new-to-me '99 4Runner Limited

[2ndhandyotaman]

Time for an update and a new problem.

On Friday I usually drive the 'runner to work, so as I was flooring it to get up to speed onto the interstate, she felt sluggish and there was a strange vibration. Then the CEL ( AKA 'money light') started flashing repeatably, it did this a few times. I get off of the interstate, limp the runner back home and take the Subie to work.

After work I go home I open the hood and check the oil to see if it's contaminated or not. No water mixed in, but the reservoir was empty. No water mixed into the trans fluid, so I take the truck to NAPA to get the code(s) read. P0306 is what I got. After reading so many threads in here and Yotatech, I'm thinking that I've got a blown a head gasket but I needed to be sure before deciding the next step.

I get a leak detector test kit from NAPA. After doing the test twice, I'm feeling pretty good that there's no internal head gasket failure, the fluid never turned neon green.

I pulled #6 plug and found this- I'm not seeing signs of major amounts of coolant being burned up. This has about 10K miles on it.

So now I'm stumped a bit. The coolant is going somewhere, slowly. My next best guess is the IAC valve gasket, I'll order one of those on Monday morning.

What else am I over looking? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[brillo_76]

Misfire on cylinder 6 plugs can go bad as I just a few weeks ago had a misfire on cylinder 4. How many miles on your plugs?

Mostly if your buring antifreeze you have white smoke coming out the exhaust that just lingers.

Quite possible a small seep somewhere causing you to loose coolant. Not seeing any antifreeze in your transmission and oilis always a good thing.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Misfire on cylinder 6 plugs can go bad as I just a few weeks ago had a misfire on cylinder 4. How many miles on your plugs?

Mostly if your buring antifreeze you have white smoke coming out the exhaust that just lingers.

Quite possible a small seep somewhere causing you to loose coolant. Not seeing any antifreeze in your transmission and oilis always a good thing.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

Plugs have about 10K on them, wires are new when I did the TB service in August. I'm ruling out a faulty coil because I would think that I'd also have a misfire code for cylinder #3 since the coil feeds both cylinders.

I did a cooling system pressure test after I finished the T-belt service, I'll do another one this weekend. I'll also check the fuel rail for static pressure to see if there's a leaky injector. It's possible that the slowly disappearing coolant and the random misfire are 2 separate problems.

I wanted to focus on getting this rig ready for a Colorado road trip this June, I plan on taking 3 weeks of saved vacation and just enjoying a long trip. I need to at least figure out what's going on so I can make decisions on how to fix / if it's worth fixing anymore because I need to start doing some shake down runs with this truck if I'm going to take it on a 5000 mile road trip in a few months.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

It started with removing a rotted out muffler then found this mess. I knew there was some perforation along the lower edge of the frame rail, but as of 2 months ago it hadn't gotten into the lower control arm mount.

Now it's time to decide if I want to deal with this anymore. I love the 'runner and I just got a new 5x10 utility trailer to help with chores in my new( to me) house, so buying a new vehicle is out of the question.

I've seen that safe-T-cap is now selling repair pieces for our frames, maybe that's an option. I'm sure that this is repairable enough to squeeze a few more years of life out of the old rig, I know that I don't have the right welding equipment to deal with that thickness of metal.

I'll update once I figure out what to do.

 

[Jubsz]

I'm more or less at the same place you are with my 3rd gen and I'm in Baltimore. One of my rear shocks snapped in half and I have an OME setup waiting for it. I don't have a garage or great place to deal with switching everything off. I'd like to do it all right, with a diff drop, and panhard geometry correction too.

I also have a little bit of perforation on the inside passenger frame rail of the trailing arm mount and am considering having it patched with the Safe-T-Cap stuff. I had a shop look at mine a while ago, near BWI, that appears to do some custom off-road builds. Their shop looked pretty clean and had some cool fab projects going on. Shop is called Wits End Fabrication. I have not used them for anything more than an oil change yet but they appear to be the type of shop I'd want to do a frame job. Their quote wasn't cheap but seemed pretty reasonable. I know it's a lot of work.

