Mc1337sauce's (Modest) 1997 4Runner Build

[Mc1337sauce]

Well, even though my grill getting messed up this week was a downer, I finally got in my OEM Hilux Surf rear spoiler (thank you [MENTION=74071]Brilliant[/MENTION])! I've been wanting one of these suckers for a LONG time, so needless to say I'm pretty damn pumped. I will need to paint it to match my truck, bend one of the upper brackets into shape, and make the lower brackets for it to mount, but after that I can get it on! Assuming everything goes according to plan, this will be the next mod to get installed, followed by the projector retrofit. Stay tuned!

Oh, and the spoiler in all its bronze glory:

 

[T4R2014]

Nice. Do those black brackets sit directly on the paint? I would put paint protection film in the areas they contact.

 

[Mc1337sauce]

Nice. Do those black brackets sit directly on the paint? I would put paint protection film in the areas they contact.

Indeed they do, and I already have the film on order. Last thing I want is to scratch my original paint. For the side areas (the very ends), there is also foam tape (that needs to be replaced) which is to prevent scratching, but I will definitely put PPF under those areas as well. Should be a pretty straightforward process once all the materials are in - waiting for a small brake to bend the new brackets up, along with the 20 gauge sheet metal for them, the clear film, and paint for the spoiler. Hardest part will be finding the time to get it all done with the new semester having started.

 

[T4R2014]

Hardest part will be finding the time to get it all done with the new semester having started.

I can relate. My downside is that even though I have more than a month of break, it is way too cold for me to want to do anything in the free time I have. Now I have a pile of parts building up that will need to be held off until summer. My snail-like pace caused by excessive attention to detail doesn't help.

 

[Mc1337sauce]

I can relate. My downside is that even though I have more than a month of break, it is way too cold for me to want to do anything in the free time I have. Now I have a pile of parts building up that will need to be held off until summer. My snail-like pace caused by excessive attention to detail doesn't help.

In AZ we have the opposite problem - winter is nice, but it's nearly impossible to get any real work done in 115+ degree weather. My OCD doesn't help expedite any mod, either - I have to always have perfect paint, straight cuts, matching bolts and nuts, etc., which means trips to the auto parts and hardware stores all the time. Plus I'm a stickler for using OEM parts when at all possible, so I'm often waiting for parts to come in (like right now, on a rear wiper rest and cowl push clips)...my Toyota parts guy knows my dad and I by name. It's bad...haha.

 

[Mc1337sauce]

Quick update; I've been super busy lately, but I will be able to start working on more mods come summer.

I've been daily-ing the 4Runner for a while now, so I've been racking up the miles. Hit a milestone on the road to 200k+...pardon the dust, I've been enjoying the last bit of time I can drive windows-down before the 100+ degree summer days.


I'm at about 15k miles since turbocharging, and once I got all of the tuning issues worked out no issues at all since with the exception of a recurring exhaust leak between the turbine housing and downpipe...hopefully I have that resolved now.

Here's a pic I never posted from a photoshoot I did with a friend of mine last year...the truck should have a slightly updated face next time I post a major update.

 

[96BladeRunner]

Love your build man! I've pretty much been following your build from day 1 and your JDM theme has inspired me to do that to mine (only have JDM corners rn). Super jealous of the Hilux Surf spoiler btw! I really want one but may just end up getting the burtman replica

 

[Mc1337sauce]

Love your build man! I've pretty much been following your build from day 1 and your JDM theme has inspired me to do that to mine (only have JDM corners rn). Super jealous of the Hilux Surf spoiler btw! I really want one but may just end up getting the burtman replica

Thanks for the complements man! Your build looks like its off to a great start.

The Burtman spoiler is great from what I've heard if you don't mind drilling into your hatch. I can't stomach doing that to my truck, hence the long search for the OEM clamp-on style one. JAOS also made a clamp-on spoiler, so if one of those pops up, grab it, as it has been discontinued for a long time.

If there's anything you want to see in more detail on the truck as far as mods are concerned, chances are I have made a YouTube video on it, or will do so when I have time (for the stuff that's pending). Feel free to check out my channel here...hopefully you learn something or are at least mildly entertained :laugh:: https://www.youtube.com/user/redonKiLaus

 

[96BladeRunner]

If there's anything you want to see in more detail on the truck as far as mods are concerned, chances are I have made a YouTube video on it, or will do so when I have time (for the stuff that's pending). Feel free to check out my channel here...hopefully you learn something or are at least mildly entertained :laugh:: https://www.youtube.com/user/redonKiLaus

Haha the funny thing is that I've seen all of your videos actually and I'm subscribed! They have proved quite useful as I've used them as a reference

I didn't know you had to do additional drilling on the hatch for the Burtman spoiler which is something I am not willing doing. I have the OEM spoiler and I thought that all you need is those holes :shrug:

