My 98 Build Thread ~2wd 4cyl~

[~KnuckleDuster~]

I bought this Black 98 4runner with 4cyl & 2wd w/ 160k miles on her. My intention was just to have a truck to haul the dogs around in and make some home depot runs. Now I want to make it capable of some rough terrain. Lets see how it goes..

Here she is when I first got her. I had to detail, wash wax first of course..

First mods were a CD player and heavy duty floor matts

Next up got BFGoodrich All Terrain 33's and AVS Bug Deflector

Waiting to arrive: OME Suspension & AEM Short Ram Intake

Found some awesome trails basically right in my backyard. This will be my new playground. Overall the stock suspension did pretty good. I only rubbed my giant tires a few times. Heres a night shot.

Look what I found sitting on my door step this morning!

Got some Prothane sway bar bushings for the front & rear.

Modified the intake pipe a bit and threw in a K&N Filter. I also replaced the spark plugs from platinum to non plat and shes running slower now. Im going back to platinum to make sure it's not my intake pipe..

New Hawk HPS Brake Pads

Update 8/5/2011
Ok so the suspension is installed. It came out better than I thought it did! The ride off road is excellent. Absorbes the bumps and crevases with ease. On road the ride is still great. For an unknown reason my front sway bar wouldn't fit afterwards so it had to be removed. Better for off road use anyway but a waste buying poly bushings!

Rock Guards..$25 option.. worth it IMO

Trimmed my lower front bumper trim.

Edit 4/4/2013

It's been awhile since posting here! I spotted the infamous cracked exhaust manifold! It's hard to see but I'm willing to bet it's all the way through. So this is why my mpg's are sucking!

My solution, the 01+ Tacoma "Mini Header". Much better design. Ordered it up will all the proper gaskets and such.

In preparation for VHT paint job.

I spotted this K&N FIPK on ebay..the guy said it included everything except an adapter that he circled on the instructions. The adapter turned out to be the MAF so I got a complete gently used intake for $60 bucks! Dyno proven to make 6whp so they say. Ill put this on at the same time as the mini header.

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

Coated the header in VHT silver

Got everything installed! Took about 3-4 hours. Runs super smooth now. Slight increase in power if any. Sounds great though and I've got my MPG's back!

It's been awhile since my last post in here, since then I got a set of new BFG All Terrains. Went with 31's. My gas mileage is way better and the acceleration is better. Even the motor sounds like it's straining less.

Also ordered a Baja Expedition roof rack. Took a little over a month to get. I got the flat expedition style because I plan on buying a roof top tent in the near future.

Current Mod List:

BFG AT 31's
OME Complete 3" Lift Kit
881F-890R
Prothane Rear Sway Bushings
AVS Bug Deflector
Hawk HPS Brake Pads
K&N FIPK Intake
Baja Expedition Roof Rack
Rola Expandable Roof Bag
01 Tacoma Mini Header

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

Reserved for way later

 

[t4r4life]

just do the deck plate mod instead of the short ram intake, dyno shows that deckplate gets more hp than aftermarket intake, plus you dont want all the heat from the engine bay to recirculate into the intake

 

[t4r4life]

wait sry didnt see that ur 4cyl forget about the deckplate it wont work on the intake box

 

[corny]

Nice truck! A fellow 2WD

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

wait sry didnt see that ur 4cyl forget about the deckplate it wont work on the intake box

No worries. I will fab up some sort of heat shield or Ill make a CAI with all the extra crap I have laying around.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

I'll be keeping an eye on this build. My 4Runner looks similar and I'm 2WD also, so I can live vicariously thru you :banana:

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

I'll be keeping an eye on this build. My 4Runner looks similar and I'm 2WD also, so I can live vicariously thru you :banana:

Nice :thumb3: I should have my new parts in the next couple days, Ill be sure and post plenty of pics and info

 

[T4R2014]

Hmm base model w/ 4 cylinder that has leather seats? That's a pretty rare combo.

Nice truck, lookin forward to see a fellow 2WD owner build.

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

Original post updated with new toys!

