New 3rd gen owner, new to these forms, intro and question

[603T4R]

Hey all!
Happy to say i picked up a 97 3.4L 5spd 4x4 a few weeks ago, and I love it.

Made the leap when i found a good deal after searching for the right truck for my needs over the past 6 months or so... Jeep wrangler, not practical enough, RX300, not truck enough, domestic SUV's - not reliable enough... likely the reasons many of you chose this awesome truck. I'm active over on a BMW form with my summer / fast / fun car (an e92 335i twin turbo (N54) coupe for any BMW fans on here)

Anyways, I am hoping the collective intelligence of this group can shed some light on a question I have.

Seats - The cloth interior of my 97 is in excellent condition, however, my back kills me after a long drive. I'd like to swap the seats for something more comfortable, so I did a bunch of research on this form (and other T4R / taco) forms, couldn't find anything conclusive... The simple question is, what seats are a direct fit for this truck? My best guess of likely candidates - RX300's, Highlanders, maybe is300's or avalons?. I'd prefer to find a pick and pull junk yard with one of those trucks wrecked, scoop up some new front seats and bolt 'em right in. My fall back plan is to grab some leather seats out of a 2000 limited, but I'm not sure if the design / lumbar support is much different if at all..... Worst case scenario, I can weld, i have all the tools and plenty of mechanical experience, but the "direct fit" is in my opinion, the better choice.
Thanks all!
-Jason

 

[GVL]

Welcome and you made a great choice with the 4Runner. Like you said, I don't know that I have seen a conclusive agreement on a direct bolt-in seat, but I'm not in mine for any distances so I haven't looked too hard - I definitely agree the stock seats could be better though.

You will find this site is a great resource for gathering and sharing information and you will probably make a few friends as well - congrats on you new rig!

 

[my92t4r]

Hey all!
Happy to say i picked up a 97 3.4L 5spd 4x4 a few weeks ago, and I love it.

Made the leap when i found a good deal after searching for the right truck for my needs over the past 6 months or so... Jeep wrangler, not practical enough, RX300, not truck enough, domestic SUV's - not reliable enough... likely the reasons many of you chose this awesome truck. I'm active over on a BMW form with my summer / fast / fun car (an e92 335i twin turbo (N54) coupe for any BMW fans on here)

Anyways, I am hoping the collective intelligence of this group can shed some light on a question I have.

Seats - The cloth interior of my 97 is in excellent condition, however, my back kills me after a long drive. I'd like to swap the seats for something more comfortable, so I did a bunch of research on this form (and other T4R / taco) forms, couldn't find anything conclusive... The simple question is, what seats are a direct fit for this truck? My best guess of likely candidates - RX300's, Highlanders, maybe is300's or avalons?. I'd prefer to find a pick and pull junk yard with one of those trucks wrecked, scoop up some new front seats and bolt 'em right in. My fall back plan is to grab some leather seats out of a 2000 limited, but I'm not sure if the design / lumbar support is much different if at all..... Worst case scenario, I can weld, i have all the tools and plenty of mechanical experience, but the "direct fit" is in my opinion, the better choice.
Thanks all!
-Jason

Welcome......get ready for some more mods. Weld in some seat brackets and fit the M6 seats in, you will thank me for it.

btw.....S54 is the best.

 

[white_n_slow]

I don't think any of those seats would be a direct bolt-in. In fact, I'm pretty doubtful that there are any "bolt-in" options other than maybe a Tacoma, although I'm not sure on that.

You can fit any seat you like that fits between the door and the console, but you'll probably need to swap rails, weld up new brackets or adapters, etc.

 

[603T4R]

Welcome......get ready for some more mods. Weld in some seat brackets and fit the M6 seats in, you will thank me for it.

btw.....S54 is the best.

S54 is an amazing motor... but the S65 is what will live in my next BMW (this spring)... last M-specific N/A motor BMW will ever produce? a 414HP V8 singing at over 8000RPM? Yep, i need that...

You have M6 seats in your 4runner? Pics? DIY? I was thinking X5 seats might be pretty awesome, but BMW to yota seemed sac religious for both MFRs.... but hey, i love em both so why not

 

[my92t4r]

S54 is an amazing motor... but the S65 is what will live in my next BMW (this spring)... last M-specific N/A motor BMW will ever produce? a 414HP V8 singing at over 8000RPM? Yep, i need that...

You have M6 seats in your 4runner? Pics? DIY? I was thinking X5 seats might be pretty awesome, but BMW to yota seemed sac religious for both MFRs.... but hey, i love em both so why not

I don't have much experience with the S65, but I owned a M62 once and it was a tq monster. Im sure S65 is more of a beast, but im a traditional inline 6guy.

The seats are not in yet, but I am working on a custom bracket for it. I have LTD so the wiring is there already but my seats are all ripped up, so these are going in.

Both are consider "the Axis of evil"

 

[white_n_slow]

I found the X5 seats pretty terrible for long-haul or even medium-haul drives. If you're looking for a comfy seat, 2004-2008 acura TL are pretty darn good.

 

[gamefreakgc]

If I weren't so tall I think I would probably do this swap when my seats give out. Range Rover seats are very nice and would be a great swap. The new mounts aren't super crazy either.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/174055-rangw-rovr-leather-seats-3rd-gen.html