New Life For An Old Friend

[LodeRunner]

I've recently been lurking on this forum for various information, and have been incredibly impressed with the wealth of information and insight. I'm sure I'll be asking a number of questions, and figured I would go ahead and make an introduction.

I bought my 1997 4Runner SR5 brand spanking new in March 1997 in Denver. It was a daily driver for a number of years, and served me well on many trips into the Rockies and all over the western United States, both on-road and off. I've been on some fairly serious off-road loops in SW Colorado, but don't consider myself a serious wheeler.

Over the years I've driven a number of vehicles, while the 4Runner was always my go-to utility vehicle. While many have come and gone, the 4Runner has always remained. I can't imagine getting rid of it!

In more recent years I've moved to different areas of the country, and am now on the east coast. My 4Runner has become an auxiliary vehicle for me, as my employer provides me a car for daily driving, and my "fun" car is a 2003 Corvette Z06... That's a different story altogether.

For whatever reason this winter I've had a renewed love for my 4Runner, and have decided to give it some rejuvenation. It all started with research to put some new shoes on it, and then led to other ideas based on things I've seen on this forum.

So, with all that said, I'll go ahead and say thanks to all of you who've posted the great information here. Here's what I'm planning to do:

- DIY refresh of all the fluids (except auto trans)
- DIY change the plugs and wireset
- New rubber (thinking Firestone Destination AT 265/75/16)
- 3" OME lift on it and some nerf bars (thoughts?)

I've also decided to replace the stock audio, and get a new head unit with some component speakers up front, and decent 2-ways in the rear - nothing too outrageous.

That's my plan, and that's me. Glad to be here.

Thanks,

LR

 

[Nelsonmd]

Welcome, and welcome also to the club of complete morons that moved to the east coast from Colorado. I am the president of the club.

Sounds like you have a good start. I you might as well replace the tranny fluid too, I am guessing it hasn't been changed in a good many miles.

Don't bother with rear speakers, they don't provide that much to the experience, and the rear door fit obnoxiously small speakers unless you get super shallow speakers. Not really worth it in my book.

Don't forget to grease your zerk fittings on both your prop shafts.

 

[THEREALTOR1]

So, with all that said, I'll go ahead and say thanks to all of you who've posted the great information here. Here's what I'm planning to do:

- DIY refresh of all the fluids (except auto trans)
- DIY change the plugs and wireset
- New rubber (thinking Firestone Destination AT 265/75/16)
- 3" OME lift on it and some nerf bars (thoughts?)

....

That's my plan, and that's me. Glad to be here.

Thanks,

LR

From one noob to another, welcome to the site :cheers:

BTW, if it helps you make your decision, here's a pic of my Firestone Destination AT's (265/75/16's), that I just got put on about 3 hours ago. Gotta say i'm pretty excited

Just FYI, if there's a Firestone dealer near you, you may want to give them a ring or stop by before the end of this month. I stopped into my dealer yesterday and thats when I found out that they're running a special on these tires until the end of the month. 4 tires mounted, balanced, stems, disposal fee, etc... + the road hazard guarantee (or whatever they call it) all for $625.24. I thought that was a pretty good deal considering these tires usually run about $130 a piece on most internet sites, and then you have to figure in s/h, mounting, etc... Just thought I'd give you a heads up. Also if you plan on having them do the alignment right then you can go onto firestone's website and print out a coupon for 10% off the cost of that.

 

[Hepar]

Welcome! Look forward to seeing the new life of your Runner. My only though might be to consider rock sliders over a set of nurf bars. More useful and not that much more expensive.

 

[fightman80]

I would personally go with 285's rather than 265's....just my opinion...but they look alot beefier! As for the nerf bars, alot of people on here don't like them. I for one, find they look pretty good, and kinda refreshing to see, as so many 4Runners on this forum have the slidders. That being said, if you're planning on doing any serious off-roading, I wouldn't get the nerf bars, as you'll probably smash them. If you're not planning on climbing over any big rocks, go for it!