was too good to be true. The price was great and the ad hit all the right notes: “exclusively Toyota dealer maintained and garage kept” “would drive cross country tomorrow” “little rust” even “the antenna works”. I’d been disappointed with such claims before, but I knew if it was what the seller said it was, I’d have no second thoughts about the purchase. I had been looking for something with a little lower mileage, but was willing to make an exception for a well maintained vehicle, so I made arrangements to see the truck at the first opportunity.

I hit a ton of traffic on my way to the sellers house and was beaten to the punch by another buyer. I figured with a deal like this, there was no way the other guy would pass it up. Lucky for me, he made the mistake of not bringing cash in hand. The seller said first come first served, so after a short test drive and all the requisite poking around, I forked over the cash, signed the title, I was the proud new owner of a 4Runner.

I called this a build(?) thread because wasn’t really sure that my plans qualified as such, but I thought it would be nice to keep a record here of the work I’ve done. I’m not planning on turning this thing into an off-road beast - the end game is to make this a solid road trip / camping vehicle with enough off road capability to get where I need to go, but not so much that it interferes with the day to day ride quality. The budget is tight right now, so for the time being I’m going to focus on some of the less expensive mods. In the next few years I may tilt more towards the off road mods, depending on how I find myself using the vehicle.



Work List:

Mods / installs to do
New head unit
Antenna switch mod
DRL disable mod (wired to a switch)
ABS disable (wired to a switch)
Interior LEDs
Hood strut mod
99 Talls and 5100s on all four corners

Maintenance to Do
Clean throttle body
Fix fog lights
New cat back exhaust
Reupholster driver's seat?
Coolant flush

Done
Replaced LBJs
New lift gate struts
Ultragauge installed, with Trans temp
99 Talls and 5100s installed in the rear
Dash Cam installed
Deckplate Mod
Always hot 12v outlet mod
Removed window visors
Installed factory skid plates
Andy 2.0 mod + TRAC button
ATF Flush + Oil Change
WD-40'd the chassis

 

[Jidaran]

I haven’t had the kind of time I’d like to get things done over the past few weekends, but I’ve fixed some small stuff here and there (removed the running boards, replaced the PCV valve and air filter, cleaned the MAF sensor, and got the parts and tested the circuit for the Andy 2.0 mod with TRAC button.) I live in the city and getting work done here is a real pain, I usually drive 45 minutes to my parent’s house in Annapolis. I’m still working in the driveway, but at least there’s plenty of room to jack up the car.

I finally got a good window on Saturday and used the opportunity to install some new lift gate struts and replace the LBJs.

After a bit of research on this forum, I went with the Strongarm 6815s. I was worried they would be too strong, but they work great.

I wasn’t sure when / if the LBJs had ever been replaced, and with 191k on the clock, I figured better safe than sorry. Following Timmy’s video, it was pretty straight forward, even for a relative noob like me. It took about 4 hours, mostly due to how rusted the cotter pins and castle nuts were. The LBJs didn’t have too much play, and it doesn’t look like I narrowly avoided disaster, but now I have peace of mind for the next 100k.

On the way over to Annapolis I’d noticed a clunking sound that sounded like it was coming from the right side of the suspension in the back. Sure enough the arm of the shock was completely broken.

I just ordered some 5100s (3rd Gen spec, 0-2” lift) for the back. This weekend I’ll install them and likely swap out the springs out with some new 99 Talls I got from another member on here.

I checked my front springs and they looked relatively new. PO hadn’t replaced them, but he only had the truck since 2015. From the paint, I take them to be OEM. Is there any way to determine if they’re the 2002 model year height, without removing them to measure?

Edit: I also installed the Ultragauge but I'm still working on picking a location and getting the trans temp gauge working.

 

[Jidaran]

Headed back to Annapolis to do the rear shocks and springs this weekend. One side was already broken, so removing that was easy enough.

On the other side, the upper mount was completely welded with rust, I wasted a few hours trying multiple different tricks to get it broken. Ended up sawzaling through the arm at the point of the bushing. I should have done that from the start. It only took about 10 minutes. Lesson learned.

The mount itself was pretty rusted. I sanded off what I could and sprayed it with some rust treater. The more I’m under this truck the more I’m finding things that are quite rusted. Overall the frame is still great but I’m realizing I’m gonna need to be more proactive with rust treatment than I had thought. Below is the passenger side mount, but they were in similar condition.

With the springs out, I was able to confirm that they were the originals.