In this video it looks like yours but it is the Burtman one and you just need the holes where the OEM one would be (Which I have) and it has adhesive tape as well. Let me know what you think please

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxwgSs0eenc

 

[Mc1337sauce]

Haha the funny thing is that I've seen all of your videos actually and I'm subscribed! They have proved quite useful as I've used them as a reference

I didn't know you had to do additional drilling on the hatch for the Burtman spoiler which is something I am not willing doing. I have the OEM spoiler and I thought that all you need is those holes :shrug:

In this video it looks like yours but it is the Burtman one and you just need the holes where the OEM one would be (Which I have) and it has adhesive tape as well. Let me know what you think please

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxwgSs0eenc

These are the install instructions for the Burtman spoiler:

As far as I can tell, you do need to drill a few new mounting holes as well as one for the brake light wiring to pass through. The original holes will be covered by the new spoiler's legs, though.

Since you have the factory deflector, the Burtman spoiler is the best option since the OEM Toyota or JAOS wings do not cover the holes as far as I know.

 

[96BladeRunner]

As far as I can tell, you do need to drill a few new mounting holes as well as one for the brake light wiring to pass through. The original holes will be covered by the new spoiler's legs, though.

Since you have the factory deflector, the Burtman spoiler is the best option since the OEM Toyota or JAOS wings do not cover the holes as far as I know.

Ok thanks man! That helps but really scares me from buying it due to the drilling. I'll just have to keep looking into it. Guess I'll just try to find a field monitor then haha

 

[Mc1337sauce]

Ok thanks man! That helps but really scares me from buying it due to the drilling. I'll just have to keep looking into it. Guess I'll just try to find a field monitor then haha

There are a couple field monitors for sale in the classifieds right now assuming they've not been sold yet. Don't expect them to come cheap, though...nothing imported from Japan does.

 

[96BladeRunner]

There are a couple field monitors for sale in the classifieds right now assuming they've not been sold yet. Don't expect them to come cheap, though...nothing imported from Japan does.

Oh yeah I definitely know that. Ill try and find them and maybe buy one. I'm trying to save money but this website isn't helping...it's sad lol

 

[Alikazam]

Nice looking 4runner. Your videos are great and I like your attention to detail. I think you might be over estimating the actual horsepower though on the 3rz at the boost level you are at. I bought my 4runner at 215K miles (had perfect compression, 180-180-181-180 on the cylinders)and we installed the Enforcer turbo kit (T3/T4 46 trim) on it. Bone stock with a cold air intake tube and K&N filter it put 130 whp on a dynojet chassis dyno, and with the enforcer kit it did 156 whp (stock computer untuned). After adding an AEM FIC-6 piggy back it made 170 whp. This is with all stock engine components and the AEM piggy backed on. I didn't like how the AEM idle worked though so sold it and am running just factory computer again but working on some other upgrades including a Hydra EMS full stand alone. Kris of KO Racing is my brother and I work at his shop sometimes to help out so just wanted to say thanks again for your posts and input as well as help you out with some real numbers. Have a good day! I'll be putting up a build thread for "Betty" soon (my 1998 4runner 4x4 3rz 5-spd manual). Keep up the good work!

 

[Mc1337sauce]

Nice looking 4runner. Your videos are great and I like your attention to detail. I think you might be over estimating the actual horsepower though on the 3rz at the boost level you are at. I bought my 4runner at 215K miles (had perfect compression, 180-180-181-180 on the cylinders)and we installed the Enforcer turbo kit (T3/T4 46 trim) on it. Bone stock with a cold air intake tube and K&N filter it put 130 whp on a dynojet chassis dyno, and with the enforcer kit it did 156 whp (stock computer untuned). After adding an AEM FIC-6 piggy back it made 170 whp. This is with all stock engine components and the AEM piggy backed on. I didn't like how the AEM idle worked though so sold it and am running just factory computer again but working on some other upgrades including a Hydra EMS full stand alone. Kris of KO Racing is my brother and I work at his shop sometimes to help out so just wanted to say thanks again for your posts and input as well as help you out with some real numbers. Have a good day! I'll be putting up a build thread for "Betty" soon (my 1998 4runner 4x4 3rz 5-spd manual). Keep up the good work!

Interesting, do you know how much boost you're running on your truck? The dyno sheet on the KO Racing site (also from a Dynojet dyno) shows 175 whp/185 lb-ft wtq for a 2WD Tacoma @ 4.5 psi. My truck definitely keeps dead-even pace up to some sketchy speeds (tests performed in Mexico...lol) with a couple supercharged 5VZ trucks (both Taco and 4Runner), so your power figure seems a bit low to me. I can't remember if I'm running the 4.35 or 5.8 psi spring in my wastegate, but my peak boost is in the 5-6 psi range.

