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4RunnerKyle

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hello everyone! my name's Kyle and this is my very first vehicle that is NOT a Jeep. Ive owned 12 Jeeps in 15 years and have had them from completely stock to extreme rock crawler to expedition capable and everything in between. I'll be moving to Minnesota in January for Graduate school and i realized with the winters up there, the soft top wrangler I just sold would not suffice so I searched high and low for something suitable when I came across this. it is a 1999 SR5 4WD, 3.4 Auto, 148k miles, recent engine overhaul and thats all i know about it. Im looking forward to learning as much as I can about this vehicle so my knowledge can be on par with what I know about the Jeeps.

I envision a return to Expo sometime down the road so I would like a small 1-2 inch lift, sliders, roof rack, 32's and an ARB front bumper with winch

if anyone has good, pertinent information about this year and model, please do share!

photo-23.jpg~original

photo-24.jpg~original
 
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Welcome.
Good news, you shouldn't have to do as much wrenching on a 4runner, (except for the lower ball joints and CVs).
The 99s are one of the best years. They have the better ABS and no traction control bs.
I know you said 1"-2" lift. I'm sitting at about 4" in front and 5" in back and it feels more stable than stock.
 
Welcome! You still have the Jeep heap mentality! I know Jeeps need to be rebuilt every 80K miles, not your Toyota sir. 300K then consider a rebuild :)
 
Congratulations on one of the best decisions you'll ever make. One big item to address would be to look at the radiator. The one issue that 3rd Gen 4runners have is with a pink milkshake that can occur if your radiator goes bad and allows mixing of coolant and transmission fluid. Most people address this by installing a new radiator or external tranny cooler as a preventative measure. Other than that, I would replace all fluids, grease your zerks, check your lower ball joints, replace fuel filter, replace spark plugs and clean the throttle body. Maybe some seafoam too.
 
jreask said:
Why the engine overhaul with only 148K? I just bought a 99 SR5 4WD with a 5 Speed Manual.
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gannonrt said:
Congratulations on one of the best decisions you'll ever make. One big item to address would be to look at the radiator. The one issue that 3rd Gen 4runners have is with a pink milkshake that can occur if your radiator goes bad and allows mixing of coolant and transmission fluid. Most people address this by installing a new radiator or external tranny cooler as a preventative measure. Other than that, I would replace all fluids, grease your zerks, check your lower ball joints, replace fuel filter, replace spark plugs and clean the throttle body. Maybe some seafoam too.
Click to expand...

thanks for the welcome everyone!, i didn't think i would be as excited about a toyota as I would be. to answer some questions, the previous owner stated that a new radiator was installed along with the timing belt,head gaskets, water pump, catalytic converter and a few other things so I would think many of the preventive things were taken care of. Maybe this is the "engine overhaul" that took place.

lower ball joints seem solid.... i'll have to get on all of the other things soon

oh yeah.... and the front rotors were replaced as part of the deal as they were warped
 
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:welcome: Looks clean!

I think it is a "highlander", which is kind of an upgraded SR5. Trim Level Info

As far as maintenance, it sounds like you have your bases covered with radiator and lower ball joints. Those are the big ones.

And since no one else asked, does it have the locker?
 
Congrads on the purchase, I to have build more than 15 jeeps and dont plan to go back to chrysler products. Nice find on the t4r and welcome to the dark side or whatever jeep owners call it :lmao:
 
FR4R said:
:welcome: Looks clean!

I think it is a "highlander", which is kind of an upgraded SR5. Trim Level Info

As far as maintenance, it sounds like you have your bases covered with radiator and lower ball joints. Those are the big ones.

And since no one else asked, does it have the locker?
Click to expand...

sadly, there is no magic panel on the left side of the steering wheel! to be honest, for the price i got this thing for, I can't really complain as similar ones are going for nearly twice of what I paid and with more miles. "That Toyota are made of gold and the resale values are inflated" mentality is very apparent here in New Jersey.

would I be correct to assume that down the road I can find one and retrofit it to the rear axle or there are other aftermarket options? Im used to dropping in detroit lockers, lock rites, trac loc, and ox's in my jeeps... all mechanical, never gone down the electrical or air route
 
Welcome convert! Mileage-wise, you're set for long happy ride! theres tons of great info here in build threads and the stickies, check them out and learn up!
 
4RunnerKyle said:
would I be correct to assume that down the road I can find one and retrofit it to the rear axle or there are other aftermarket options?
Click to expand...

correct assumption. BigFishAllDay's build thread will be your best friend for that one, he did i nice write-up that links to several others. I believe Ripcord just did this as well.

Lots of Info out there, hope you like spending hours reading forum posts.

And, Welcome.
 
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