The rest of the work was pretty easy. The 99s gave me about 1” in the back.

It rides well, pretty smooth but not noticeably different from the 4600s and original springs. I’ll see how this handles a load on rough roads with some short camping trips this spring. Might switch to taller / heavier springs in the back if needed. But that should be an easy job with the shocks already done.

 

[Jidaran]

Been doing a few small things here and there recently.

Did the deckplate mod. Haven't noticed a difference in pick up or mpg, but it does sound better.

Took off my window visors. I hated the way they reduced visibility. It's so much better with them gone. They were a real b*tch to remove though. Took me about 2 hours total to get all the adhesive off. Not fun.

I wanted the option of always hot 12v power, so I bought a power outlet relay on amazon and modded it as shown here. I wanted to avoid accidentally killing my battery, so I'm keeping the modded relay in the glove box, to be swapped with the original as needed. It's not the most elegant solution, but it'll work for now.

Got a text from the PO saying he found the factory skid plates in his garage. I picked them up and installed without issue, except for needing to retap some rusty threads on one of the mounts. It was nice to hear from the PO. Not that I had any major doubts, but it certainly boosted my confidence in his his honesty, since he was offering me parts he could have easily got $100 for on CL.

Threw a P0446 yesterday (first code so far). Noticed some tiny cracks in the gas gap, but that's the extent of the investigation so far. Looks like I got a project for the weekend :-/

 

[meeceboy78]

nice runner.

 

[Jidaran]

Thanks [MENTION=111158]meeceboy78[/MENTION]!

Good news and bad news over the weekend. On the good side, I think a loose gas cap was causing the P0446, it hasn’t come back since I inspected it on Friday.

On the bad side, I got rear ended on 395 coming into DC. Traffic on the bridge is often erratic, you can have one lane slow to a stop while the two lanes around it are at 45 mph. That’s what happened to us – traffic came to a halt in front of us, and I had to come to a hard stop to avoid hitting an Odyssey. The Lexus behind us didn’t see me in time, slammed into me, pushing me into the Odyssey. We were fine, no airbags deployed. The Lexus looks totaled. My rear bumper is pushed in about ½” on the passenger side, and it broke the trailer light wire bracket. Got a little damage on the front, but it looks superficial. We’ll see what the body shop says.

The guy in the minivan (an Uber driver) never got out to talk to us (though his passenger did.) He waited till the EMTs came, then requested an ambulance, claiming his back was sore. Considering that me and the Lexus got the bulk of the impact, I’m rather suspicious of his claims of lower back pain. But that’s on the Lexus, not me.

I know it’s a little early to jump to any conclusions, but still I’m proud of how the 4Runner held up. I’ve been rear ended twice in my time, once in a 240 Volvo and once in a 740, and both times I drove away with zero structural damage, while the other car looked to be totaled.

 

[Aeneas]

once in a 240 Volvo and once in a 740

So you too have a thing for Volvos.
I've got a '90 760 turbo. It's likely the biggest pile I've ever owned. Also possibly my favorite.

 

[Jidaran]

The 4Runner is the first vehicle I’ve owned that’s not a Volvo wagon. Once I move out of the city and have a little more space, I might pick up a 240. But they are getting pretty pricey these days.

 

[runnersT4R]

The bumpers on these are pretty substantial. My '99 once took a rear-end impact from a big old Ford truck with a huge grill guard, he was doing about 20mph and I was stopped. The Ford's grill guard got bent way more than my bumper did. The bumper just has a couple of impressions in it but nothing else got messed up. I was also shocked, just like you, that this was the only damage for a very substantial impact.

 

[Ryance39]

Looks like a nice 4Runner. Sucks to hear about the wreck, that’s never good. Intend to always run with a hitch or D ring in my receiver to, in theory, help protect the 4Runner in case I get rear ended. Worked well once on an older truck of mine. Something to consider!

 

[Jidaran]

Yeah, the hitch definitely protected my rear end (and did a number on her front).

I'm still waiting on my appointment with the auto body shop for an estimate. I took a look under the front bumper and it looks like that's gotta be replaced too.

I did some reading around here and it seems like most of the aftermarket bumpers are junk. I'm not sure I can convince the shop to source OEM parts though, considering they're at least twice as expensive. I might be stuck with aftermarket, banking on the repair shop's lifetime warranty.

In other news, the P0446 came back (just pending on Ultragauge, no CEL yet). Ordered an OEM gas gap on Amazon and keeping my fingers crossed for now...

