Josh's Build Thread: 2000 T4R Limited "The Queen"

[joshespdx]

Josh's "Classic" Build Thread: 2000 Limited, Super Clean

I picked up a 2000 Limited about 2 months ago. It's single owner garage queen that has a ridiculous amount of dealer service. When I say ridiculous, I'm saying that the owner performed trans flushes (not drain and fill) every 30K, complete diff services every 30K, coolant flushes every 50K...crazy amounts of service! I can't say that I'm complaining. But wow. In addition to all of that, the interior is flawless. The leather is not cracked, torn or faded anywhere. It's amazing how well interiors hold up when there are no kids or pets involved! We'll see how it holds up to my 6 and 8-year adventurers...

Anyhow, after having it shipped from Portland, OR to Fort Collins, CO it became apparent that there was one area that was never addressed: the suspension. It was shot. Nearly on the bump stops kind of deal. That's when I jumped on here and started poking around. Having built a few BMW's and Chevy pickups through good forum advice, T4R.ORG was the obvious place to start.

After much research and few questions, I came up with a short list of fun things to do.

Purchased
Toytec BOSS 3" Lift: $1,301 shipped
Poly Steering Rack Bushing Kit: $21.50
Poly Front and Rear Sway Kits: $37.50
Addicted Offroad Front Plate Bumper: $829
Addicted Offroad HD Rock Sliders: $349
Addicted Offroad Welding Services: $200
Paint and Primer, Krylon: $40
Wheel Spacers, 1.25": $99.00
Pioneer DEH-X6700BT Head Unit: $119
Rockford Fosgate Prime R165X3: $60
Rockford Fosgate Prime R1525X2: $60
Belt Set, Gates: $46
Fuel Filter, Wix: $18
PCV Valve and Grommet: $15
Spark Plugs, Denso OEM: $26
Plug Wires, NGK: $32

Future
Cooper ATP Tires, LT285/75R16, E-range: $692
AFE Intake: $350
Addicted Offroad Rear Bumper: $599

The day after I picked it up, I put in a new Interstate battery and disconnected the antenna relay.

In the past week or so, I've replaced plugs and wires, installed a new stereo system and installed the Toytec BOSS lift (thanks [MENTION=84658]AsaSpades[/MENTION] !!!)

Since there is more in the works, I thought I would get my thread started. Thanks for all the support thus far. It's an amazing community that we belong to!

Josh


Here's a few grainy pics of what it looked like when I picked it up.

 

[joshespdx]

When I picked it up from the shipper, the damn thing wouldn't start. After getting a jump from the guy, I drove it south from Fort Collins to a friends house in Denver. The next morning I made a bee-line for Interstate Battery and picked up one of their mid-tier units with a $20-off coupon. I know you're dying to see a pic of it, but alas, I did not document the install :doh:

Not being satisfied with such a simple job, I moved on to disconnecting the power antenna. The nylon gears were clearly stripped out, leaving the antenna somewhat at half-mast (you old guys know all about that business, but I digress). After poking around the website, I found the wiring diagram for the stereo system and a post or two relating to the mysterious connector behind the center dash console. It took about 15 minutes of finagling with the mast before I could get it properly stowed. It was another 2 or 3 minutes to get the dash apart. Once I had the stereo removed, I found the antenna relay connector and simply unplugged it. Problem solved!

My index finger is touching the connector housing. Good stuff. Time for a beer.

 

[joshespdx]

It took me awhile to really lock down what I wanted to get for this thing. I made a few stops at Addicted Offroad an got some great input from Scott and few of the other guys that work and/or hang around the shop.

I took advantage of the Amazon Prime Day we had a couple of weeks ago and bought all kinds of goodness.

The plugs and wires were an interesting setup. I went with the Denso OEM plugs and the NGK direct-fit wires. I also popped in a new, all-metal PCV valve and a new rubber grommet. The grommet was so brittle that little pieces kept falling into my cover. Thankfully my fine needle nose pliers was able to pull out all the little chunks and the new unit was installed. I checked my plug gap and went to town. All in all, it was about an hours worth of work. Setup and cleanup was another hour. Not too shabby. There's a definite improvement with my cold starts and a much smoother idle.

You can see the old, faded PCV and grommet in the first pic. Shiny and new parts in the second. The jury is still out on the look of the wires. Blue is my favorite color, but whoa! It looks pretty loud under there.

 

[joshespdx]

This past Saturday proved to be quite the adventure. Toytec lift install! Two sunburns, some doughnuts and a crushed iPhone 5s later, Asaspades and I had all back together. We managed to pull it off primarily using our factory bottle jacks and our jack stands. Oh yes, and one of Asa's 35" tires...