Do you want to be the guinea pig or me? lol

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

I'm more or less at the same place you are with my 3rd gen and I'm in Baltimore. One of my rear shocks snapped in half and I have an OME setup waiting for it. I don't have a garage or great place to deal with switching everything off. I'd like to do it all right, with a diff drop, and panhard geometry correction too.

I also have a little bit of perforation on the inside passenger frame rail of the trailing arm mount and am considering having it patched with the Safe-T-Cap stuff. I had a shop look at mine a while ago, near BWI, that appears to do some custom off-road builds. Their shop looked pretty clean and had some cool fab projects going on. Shop is called Wits End Fabrication. I have not used them for anything more than an oil change yet but they appear to be the type of shop I'd want to do a frame job. Their quote wasn't cheap but seemed pretty reasonable. I know it's a lot of work.

Do you want to be the guinea pig or me? lol

I actually went to that shop in Late May to have them look at the rust. He wanted $1400 just to get started. When he showed me around the shop, I noticed a severe lack of metal fabricating equipment, no metal brake or shear, no plasma table, no acorn welding table, no dedicated fab area. I could see that they were doing metal fab, but if it's all labor intensive using cut off wheels and hand grinding and fitting 'on the fly' I'm just not too comfortable paying for someones inefficiency. The guy seemed like a genuinely good person, like hes not out to screw anyone over .


On a different note- I realized that I never updated the issue with the misfire- turns out the coil that was tripping the code had a hairline crack around the housing, so it was arcing like mad when it got damp/wet. A new coil from the NAPA fixed the issue.

 

[Jubsz]

I actually went to that shop in Late May to have them look at the rust. He wanted $1400 just to get started. When he showed me around the shop, I noticed a severe lack of metal fabricating equipment, no metal brake or shear, no plasma table, no acorn welding table, no dedicated fab area. I could see that they were doing metal fab, but if it's all labor intensive using cut off wheels and hand grinding and fitting 'on the fly' I'm just not too comfortable paying for someones inefficiency. The guy seemed like a genuinely good person, like hes not to screw anyone over .


On a different note- I realized that I never updated the issue with the misfire- turns out the coil that was tripping the code had a hairline crack around the housing, so it was arcing like mad when it got damp/wet. A new coil from the NAPA fixed the issue.

Darn... I don't know the first thing about welding but thought their shop looked clean and saw what looked like a custom bumper being fabbed up. Your pics aren't working for me in this post, nor are they expanding in your album. From the thumbnails, your rust issue looks much more significant than mine. Mine has pretty minimal rot but I'd like to have it addressed sooner than later and figure it will be cheaper now than later.

Since my rear shock broke out, I'd like to address everything at once, including welding in the panhard geometry correction stuff. I'm questioning putting this much money into this rig versus moving on but I'll probably have it done and keep it. I can't wait until I get a garage... I'd be doing the suspension stuff myself and maybe playing with a welder for a few months. Would actually be great timing since I'm still on work-from-home orders.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Darn... I don't know the first thing about welding but thought their shop looked clean and saw what looked like a custom bumper being fabbed up. Your pics aren't working for me in this post, nor are they expanding in your album. From the thumbnails, your rust issue looks much more significant than mine. Mine has pretty minimal rot but I'd like to have it addressed sooner than later and figure it will be cheaper now than later.

Since my rear shock broke out, I'd like to address everything at once, including welding in the panhard geometry correction stuff. I'm questioning putting this much money into this rig versus moving on but I'll probably have it done and keep it. I can't wait until I get a garage... I'd be doing the suspension stuff myself and maybe playing with a welder for a few months. Would actually be great timing since I'm still on work-from-home orders.

I just re-linked them, hopefully they're working better. I couldn't see them from my work PC but they showed up fine from the home PC.

I hope that you can get your frame issues fixed. I'd like to keep my rig for a few more years, mechanically it runs great but the rust isn't going to go away, it's how much I want to spend just to slow it down. A new Taco is looking like a possibility.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Well, it's been a few days since I've been in here. It's good to see some of the old screen names still going strong plus a bunch of new names.