I will say that my truck does heatsoak very badly, so if you were idling for a while before your turbocharged dyno run that might have caused you to be down on power. During the summer here when it's 100-115 degF out, I barely drive the 4Runner because heatsoak happens so quickly and I lose so much power due to the extremely high IATs.

Looking forward to taking a look at your build when you get it started. Those of us with street-focused builds are definitely few and far between!

 

[Alikazam]

Interesting, do you know how much boost you're running on your truck? The dyno sheet on the KO Racing site (also from a Dynojet dyno) shows 175 whp/185 lb-ft wtq for a 2WD Tacoma @ 4.5 psi. My truck definitely keeps dead-even pace up to some sketchy speeds (tests performed in Mexico...lol) with a couple supercharged 5VZ trucks (both Taco and 4Runner), so your power figure seems a bit low to me. I can't remember if I'm running the 4.35 or 5.8 psi spring in my wastegate, but my peak boost is in the 5-6 psi range.

I will say that my truck does heatsoak very badly, so if you were idling for a while before your turbocharged dyno run that might have caused you to be down on power. During the summer here when it's 100-115 degF out, I barely drive the 4Runner because heatsoak happens so quickly and I lose so much power due to the extremely high IATs.

Looking forward to taking a look at your build when you get it started. Those of us with street-focused builds are definitely few and far between!

My 4runner is a 4x4 so that might explain some differences also over the 2wd 2rz, and if I remember right that 2rz was on a stand alone engine management computer, but other than that, it should be a more apples to apples comparisons (3rz to 3rz). My 4runner was dyno'd at the same place the 2rz truck was dyno'd before KO Racing (my brother) got his own in house 224 DynoJet chassis dyno. So all future testing (yes we test a lot) will be done on that one. My boost gauge shows 5-6 psi, but the actual number (autometer isn't super accurate) was not recorded on the dyno as the shop we used to go to didn't have a transducer set up to record boost. It will be on the dyno sheets in the future. I've kept up pretty well with my 4runner with v6 vehicles off the line, and she had no troubles hitting about 110 mph once on some open back road. Ill overlay the 3 different dyno plots with the AEM turbo charged (green), stock computer turbo charged (red, it pulled timing in the middle rpms, as seen by the dip), and stock before turbo charging (blue) so you can get an idea. Some sort of tuning computer helps a TON, needless to say. I might have been able to get the AEM to idle better if I kept playing with it, but for my ultimate goals, stand alone is the way to go and just swap back to factory ECU when it comes time to go through emissions again.

 

[Mc1337sauce]

My 4runner is a 4x4 so that might explain some differences also over the 2wd 2rz, and if I remember right that 2rz was on a stand alone engine management computer, but other than that, it should be a more apples to apples comparisons (3rz to 3rz). My 4runner was dyno'd at the same place the 2rz truck was dyno'd before KO Racing (my brother) got his own in house 224 DynoJet chassis dyno. So all future testing (yes we test a lot) will be done on that one. My boost gauge shows 5-6 psi, but the actual number (autometer isn't super accurate) was not recorded on the dyno as the shop we used to go to didn't have a transducer set up to record boost. It will be on the dyno sheets in the future. I've kept up pretty well with my 4runner with v6 vehicles off the line, and she had no troubles hitting about 110 mph once on some open back road. Ill overlay the 3 different dyno plots with the AEM turbo charged (green), stock computer turbo charged (red, it pulled timing in the middle rpms, as seen by the dip), and stock before turbo charging (blue) so you can get an idea. Some sort of tuning computer helps a TON, needless to say. I might have been able to get the AEM to idle better if I kept playing with it, but for my ultimate goals, stand alone is the way to go and just swap back to factory ECU when it comes time to go through emissions again.

The dyno on the website specifically states stock ECU, but as you said perhaps your truck being 4WD makes a decent difference. I believe the 4Runner has a different transmission from the Taco, too - if I'm not mistaken the Tacoma has a W59, but I think 4WD 4Runners (at least the V6) had the R151F. The drivetrain losses through the transfer case in the 4Runner could conceivably be a decent bit greater, too.