 

[T4R_Fanatic]

Hey man love the 4runner! Noticed you said you have family in Annapolis I'm from calvert county it's good to see another person from the area on here!

 

[weekendclimber]

I got rear-ended once by someone in a kia/honda/ford car going at least 50-60mph after a similar hard braking. They pushed me into the chevy s10 pickup in front of me, which in turn push the s10 into the VW jetta in front of him. All 3 cars were totaled and not even my air bags went off. New bumper front and rear and I was good to go. Not even any frame damage :bluejump:

 

[phattyduck]

Be prepared to be totalled out from this accident, depending on how damaged the body is in the back...

Obviously, the truck is repairable and drive-able and you should repair it and drive it though!

-Charlie

 

[Jidaran]

Be prepared to be totalled out from this accident, depending on how damaged the body is in the back...

Obviously, the truck is repairable and drive-able and you should repair it and drive it though!

-Charlie

Is that possible if there's no damage beyond the bumpers? I would think not, but honestly that's based more in hope than experience. I've never been in an accident with any substantial damage before. Of course, there could always be more damage to the rear end than I can see.

If they do total me, I'll just scrounge some junkyard bumpers and install them myself. Probably would end up needing to get some stuff resprayed (can't imagine it's easy to find limited fat lip bumpers in good condition and in thundercloud), but I don't think there's any way the total cost would exceed the value of the vehicle.

 

[phattyduck]

Is that possible if there's no damage beyond the bumpers? I would think not, but honestly that's based more in hope than experience. I've never been in an accident with any substantial damage before. Of course, there could always be more damage to the rear end than I can see.

If they do total me, I'll just scrounge some junkyard bumpers and install them myself. Probably would end up needing to get some stuff resprayed (can't imagine it's easy to find limited fat lip bumpers in good condition and in thundercloud), but I don't think there's any way the total cost would exceed the value of the vehicle.

If they are planning on repairing to full factory specs (which is what I would expect for an accident that isn't your fault), you have to add parts, labor and paint (painted front/rear bumpers = blending with other panels, so half your truck will get painted). It also looks like there was some denting to the hatch. I would expect some damage behind the rear bumper.

I got ~$800 payout for a front bumper cover a couple years ago. Chrome, no damage to the crash reinforcement behind it, so truly all bolt on.

Blue book on your truck is less than its actually worth, and cost to repair this at a professional body shop is probably at least twice what you are thinking. That's why I say totaled, sadly.

If you can find the right parts and bolt them on yourself (with small tweaks as necessary), you can get it back up and running and looking good for a reasonable price...

-Charlie

 

[Jidaran]

Well I gotta give credit to [MENTION=139000]phattyduck[/MENTION] for calling it. I just got word that the 4Runner is totaled. Still waiting for numbers on the payout. Right now I’m leaning hard towards keeping it. I’m going through my insurance now, but USAA (the other driver’s insurance) offered 3200 for buy back or 5200 if they kept it.

There’s some damage I didn’t notice when I looked at it after the accident. The hatch has a slight pinch in it, but I fine leaving it as is. The floor is buckled where the brackets attach (Also, why the hell does the bumper attached to the floor? Seems like a design flaw) but I assume I can bang that out. Looks like I need to replace two pieces of the front bumper and a good bit of the back.

I pulled the part #s from the estimate:

Front Bumper
Reinforcement 12 5202135020
Valance Panel 1d 5391135912

Rear Bumper
Face Bar 1a 5210535915
Upper Plate 7 5215935040
RT Extension 9a 5210635901
LT Extension 10b 5210735901
RT Mount arm 5 5201535020
LT Mount arm 6 5201635020
Face Bar Seal 3 5259135010
Face Bar Seal 4 5259235010

Anyone got a lead on a front and rear bumper in Thundercloud? I got some time over the next two weekends and I’m not opposed to a road trip. Or would it be feasible to source of bumper of any color and pay to get it repainted?

Seems a real shame that this truck’s gonna have a salvaged title when I can fix it myself for a few hundred bucks and a good day’s work. I’d rather have had the other driver cut me a check for a grand and never gotten insurance involved in the first place.

 

[Jidaran]

Well, I gave up on replacing the bumpers. The cost wasn't worth the effort. A couple weekends ago we took off the rear and banged it back into shape pretty decent. I might address the front sometime later, but it doesn't look so bad right now.

Finally got the Andy Mod 2.0 with TRAC button done, per [MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION]'s instructions. It was a little nerve wracking (my first foray into messing with wiring) but straight foward enough.