mrsingh's 99 T4R 4WD Build Thread

[mrsingh]

Good Morning All,

I just picked up a 1999 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4WD from my uncle in Vancouver who was the original owner. The truck sat parked under a tree for the past three years so is in a little rough shape for now. The good news is it has 203,000 kms (~126k miles), only one minor parking lot accident on the front end and was dealer serviced until it was parked. Oh yes and it was free!

So far I have spent about $3,500 doing all the required and routine maintenance, from a full tuneup, front and rear diff service, water pump and timing belt replacement, new serpentine belts, new battery, new brakes all around and a set of BF Goodrich tires. After that it made the 1,000km (600 mile) trek from Vancouver through the Rocky Mountains to its new home in Calgary.

Since it will be my winter daily and mild project the plans for it are simple for now.

First of all it needs to go through an out-of-province inspection to get registered here in Alberta, and needs a full detail in and out. The interior is filthy with dirt and pine needles everywhere, the outside cleaned up pretty well after being hit with a pressure washer.

It also needs new windshield (being installed as we speak), new front bumper valence and refitting of the existing bumper, touchup paint for the rock chips, and being a Vancouver vehicle it has no rust on the body and very little surface rust on the frame but I plan to attack that with POR-15 this summer.

Long term plans, TRD Gen1 Supercharger? Well I can dream...

 

[mrsingh]

Ok update, new windshield is in, and the truck is in a shop for a full interior and exterior detail today. The interior is filled with pine needles and dirt and really needs a good shampoo.

I was supposed to get it inspected tomorrow so that I could register it but that is now a no go, just noticed last night that the parking brake is not working - automatic fail no need to waste $150.

On top of this on the way home from Vancouver the truck ran out of gas in the mountains with the gauge still showing half a tank (I wasn't driving). Unfortunately, it is now obvious that it suffering from the common fuel gauge issue, bouncing between full to empty with the light flashing. I tried the gauge recalibration procedure to no avail. The local dealership has told me that my VIN falls within the range for a new fuel sending unit but there is no need for the motherboard for my gauge cluster. They wanted $260 for the sending unit, luckily a mechanic friend of mine in Vancouver was able to hook me up with one from Toyota's supplier for $80 and it is being shipped to me as we speak.

This weekend it will be time to drop the tank, install the new sending unit and find out what the heck is wrong with the parking brake, so that I can get it inspected and registered next week.

Wish me luck!

 

[downpour11]

This weekend it will be time to drop the tank, install the new sending unit and find out what the heck is wrong with the parking brake, so that I can get it inspected and registered next week.

Wish me luck!

Don't need to drop the tank. I made this mistake when I replaced my sending unit. Just fold down the rear seat, pull up the carpet and there is a plug that will give you access to the pump and the sender.

 

[Singtoe]

To many Sings on this forum....

 

[mrsingh]

Don't need to drop the tank. I made this mistake when I replaced my sending unit. Just fold down the rear seat, pull up the carpet and there is a plug that will give you access to the pump and the sender.

Will that work? All the posts I have read about this problem suggest that is only an access panel for testing purposes on the 3rd gen and the tank still needs to be dropped. I will take a look at it this weekend, if I can do it that way it makes life much easier!

Thanks!

To many Sings on this forum....

There can never can be too many Sings, good think mine is Singh. :music:

 

[mrsingh]

Been looking through this link which says that opening is a portal for testing only?

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/113183-fuel-gauge-issue-2.html

Has anyone successfully replaced the sending unit through this location?

 

[shiftmx]

Free?! Man, I wish something like that would happen to me.

 

[mrsingh]

Well as of today the truck has passed it's out-of-province inspection and is fully registered and plated! Very excited took it for a quick spin this evening and loved it! On top of that I have scored a set of FJ cruiser polished 17" wheels with tires for the truck, going to be picking those up in the next couple of weeks.

Realized that swapping the fuel sending unit was too much work for me with my limited time and tools, so had a mechanic friend take care of it in his shop. He confirmed that you cannot install the unit under the back seat in a third gen, and ended up having to drop the tank.

Anyways that is an update for now, will update next once I have made my Satoshi grille and get the FJ rims on!

 

[mrsingh]

Anyone have any thoughts on removing the running boards? I see it is a common mod here, I am not looking to raise the truck, but with the soon to be black Satoshi grille I am wondering how the truck will look without running boards and with some black bushwhacker fender flares. Also seriously considering painting the chrome bumpers black to match.

 

[Hepar]

Good looking rig! Any reason you're considering a 1st gen supercharger instead of a 2nd gen one?

Anyone have any thoughts on removing the running boards? I see it is a common mod here, I am not looking to raise the truck, but with the soon to be black Satoshi grille I am wondering how the truck will look without running boards and with some black bushwhacker fender flares. Also seriously considering painting the chrome bumpers black to match.

They're easy enough to take off (unless the nuts are super rusty). Take off one side and see what you think.

 

[mrsingh]

Good looking rig! Any reason you're considering a 1st gen supercharger instead of a 2nd gen one?