I haven't had very much to write about with my 4runner. I've been DD'ing the Taco for a while. I can honestly say that the 4unner is a far superior vehicle in terms of driving comfort and overall build quality. I dislike the Taco so much that it's about to go away and be replaced with a commuter car. I will just keep the trusty old 4runner chugging along.

I've found a solid frame to use for a replacement, the logistics of when/where this will happen are still being worked out.

I took the old girl on a 5000 mile road trip to western Colorado last August, I had not a single issue with it, it just ran perfectly on the interstate ( 35 hours straight from home to Gunnison, CO) and then on the trails, it just went anywhere that I dared to go. I ran out of nerve before I ran out of ability. The Alpine Loop was just beautiful, nothing hard at all besides the fear of sliding off of the edge of the shelf trails. I hit a few other trails as short, scenic day trips. I wanted to do Black Bear Rd really badly, but I could not find anyone to go with or to use as a trail guide. Next time I will get that one off of the list.

I built a sleeping platform for the trip and it worked well, I was able to sleep very comfortably, just not a lot of head space for sitting up.

 

[octanejunkie]

Good to see you, too, and hear that the 4runner is the better Toyota!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[phattyduck]

Good to see you, too, and hear that the 4runner is the better Toyota!

Japan vs. US build means more than you might think on the surface... Been there, done that with Camrys.

-Charlie

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Good grief, I spent an hour typing out a long winded "catch up" reply since it's been a more than a few days since I've been in here. I hit the 'reply' button and it all crashed on me...

I still have the '99, it became a Friday vehicle to take to the job site and occasional weekend driver. It pulled the trailer during firewood season and to get parts for a '88 GMC K2500 project vehicle.

2 years ago the right rear upper shock mount finally gave way, so I built some frame mounts nd out boarded the upper mounts. I went with Bilstein 4600s, I had to use ones that were made for a stock height FZJ80 in order to get the right amount of stroke but it seems to work well.

A few weeks ago, the multimode system lost it's mind. I've been trying to figure it out ever since. I did find a bad front diff actuator switch which got replaced with a Toyota part, that didn't solve the issue.

I have a blinking 4WD indicator display in the gauge cluster and what seems to be the 4WD system stuck in 4H, based on the way it binds up when trying to maneuver around the driveway. I have vacuum tested the front actuator, it will go between lock and unlock easily.

I have vacuum at the 4wd VSV solenoid. If I switch the hoses I can lock/unlock the front actuator. I have 13V at both of the solenoid connectors, I would have thought that it should only be one or the other with voltage.

Today I pulled the 2wd/4wd sensor switch on top of the T-case actuator, it was very spotty when testing for continuity. I will get a new switch. Tomorrow I plan on putting 12V to the t case actuator pins to see if the motor is functional.

Can anyone think of a reason that there would be 13V at both of the VSV solenoids? My brain wants to jump at that as a red flag for a bad 4wd ECU.

 

[brillo_76]

Possible put extremely rare for the ECU to have issues. Rule everything else out 4X times before thinking it is the ECU. Mutlimode transfers are unique transfer case. I included the 2 wiring diagrams of the 2 major types of 4wd options. I suspect (but not 100%) that the multimode would have the 4WD wo2-4 select diagram should be yours. However, other members can verify if that is correct or not. Hoping the wiring diagrams will help you.

 

[phattyduck]

Can anyone think of a reason that there would be 13V at both of the VSV solenoids? My brain wants to jump at that as a red flag for a bad 4wd ECU.

Bad ground would do that... And cause 4WD switching issues. Make sure the white-black wire at each VSV is well connected to ground (resistance check when truck is off).

-Charlie

 

[phattyduck]

Possible put extremely rare for the ECU to have issues. Rule everything else out 4X times before thinking it is the ECU. Mutlimode transfers are unique transfer case. I included the 2 wiring diagrams of the 2 major types of 4wd options. I suspect (but not 100%) that the multimode would have the 4WD wo2-4 select diagram should be yours. However, other members can verify if that is correct or not. Hoping the wiring diagrams will help you.

