Lud's Build

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Lud

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So ive been on here since 09 when i bought my first 4runner. It was a 99 2wd. I put 45000 miles on it in a year and than sold it. I was looking for another one but i decided for a diesel so out of 4runners for a bit. I bought my 02 4wd in may of 2013. The previous owner put a 2 inch puck lift and did a lot of audio stuff. When my wife joined me in hawaii the 4runner became hers and i bought a 85 4runner. Pretty awesome truck but now having a kid on the way i bought my wife an 05 Sequoia and i got my 4runner back which i had done nothing to since i bought it besides regular maintenance. Here are some Pictures.

Day I picked it up. had the 2 inch puck lift and newer 4runner rims. Tires were 265/70r17




went up Kaena point on the north/west side of the island


Anyways heres my 85 and some wheeling pictures






So now that my wife has the sequoia i get my 4runner back. Here she is same as before but new wrangler at/s 265/70R17


So i picked up a sonoran steel 1.2 lift while i was out in arizona and brought it back as a checked bag to save some money since shipping to hawaii is pretty expensive. here she is lifted with the 265 70 r 17



Then i wanted new tires even though it was a huge increase I wanted to get a little bigger tires to fill the wheel wells. I had my heart set on 285/70 17 new bf goodrich all terrain k02. but after some much debate i decided to go with the cooper st maxx. I ended getting them in 255/80r17. so nice tall pizza cutters. so far love these tires. they are quite. havent had them offroad yet but they look great. ill let you know what i think. also i decided to take my wife rims from the sequoia.





all packed up to get them changed. i changed the rims and tires all around it was a huge pain but im glad i did it.





tires and rims on. love the look. now i have to detemine if i want the center caps or not and if i should paint them black or not.






So there is my truck and getting everyone up to speed where i sit now. I plan on making it in to a camping/fishing rig. I have 1 and a half years left in Hawaii so i am building it up slowly over that so when i get back to mainland i can buy the last few big purchases.

Next on the list
Tacoma ARB bumper
sliders
weather tech floor mats
seat covers
new stereo

once back in the states
Rear bumper/tire carrier
whitson metal works rack
skid plates

Well thats it for now. Let me know what you think on the wheels. center caps or no and black or what they are. maybe gun metal grey

--Lud
 
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Nice 4Runner man! I love that wheel and tire combo. I almost went with the Cooper ST Maxx myself. They jumped up in price about $80 per tire it seems in the last month, so it made it easy to pick between two tires that I really liked. I ended up with the KO2s.

As far as the center caps go, I would put them back on, and paint to match. I have always been a fan of those wheels.
 
Yeah living in Hawaii the cost of tires is pretty high. I was able to get the cooper's off Amazon for 218 a tire with free shipping which the ko2s were 254. I really like the look of the tall skinny tires. So what do guys think leave them the stock color or paint black?
 
Nice looking t4r, man. Looks really clean. And good choice on the tires/wheels. Makes me miss my sequoia wheels.
 
That 4Runner looks super clean.

I wouldn't paint them black. I'm not too big of a fan of black wheels though. If anything go for an anthracite, gunmetal kinda color.

This is gonna be a stupid/weird question, but how many wheels+tires did you have in the back of your 4Runner in that picture where you were going to get the tires switched out?
 
Yeah I am leaning towards gun metal. There are 8 tires in the back of the 4 runner with one on the roof. Yeah I had to take off the sequoia tires to put my new tires on. Than had to take the tireS that were on the 4runner and put the sequoias tires on them. And I had a new 285 75 16 Rim and tire that I got for 50 I'm using for a spare. So a lot. But I did it all myself at the auto hobby shop in pearl. Cost me 60 bucks to do all the mounting and balancing
 
So i went to get an alignment and my caster is maxed out. Now thinking about a new upper control arms so everything can be aligned properly. I was looking on toytec and saw the total chaos and spc upper control arms. Besides price is there a significant difference? Has anyone had any experience with either and have a recommendation?

--Lud
 
Went with the LR upper control arms from fat bobs garage. Should be here in a few days and installed this weekend
 
Just did the LR upper control arms today. I took awhile until I had the right tool. so after many trips to the store for Rent a Tool i went to NAPA and got a tie rod puller. Was able to press the bearing out easily. The giant monstrosity of a bearing press was to much. After the first one was done i worked on the drivers side and with my new knowledge i knocked it out in about 45 min. Than took it to the alignment shop to have my heart crushed. They still couldn't get in to align. Not because of the caster this time but the drivers side tierod was frozen. So after the many recommendations of Camel Toyota i ordered a new inner and outer Tierod. Never changed a tie rod before but figured it cant be too hard. Any one have pointers on making it an easier job. I know i need to get a inner tie rod adapter to pull it.

I will do that this coming up weekend so ill just drive the 85 in to work.

Next big purchase i think will be the ARB front bumper. Hopefully it wont take to long to get to hawaii.

--Lud
 
Lud said:
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Click to expand...

Tie Rods are easy work- no "tricks" needed as it's very straight forward... Not sure what this "inner tie rod adapter" is. The only pointer I have is counting the exposed threads so your alignment isn't TOO far off once you're done. It'll make the drive to the alignment shop better.

Here's a good video to help visualize the process. There's nothing to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVQHgcXEhpE

As for the wheels...

A clean thundercloud metallic is by far my favorite 4Runner. I honestly think if you paint the wheels black it'll take away from that. You NEED center caps though... Looks incomplete without them. If you're set on painting them I'd try to replicate the factory gun metal version of those wheels.

Glad to see you're making the most of your service time in Hawaii... Too many people stay inside while stationed over there.
 
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I would put them back on, and paint to match. I have always been a fan of those wheels.
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Thank you for the video. Should make it easier. So camelback toyota has awesome customer service. They called this morning to combine my orders. After my last headache of after market parts going to try and go strict oem from now on.

Also center caps are back on and I like the look. For right now I'm leaving them this color but might paint them gun metal grey in the future.


 
So got all my parts in for the tie rod. The video posted by A.wilson was so helpful. This job was incredibly easy. Because of the video figure there is no need for detail.

Tire off


the outer tie rod was stuck on the inner pretty good. the joints were not in terrible shape but i couldn't get it aligned and figured maybe its a sign. so started to pull both inner and out out together


tried my best to get it unstuck but there was no budging it. so busted out the grinder and cut through the outer tie rod so i could get the boot and clamp.



all installed. cant complain as it was very easy to do. now for an alignment in the morning.


also toady i picked up a new dome light and cargo light for 20 bucks from the u pull it place. The cargo light was broken so figured it was cheaper to replace than try and fix it. also this is my old cover. it was so yellow and gross. the new one is nice and clean. if any ones wants them just cover shipping and there yours.



Next big thing will be arb bumper. also thinking about mounting a cb in the ash try. Also looking for a local welder than can make a rear bumper for me.

--Lud
 
What video are you speaking of? I've got new tie-rods sitting here I just haven't had time to install them. That and the heat here in Alabama has been brutal lately.
 
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