:dammit: To be honest that was a typo, I had meant to say Gen2. That is probably the last thing on my list at the moment, would be a really hard sell to the wife right now!

 

[mrsingh]

The truck as it stands from a few weeks ago: Running boards removed, FJ cruiser wheels, TRD decals and clear corners installed.





I have a new front bumper in my garage awaiting install and am looking to purchase a new rear bumper as well (mine is pretty badly corroded). I have a 98 grille in my garage, I just need some time to hack it up to do the Satoshi mod. Long term plans (next spring) are new 99 tall springs and shocks and hopefully I can source a clean set of Sport fender flares!

Oh and before anyone notices, my front lawn looks much better now after some seed!

 

[StingRay98-00]

You might have talls in there now. It looks taller lhan my 2000. Better check.

 

[mrsingh]

You might have talls in there now. It looks taller lhan my 2000. Better check.

Are you sure? The truck was never modified and is a stock Canadian spec SR5 V6. It is sitting higher with the FJ summer rims, but looks lower when the stocker 16's with winter tires are on it.

 

[mrsingh]

My brother-in-law borrowed my truck today in a freak snowstorm that showed up overnight. He took a few pics of it out and about and sent them to me.

 

[mrsingh]

Took a couple quick pictures yesterday after digging out from a snowstorm.

 

[mrsingh]

I finally ditched the old rusty bumpers for some clean used ones I found. I chose to bedline the bumpers black, and plastidip the emblems. After I finished I realized the grille looked out of place, even though I am currently building a Satoshi grille, I plastidipped the stock one in the mean time. I experimented with some yellow film I had laying around on the stock turn signals. After almost a year, I finally installed the SR5 flare caps from D Farms to complement the flares.

I ordered a new set of the factory fog lights, but have not installed them as I haven't tracked down a turn signal stalk with the fog light control yet.

I have the Tundra 231mm brake calipers (from NAPA), with the OEM pads, Stoptech rotors and stainless brake lines waiting to be installed this weekend. I already added Spidertrax spacers to accommodate the brakes under my factory wheels which I run in the winter.

The front bumper is out of alignment slightly, I will adjust it on the weekend when I swap the FJ wheels out for my winter set, and install the Tundra brakes.

Thanks for looking!

 

[mrsingh]

Just got these back from the powdercoater, and now the Satoshi-esque grille project can begin!

 

[mrsingh]

The work on the truck continues!

Thought I would post a picture of the DFarms flare caps, this was after some bondo and sanding to get them smooth prior to painting them with the Rustoleum Bedliner:

When I first got the truck two years ago I went through the whole brake system. At the time I didn't know about the Tundra brake upgrade, and went with stock NAPA replacements. I've warped the rotors twice since and have generally hated the truck's braking, to a point where I almost considered getting rid of it.

After the rotors warped the second time, I had just had enough. Yesterday I finally finished installing the Tundra 231mm brake upgrade - NAPA calipers, OEM pads, Brembo rotors. I ordered the Stoptech stainless brake lines but they haven't come in yet and couldn't wait any longer - will install those in the spring.

With snow in the forecast (which arrived today), I also put on my stock wheels back on with winter tires. I had previously ordered some 02 taillights from Eagle Eyes on Ebay, and threw those on as well.

I also also picked up a set of Depo replacement OEM foglights. Need to get the new turn signal stalk with fog light control, then I will install those as well.

The work also continues on my Raptor style grille...

Really want to go with a mild lift in the Spring to refresh the sagging suspension; thinking TRD Tundra/OME 906 coils and Bilstein 5100s. Would also like a full size roof rack, like the one from Whitson Metalworks when he starts fabricating them again!

 

[mrsingh]

Spring 2016 Update:

The new Satoshi/Raptor style grille is a work-in-progress, so I am still running the OEM one for now. I still have my fog lights in a box, as I haven't found the correct stalk to replace to add the fog light control, hopefully will find something this summer so I can install those as well.

I didn't like how the rear wheels looked narrower when using the square 1.25" Spidertrax setup, so I ended up swapping the rear spacers out for a 1.5" set.

Put my FJ cruiser wheels back on for the summer, but decided to try plastidipping them to continue with the silver and black theme, fairly happy with the results so far!

Prior to the winter I had painted my bumpers with bedliner, unfortunately the rocks they throw down on the roads here in Calgary during the winter took a toll, I have quite a bit of chipping on the front bumper with the chrome peaking through. So I put another coat of bedliner, and followed it up with a coat of plastidip on top. Hoping this will be a bit more durable, the rough texture is still visible with the plastidip layer, so I am happy with how it turned out.

Coming up next month, lift! Being that the truck is still a daily pavement pounder, I am going mild with the OME 880/906 and OME shock combo. Really excited to get rid of the rear sag, and see the truck with a bit of height to it!

And coming up beyond that, I now have all the parts to convert the truck over to a multimode setup, hoping to get to that in late summer, early fall!

Here are a couple of new pics of the truck next to my Corvette!