While we were at it, the running boards came off and new polyurethane bushings were installed on the front and rear sway bars.

I have to be honest: I really had no idea what to expect in terms of the ride. I will say this, though: going from worn out suspension and bushings to a complete Toytec system with all new bushings will make your head explode. She's tight.

 

[joshespdx]

A few more shots of the install and the finished product. Well, almost finished. Power steering polyurethane bushing kit, wheel spacers and the alignment need to be finished this week.

It's been a wild week.

 

[joshespdx]

I almost forgot the corny shots of my newly installed radio...

Also, Crutchfield made this incredibly simple. Product support, instructions...it's all there. You might be able to find things a bit cheaper, but Crutchfield's way of doing things is solid. From start to finish, I was done in 3 hours. Good stuff. Time for another beer.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

I picked up a 2000 Limited about 2 months ago. It's single owner garage queen that has a ridiculous amount of dealer service. When I say ridiculous, I'm saying that the owner performed trans flushes (not drain and fill) every 30K, complete diff services every 30K, coolant flushes every 50K...crazy amounts of service! I can't say that I'm complaining. But wow. In addition to all of that, the interior is flawless. The leather is not cracked, torn or faded anywhere. It's amazing how well interiors hold up when there are no kids or pets involved! We'll see how it holds up to my 6 and 8-year adventurers...

Purchased
Toytec BOSS 3" Lift: $1,301 shipped
Poly Steering Rack Bushing Kit: $21.50
Poly Front and Rear Sway Kits: $37.50
Addicted Offroad Front Plate Bumper: $829
Addicted Offroad HD Rock Sliders: $349
Addicted Offroad Welding Services: $200
Paint and Primer, Krylon: $40
Wheel Spacers, 1.25": $99.00
Pioneer DEH-X6700BT Head Unit: $119
Rockford Fosgate Prime R165X3: $60
Rockford Fosgate Prime R1525X2: $60
Belt Set, Gates: $46
Fuel Filter, Wix: $18
PCV Valve and Grommet: $15
Spark Plugs, Denso OEM: $26
Plug Wires, NGK: $32

Future
Cooper ATP Tires, LT285/75R16, E-range: $692
AFE Intake: $350
Addicted Offroad Rear Bumper: $599

Welcome to the forum, Josh!

That's a sweet list of purchased items! The rig is going to be looking pretty damn mean once you've got all of that installed. It sounds like you're starting with a great platform too... maintenance history is huge when buying a used vehicle, and it's obvious that the prior owner loved and cared for this rig.

I'm with you on Crutchfield, too. They're the only place to go for car audio online... they have such great support.

 

[joshespdx]

Hi everyone! It's been ages since my last post here. I guess this is somewhat of a build and maintenance thread. Since the Toytec install I've managed to have my both of my CV's replaced (twice...thank goodness for warranty), sliders installed and a set of ION Alloy wheels with Nitto Terra's installed. Being parked outside this entire winter has taken a toll on my rig. My valve cover gaskets and cam plugs have both blown and I'm losing nearly a quart of oil every 1000 miles! On top of that, my belts have been howling and my brakes are on their last leg. Oh yeah...I need an oil change, too. After making a list of what I wanted and making some calls to figure out who had what, I set out to pick up a few items. Little did I know that I would come back with this list of shit:

-Valve cover gaskets
-Intake/Plenum gaskets
-Cam plugs
-Spark plug grommets
-Washer seals
-Coolant
-Degreaser
-Brake clean
-Drain pans
-More paint/primer for bumper
-Mobil1 oil and filter
-Air filter
-Brembo Rotors
-Hawk Pads
-Smittybuilt XRC 9,500 w/steel rope
-B&M Transcooler Kit
-Other minor BS

The only thing that has yet to be picked up are those stupid cam plugs! Since I don't have a second vehicle my teardown will have to wait until tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here are a few shots from the past several months. Good things are coming in the week! And if you find yourself bored over the next several days, feel free to swing up to Longmont. There's always beer.

17" ION Alloy Wheels with 33" Nittos. $550 off of CL. And my [MENTION=17736]AddictedOffroad[/MENTION] sliders

 

[joshespdx]

I also managed to get my [MENTION=17736]AddictedOffroad[/MENTION] bumper primer'd up for install. The new Smittybuilt XRC 9500 is also prepped for install. I'l be doing the B&M Transcooler upgrade when I take the stock bumper off. Anyone that needs a fat lip is welcome to mine.

 

[joshespdx]

Let the day begin!

 

[joshespdx]

Upper intake is off. Only a few drips of coolant from the throttle body lines. Progress!