 

[mibpf]

2wd Build

Please give a report on ride and definitely show pics.

 

[Hepar]

Nice! Lift is gonna look great. I'm still always amazed at what a new set of wheels and tires can do for the looks.

 

[Tomsriv]

That is a sweet looking truck! I have a 2000, same motor and 2wd.
A couple questions for you.
1. Are those leather seats original? I thought they only came on the limited or only optional on SR5.
2. Did you notice a loss in low speed power when you switched to bigger wheels? I've always hated the tiny wheels on the 4cyl models, but with the lack of power below 3500 rpm I didn't want to install larger tires and effectively raise the rear end ratio.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

2.7 2WD ftw

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

That is a sweet looking truck! I have a 2000, same motor and 2wd.
A couple questions for you.
1. Are those leather seats original? I thought they only came on the limited or only optional on SR5.
2. Did you notice a loss in low speed power when you switched to bigger wheels? I've always hated the tiny wheels on the 4cyl models, but with the lack of power below 3500 rpm I didn't want to install larger tires and effectively raise the rear end ratio.

I believe they are original. The door pannels are leather aswell. Not %100 sure though what models came with what.

I did notice a loss of acceleration due to the big tires. I got used to it pretty quick. Im hoping an intake will bring some quickness back into it.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

I believe they are original. The door pannels are leather aswell. Not %100 sure though what models came with what.

I did notice a loss of acceleration due to the big tires. I got used to it pretty quick. Im hoping an intake will bring some quickness back into it.

I'm surprised you're cool with it. I've regeared and I still can't stand it. Oh well.. saving up to rebuild the supercharger...

 

[Tomsriv]

I believe they are original. The door pannels are leather aswell. Not %100 sure though what models came with what.

I did notice a loss of acceleration due to the big tires. I got used to it pretty quick. Im hoping an intake will bring some quickness back into it.

I'm not sure if an intake will help much. I sawed off the long pipe that leads to the intake box. It used to go all the way to the back of the fender, now it just goes out to the fender. I didn't notice a difference, and I figure these engines don't need as much air as a V6.
An interesting thing about the 2.7, when they were installed in 4runners they had 8 intake ports to increase the velocity of the air in the runners to help low end torque. In 2001 when they were no longer available in the big heavy 4runner they went back to 4 port intake runners for the trucks. Also, not all but some such as my California emissions runner have a factory Tri-Y header which gives better low and mid-range torque. In a Tri-Y instead of having all the pipes go into one collector they are paired and connected before they go to the main collector. They are paired so that the suction of the exhaust from one cylinder pulls the exhaust of its paired cylinder at low-mid rpm.
If you don't have the tri-Y header you may want to get an LC Engineering header for more top end or a stock Tri-Y for more mid range power.

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

I'm surprised you're cool with it. I've regeared and I still can't stand it. Oh well.. saving up to rebuild the supercharger...

I don't commute with it so that might help. I have my IS300 if I wanto go fast. Im just happy cruising in the 4runner and letting everyone fly around me and cut me off haha

Heres my IS

 

[~KnuckleDuster~]

I'm not sure if an intake will help much. I sawed off the long pipe that leads to the intake box. It used to go all the way to the back of the fender, now it just goes out to the fender. I didn't notice a difference, and I figure these engines don't need as much air as a V6.
An interesting thing about the 2.7, when they were installed in 4runners they had 8 intake ports to increase the velocity of the air in the runners to help low end torque. In 2001 when they were no longer available in the big heavy 4runner they went back to 4 port intake runners for the trucks. Also, not all but some such as my California emissions runner have a factory Tri-Y header which gives better low and mid-range torque. In a Tri-Y instead of having all the pipes go into one collector they are paired and connected before they go to the main collector. They are paired so that the suction of the exhaust from one cylinder pulls the exhaust of its paired cylinder at low-mid rpm.
If you don't have the tri-Y header you may want to get an LC Engineering header for more top end or a stock Tri-Y for more mid range power.

I figured it wouldn't do that much. Increased throttle response would make me happy. Plus my stock air box is cracked and broken from a previous accident.