MattJakobs Build Thread-2001 Stellar Blue Pearl

Flip back a week or two and I discovered what I thought was an oil leak in my driveway. After watching my oil ever since, didn't notice myself losing any. Turns out it was power steering fluid.

This Saturday, I headed over to [MENTION=111469]sterbenlicht[/MENTION] (Brian's) house to work on the 4Runner all day. He had previously helped me with my 4Runner and he had a spacer lift he was looking to get rid of. When we put my truck in the air, we noticed I was leaking power steering fluid but we decided that would be a task for a different day.

With the help of Brian, I learned how to mount and balance tires. We also took the coil lift off of his 4Runner and put it on mine. It is just a temporary lift for me as I plan on replacing my full suspension this summer, but this allows me to do the front and back at separate times.

After the lift was swapped out, I headed to the dealership to get an alignment when they told me that some bolts on my tire rods were seized up and my steering rack was leaking (which we discovered earlier today). Brian spent the rest of his night doing the steering rack, as he had an extra laying around the garage. We knew the driver side was leaking but when we took the boot off of the passenger side inner tire rod, we discovered both sides were leaking :redbrick: He was a huge help in everything and has already taught me a huge amount about these things and how they work.

Driver side boot, you can't really tell it was leaking.
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And the puddle that quickly grew.
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I haven't taken any pictures of the lift and new tires because we finished so late and the weathers been crappy since but should have some up here soon.
 
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And for the lift pictures. As stated before, just a coil lift so I can spread out my spending (front and back) when I upgrade the suspension. The tires are a little more tucked in than I'd like and would ideally like to get spacers. My dad is strongly against this idea because he's heard the horror stories of people installing them improperly. So no spacers for me but I would like to find a new set of wheels with a 4.5" back spacing to push the tires out some.

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dude this is gnarly... lower ball joint failure?....

how many miles were on this until the original ball joint failed?

We were at just under 270k. About 4 months ago, it happened on the passenger side :redbrick: Not a fun experience at all, the hardest part was getting it on the towtruck
 
So no spacers for me but I would like to find a new set of wheels with a 4.5" back spacing to push the tires out some.

You need a smaller backspacing than that to stick the tires further out. Stock BS is 4.625" I believe. You want something like 3.5 - 4.0" BS.
 
You need a smaller backspacing than that to stick the tires further out. Stock BS is 4.625" I believe. You want something like 3.5 - 4.0" BS.

Ah thanks for clearing that up for me, I'm not too sure about all the back spacing and offset stuff, need to do some reading. I really like the LC wheels and they push them out. Ideally I'd like to get them powder coated some sort of thundercloud/silver mix.
 
Ah thanks for clearing that up for me, I'm not too sure about all the back spacing and offset stuff, need to do some reading. I really like the LC wheels and they push them out. Ideally I'd like to get them powder coated some sort of thundercloud/silver mix.

No problem. Actually if you went with a wider wheel, that would help make them stick out also. So like a 8" wide wheel with 4.5" backspacing is another option. I'm not sure if the LC wheels are 8" wide or not, but your current wheels are 7" wide.
 
No problem. Actually if you went with a wider wheel, that would help make them stick out also. So like a 8" wide wheel with 4.5" backspacing is another option. I'm not sure if the LC wheels are 8" wide or not, but your current wheels are 7" wide.

That's actually what I was considering, I found some AR23's that were 16x8 and with a 4.5 inch backspacing. I think the polished like finish would look good with my color.
 
Got some new TRD stickers in to better match the paint. I feel like the silver does a good job in brightening up the flares and making it appear as a more silver color. Ideally I would like to either find a part out with some Millennium Silver flares or get mine painted.

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And I also snapped this picture and liked the overall look of it
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To anyone that knows how to use photoshop:
Would you mind photo-shopping a picture of my truck with black flares and possibly black wheels. I've been trying to imagine it in my head but can't think of what a final product would look like.
Thanks
 
Untitled-2_zps9ec3fc0f.jpg~original

Untitled-1_zps882850af.jpg~original
To anyone that knows how to use photoshop:
Would you mind photo-shopping a picture of my truck with black flares and possibly black wheels. I've been trying to imagine it in my head but can't think of what a final product would look like.
Thanks
 
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Thanks man, cant tell if I like it or not but it's at least a good visual. I think I like the lighter color scheme for now.
Also, I forgot the blinkers last time I picked the 99 up because I came from school not home but since then, they have been dropped off here and are sitting in my truck. Just wanted to let you know I didn't forget on you.
 
Thanks man, cant tell if I like it or not but it's at least a good visual. I think I like the lighter color scheme for now.
Also, I forgot the blinkers last time I picked the 99 up because I came from school not home but since then, they have been dropped off here and are sitting in my truck. Just wanted to let you know I didn't forget on you.

No problem and hell, you know I'm not stressing those. I actually forgot about it entirely to be honest. ABS fixed in the other truck?
 
No problem and hell, you know I'm not stressing those. I actually forgot about it entirely to be honest. ABS fixed in the other truck?

Still no light which is good. Is due for inspection now and Mark said something about the front breaks, whether or not they'll pass. I think that is our only concern as of now. Depending on what we hear from inspections, it may very-well be at your place again.

And I still am dropping the lights off either way haha, and figuring out that damn money thing.
 
Bad ass!! Love your rig. :heh:

Thanks a ton man, still needs some work but we're going in the right direction. Going to start working on some more things(Wet Okole seat covers, new carpet, new engine, rear storage drawer, ect.) to make it a more functional, cleaner vehicle and then work on some more of the off-road based things like a new lift set up, front bumper, and sliders.
 
Have you found a solution yet to hang your fishing rods? Bass Pro has a SUV rod holder for $20, I've been using it in my 4Runner for years and it works pretty well. Holds my fly rods, spin rods and baitcasters.

Rod Saver Vehicle Rod Carrier | Bass Pro Shops

I'll most likely end up with something like this due to its affordability and how easy it is to remove. I was thinking about using some sort of trailer hitch holder (since they pop up on my local craigslist for cheap) but would prefer them to be in vehicle for extended periods of time and taking the hitch on and off could get obnoxious.
 
Have been on vacation so haven't really got anything done until now. On the way home from the airport, we officially hit 200,000 miles. And I had some Wet Okole seat covers that arrived when I was gone. I only did front for now as I never really have any back seat passengers and the seats stay folded down or out in the summer for transporting surfboards and camping gear.

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Found these just a few hours away and picked them up early this afternoon. Thinking about having them powdercoated vs a self paint job because of the chrome. Maybe a light greyish color or something with a touch of bronze to match the Thundercloud flares, any ideas?

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