I considered switching to a standalone ECU as well, but the hassle of having to go back to stock for emissions isn't worth it to me. The power level that I'm at is fine with me, as I am more about reliability - the only thing that I take issue with is the ECU taking so darn long to switch from closed to open loop fuel control at WOT, but that's just something I live with. I don't know if you've discovered this, but if you roll into it instead of mashing the throttle, the ECU has a chance to switch to open loop control and timing does not get cut like it did during your dyno run...definitely is easier on the engine, and makes driving more fun since you're lengthening the drama of spooling the turbo. :lookout:

I do have a quick question: have you had any issues with your downpipe loosening on the turbo side? I have been having constant issues for the past year or so with the nuts coming loose on mine, causing a pretty large exhaust leak that makes the truck run like complete crap until I tighten the nuts back up. I've tried a couple different solutions, starting with new exhaust nuts and high-temp threadlocker (didn't have a whole lot of hope for that one, since that area's temp well exceeds the max for the threadlocker), and then when it happened again, I tried new nuts along with jam nuts, but they still managed to back off. My truck is actually parked right now since the issue has come up again and I just haven't had time to fix it for the past few weeks, but my next idea is trying deformed exhaust lock nuts and possibly new studs (all spec'd for high temp exhaust use, of course). If you or your brother has encountered this issue before and has an easier solution that I've overlooked, though, I'm all ears there. :shrug:

 

[Alikazam]

The dyno on the website specifically states stock ECU, but as you said perhaps your truck being 4WD makes a decent difference. I believe the 4Runner has a different transmission from the Taco, too - if I'm not mistaken the Tacoma has a W59, but I think 4WD 4Runners (at least the V6) had the R151F. The drivetrain losses through the transfer case in the 4Runner could conceivably be a decent bit greater, too.

I considered switching to a standalone ECU as well, but the hassle of having to go back to stock for emissions isn't worth it to me. The power level that I'm at is fine with me, as I am more about reliability - the only thing that I take issue with is the ECU taking so darn long to switch from closed to open loop fuel control at WOT, but that's just something I live with. I don't know if you've discovered this, but if you roll into it instead of mashing the throttle, the ECU has a chance to switch to open loop control and timing does not get cut like it did during your dyno run...definitely is easier on the engine, and makes driving more fun since you're lengthening the drama of spooling the turbo. :lookout:

I do have a quick question: have you had any issues with your downpipe loosening on the turbo side? I have been having constant issues for the past year or so with the nuts coming loose on mine, causing a pretty large exhaust leak that makes the truck run like complete crap until I tighten the nuts back up. I've tried a couple different solutions, starting with new exhaust nuts and high-temp threadlocker (didn't have a whole lot of hope for that one, since that area's temp well exceeds the max for the threadlocker), and then when it happened again, I tried new nuts along with jam nuts, but they still managed to back off. My truck is actually parked right now since the issue has come up again and I just haven't had time to fix it for the past few weeks, but my next idea is trying deformed exhaust lock nuts and possibly new studs (all spec'd for high temp exhaust use, of course). If you or your brother has encountered this issue before and has an easier solution that I've overlooked, though, I'm all ears there. :shrug:

The only problem I've had with mine was one of the nuts coming loose and falling off, not all of them. It was the top most one, but I've put a different self locking nut on it and no more issues.

As for the transmission, mine is a W59. Just like the tacoma's. Anyway I'll post more info and a build thread when I finally get the intercooler mounted and pipes run. Keep up the good work with your build!

You might consider the AEM FIC/6 as you can load all the tables in it to zero and it will be back to stock in a pass through scenario. Just connect a laptop and load up the tune when you're done . You would just need to figure out the Idle issues with it that I didn't have the time or energy to get into. I know for a fact that a Hydra will make my runner run top notch! so that's worth about and hour to remove the connectors from the factory ECU and plug in the Hydra or vice versa for switching between the two. Good luck again!

 

[Mc1337sauce]

I've finally gotten started on 4Runner projects once again. The truck was parked for about a month because it had formed another exhaust leak between the turbo and downpipe and I didn't have time to fix it for a while. Got it back up and running last week, this time using OEM BMW locknuts to ensure there are no problems with them backing off, along with a Vibrant gasket between the turbo and downpipe. The truck has been running great since, so I have just begun working on the mods I've had in boxes for months.

So far, I've gotten the OEM Hilux Surf rear spoiler test fitted, and I've replicated the lower bracket design (these were missing from the spoiler) through the use of pictures and refining by test fitting the templates I made up. I will be fabbing up the brackets shortly, and assuming my design fits (it should), I will post up the template and measurements in case anyone needs it in the future.

The plan is to get the spoiler mounted once I've made the brackets, and once everything has been figured out as far as that is concerned, I will get it painted and then fabricate some caps to cover the bracket mounting points as well.

I should be able to get everything knocked out fairly quickly, and once that's all done I will move on to retrofitting the aftermarket JDM Surf headlamps I have with projectors. That won't be anything crazy spec-wise (probably going with DDM stuff, since I don't want to invest a ton into a cheaper set of non-OEM lights), but it should still be a cool project since I've only seen one other set of Surf headlamps retrofitted on here.

That's all for now, so I will leave you with pics of the spoiler that I took when I test-fitted it. Stay tuned for more!

 

[CremeBrulee]

Love it

What a wonderful build. I hope that one day I can mold "Martha", my 4-Runner, into something as unique as yours.