The '99 W/ 2-4 Switch is the one he wants. W/O switch is the j-shift case. The third is the "other" "w/ switch" diagram for the push-button 4WD system on the '96-'98 Limited (non-multimode).

-Charlie

 

[brillo_76]

Thank you Charlie. I know i wasn't sure which one the mulit mode transfer would fall under. ..

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Thank you both so much for jumping right in and offering up your help.

I did some more trouble shooting today and discovered a dead switch next to the t-case actuator. I started jumping the harness plugs to see how the dash lights and front axle actuator would react. I got a quick t-case actuator movement and got a solid AWD indication on the cluster. I removed the jumper and the t-case went back into 2WD mode. I pulled the switch and tested it- absolutely dead. It looked identical to the front actuator 4WD indicator switch, which I had saved the ole one when I replaced it last week. It had about 75% function when bench testing, so I figured that 75% was better than 0% so I swapped it in.

I got an immediate response to AWD mode and 4WD H and L modes. I could hear the t-case actuator doing it's thing. Since my t-case is the J shift, I'm actually not sure what the mechanical lever is controlling and what the actuator motor is controlling. I'm leaning towards that the actuator is controlling the center diff lock but I'm not 100% sure.

I'm still not 100% confident that I've actually "fixed" the issue but at least now I can put a few miles on the old rig and see how it behaves. If it seems like the used switch fixes the issue, I will cringe and buy another one from Toyota ( or an on-line dealer they're still around $85 from what I saw when I was looing for that switch on the front diffy)

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

It was good to see a few of the familiar screen names jump right in to help. I hope that everyone is doing well.

I've been on the fence about sending the old T4R away, the frame rust has exploded in the past year. 3 years ago I had a shop weld in a Saf-T-cap rear section repair kit. Now the rot has claimed the section by the t-case x-member. I have the capability to weld a repair kit in by myself now, I'm just not sure if it's worth it. I'd only be buying another year or 2 before it needs to get scrapped. I looked into frame swaps, I don't have the driveway space to pull that off by myself. Finding a clean 2WD T4R and using mine to convert to 4WD was another option that I've thought about.

 

[phattyduck]

Since my t-case is the J shift, I'm actually not sure what the mechanical lever is controlling and what the actuator motor is controlling. I'm leaning towards that the actuator is controlling the center diff lock but I'm not 100% sure.

Do not call your T-case a "j-shift" The only mechanical thing your shift lever does is the H-N-L shift (the 'right' half of the lever positions). Moving from the upper left to lower left position just activates a switch in the t-case that then tells the actuator do move between the selected positions.

Finding a clean 2WD T4R and using mine to convert to 4WD was another option that I've thought about.

If you have the space and time, this is a decent option... Plenty of rust-free 2WDs down in the south and you can take the best interior bits, etc. to make one nice rig.

-Charlie

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Hi everyone,

it's been a minute or 3 since I last checked in. I sold my beloved 3rd gen a few months ago to a local guy that was going to attempt a frame swap, he had access to the right equipment/resources. It was a very bitter-sweet last drive that I took in the old rig before he showed up to pay for it and make it "his".

I know that I will probably never own another one, so I will just remember all of the great drives that I took in that rig and all of the worst weather where I never doubted it's ability to get me home safely.

All is not lost- I sold my 2nd gen Taco along with the 3rd gen 4runner and got a 5th gen T4R TRD OR. I was able to retain a lever operated T-case and the e-locker that my 3rd gen had. Unfortunately, there's no multi-mode system, which in my opinion, would make so much sense in these rigs.

I cleaned out the parts shelf for the 3rd gen and gave everything to the new owner, but last week I came across a "back up" HVAC control unit that I had re-furbed from the vendor that used to do those at a discount for forum members.

I'll sell it to anyone on the forum for $75 shipped.