New to me...IJM '99 Highlander

[shayes11]

Username: shayes11
Real Name: Steven
Rig: '99 IJM Highlander

Recently picked up a 1999 Highlander Toyota 4Runner with 187k on the clock. New LBJ, new TB and WP, had a torn CV boot but I had it replaced. I've got big plans for her and surprisingly a lot of them are coming together rather quickly!

Past

I sold my '89 Jeep XJ back in July and have been driving a little beater Focus ever since. Feels nice to be in a real vehicle again (sick of dodging potholes).

Here is the XJ. Did most of the work and fixed some of the fab work, front rear and sliders were already on it when I got it. As was the roof rack, although it was a lot taller before I cut 2" out of it. Also put an RE 3.5 Short Arm lift on it. Wheels, tires, etc.

Had a bad cooling problem, as most Renix XJ's do, so we put some hood vents in there.

Present


The past is past, now on to the new. This is the best picture I have of the 4Runner before taking the running boards off. Pulled right into the garage, in a hurry to get rid of them.

A buddy and I pulled the running boards off ASAP and painted the wheels. Looks much better and will hold me over until my new toys come in!

Couldn't stand the stock headunit as I'm more used to touch screens, so I found a good deal on a Pioneer AVH1400. Definitely not the most expensive unit out there, but it's more than enough for me. Install was a breeze, pretty sure I've never worked on a vehicle that has easier dash access than these 4Runners. Also ran the wires for my sub install.

Stock green dash lights got old really fast so I made an order for some LED's in Amber. Huge thanks to the COUNTLESS write-ups on this forum concerning LED swaps. It would have been a huge hassle without them. I just realized the hot spots look terrible in this photo, but I assure you they are not bad at all in person. Stupid Iphone.

Also, put a Super 40 Series muffler on it(no pic). I really like the sound, although I've never been too fond of the V6 exhaust sound to begin with.

That's pretty much it for now. These next two weeks should be pretty eventful though.

Future Mods

-B&M Trans Cooler-everything is in the truck, just need time to install
-Cobra 75-everything is in, just waiting for the Firestik to show up
-Deckplate Mod-waiting on an order from Amazon, should be done this weekend
-231mm Brakes-ordering from Napa tomorrow
-Toytec Ultimate-somewhere between Colorado and California as we speak. 650lbs coils and the 891's for the rear. 5125 to compliment them.
-XD122 Enduro 16x8-just got the call, picking them up tomorrow from the shop
-Falken Rocky Mountain ATii 285/75/16-paid for today, getting them mounted tomorrow
-ODL Front, Rear and Sliders-should be placing the order next week. Can't wait for these to be put on. Going no hoop on the front, nice and clean.
-Savage Skids-placing my order as soon as I get time to install the Toytec lift.

Hopefully I will have some pretty big updates in the next week or so, work permitting. My girlfriend and I are also trying to move, but no worries T4R fans, I will find time to update.

If anyone wants to go do some local runs (seems to be a lot of SoCal guys and gals) I'd be more than interested. Just let me know.

 

[BeachWagon]

Looks good so far. Been wanting to do the LEDs myself. Did you do the entire dash? What did you spend if I may ask? I had a prelude years ago and working on boats, love the amber lights, though I was thinking about changing up some of the colors to coincide with the function. Can you still see the redline marks?

 

[shayes11]

I only replaced 3 bulbs on the dash, then I did all of the AC/Heater, ECT, Rear window, etc. I bought 16 bulbs and I think I paid $43-44. Pretty basic install for the most part.

The redline marks are visible, just super muted. I like the amber because it's easier on my eyes when driving at night.

 

[BeachWagon]

Cool deal. I may have to look at some of those to order. What company did you go with? Brand or Chinese amazon?

 

[shayes11]

I went with LED Lights, Bulbs & Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS. They had me the lights in like 2 or 3 days. Really can't complain. If you have any questions when you do the install just shoot me a PM. Hopefully I can help out.

 

[shayes11]

Quick update. My Toytec Ultimate lift came in the mail last Wednesday, as did my wheels. First things first, I stopped by 4wheelparts to pick up the wheels, then went to Discount Tire to have them wrapped in 285/75 Falken Rocky Mountains.

Much to everyone's surprise.....Absolutely no rub with normal driving conditions!! Flexing out on the trail would have been a completely different story.

Anyways, on to the pics!

Started off bad. One of the studs was cross threaded and one was overtightened on the driver side front. Not a huge deal but kind of a pain.

My buddy and I got the old coilover out.

Then put the new one in.

Lower shock bolt was a pain.

Quick comparison.

Finished the front up with the diff drop.

Look at that stance!! Front is all done.

Angles aren't too bad! They were looking pretty steep pre-diff drop.

On to the rear....The rear is always a pain for me, no matter what vehicle I'm working on. Once I figured out how to get my hand into the hole that the coil spring rests on, it wasn't too bad. There was a lot of kicking and cussing before that though!!

Couple of new vs. old comparisons.

All finished up! And off to get an alignment (and some new studs). Much better stance in my opinion! Big shout out to @%1;Kraze, thanks for the help man. All in all it was a pretty simple install, just took some time figuring out the BEST way to do things instead of just going by instinct.

 

[Ron Helmuth]

Looking good-I had not seen those rims before and thanks for extensive picture sharing.